Verb Issue R118 (Mar. 7-13, 2014)

Issue #118 – March 7 to March 13

arts

culture

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regina

SIX

E L E C T R I C +

lucas makowsky Skating at Sochi the right stuff Q+A with Glorious Sons 300: rise of an empire + the past

Films reviewed­

Photo: courtesy of frank nash

contents

this week’s feature:

electric six

Back in SK for St. Paddy’s Day. 12 / feature Photo: courtesy of frank nash

culture

NEWs + Opinion

entertainment

Q + A with Glorious sons

Live Music listings

From the garage to the stage. 10 / Q + A

Local music listings for March 7 through March 15. 16 / listings

an olympic experience

right direction

Nightlife Photos

Matt Webb on his new solo project.

We visit Beer Bros. + Leopold’s.

Lucas Makowsky talks Sochi. 4 / Local

11 / Arts

18 / Nightlife

paper works

300: rise of an empire + the past

Mysteria exhibit explores the power of paper. 11 / Arts

We review the latest movies. 20 / Film

straker’s sudden fame SK songwriter wins big at international contest. 6 / Local

dollars and sense Our thoughts on a minimum annual income. 8 / Editorial

the chimney steams ahead

on the bus

We visit the Chimney. 14 / Food + Drink

Weekly original comic illustrations

by Elaine M. Will. 22 / comics

comments

Music

Game + Horoscopes

Here’s your say on nicotine-loaded e-cigarettes. 9 / comments

West My Friend, The Mohrs + Naysa.

Canadian criss-cross puzzle, weekly horoscopes and Sudoku. 23 / timeout

15 / music

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Editorial

Business & Operations

Publisher / Parity Publishing Editor in Chief / Ryan Allan Managing Editor / Jessica Patrucco staff Writers / Adam Hawboldt + Alex J MacPherson Contributing writer / MJ DESCHAMPS

Office Manager / Stephanie Lipsit account Manager / joshua johnsen Marketing Manager / Vogeson Paley Financial Manager / Cody Lang

contact Comments / feedback@verbnews.com / 306 881 8372

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ART & Production

advertise / advertise@verbnews.com / 306 979 2253

design Lead / andrew yanko Graphic designer / bryce kirk Contributing Photographers / marc messett + Maxton Priebe

design / layout@verbnews.com / 306 979 8474 General / info@verbnews.com / 306 979 2253

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An Olympic Experience

Regina’s Lucas Makowsky on Sochi, the Olympic Village, racing and more by ADAM HAWBOLDT

L

ucas Makowsky had heard the rumours.

He’d seen media reports about the Olympic Village in Sochi — about the lacklustre sleeping accommodations, about the looming security issues, about the side-by-side toilets without stalls and about the dilapidated state of the buildings.

He’d heard about all this, but he didn’t give it much thought.

In the days leading up to the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, the gold-medal-winning speed skater from Regina was in Germany, training and getting acclimatized to the time change. Sure, the reports about the Olympic Village lingered in the back of his mind, but Makowsky wasn’t worried.

“When you go to a different country, you have to expect the conditions will be a little bit different than what we have in North America,” he says. “I’ve always tried to keep an open mind when it comes to different cultures and architecture and styles of accommodation. If you don’t have the ex-

pectation that everything is going to be the way it is in North America, then you won’t be disappointed or shocked. You’re going to get there and just go with the flow, make the best of the situation.”

At the end of the day, Makowsky knew he was going to Sochi to compete. He knew that any distracting energy or pessimistic thoughts would negatively affect his performance, so he kept a clear, open mind as his speed skating team — along with the short-track team and the women’s hockey team — boarded a plane in Vienna destined for Russia.

When he arrived in Sochi, Makowsky was pleasantly surprised with what he saw.

“When we first walked into the Village, I was laughing [at the media reports],” Makowsky says, just days after returning from Sochi. “It was pretty much like what we had in Vancouver. There were all these brand new condos that were going to be sold after the games. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the accommodations. In fact, they exceeded expectation.”

With the media reports debunked, Makowsky began to settle in and got ready to compete.

“For three or four days after we got there, it was just go, go, go. Non-stop, around the clock,” says Makowsky.

The twice-a-day training followed by treatments and recovery were enough to keep Makowsky busy. But in those first few days, there were other things that needed to be done: uniforms needed to be fitted, Canadian gear needed to be picked up.

Then there were orientation sessions and a bunch of other little events that were added to the days in order to help the athletes prepare for what to expect in the Village.

Amidst all this hustle and bustle, Makowsky did what he had to do to keep himself centred and focused.

“You can easily get distracted by everything that’s going on around you,” he explains. “So for those first three or four days, I made sure to find some quiet time for myself. Time to decompress from the day and focus on what I was there to do.”

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Soon life in the Olympic Village took on a steady, calming pattern.

Makowsky would wake up early in the morning. Some days he’d make the 15-minute walk to the cafeteria for breakfast, but more often than not, he’d just walk to the building next to where he was staying and grab some cereal or fruit to eat in Canada’s athletes’ lounge. Then it was off to morning training “to get the body going,” he says.

Then lunch. Then more training.

Then perhaps a treatment followed by supper followed by some time spent in the athletes’ lounge watching the Games on television.

For the next week and a half in Sochi that pattern set the rhythm for Makowsky’s life, with few deviations.

Sometimes he’d go for stationary bike rides on the balcony, wearing nothing more than a pair of bicycling shorts, with the warm February sun shining down. Other times he’d skip the bike ride and eat breakfast out on the balcony, where he’d watch dolphins jumping in the Black Sea as security blimps floated over top the Village.

And all the while, the day he’d have to compete kept inching closer and closer.

Lucas Makowsky’s first event at the 2014 Winter Olympics was the 1,500m. And heading into the race, the Saskatchewanian felt he had made some pretty good progress in training.

“It was a pretty tough year for me, as far as technique goes,” says

Makowsky. “I spent a lot of the year trying to recapture it, to get my technique back. It wasn’t until a week before the race that I started to feel I was getting to the point where I wanted to be at.”

In that respect, Makowsky was pleased, happy that he was finally finding his stride in time for the 1,500m. But come race day he wasn’t able to put it all together and ended up finishing 28th — a nineplace decrease from his 19th-place finish in Vancouver.

“Obviously, the competitive side of me wished I’d been at a bit higher level going into that race,” admits Mankowsky. “But at the same time, that race was one of the best I’d had all year. I can’t complain. That’s just the reality of sport: if you’re not there, at a specific level at a very specific point in time, the results will reflect that.”

Speaking of reflection, Mankowsky didn’t have much time to think on his showing in the 1,500m, because in less than a week he and two other skaters — Denny Morrison and Mathieu Giroux — were slated to compete in the longtrack team pursuit.

“Regardless of how I did in the 1,500m, there’s a completely different approach, a completely different dynamic, when it comes to training for the team pursuit,” explains Makowsky. “It’s not all just on you. It’s a team effort to get all three guys across the line, as quickly as possible.”

An effort, they hoped, that would duplicate the gold-medal winning performance the trio had put forth in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

The race started out well, with the Canadian team defeating the U.S. skaters in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, though, they came up 2.96 seconds short against the South Koreans, and had to settle for a bronze medal showdown against Poland.

“Going into that race, the goal was to make it to the podium again,” says Makowsky. “We had the plan we wanted to execute, a strategy that we put together to use everybody’s strengths.”

A strategy that would see Dennis Morrison — “the strongest when

it comes to acceleration,” according to Makowsky — go first, use his speed and set the pace. They knew the Polish would be skating a flatter profile, so the aim for Makowsky and his teammates was to jump out to an early lead, build a head of steam and try to minimize the die at the end of the race.

