Issue #126 – May 2 to May 8
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ATMOSPHERE
fashion forward Ashley Kasdorf isn’t afraid of a little hard work a fond farewell Q+A with Ten Second Epic The amazing spider-Man 2 + jodorowsky’s dune
Films reviewed
Photo: courtesy of THE ARTIST
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On the cover:
atmosphere
Growing up and growing old. 10 / feature Photo: courtesy of facebook
culture
NEWs + Opinion
entertainment
Q + A with ten second epic
Live Music listings Local music listings for May 2 through May 10. 14 / listings
A fond farewell. 8 / Q + A
it’s all in the cards
Shangri-La
Nightlife Photos
The art of tarot card reading. 4 / Local
Judy Wensel remounts her first solo production. 9 / Arts
We visit the Callie Curling Club.
music reviews
the amazing spider-man 2 + Jodorowsky’s Dune
We review Kalle Mattson + Emm Gryner. 9 / Arts
15 / Nightlife
We review the latest movies. 16 / Film
fashion forward Ashley Kasdorf isn’t afraid of a little hard work. 5 / Local
Our thoughts on photo radar. 6 / Edito-
speed demon
DRESSING UP IN YOUR BRUNCH BEST We visit Hotel
rial
Saskatchewan. 12 / Food + Drink
on the bus Weekly original comic illustrations by Elaine M. Will. 18 / comics
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Music
Game + Horoscopes
Here’s your say about improving parking meters. 7 / comments
Andino Suns, Charlie, Monster! + Rascal Flatts. 13 / music
Canadian criss-cross puzzle, weekly horoscopes and Sudoku. 19 / timeout
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It’s all in the cards
Searching for answers with tarot cards by adam hawboldt
T
he sign in the hotel lobby says ESP Psychic Fair downstairs, so that’s where you go. Down the carpeted stairwell, past Stonemasons from Iowa and women wearing purple sequin dresses. At the bottom of the stairs there’s a big, wide-open room; brown carpet stretches between beige walls. A small group of people stand off to the left, talking. On the right there’s a small sign leaning against a wall. It’s white with red lettering, and reads Psychic Fair. An arrow below the words points left. You follow the arrow down a narrow hallway, then another. Snaking your way through the underbelly of the hotel, you hear two people talk-
organizer of the ESP Psychic Fair. “What you see on that table is just the tip of it. We have the biggest collection you’ll ever see.” Ask anyone in the know, and they’ll tell you that tarot reading is an ancient art — one that has been around for centuries. But before they were employed as a divination tool, tarot cards were used to play a game called trionfi (later called tarocchi and tarock) in 15th century Italy. And, in some ways, they are intrinsically linked to modern playing cards. If you look at a tarot deck there are four suits. Same goes for the modern playing deck. Both decks have low and high arcane cards. The only real difference (outside of the pictures and numbers on the cards) is that a tarot deck — which consists of 78 cards — has more high arcane cards, a hierarchy of an additional 22 allegorical trump cards. “Technically speaking, a plain ordinary deck of cards can be a tarot deck,” says Dunne. “It’s in the tarot family. And like the tarot deck, it can be used for divination.” And while there’s scattered evidence that tarot cards (and other cards) were used for that purpose throughout the centuries, it wasn’t until the late1700s when a guy named Etteilla (aka Jean-Baptiste Alliette) and two others
ing about chakras behind you. Then there’s another white sign with red writing. This time the arrow tells you to go right, past a bearded man giving a lecture about intuition. Behind him there’s another sign, with an arrow pointing left. When you turn the corner, there it is — the ESP Psychic Fair.
At the far end of the merchandise table sits deck after deck of tarot cards — all placed neatly in rows, all different types and sizes. There are Thoth tarot cards, invented by Aleister Crowley in the late-1930s. There are Sensual Wicca tarot cards, Witches tarot card, and Quantum tarot cards. “We have new decks coming in all the time,” says David Dunne,
wrote a book about the subject that tarot divination was brought to a wide and varied audience. An audience that still exists, in great numbers, to this day.
Back at the fair, the room is almost overflowing with people. Around the perimeter booths are set up, each with a banner hanging above. They read: Raven, Rebel Tarot, Kelly James — Intuitive Medium. In the middle of the room people sit, chatting quietly, waiting to have their readings done. They’ve all come here for different reasons. Some for palm readings, others for astrology or numerology or Russian cards. “I’m fourth generation in this business,” says Olha Hnatyshyn, a psychic and consultant from Winnipeg. “In my family, it all started in Europe. My mother and my grandmother and my great grandmother were all psychics. So for me, it wasn’t a matter of picking up books and learning. I was an interpreter for my grandmother, who never spoke English. I was her interpreter from the age of 13 until 18.” Just as Olha is about to delve deeper into the genesis of her clairvoyance and about tarot cards, two women approach the booth. Olha tells them she does tarot readings, Russian cards, and wax healings. The plaque on her table assures 90 percent accuracy. Over Olha’s shoulder, two booths down, a grey-haired man is talking softly to a client. This is David Dunne. And like Olha, card reading runs in Dunne’s family. “My mother started me on it when I was five years old,” says Dunne, who is now in his early 70s. “She came from a Scottish family called the Sinclairs, who designed and built the Grandmaster Cards … so you could say that doing readings is kind of inbred, kind of ingrained in me.” For those of you who don’t know, there are two different kinds of tarot readings — question readings and open readings. In question readings, specific questions are addressed —
Photo: courtesy of Kristin Andrus
not the yes or no type, but the type that can help guide you to make a decision yourself, to get you closer to your higher self. Dunne doesn’t usually do this type of reading. “Everybody has their own method,” he explains. “Myself, I don’t want the client to ask any questions. I just like to do the reading. See what I see, see what I pick up. If they have questions at the end, that’s fine; we can dig deeper. But to start I prefer them not to tell me anything about themselves. And I don’t ask. I just do the readings.” Which begs the question: how does one read tarot cards? “The cards are full of meaning and symbols,” says Dunne. “You can learn to read cards through books. People who do that are called flippers. But for people like me, people who are psychic clairvoyants, you’re not taking everything from the cards. You’re looking in between them.” Dunne pauses, thinks for a second, then speaks again. “Think of it like a book,” he says. “If you’re a good book reader, you can read between the lines and fill in the story. Same goes for tarot readings. You read between the cards, find a focus point. You focus on that and go from there.” “A picture is worth a thousand words,” he continues. “So what you do is based on the picture on a given card, you go in between and fill in those thousand words. Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
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fashion forward
Up-and-coming designer, Ashley Kasdorf, isn’t afraid of a little hard work by adam hawboldt
A
shely Kasdorf is a busy woman. Real busy. By day, she works as an export development analyst with SaskTrade. By night, by early morning, heck, pretty much by any time she’s not at her day job, Kasdorf is busy running her own fashion label — Kazz Clothing. “It can get hectic at times,” says the Regina-based designer. “I work all day and run my company on the side. I’m the only employee, so it takes a lot of time and sacrifice. When I’m not at my day job, I’m constantly putting work into [Kazz Clothing]. I’m driving to cities to talk to buyers, do showcases. When I wake up in the morning I’m working on my company. At lunch I’m working on it. When I come home … I’m working on it.” That doesn’t leave a whole lot of free time for Kasdorf. But that doesn’t bother her. This is her dream, her passion. She likes being an analyst well enough, but it’s fashion that fuels the fire that burns within her. A fire that’s been smoldering for quite some time now. “My interest in fashion started when I was really young,” says Kasdorf. “My mom and dad were both creative, so I picked that up early on. I’ve been doing sketches sine I was 10 or so. Then I fell in love with fashion. I’d see clothes on the street or in the media and be instantly interested.” Kasdorf chuckles and says, “I even used to watch Fashion Television every day before school.” Before she finished high school, Kasdorf knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to attend the Art Institute of Vancouver to study design and merchandising. So that’s exactly what she did — for a year, anyway. “I went through the first year, but didn’t end up finishing the program,” says Kasdorf. “When I was there, I noticed there were a lot of designers who graduated, who were really creative
and talented, but they didn’t know the business side of things. Starting your own label, a lot of it is about business.” So after her first year at design school, Kasdorf left Vancouver and returned home. She got a business diploma from SIAST, then a business degree from the University of Regina. By the spring of 2012 Kasdorf was ready to make her dream a reality. She was all set to launch Kazz Clothing.