In the beginning, the trio executed the plan to perfection, and Canada held the lead for the first six laps. But down the stretch they began to fade, the Polish began to pick up steam, and the end result was a fourth-place finish for Canada.

And while the result was understandably disappointing, Makowsky still looks back on the 2014 Winter Games with a warm sort of fondness.

“It was incredible,” he says. “The whole atmosphere at the Games.

Being on the Black Sea. The cluster in the Village, everything being right there. The weather. It’s not the kind of atmosphere you expect a Winter Olympics to have.”

And certainly not the kind of atmosphere Makowsky had heard about through the media in the days and weeks leading up to the Games, either.

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Photo: courtesy of Christian Hidalgo

Straker’s sudden fame Regina’s Jeffery Straker wins prestigious international song competition in Chile

by ADAM HAWBOLDT

J

effrey Straker is standing in one of the wings of the Quinta Vergara Amphitheatre, located on Chile’s temperate west coast. He’s been standing there, with other competitors at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival, for about an hour.

Earlier in the day, Straker woke up early. He went for a run on the beach, rehearsed the song he’s about to sing, and then took a nap — something he never does. About three hours before the festival’s final competition, he arrived at the open-air amphitheatre to prepare for tonight’s show. A show that will be performed in front of 20,000 screaming fans. A show that will be broadcast on television to millions of homes around the Spanish-speaking world.

For a production of this magnitude, you don’t simply show up and walk on stage. There’s make-up that needs to be applied, hair to be done, costumes to be put on. Once Straker is finished all

this, the organizers of the event rustle up the competitors and usher them backstage to wait in the wings.

And so there’s Straker. Standing in line. Waiting. “When you’re back there for that long, it really gives you time to think,” says Straker. “And when you have time like that, you start asking yourself dumb questions.

You start wondering ‘Have I forgotten the lyrics?’ and “Do I remember all the dance moves?’ Really dumb questions like that.”

As Straker is asking himself these things, one of the competitors finishes a song. The audience, nicknamed “El Monstruo” (The Monster) by the Chilean media, roars its approval.

They seem like they’re in a good mood, which is a good thing because El Monstruo has a tradition of booing people off stage if they’re not pleased with a performance. Another competitor, this guy from Romania, turns to Straker and says, “It is really weird, but I have no emotions right now.”

Neither does Straker. He just wants to get out there and put on a show.

The Viña del Mar International Song Festival began in 1960 and is considered one of the most important music festivals in the Americas.

People come from all over the world to attend. Some drive in and get day passes, others stay for the entire event. The atmosphere around Viña del Mar, a city of about 300,000 people, is electric. The streets are bustling with people, everyone from visitors taking pictures of 19th century buildings that have survived numerous earthquakes to buskers juggling knives in intersections. Gaiety and good will float in the warm winter air.

Regina’s Jeffery Straker has been here since the festival started. Staying in a hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean, his days have been filled with good food, great red wine, excellent dark beer, interviews and rehearsals.

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A lot of rehearsals.

“We rehearsed to death,” says Straker. “There were rehearsals every day for everyone in the competition.”

Which is a good thing. See, if you’ve ever watched Straker perform, he’s usually seated at a piano, tickling the ivories with exuberance and passion.

But here at the festival, things are a little different. “When I first arrived, the festival’s choreographer said, ‘Here’s the choreography we’re recommending for your song.’ And my first

A while later, Straker is back up on stage with the other competitors of the festival, waiting to see who won. When he’s announced as the winner of the international category, a wave of relief washes over him.

“When they said my name, I felt my whole body relax. Thank god the tension was finally gone,” says Straker. “The two hosts called me up and the mayor [of Viña del Mar] presented me the trophy.” He chuckles and says, “I hugged her so hard! If

…my first thought was: oh my god!

They want me to dance. jeffery straker

thought was: oh my god! They want me to dance,” says Straker.

Dancing isn’t something Straker does, and he told them that. The choreographer then explained to Straker that in Latin America things are different. If you can do something big and spectacular, you can really win people over. “In that moment I was terrified,” admits Straker. “But I subscribe to the idea that if something scares you, you should probably do it. Your comfort zone can be your own worst enemy.

So I said, ‘to heck with it,’ and did what they wanted.”

Endless rehearsals and two performances later, Straker found himself in the finals competing for the top prize.

On stage, Jeffery Straker is seated at a piano. He’s dressed in red pants, white button-up shirt, a black vest and a black tie.

He’s surrounded by dancers, who are crouched down in a circle around him. The first few notes of his song “Hypnotized” waft through the amphitheatre. When it’s time for him to sing the lyrics, Straker grabs the mic and gets up from the piano. All around him, the dancers are doing their choreographed dance. Straker is gliding about the stage, singing and moving with the flow of the music.

One look, and you can tell he’s having fun up there.

When he’s finished El Monstruo erupts with cheers.

you look at some of the pictures, she looks terrified.”

It wasn’t just a trophy that Straker received, either. He was also awarded $50,000 for the win (which he plans to use to make a new record this summer), and opened up a new touring market for himself.

“Immediately after the win, there were booking interests for Mexico, Chile and Peru,” says Straker. “It was all kinds of surreal. I mean, on my way home we travelled two hours inland to visit Santiago … we were walking around the streets and people were coming up and congratulating me. It was bizarre. Then at the airport check-in counter I actually got swarmed by people with cameras wanting to take pictures.”

The new-found attention didn’t end there. When Straker got on the plane to come home, the lady sitting next to him turned and said, “Oh my god! It’s you.”

But now that the surreal whirlwind of his win is over Straker is back in Saskatchewan, and the magnitude of what happened at the Viña del Mar festival — and what it means for his future as a musician — is slowly sinking in.

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Dollars and sense If we want to help people, stop increasing minimum wage and implement a minimum annual income

S

eems like everywhere you look lately, people are talking about minimum wage. More specifically, about raising minimum wage. A few months ago, Ontario upped their minimum wage to $11 per hour, and chances are other provinces are contemplating a similar move.

Raising minimum wage is often touted as a way to help bring workers above the poverty line, and a means of providing a greater financial buffer to separate those who depend on lowincome jobs from utter destitution. And while we are all for helping out people in our community who need it, we don’t think this is the way to do it.

Which is why we are suggesting that the federal government institute a minimum income instead. There’s a subtle difference, but one that we think will have a truly positive impact.

So why are we against simply jacking up minimum wage? Well, for a whole host of reasons. Despite increase after increase, people who rely on those lower paying jobs are still struggling to get by. Some of this is because, from a business standpoint, increasing minimum wage can be devastating for an employer. Consider this: if everything remains constant in your business but the price of labour per hour increases, certain things are bound to fall by the wayside. The number of

hours of labour will have to decrease in order for your business to maintain the status quo. This means either eliminating jobs or doling out fewer hours.

When the minimum wage is increased this happens time and time again. And time and time again it’s the vulnerable people on the margins who take it on the chin.

Implementing a minimum income, on the other hand, provides relief for those who need it without sacrificing job security. Sure, this approach is opposed to our government’s typical paternal reaction to lower income people, but such a move has already been the subject of a few pilot projects, and has had enough success that’s it’s worth considering seriously.

One such project took place in Manitoba in the 1970s. Forty-oddyears ago, the Canadian government conducted an experiment of sorts by giving every household in Dauphin (subject to income level, of course) a guaranteed annual budget of about $18,000 in today’s dollars. The aim of the government’s experiment was to see if, given an influx of money like this, people would stop working.

They didn’t. In fact, all of the stereotypical fears that a free handout would lead to laziness, drinking, or worse were debunked. Overall working hours barely changed, people stayed in school longer, crime rates dropped, and

health care costs plummeted. Seems like it worked to us.

Overseas, an similar experiment in Britain gave a group of people who had been living on the streets for more than five years a budget that they could spend on whatever they want. The idea was to see if a no-strings-attached handout would work for the extreme poor. The results were fairly positive, with most spending far less than the amount given to them on basic necessities like food, clothing and rent.

The cost of a guaranteed annual income program would be expensive.

But if it alleviates the stress on our overburdened corrections system and inefficient welfare system, then shouldn’t we at least entertain the idea? Setting a minimum annual budget for every Canadian would stop the minimum wage increase and, most importantly, would provide a way to improve the lives of people who work hard, yet still can’t eke out a living.

These editorials are left unsigned because they represent the opinions of Verb magazine, not those of the individual writers.

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On Topic: Last week we asked what you thought about the ban on nicotine-loaded e-cigarettes. Here's what you had to say:

– E-cigarettes: The anti-smoking extremists NEED to back off a bit and think of the withdrawl symptoms and today’s stress levels Truth Is Power-Try It

text yo thoughtsur to 881 ve r b 8372

– E cigs are great! I still smoke sometime but use mine pretty frequently. Plus you can puff indoors because it’s just steam!

– Doesn’t surprise me ew can’t have nicotine e cigs with the power of the tobacco lobby. It’s in their best interest to prevent people from seeking help. Such a sick world.

– We should be putting the health of Canadians above everything else. Stand up to those who oppose a useful treatment like nicotine e-cigarattes. It’s mind boggling that we cowtow to bullies who want to make a buck off us. Disgusting!

– How can nicotine patches be legel than if e cigs aren’t? Doesn’t make much sense to me.

– Patches are allowed then e cigs should be to. Not sure why they aren’t.

– If you don’t see that the tabacco industry is the one behind the e cig ban plz wake up or just come out and say it in an article

OFF TOPIC

– The amount of money spent by big Tobacco to keep people hooked on their products would be astonishing to see. I’m sure they are putting pressure on the government organizations to keep this ban in place. Sad.

– E cigs seem like they could be helpful therapy for those who want to quit. I say bring them in!

– Pretty sure most people just order their e-cigarettes online so it’s not really a big deal. You can get vapour here if you need it. Kind of sketchy sometimes what’s in it, but can’t be worse than cigs

– Why would anyone want to quit smoking all the COOL kids are doing it lol

many streets to look after. It is not so simple because notice has to be given for people to move their cars. If it snows heavily, that snow removal then has to be rescheduled and it starts with a priority 1 area again first. Cut the city some slack already.

– People always like to crap on the city without knowing all the facts.

There is a system the city uses to plow the streets. You’ll be grateful if you have to go to the hospital and you’re able to get their quickly because the streets are clear.

– Winter: when everyone complains about the cold. Stop printing whiny texts Verb!

– Oh spring, oh spring, wherefore art thou?

– When it’s so cold out even the snowmen are coming in to warm up, you know you’re in Canada!

– Bilingualism can have hazards.

Electric fixtures have connections labelled black-white and noirblanc. Confusing black and blanc in poor visibility is bad!

– To the hearty souls who suggest one stop discussing the record smashing cold .. Enjoy but I’m getting sick of triple touquing

– I like Canada Geese they fly South Crap all the states or wherever they Arrow to and when they come back we know it’s spring

– When it’s so cold that even Jack Frost takes a holiday to Hawaii, you know you’re in Canada!

– If one more person tells me “winter’s aren’t usually this bad,” I will lost it!

Next week: What do you think about bringing in a minimum annual income? Text in your thoughts to Verb to get in on the conversation:

We print your texts verbatim each week. Text in your thoughts and reactions to our stories and content, or anything else on your mind.

– Would also like to thank Ave for speaking up about Wicca and our beliefs. A very spiritual and nature-guided set of rules to live life by. There’s room for all forms of belief, so don’t disparage what you don’t know or understand.

In response to “The truth about witches,” Local, #110 (January 10, 2014)

sound off – I sometimes wonder what Voldemort would be like in real life

– To the texter that talked about the order that streets are snowplowed, not every street can be plowed at the same time. There has to be a plan in place. Stop trying to make sense of the order. It has nothing to do with a “rich” neighbourhood. Taxes are collected from all across the city.

We are all entitled to having snow removal done. Take time to read up on the city’s snow removal policy. I agree that it can be frustrating but please realize that there are

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A Big Year Photos: courtesy of Jess Baumung

In 2013, the Glorious Sons took their classic rock sound from the garage to the mainstage — and beyond by Alex J MacPherson

I

t has been an unforgettable year for the Glorious Sons. Although the five musicians from Kingston have only been playing together for two years, they have already released am EP of energetic, upbeat rock songs, organized a national headlining tour, and started work on a full-length record.

The band’s journey from grimy garage to massive mainstage began after they entered and won a contest sponsored by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.

The Whiskey Rocks Showdown generated a fair amount of publicity for the band and, more importantly, resulted in a friendship with John-Angus MacDonald of the Trews. Besides helping the band navigate the murky waters of the music business, MacDonald also produced Shapeless Art, which was released in November.

Anchored by the Southern-influenced “Mama,” the EP reflects the band’s love of classic rock and roll, as well as the grittier sound of bands like the Black Keys. Although the Glorious Sons still jam in the same garage, their world has changed dramatically over the last twelve months. What was once a vague dream has become a reality. And according to Jay Emmons, the band’s bare-footed lead guitarist, he and his bandmates are looking forward to yet another busy year.

Alex J MacPherson: It’s been a pretty wild year for the Glorious Sons. Does it feel like things have been happening really quickly?

who knows how to make records and navigate the business?

JE: Very important. I mean, lots of times when it comes to a tough decision we’ll give John-Angus a shout and get his take on the whole thing before we nail down our final move.

It’s very helpful. I mean, he’s brought

Jay Emmons: Really quite quickly.

It kind of all started when we won the Rocksearch competition with 97.7 HTZ FM, and that gave us an opportunity to get our first single, “Mama,” on the radio.

It took off and basically behind the strength of “Mama” and our manager doing some hard work to make some industry contacts we’ve really moved along quite far in the last six, eight months.

the early 2000s. He said, ‘It was a big springboard for us, maybe you should try your luck at it as well.”

of rock and roll or anything; we’re just kind of putting our spin on it, and people seem to like it.

AJM: What was the experience like?

Was it unusual?

AJM: And now you’re heading out west on the biggest tour of your career.

JE: It was good. I think we did three shows up in Niagara Falls. They were

JE: It’s our first headlining tour, so it’s a big step for us. But I mean going out with Head of the Herd a few months ago, that was a big step for us as well.

Just getting the chance to go across the country is a pretty sweet experience. There’s a little bit more on the line now that we’re headlining, so we’ve got to make sure we do our best to get everyone out to support us. I guess you could say it’s a pretty important tour for us.

We competed against some great bands and we were lucky… jay emmons

all outdoor shows. We competed against some great bands and we were lucky enough to come away at the end with the win of the whole competition. Especially in the Niagara Falls area it really generated a lot of publicity for us.

us from being an amateur garage band to the point we are now.

AJM: You released your first EP, Shapeless Art, in November. What was the process of making it like?

AJM: You met him after winning a contest, which in terms of getting your name and music into the world seems like a viable alternative to touring for years and years.