You know how some people are really into sports or movies or music? Well, Ashley Kasdorf is really into fashion. New designs, new looks, new ideas — they’re all constantly floating around, jostling for position inside her head. “I’m always sketching,” she say. “Always have way more sketches than actual garments I produce. And it seems like I’m always thinking about fashion. What sold well last collection? Can I alter the pattern? If people really liked a certain garment from the last collection, how can I play off that old garment? Tailor it to create a new look?” Therein lies the crux of one of the major philosophies that guide Kazz Clothing: the idea of building upon and breaking past traditions to allow for an endless flow of refashioning. “It’s a combination of new, of old, of altering good garments that are staples to myself and my collection,” she says. “I’m pretty simplistic by nature. I like simplicity and elegance. That shows up in the collections I create. My garments aren’t loud or fluffy or bold or crazy. They do have touches of detail. The kind of stitching I use or the fabric, whether it be jersey, silk or satin. But for the most part I try to keep it simple. I try to keep true to myself and what I’d wear.” And while she’s doing that — busy creating collections defined by
their clean lines, solid colours and experimental cuts — she’s acutely aware that the fashion industry isn’t only about what she likes. As a person with a solid business background, she understands that, at the end of the day, it’s about the customer. “I have this strange ability to envision things in my mind that doesn’t exist, outfits nobody has seen before,” says Kasdorf. “But when it comes to actually creating something, to producing it, I have to be conscious about the people who buy my garments. Have to be aware that while being creative, I have to tone things down a bit in order to sell garments to the everyday person.” So far this approach has served her well. Kasdorf’s clothing line is currently available in stores in Regina and Calgary, and soon Saskatoon will be in the mix. Last year she was selected to attend the Mercedes-Benz Start Up show in Calgary, and had her clothing line on display during Saskatchewan Fashion Week. This year, she’ll showing a new collection at the 2014 SFW (to be held May 8-10 in Regina). Once that’s finished, it’s back to the grind for Kasdorf. Back to the long days, early mornings and late nights. There are books to be balanced and accounting to be done. There are trends to research, marketing campaigns to launch, emails to read, new collections to create and manufacture and sell. Yes, Ashley Kasdorf is a busy woman indeed. And, for the time being, she wouldn’t have it any other way. Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
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We shouldn’t be investing in photo radar cameras
editorial
T
here are some serious changes coming to the roads of Saskatchewan — and, unfortunately, we’re not talking about changes that will see all those pesky potholes fixed. No, what we’re talking about is a series of new rules, set to go into effect on June 27, which are designed to strengthen traffic enforcement in this province. And while some of them we can get behind — installing an interlock system in the vehicle of a person convicted of drinking and driving mandatory, or punishing those caught chatting on their cellphones behind the wheel for a second time by impounding their vehicles for up to a week — there are others that we disagree with. Like the pilot project that will see photo radar installed in locations around Saskatoon (Circle Drive), Regina (Ring Road) and Moose Jaw (the intersection of Highway 1 and 9th Avenue North). If improving safety is the name of the game, this is not the way to do it. Talk to anyone in favour of photo radar and they’ll tell you that it reduces accidents. That it helps save lives, prevents injuries and keeps roads safer. But that isn’t always the case. Take the freeway camera program in Scottsdale, Arizona, for instance. A preliminary examination of that program found there was a 54 percent increase in rear-end collisions on the freeway near photo radar cameras. Why? Because people who were speeding suddenly realized they were almost in a photo radar zone. They immediately braked to avoid a ticket, and bang! Fender-bender. And it’s not just in Scottsdale that has experienced problems like that, either. In Tempe, Arizona, vehicle fatalities increased by 43 percent a year after speed and red light cameras were installed. Oh, and then there’s the goings-on in Pinal County, Arizona, where the Sheriff removed all speed cameras after they found that motor vehicle fatalities doubled where speed cameras were put in. And that’s in Arizona, folks! A place where it’s hot and dry with good road conditions most of the time. If people do the same thing here — in a province
Speed demon