JE: We did it over the course of eight days at a studio in Newmarket, Ontario called the Shop. John-Angus MacDonald produced it, and the owner-operator [and engineer] is Nick Detorro. John-Angus helped us build all the songs from where they were going into the studio into what they turned out to be. It was basically eight days in the studio, and we came out with five, six good songs we were all happy with.

JE: It seems like it doesn’t matter how good your band is or what you’re doing. It seems like you have to jump through these hoops to get peoples’ attention nowadays.

After we had recorded the EP we were doing our thing, writing some songs, going around south-eastern Ontario a bit — and then JohnAngus recommended we enter the Rocksearch contest, because the Trews had apparently won that in

AJM: You’ve been working pretty closely with John-Angus. How important is it to have a mentor, someone

AJM: Coming back to the record, what it is about the band’s music that has allowed you to generate this much attention this early in your career?

JE: This is just a gut feeling, but the way Brett and Andy write their lyrics, I think people can really identify with the songs. I think it’s just classic rock with a touch of the new music style in it – it’s not really far-fetched for everyone to feel comfortable listening to it. We’re not [re-inventing] the wheel

AJM: What are you most looking forward to?

JE: All the aspects of tour life are pretty sweet. You’re just cruising around with your buddies every day and your responsibility is to make it to the rock show and play the show.

It’s not too stressful, you know?

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Right Direction

Marianas Trench guitarist experiments with stripped-down rock on sophomore EP by alex J MacPherson

I

n 2011, Matt Webb, who is best known for playing guitar in the successful Canadian pop-rock band Marianas Trench, released his first solo record. Coda and Jacket was an eclectic mix of hooky rock songs and synth-saturated pop. “I think anytime anybody makes their first record, they just have a strange collection of songs they’ve put together over their whole lifetime,” Webb says. “Then when you do your second record you learn from all the mistakes you made the first time.” After touring in support of Marianas Trench’s 2011 album, Ever After, Webb decided to write a second solo album — and this time he felt much more comfortable.

“Before, I was trying to do a little bit of pop, a little bit of rock — every-

thing,” he says. “This time I was like, you know what? I’m just going to make music which is based around the guitar, which is what I know how to do. And I want to write some simple songs you can crank on the stereo in the car.” Right Direction, which was released last month, is a refreshing break. Webb wrote most of the songs around straightforward grooves and upbeat, percussive guitar licks. “I didn’t want to use any production tricks, no keyboards or synthesizers or anything like that,” he says. “Just straight-up guitar, bass, drums, and some singing, and that was it.”

Webb cut Right Direction with drummer Al Glassford, pianist Andrew Belson, and bassist Peter Davyduck. The album was co-writ-

ten and produced by Kevin Maher, who also shared the microphone with Webb on “Heartbreakers.”

Most of the songs on the EP are laid-back and relaxed. “You’ve got to keep the listener’s interest piqued throughout the whole song,” he says. “When I write, I try and come up with a cool little guitar line, something that can run through the whole song. And when you can find those parts that do that, and when you can listen to them for three minutes and not be bored silly of it, that’s when you know you’ve done an okay job.”

Right Direction includes a few sonic experiments, chief among them the funky, Police-inspired lick that drives “Hang Tight” and the drawnout piano chords that kick off “Don’t

Turn Your Back On Me.” Most of the songs, though, derive their strength from Webb’s talent for writing infectious hooks and recognizable lyrics.

But Webb, who has spent the last ten years on the road, is eager to get back on stage — even without Marianas Trench’s frontman Josh Ramsay’s electrifying stage presence to keep the show on course.

“Dude, it’s terrifying,” he says with a laugh. “Now the pressure and the spotlights are on me, so I’ve got to step it up a bit. I’ve been practicing my stage banter and my moves in front of the mirror. Hopefully that’ll

come across okay live and I won’t look like too much of a tool.” Webb is also excited about playing venues smaller than the average hockey arena. “When you are playing arenas all the time it is really refreshing to get back into smaller clubs. That’s how we started, right? As musicians playing some coffee shop or a little bar in town, and it’s nice to get back to that because it feels comfortable, you know? It feels like home.”

Matt Webb March 16 @ The Exchange $15 @ Ticketedge.ca

Paper Works

Exhibition explores how contemporary artists use paper to communicate and inform

T

he history of western art is to no small degree the history of oil painting and sculpture.

The great museums of the world are stuffed with paintings on canvas and panel, overflowing with figures hewn from solid blocks of stone. What most visitors do not see are the countless millions of pieces of paper preserved in archives and concealed behind locked doors. Paper Works, as the

title suggests, shows how several contemporary artists have created novel, articulate work using one of the simplest and oldest media we have.

“I do tons and tons of drawings before, during, and after I do any kind of project,” says Sylvia Ziemann, a Regina-based artist best known for creating elaborate post-apocalyptic sculptures. “I do it partly to sketch out ideas but sometimes those get

1. Sylvia Ziemann From Ruins of the Imaginary 1, 2013, archival pigment print on drawing paper.

by alex J MacPherson

shown as well. I love the fact that with paper you can pack it and stack it and store it. You can make a hundred drawings and it takes up the space of a drawer. It’s very direct and drawings are a wonderful way to record the process you’re going through.” Most artists do at least some work on paper because it is cheap and accessible and relatively quick. But convenience in no way diminishes the strength of the ideas being presented.

Paper Works explores how contemporary artists have transformed the blank slate that is a single sheet of paper to suit their own needs.

Tracy Templeton’s etchings from the Suite Impressions series examine abandoned spaces and hint at the transience of human creation. Holly Fay’s expressionistic oil paintings on rough, textured art paper blur and distort our perception of nature, reducing it to a handful of lines and colours and shadows of memory.

Don Hall and Patrick Close are

photographers; their images cast vast expanses of nature against the limitations of the camera itself, the artificial reality it creates.

Paper Works also includes several selections from Ziemann’s Ruins of the Imaginary series, carefully staged photographs that blur the line between fact and fiction.

Ziemann made the photographs after a sculptural project did not go as planned. Instead of abandoning it, she destroyed and then partially rebuilt it. The resulting images suggest attempts to rebuild after a cataclysmic event, and use disaster to strip away the value assigned to material possessions. What emerges is both a bleak assessment of western society’s fondness for excess and a tribute to the power of the human spirit.

“There’s something essential to human life,” she says. “We are fundamentally fragile but we’re also very resilient. Fundamental to my work is this idea of the imper-

manence of life and how chaos can hit you at every corner. It’s that idea of things changing all the time and then the idea of adaptation — like, things fall apart and then we regroup and we start over. That’s always fascinated me, so the building and things falling apart are really a metaphor for life and its need to change all the time.” Which ties in to the overarching theme of Paper Works: the notion that artists have spent millennia finding new ways to work with something as simple as paper, and how they have adapted it to changing times, changing circumstances, and the changing nature of the world we inhabit.

Paper Works Through 29 March @ Mysteria Gallery Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com

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Five In A Row Electric Six bring their latest album to Saskatchewan for a fifth annual St Patrick’s Day orgy of rock and absurdity by Alex J MacPherson

T

yler Spencer is not entirely sure why he and the rest of Electric Six have spent the last four St. Patrick’s Days in Saskatchewan. But that hasn’t stopped the band from making the long trek north to play blistering rock for capacity crowds eager to dance and drink until morning. And at this point, Spencer is reluctant to question what has become one of the stranger traditions in rock and roll. “There are certain things I’m weirdly proud of in this band, and that I’m about to play my fifth straight St. Patrick’s Day in Saskatchewan is one of them,” Spencer, who is better known by his stage name, Dick Valentine, says with a laugh. “I didn’t ever think I’d go to Saskatchewan in the first place, you know? Even though I grew up near Canada, Saskatchewan was like an other-worldly part of Canada.

I mean, there are probably people in Saskatchewan who haven’t celebrated five St. Patrick’s Days there.

It’s bizarre.”

Electric Six was formed as the Wildbunch in Detroit, Michigan in the late 1990s. In 2003, the band changed its name and released Fire, which produced the singles “Gay Bar” and “Danger! High Voltage!” Although

Electric Six has never achieved the same degree of commercial or critical success as other acts to emerge from Detroit — a roster that included the White Stripes, Kid Rock, and Insane Clown Posse — Spencer and his bandmates have spent ten years building a following the old-fashioned way: by releasing solid records and touring relentlessly. The band’s latest offering, 2013’s Mustang, marks a return to rock and roll basics after several years of musical experimentation. “What we always do is try not to duplicate the last record we just made,” Spencer says, referring to 2011’s Heartbeats and Brainwaves, which was constructed using synthesizers and drum machines rather than the usual arsenal of electric guitars, and 2012’s Absolute Pleasure, a live record that was financed by the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter and condensed ten years of hard work into sixty minutes of grinding, propulsive, and snarky rock and roll.

“If you look at Heartbeats, we’d done a synthesizer record with drum machines, so we definitely wanted to add more guitars and feature our awesome drummer a lot more. That was kind of the game plan going in.”

Mustang declares its intentions in the first few seconds of the opening track, a two-minute barrage of

overdriven guitars and grungy breakdowns titled “Nom de Plume.” Packed with irresistible hooks and saturated with the band’s feverish blend of cynicism and profundity, Mustang demonstrates that ten long years on the road have not dulled Electric Six’s capacity for producing engaging rock records. In fact, it might be the strongest album of their career — a significant achievement, considering it was written and recorded during a period of great distraction. “I just had a baby,

According to Nash, whose stage name is Johnny Na$hinal, Mustang was produced by slowly layering tracks on top of skeletal demos and song sketches. “It’s kind of a group thing, so everyone will have their favourite sounds they like to hear, and we try and get everything in there without being too cluttered,” he says of the process that transformed basic song ideas into fully-realized rock tracks. “That’s my big fear: it’s real easy in the modern digital age to add way

…it’d be more fun to write about the people … that have f**ked you over. But I just try not to go there. tyler spencer

or rather my wife did, so I wasn’t really as focused on recording this time around,” Spencer says after admitting that he “kind of phoned it in” when it came to writing songs. “I just came with some basic sketches. Mustang is really [guitarist and producer] John [Nash] and some of the other guys picking up the slack.”

too much stuff. That’s what I’m finding now, that when I’m mixing it’s not so much about the balance as it is about which things to keep and which to get rid of.”

The upshot of this balancing act is that even the most straightforward tracks on Mustang contain sonic novelties and amusements, moments cap-

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Photo: courtesy of frank nash

tured during the recording process that were too good to discard. In addition to the sound of Spencer’s daughter crying (“it’s our family record,” Nash says) and several musical references to Slayer, the record also contains a bastardized version of the “Gay Bar” riff, played on a twelve-string and spliced into the summery pop anthem “Miss Peaches Wears an Iron Dress.” The most unusual sound on Mustang is the gang vocal coda of “Iron Dragon,” the album’s sprawling centrepiece. Electric Six

Photo: courtesy of frank nash

makes a point of playing in Russia each year — it’s another thing Spencer is weirdly proud of — and they recorded the rousing finale, a tribute to Michael Jackson and the power of music, in the middle of Red Square. “That’s as uplifting as you can get, being American and singing an outro to a song in Red Square,” Spencer says.

Spencer conceived “Iron Dragon” as a titanic Nick Cave-style ballad, a soaring counterpoint to the more aggressive rock cuts that litter the album. It is also one of the strangest songs Electric Six have ever recorded, a piano- and vocal-driven power ballad about — well, even Spencer isn’t sure. “Lyrically, it’s bizarre,” he says with a laugh. “I don’t know who the protagonist is, I don’t know what he’s doing, why he’s been in exile.

I don’t know about his relationship with whoever lives in the fortress he’s trying to get into; I don’t know if it’s homoerotic or not. There are a lot of questions and I think the song does a good job of not answering them.” This is not uncharacteristic of most Electric Six songs, which Spencer insists are a product of his imagination rather than thinly veiled references to specific experiences or relationships. “I mean, it’d be more fun to write about the people you don’t like or the people that have f**ked you over. But I just try not to go there. So that leaves you with you have to invent stuff.” (The one exception to this rule on Mustang is “Adam Levine,” a deeply cynical take on prepackaged pop that encourages everybody to give the Maroon Five singer money before condemning him to an eternity in hell.)

The songs that make up Mustang are some of the strongest Electric Six have ever recorded. “Show Me What Your Lights Mean” is a grimy sciencefiction sex show, “The New Shampoo” a funky disco-infused ode to selftransformation. “Skin Traps” reveals the band’s fondness for eighties metal while telling a bizarre story of attraction, lust, and gullibility. The best track on the album, “Miss Peaches Wears An Iron Dress,” is an uplifting anthem that pairs a vaguely surrealistic story of loss, confusion, and redemption with a brittle synthesizer lick and a driving drumbeat. Mustang is, broadly speaking, a rock record, but it covers a lot of sonic territory, from towering power ballads to fractious proto-metal and gritty rock, each stamped with the band’s distinctive combination of grandiosity and absurdity.

According to Nash, the musical and lyrical diversity of Mustang is to no small degree a product of the band’s relationship with its label, Metropolis Records. “At this point, I think it would be a crime for us to

not exercise the flexibility that Metropolis gives us for records,” he says.

“We could do a jazz record and they would be cool with it. We get along great as people, have a great relationship with them, and they love the music. Not to be overly pessimistic, but they know that it’s not very likely that we have another big hit album coming out, so they just want us to make a record that we like and have fun with and not really worry about trying to get it to fit into a certain thing.” Spencer, meanwhile, likes to think of Mustang as a straightforward rock album — the product of ten years of hard work. “At the end of the day, it’s not far off from a Pixies record or a Pavement record, which is kind of what I was listening to before Fire, you know? I don’t know if it’s a sign of any evolution per se. I just think we’ve got the right people and gotten good at writing a good pop-rock record.”

And while both Spencer and Nash agree that the band’s frantic pace has slowed somewhat over the last several years, both men are looking forward to taking Mustang on the road. The band has imposed a standing rule that tours do not run past three weeks, rather than the seven of years past, but that won’t stop Electric Six from playing the traditional St. Patrick’s Day show in Saskatchewan. Or starting to work on a new record, for that matter. “I think it’ll be a marriage of Heartbeats and Mustang, to tell you the truth,” Spencer says of the band’s next record, the sessions for which were underway last month. But whatever the Detroit rockers come up with next, fans can be sure that it will be equal parts engaging, unusual, and deeply compelling.

“It’s not as daunting as it used to seem,” Spencer says of the recording process.

“You don’t really fear the future. I look at doing a new record now as no matter what it’s going to be good — you just don’t know what kind of good it’s going to be.

Electric Six March 17 @ The Exchange $15 @ Ticketedge.ca Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com

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let’s go drinkin’ Verb’s mixology guide BLOODY BULLDOG

Ingredients

In the spirit of adding in some new elements to an old favourite, here’s a bit of a twist on a classic Bloody Mary.

2 oz. Bulldog gin 4 oz. tomato juice 1/2 oz. lemon juice minced garlic clove 1 tbsp horseradish 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar ground pepper celery salt Tabasco sauce celery stalk

Photos: courtesy of Maxton Priebe

THE CHIMNEY STEAMS AHEAD

directions

Add gin, tomato juice, lemon juice, minced garlic, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar to a glass. Throw in a few dashes of Tabasco sauce, celery salt and pepper. Fill remainder of glass with ice and stir. Garnish with celery stalk.