where lengthy winters complete with terrible road conditions are the norm — who knows what will happen? But that’s not the only reason we’re against photo radar. There’s also the issue of fairness. You see, unlike a traditional speeding ticket, the tickets you receive after being busted by photo radar come weeks, sometimes months, after the violation. This leaves you at a serious disadvantage when it comes to mounting a defense. Why? Because in the time that lapses between when the photo was taken and the time you receive the citation, there’s a solid chance you won’t even remember that you were speeding, let alone why you were speeding. How can you mount a defense in that scenario? And if that’s not enough, photo radar cameras have also been known to malfunction. In fact, in Baltimore, Maryland, a recent audit report found that more than 25 of 37 cameras issued erroneous tickets, with more than 10 percent of the overall citations ultimately proving bogus. Which only makes sense when you consider these are sensitive electronic devices that are often left unattended in harsh or extreme weather. This is one of the many reasons why judges around Baltimore threw out a little over half of the 3,000 speed camera tickets in 2012. And they aren’t alone. For various reasons, judges in Ohio and St. Louis and Miami and Edmonton have all thrown out speed camera violations for one reason or another. So if speed cameras aren’t as safe as we’re led to believe, if judges are throwing the tickets out of court, if the cameras don’t always work properly, if places are getting rid of their speed camera programs, then why should we invest in this initiative? The answer is simple: we shouldn’t. These editorials are left unsigned because they represent the opinions of Verb magazine, not those of the individual writers. Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
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sound off
On Topic: Last week we asked what you thought about making parking meters smart-phone compatible. Here's what you had to say: – The issue of the parking meters has come up before, and i say go for it as long as the meters can be used 4 ways- online, phone, coin, and (possibly) debit/credit/parking card Truth Is Power-Try It
– I would love if I can check my phone to see empty spots instead of endlessly circling the block. Do it!
– I would love to pay for the time I use instead of dropping in some cash and leaving with a bunch of time still on it. But I love finding a meter with time on it :)
– The only way around is through.
Text yo thoughtsur to 881 ve r b 8372
– It would cost our city to much to make our meters accept smart phones would be nice tho
– Who even has cash anymore anyways? Higher turnover won’t come from increased meter rates but it will from a better consumer experience.
OFF TOPIC – Congratulations to Quinton Falk for representing Saskatchewan so well! Great job
– Was hoping rain would bring some green to the city but nope. Snow fml
– Peeps better quit f**kin around DOWNtown! A lot of peeps are pakin a little sumpin sumpin! Trying to rob or mug even a little old lady is stupid!
– Love the rain! It helps keep my allergies away.
– Rob Ford is a huge embarassment the guy obviously needs help so he should resign and try to repair his life because he is just terrible.
– Every year it’s the same but this year it is truly atrocious: potholes are TERRIBLE!
– The city’s website map for pothole reporting looks more like a measles outbreak than anything.
– Youd think all the rain would bring flowers and other nice things like that but no. It brought snow.
– Seems like maybe Mother Nature has been listening to way too much Taylor Swift music. She seems to always want to go Back to December all the time.
– MMM nope u suck k thanx bye – No room 4 racism in society.
– Before you accuse me of not being friendly and not greeting you, how friendly were you?
Next week: What do you think about expanding the photo radar presence in our province? Text in your thoughts to Verb to get in on the conversation:
– Easter may have started from something like...Jesus! Christ! That was a bad winter! Thank God! Its finally Spring!
We print your texts verbatim each week. Text in your thoughts and reactions to our stories and content, or anything else on your mind.
In response to “Being small in a big man’s world,” Local, #125 (April 25, 2014)
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eternity. And don’t get me wrong: we feel incredibly lucky. But basically what led to it is, we were ready to move on — and to move on when things were still good and we were still relevant in the Canadian music scene. To us, it would almost taint the experience we’ve had if we held off for five more years and the reception and the shows on the farewell tour were more people being like, I can’t believe they’re still a band, than being excited about the opportunity to see us one more time. AJM: Twelve years is a long career for any band. What do you think allowed Ten Second Epic to stick around when so many other bands didn’t, or couldn’t?