A Regina restaurant staple switches hands, but stays true to its roots (and adds brunch!) by mj deschamps

A

lthough I try and make it a habit to visit new eateries as often as possible, it’s tough to beat the comforts of a neighbourhood pub or restaurant where you can slide into the same booth each time and never have to look through a menu.

This sort of home-away-fromhome is what the Chimney has

carved log walls, soft lighting and big fireplaces throughout its dining room and lounge), and for almost 40 years it boasted long-time owners who could recite your family’s names and orders without skipping a beat.

After decades of cooking meals for a loyal group of diners, however, Gourgaris finally hung up his apron last year, and passed over the Chimney’s keys to a new set of owners.

For its regulars, this shift may seem like a bit of an adjustment, but those now at the restaurant’s helm say that preserving the essence of the Chimney is at the top of their list of priorities.

“The majority of the guests that come through the door are from the neighbourhood, and for some its been like their second home,” said front of house manager Rahel Mesghinna.

“We’re working on preserving and maintaining the standard [the customers] are used to, while easing them into some changes.”

The biggest (and arguably, most welcome) change has been the introduction of Sunday brunch, served buffet style.

While the Chimney has been a coveted regular meeting spot for many, bringing brunch into the dining rotation gives the restaurant a refreshed opportunity to draw a wider, multigenerational crowd into its digs.

Spread out on three long, jampacked buffet tables are all the classics you would expect — scrambled

succeeded in creating for its regular customers since Spiro Gourgaris opened the Montague Street restaurant’s doors in the 1970s.

For decades, the proximity hasn’t been the only thing keeping neighbours coming back. The atmosphere of the Chimney itself is cozy and comfortable, with an interior resembling an elegant lodge (complete with

eggs, eggs benedict, pancakes, hash browns, bacon, sausage, etc. — along with a wide variety of lunch items, including lasagna, perogies, six or seven different salads, roasted chicken and sweet and sour pork.

Cheesecakes galore grace the end of the spread, and to top it all off there’s a chocolate fountain accompanied by a bevvy of fruit.

If you’re looking for fruit carved into delicate flowers or raspberry coulis French toast drizzled with whisky-infused caramel, this may be a simpler brunch than you’re accustomed to, but it’s certainly a filling, belly-coating meal, with tons of tasty home-cooked favourites.

Aside from having to place a much bigger order of bacon as of late, however, not too much has changed at the Chimney over the years — which faithful diners can take solace in.

Everything from pizza dough to salad dressing is still made from scratch in the restaurant’s kitchen, where you can find several chefs that have been with the Chimney for over a decade.

The dinner menu that regulars have come to know and love has been treated with kid gloves by the new owners, who have made sure to keep intact all the old favourites, including Greek souvlaki and steak meals piled high with sautéed mushrooms and accompanied by a fantastic stuffed baked potato.

Specialty items like stuffed trout and baby beef liver have kept their spot on the menu, as well.

While the lunch menu has been revamped, the changes have largely taken customer input into account, with the new owners making sure to keep dishes that work while working on some of the ones that don’t.

For those with allergies or intolerances, the Chimney also works hard to make sure that they’re well-fed when they stop by, too — during our visit, Mesghinna was quick to bring out a heaping bowl of gluten-free pasta to Verb’s wheat-intolerant photographer, and says that the kitchen is glad to prepare dishes off the menu.

There’s one huge thing that customers can take comfort in knowing, too — the Chimney’s original owners still stop by the joint on a regular basis to eat and relax with old friends, which to me signals the new guys are doing something right. Besides — a little change never hurts anyone, does it?

Especially if it comes with brunch as a peace offering.

The Chimney Restaurant and Lounge 2710 Montague Street | (306) 584 7777 Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina mdeschamps@verbnews.com

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Next Week

coming up

West My Friend

The Mohrs

Naysa

@ The Club (@ the exchange) Sunday, March 16 – $15

@ The Exchange Monday, March 17 – $15

@ Creative City Centre Sunday, May 4 – $10

It all began back in 2009, in a café in Victoria, B.C. That’s when the idea for West My Friend came to fruition, and brought a unique new voice into the city’s music scene. Playing a blend of indie-roots meets chamber-folk acoustic with four-part harmonies, mandolin riffs, and textured accordion, West My Friend has a sound that’s definitely its own. It’s sonically adventurous, yet simple and straightforward. In 2011, the band released its first full-length album, Place, which garnered a handful of award nominations. Three years later (this month, in fact), they are putting out their catchy sophomore effort entitled When The Ink Dries. West My Friend hits the road this week to promote the record, starting in Victoria, and heading our way.

Tickets available at the door.

Jackie Mohr’s first foray into music was with a cover band called The Prostitots. She figured it was a good way for her to get her name out there in the thriving Winnipeg music scene. Pretty soon, though, the hardrocking lady grew tired of playing other people’s songs and, along with Marc Girardin, formed a band called Living in Red. Together they released an EP, toured the prairies and ended up on the CBC show Cover Me Canada. After the show they returned to Winnipeg and decided to disband. A year later, Jackie and Marc packed up their car, moved to Toronto, hooked up with Greg Markham and Max Trefler, and started The Mohrs.

They’ll be opening for Electric Six when they come to Regina. Tickets available through ticketedge.ca.

Gloomy, poppy, catchy, melancholic: these are but a few words to describe the music of Winnipeg’s Naysa. So what kind of music does this talented musician make? Well, it’s hard to classify. But there’s a sincerity to the music, a simplicity combined with down-home charm that makes it oh-so-listenable. What started as a solo project for Reverend Davey Todd III has blossomed into a quintet — featuring Grant Danyluk, Graham Duval, Sean Leslie and Hayley Smith — that has really come into its own. In less than a year they have released their EP Songs We Recorded In Our Basement (a kind of throwback with a Pixies-meetsReplacements sound) and have slowly but continuously won fans wherever they’ve played. Naysa will be in Regina this spring. Don’t miss them.

– By Adam Hawboldt

Photos courtesy of: the artist/ the artist/ the artist

Sask music Preview Thinking of recording? Then why not apply for an Investment Program grant?

SaskMusic offers project funding in support of the production of commercially viable sound recordings for promotional use or commercial release. Applications are being accepted for the March 17, 2014 deadline for Single/Demo Sound Recording and Commercial Sound Recording (Album). The Investment Program is funded by Creative Saskatchewan Inc. For more information, and to apply, please visit www.saskmusic.org/funding/investment-programs.

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March 7 » March 15 The most complete live music listings for Regina.