A Fond Farewell Photos: courtesy of chady awad
Edmonton rockers Ten Second Epic to call it quits after celebratory goodbye tour by Alex J MacPherson
M
ost bands break up acrimoniously or fade into obscurity. Not Ten Second Epic. After twelve years, three full-length records, and hundreds of noisy, sweaty rock shows, the Edmonton, Alberta band decided to go out on their own terms — but not before embarking on a final jaunt across the country, a bittersweet send-off for the band and its fans. Formed in 2002 by five friends,
the band’s retirement, singer Andrew Usenik describes the band’s career as occasionally frustrating yet ultimately fruitful. But earlier this year he and his bandmates — Patrick Birtles, Daniel Carriere, Sandy MacKinnon, and Craig Spelliscy — decided to take one more trip across the country that has always supported them and then move on to other things. “It’s something that we’ve been thinking about for awhile,” he says. “I think everything came in correct in terms of right place, right time, so we thought this would be a great way to go out.”
Ten Second Epic quickly developed a reputation for producing infectious punk-infused rock and playing riotous, sold-out shows. After driving to British Columbia to record their debut, Count Yourself In, with producer Garth Richardson, the band launched itself into the Canadian music business with abandon. Two more albums, 2009’s Hometown and 2011’s Better Off, followed, each better than the last. On the eve of
Alex J MacPherson: What prompted you and your bandmates to make this decision? Andrew Usenik: Well, we’ve been a band now for twelve years, which in terms of band years is an
AU: I think one of the greatest compliments we ever get paid as a band is when people say how much they appreciate when, after a show, we’re out in the crowd having a beer. People have always said that we’re just down-to-earth, approachable guys who haven’t changed from when there was four people in the crowd to four thousand. We’ve had a lot of personal connections with crowds — especially in western Canada — because people really relate to a band that’s hard-working and doesn’t really get many things handed to them, but it doesn’t stop them from going [forward]. AJM: Looking back, how do you think the band has grown over the last twelve years? AU: Well, I think just like anything else in music, the longer you have a group of guys together — and we’ve been the original lineup since the start — you’ll become better at it. I really feel like we’ve become better songwriters, because the only way you can learn is by writing songs and seeing what works and what doesn’t, and learning from that experience. At the end of the day, I think that by not ever trying to follow a trend and just writing what we wanted to write, one, it made sure that we weren’t putting out the same record over and over again, and two, that we weren’t intentionally trying to put out a different record each time. I think that’s important. When bands try too hard
to be different, and to evolve, I think the end product suffers. AJM: How do you think Ten Second Epic will be remembered? What do you think your band’s contribution has been? AU: We never had massive commercial success, we were never famous celebrities, and we’re not going to go down in Canadian music history as a relevant band because we just weren’t big enough. I have no shame in saying that. But what I think our contribution will be is that we’ve impacted some younger musicians, and hopefully helped motivate them to play music. To me, that’s the biggest compliment. It’s not going to be a flashy form of recognition in five, ten years. But in my heart, I’ll know we’ve made a difference. AJM: You’ve played one show on the farewell tour, but I’m curious what you think the last song of the last show is going to feel like. AU: How’s it going to feel? God, I don’t know. I know how [the show in] Calgary felt, and to me it was all excitement and enthusiasm and feeling great. That last, last show might be a little more on the emotional side — I can’t describe it until it happens obviously, but if Calgary was any indication, it’s going to be super special. My favourite part of performing, of playing in a band, is when you’ve got a crowd. It can be fifty people in a small room or a couple thousand in a big room, it doesn’t matter. But if you have most of that crowd captivated by your songs to the point where they’re singing along with you, that to me is the best feeling. And I’ve got a feeling that the last song at the last show in Edmonton, people are going to be screaming the lyrics. That to me is a great way to end a story. Ten Second Epic The Exchange $12 @ Ticketedge.ca
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Shangri-La
Regina theatre artist Judy Wensel remounts her first solo production
J
udy Wensel was at a crossroads. In early 2012, the actor and director from Regina realized that her career lacked direction. That she didn’t know what to do next. It was a frustrating time. But that summer, Wensel traveled to Calgary to study with One Yellow Rabbit, a theatre group known for staging quirky productions and a yearly masterclass, known as the Summer Lab. After three weeks of intensive work, the members of One Yellow Rabbit asked each of the students to create a ten-minute play or monologue. Wensel seized the opportunity. “They didn’t care what you did, as long as you did something,” she says with a laugh. “They make it clear that