Friday 7

Gunner and Smith / Artful Dodger — With Coldest Night of the Year. 8pm / Cover TBD Cheap Trick / Casino Regina — A legendary classic rock band. 8pm / $65+ FPG / The Club — With Bats Out!, Itchy Stitches, and Astronaut Taylor. 8pm / $10 DJ Dallas / Eldorado — Regina’s party DJ! 9pm / $5, no cover for ladies before 11pm Magnum / Eldorado — A fun country rock band. 9pm / $5, ladies in free before 11pm DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s — Local DJs spin top 40 hits. 9pm / $5 cover Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster — With DJ Fatbot. 10pm / Cover TBD Sean Burns Band / McNally’s — A singer/ songwriter from Ontario. 10pm / $5 Pop Vegas / Pump Roadhouse — Playing 80s and 90s pop classics. 9pm / Cover TBD Albert / Pure — Appearing every Friday night. 10pm / $5 cover Dangerous Cheese / The Sip — Playing your favourite 80s tunes. 10pm / Cover TBD DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — One of Regina’s best DJs. 8pm / Cover TBD Alex Runions / Whiskey Saloon — An urban country singer/songwriter. 9pm / $10

Saturday 8

Intergalactic Virgin / Artful Dodger — Live DJ set. 8:30pm / $8 Music of the Ballet / Conexus — Beautiful tunes for the ballet. 8pm / $66.15+ DJ Dallas / Eldorado Country Rock Bar — Regina’s number one party DJ! ppm / $5 Magnum / Eldorado Country Rock Bar — A fun country rock band. 9pm / $5 Sean Burns Band / McNally’s — A singer/ songwriter from Ontario. 10pm / $5 Pop Vegas / Pump Roadhouse — Playing 80s and 90s pop classics. 9pm / Cover TBD Wafflehouse / Pure — Doing what he does best. 10pm / $5 cover Dangerous Cheese / The Sip — Playing your favourite 80s tunes. 10pm / Cover TBD Alex Runions / Whiskey Saloon — An urban country singer/songwriter. 9pm / $10

Sunday 9

Del Barber / Artful Dodger — Indie folk rock out of Winnipeg. 8pm / Cover TBD Disabler / The Club — With Failed States + more. 7pm / $10

DJ Longhorn / Whiskey — One of Regina’s most interactive DJs. 8pm / Cover TBD Jess Moskaluke / Whiskey Saloon — A local country singer with some serious pipes.

9pm / $10

Monday 10

Open Mic Night / The Artful Dodger — Come down and jam! 8pm / No cover Monday Night Jazz / Bushwakker — Featuring ‘round Midnight. 8pm / No cover

Saturday 15

Tuesday 11

Troy Bleich, MYLA w/Dan Flagel / The Club — All originals, all night. 8pm / $10

Jam Night / Bocados — Hosted by Jaxe.

8:30pm / No cover DJ night / Q Nightclub — With DJs Snakeboots, Code E + more. 9:30pm / No cover

DJ Dallas / Eldorado — Regina’s number one party DJ! 9pm / $5 Thommy John Ehman Band / Eldorado — A Saskatchewan singer/songwriter. 9pm / $5 Lancaster Music Fest / Lancaster — Get ready to rock! 12am / Cover TBD Johnny McCuaig / McNally’s — Warm up for St. Paddy’s Day with rockin’ babpipes.

10pm / $5

Wildfire / Pump — A female-fronted rock country band. 9pm / Cover TBD Wafflehouse / Pure Ultra Lounge — Doing what he does best, every Saturday night.

10pm / $5 cover Jess Moskaluke / Whiskey Saloon — A local country singer with hella pipes. 9pm / $10

Wednesday 12

Wednesday Night Folk / Bushwakker — With Burns and McCaig. 9pm / No cover WayBack Wednesdays / McNally’s — Featuring Leather Cobra. 9pm / No cover

Thursday 13

Queen City Rocks / The Exchange — Battle of the bands. 7:30pm / Cover TBD Decibel Frequency / Gabbo’s Nightclub — A night of electronic fun. 10pm / $5 PS Fresh / The Hookah Lounge — With DJ Ageless + DJ Drewski. 7pm / No cover Open Mic Night / King’s Head — Come show Regina what you got. 8pm / No cover Tribute to Tom Waits / McNally’s — With Redbear. 8:30pm / $10 Wildfire / Pump Roadhouse — A femalefronted rock country band. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Longhorn / Whiskey — One of Regina’s most interactive DJs. 8pm / Cover TBD

Friday 14

The Mavericks / Casino Regina — Alt. country from Florida. 8pm / SOLD OUT Highwind / The Club — With Lords Kitchner + more. 7pm / $10 DJ Dallas / Eldorado Country Rock Bar — Regina’s number one DJ! 9pm / $5, ladies in free before 11pm Thommy John Ehman Band / Eldorado Country Rock Bar — A Saskatchewan singer/songwriter and his band. 9pm / $5, ladies in free before 11pm DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s — Local DJs spin top 40 hits. 9pm / $5 cover Flauto Dolce / Knox Metropolitan Church — Baroque recorder music. 8pm / $15+ Lancaster Music Fest / Lancaster Taphouse— With a diverse array of artists! 12am / Cover TBD Johnny McCuaig / McNally’s — Warm up for St. Paddy’s Day. 10pm / $5 Sleepy Sun / O’Hanlon’s — A psychedelic rock band from San Fran. 9pm / Cover TBD Wildfire / Pump Roadhouse — A femalefronted rock country band. 9pm / Cover TBD Albert / Pure — Appearing every Friday night. 10pm / $5 cover

16 Mar 7 – Mar 13 entertainment

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Beer bros

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Beer Bros Gastropub + Deli 1821 Scarth Street (306) 586-2337

Photography by Marc Messett

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Leopold’s Tavern 2330 Albert Street (306) 525-5367

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Photography by Marc Messett

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Ode to Artemisia

300: Rise of an Empire introduces wild, seductive new villain by adam hawboldt

D

o you remember the 2007 film 300? The one about the Battle of Thermopylae, where 300 brave Spartan soldiers faced the entire Persian Army and held them off long enough for the Greeks to rally their forces? The one where Leonidas (as played by a beefed-up Gerard Butler) yells “This is Sparta!” before kicking a Persian messenger into a large, open well?

Of course you do. It was visually stunning, and one of the cooler movies of 2007.

Right. Well, now nearly seven years later there’s a sequel to that movie called 300: Rise of an Empire.

Okay, it’s not exactly a sequel. Perhaps a sidequel? A companion piece?

Quick (and ultimately limited) history lesson: in 480 BC, at the same time the Persian army was marching on Thermopylae, a fleet of Persian

and proceeded to beat the ever-loving hell out of them.

If that sounds a little (or a lot) like a watery version of the Battle of Thermopylae, that’s because it was. So how do you make a sequel/sidequel/companion piece to 300 without making the exact same movie?

Simple. You rewrite history and add a badass new villain into the mix.

warships sailed on Artemisium to invade Greece by sea. A small allied Greek army, led by a wily politician named Themistocles set out to defend Greece from the Persian advance.

They battled for three days and fought well, but eventually retreated. After the Battle of Thermopylae, the two sides met again at sea in the Battle of Salamis. This time the allied Greek

It is a role, it seems, that [Eva] Green was born to play.

Adam Hawboldt

Sure Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), the impossibly tall Persian King-God from the original film is still around.

But in a stroke of sheer brilliance,

forces, still under the command of Themistocles, took a page from the Thermopylae book, lured the Persian fleet into the narrow Straits of Salamis

the creators of 300: Rise of an Empire enlisted the always seductive Eva Green to play Artemisia, commander of the Persian fleet.

It is a role, it seems, that Green was born to play. As Artemisia she is menacing, twisted, and sexy. She kisses a freshly severed head and screams in near sexual delight when she cuts limbs off. At one point she seduces Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton), then later, in the heat of battle, tells him, “You fight harder than you f*ck.”

From top to bottom and side to side, this is Eva Green’s movie. There’s no other way to slice it. She chews through her dialogue with zest, zeal — and more than a little camp.

Without given too much of the movie away, let’s just say that Green’s Artemisia is a delight, the Battle of Salamis isn’t fought at close quarters, and there’s enough black-and-red

300: Rise of an Empire Directed by Noam Murro Starring Eva Green, Sullivan Stapleton + Lena Headey 103 minutes | 18A

CGI’d bloodshed to make 300: Rise of an Empire an entertaining and enjoyable movie.

A movie that somehow takes place before, after, and during the Battle of Thermopylae. A move that, if you’re a fan of the original 300, will tickle you in all the right, slick, and violent ways.

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A dialed-in drama

Asghar Farhadi’s The Past proves the filmmaker is one of a kind by adam hawboldt

Photo: Courtesy of sony classics

I

ranian Asghar Farhadi is a special filmmaker. The kind of subtle filmmaker who can take a complicated human story and make it accessible, who intimately knows how people think and act and feel in domestic situations. One of those directors who can perfectly capture the way we communicate (both verbally and non-verbally), and has the ability to bring to life the half-truths and small lies we tell ourselves in order to get by.

He showed that in his Oscarwinning film A Separation, and he’s shown it again in his follow-up feature, The Past.

The Past is a movie about an Iranian man named Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa), who leaves Tehran and returns to Paris to meet his ex-wife Marie (Bérénice Bejo).

The reason? The two have been separated for four years and Marie wants Ahmad to sign divorce papers.

Ahmad does as he’s asked. And when we first meet the estranged couple, on a rain-drenched Paris afternoon, Marie is at the airport to pick up Ahmad. They share a silent, telling moment while looking at each other through a glass wall. Then they meet in the parking zone and they leave. During the drive, there’s an

Arriving in Paris without a hotel room booked, Ahmad gets an offer to stay with Marie and her two kids — Lucie (Pauline Burlet) and Léa (Jeanne Jestin) — who are from a relationship prior to the one she had with Ahmad. But it’s not just the three of them living together. There’s also a guy named Samir (Tahar Rahim), who

…the cast of The Past provides sharp, real and dialed-in performances…

Adam Hawboldt

underlying tension between the two.

But since Farhadi (wisely) doesn’t bother giving us any back story, the audience is left to wait and wonder.

From there the tension (and the twists) mount.

Marie is currently dating, and his young son Fouad (Elyes Aguis).

Ahmad accepts the offer, and again there’s tension in the air.

Ahmad and Samir don’t really see eye-to-eye, all the kids seem to be

going through problems. Oh, and apparently Samir also has a wife who is presently in a coma.

If this sounds to you like a needlessly complex and melodramatic plot, that’s because it would be — if not for the subtle and human touch Farhadi uses to bring the story to life. Under his direction, what easily could’ve been something akin to a bad soap opera turns into a twisty, turny drama, and as a result The Past is a raw and real film full of reversals and slow revelations that make for excellent viewing.

And you know what else makes for excellent viewing?

The actors that inhabit the film.

From top to bottom, the cast of The Past provides sharp, real and dialed-in performances that take a complicated and somewhat unfathomable story about a dysfunctional family, and breathe a serious dose of honesty and believability into it.

the past Asghar Farhadi Ali Mosaffa, Bérénice Bejo + Tahar Rahim Directed by Starring

170 minutes | 14A

No small task, when you consider the subject matter.

And while The Past isn’t quite as good as 2011’s A Separation, it still remains a very good movie made by a filmmaker who seems to be at the height of his powers.

The Past opens at Regina Public Library on March 13; see reginalibrary.ca for more information.

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Š Elaine M. Will | blog.E2W-Illustration.com | Check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!

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timeout

crossword canadian criss-cross 32. Herring relative 36. Away from home 37. Able to walk the line 39. Narrow bed 40. Opening in a door for mail 42. Physical education 43. Currency unit of Malta 44. Upper chamber of Parliament in Canada 46. Decides upon 48. Flaxlike fibre 49. Very recently 50. Sediment from fermentation 51. The twice daily rise and fall of sea level

DOWN 1. Make plump 2. Songs that you sing 3. Alcoholic beverage 4. Candelabrum 5. Wife of a king 6. Vase with a foot 7. Sleeping 8. Make less usable 9. Temporary failure in judgment 11. Birth-related 12. ___-chef 14. Experienced sailor 17. Cradlesong 20. Green shots 21. Organic compound 24. Pouchlike plant part

26. Sound a kitten makes sudoku answer key 28. Fire is one A 29. Person in charge 30. Measuring tool 31. Lacking a key, in music 33. Christmas tree decoration 34. When life begins, in a saying 35. Greek vowels B 38. Double curves 41. Like housepets 43. Lascivious 45. It’s worn with some shirts 47. Garland of flowers

2 8 4 9 1 7 5 6 3 5 1 3 6 8 2 7 9 4 9 6 7 3 4 5 1 8 2 6 3 8 2 7 9 4 1 5 4 9 5 1 3 6 8 2 7 1 7 2 4 5 8 9 3 6 3 5 6 8 9 4 2 7 1 7 2 9 5 6 1 3 4 8 8 4 1 7 2 3 6 5 9

1. Shaving cream type 5. Thigh muscle, for short 9. Cuplike spoon 10. Located in a city 12. Glossy fabric 13. Medical injections 15. Makes a decision 16. Cheer for a flamenco dancer 18. Information 19. Put to work 20. Trim limbs 22. Guy’s companion 23. Physically pleasing 25. Cold-water fish 27. Olympian, e.g.

29. Modified leaf

9 3 7 1 2 4 5 6 8 5 4 8 3 7 6 2 1 9 6 1 2 5 9 8 3 7 4 1 8 3 7 4 5 6 9 2 7 9 5 6 8 2 1 4 3 4 2 6 9 1 3 8 5 7 2 6 9 8 5 7 4 3 1 3 7 4 2 6 1 9 8 5 8 5 1 4 3 9 7 2 6

ACROSS

© walter D. Feener 2014

Horoscopes March 7 - March 13 Aries March 21–April 19

Leo July 23–August 22

Sagittarius November 23–December 21

At times this week, your will find that your head is in the clouds.

Enjoy the fantasy world while it lasts — reality is lurking just around the corner.

If you feel the urge to spring into action in the next few days, Leo, don’t hesitate. Just do it, and get things done. You can’t wait forever.

Your imagination will be especially active in the later part of the week, Sagittarius. Put your creative thoughts to good use.

Taurus April 20–May 20

Virgo August 23–September 22

Capricorn December 22–January 19

Things might not feel like they’re fitting into place this week, Taurus, but don’t worry. And don’t try to press the issue too much.

If you encounter a problem you can’t solve, try not to stress about it. Things will eventually work themselves out in due time.

This is one of those weeks where you’re just going to have to roll with the punches, Capricorn. Keep your head down — things will balance out soon.

Gemini May 21–June 20

Libra September 23–October 23

Aquarius January 20–February 19

Appearances can be deceiving.

You know that, Taurus, but be careful this week. Things aren’t always what they seem.

Remember this slogan in the coming days, Libra: if you can dream it, you can do it. Don’t disregard any of your fantasies.

Don’t be afraid to take chances this week, Aquarius. Be bold, make demands, and helpful forces will come to your aid.

Cancer June 21–July 22

Scorpio October 24–November 22

Pisces February 20–March 20

There could be a bit of confusion in your life this week, Cancer.

Trying to make sense of it will ultimately get you nowhere.

Be calm. Be strong. Be grateful.

If you can do that this week, Scorpio, good things will definitely come your way.

Information coming at you may be scattered and delusional this week, Pisces. Take it all with a very big grain of salt.

sudoku 3 7 1 2 8 5 3 1 1 8 7 4 7 4 9 9 5 6 2 3 2 6 8 5 6 9 8 4 3 7 2 1 9 5 4 6

crossword answer key

A

8 7 5 3 1 6 2 7 9 6 4 1 6 3 2 7 4 5 8 2 1 4 8 3 9 4 2 7 9 5 8 1 3 6 5 9

B

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