they’re not there to give you notes, but to support you through it. I’d had this story in the back of my head for a long time. I wanted to do something with it, but I didn’t know what.” After returning home to Saskatchewan, Wensel kept writing and editing. What started life as a short monologue soon grew into something else entirely — a full one-person play. And in September 2013, Shangri-La premiered at the Globe Theatre. Shangri-La follows Jeanne, a precocious fourteen-year-old, as she attempts to make sense of her complicated life. After being banished to her room on a sultry afternoon in August 1963, she tries to come to terms with her older sister’s unplanned pregnancy, her father’s drinking, and her
music reviews Kalle Mattson — Someday, The Moon Will Be Gold Parliament of Trees, 2014
By his own admission, Kalle Mattson spent some years not addressing the emotional fallout of his mother’s death. Then, last year, the Ottawa-based singersongwriter returned to his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, and wrote a collection of songs about life and death, and the way in which experience crowds out innocence. Writing about death is never easy; after all, it is experienced in intensely individual ways. Mattson’s grief remains fundamentally different than anybody else’s. What makes Someday, The Moon Will Be Gold so powerful is his ability to translate personal tragedy into universal experience. Nowhere is this clearer than on “A Love Song To The City,” a gently propulsive ballad that finds Mattson watching his life play out like a film on an endless loop: “You play the actress and I am the actor in the screenplay both of us penned / It had a damn good
by alex J MacPherson
mother’s cursing. Nursing a bottle of warm beer, Jeanne starts spinning pop records and dredging up memories. What follows is a revealing and occasionally hilarious portrait of a young girl trapped somewhere between adolescence and maturity. “She goes on these little tangents and tells little stories that may or may not have to do with the action that’s happening in her life, but I think that in those memories she finds some comfort and some strength,” Wensel says of Jeanne, who is most herself when she is alone in her bedroom. “These are pretty universal situations or problems, no matter what the decade. I don’t think things have changed that much.” What has changed is the soundtrack. Wensel always intended
to make music an integral part of the show, but her approach changed when her mentor, Denise Clarke, suggested she play real LPs on stage. “I had an assortment of ideal songs, but actually tracking them down on 45 or vinyl was really tricky,” she says “I collected a whole bunch and had to pick from the ones I ended up with.” Wensel won’t reveal the complete list of songs, but says the play features music by the Supremes, Connie Francis, Jay and the Americans, and, naturally, the Shangri-Las. Ultimately, Shangri-La is an engaging portrait of the teenage experience — its highs, its lows, and the crushing weight of uncertainty that accompanies every foray into maturity. It is also the first step down
a new path for Wensel, who committed the best part of two years to refining the script and perfecting her acting. “During the Lab, I asked an instructor at one point, ‘How do you get started? I don’t know where to start!’” she says. “Her advice was you just have to start doing it, because otherwise you’ll wake up ten years later and you’ll still be like, ‘I don’t know how to start.’ So in the case of Shangri-La, I made the show and did it once with the hope that I’d get some mileage out of it — be able to do it again or work on it more. And now that’s happening.” Shangri-La May 9 @ Artesian on 13th $15 @ Picatic.com
By alex J MacPherson
beginning, but I’m always dreading, I’m always dreading the end.” By replacing the crumbling architecture of his own broken heart with the waves of nostalgia and regret that accompany the scene of a former life, Mattson opens a window into himself, and everybody. He employs a similar technique on several other tracks, including the yearning “American Dream” and “Hurt People Hurt People.” Other songs are more direct. The haunting “Darkness” dwells on fading memories and a past that is no longer accessible. “The people lost and god has won / When the best has ended and the worst has begun,” he sings on the grinding title track, “The Moon Is Gold,” sounding like a younger version of the Weakerthans’ John K. Samson. The lyrics on Someday, The Moon Will Be Gold are profound yet never overwrought. They represent a marked leap forward for Mattson, whose first two albums — 2009’s Whisper Bee and 2010’s Anchors — were promising but uneven. It’s the same story with the sonics. Someday, The Moon Will Be Gold was produced, engineered, and mixed by the Wooden Sky’s Gavin Gardiner. Both men have a knack for dynamics, and the record crests with
moments of exuberant rock before settling back into sombre meditation. In a statement, Mattson described his new album as “fundamentally… about death.” Of course, Mattson’s grief will always be a part of him. But from grief springs hope. And by translating his grief into music, Mattson created something bigger than his own experiences. Someday, The Moon Will Be Gold may be a record about death, but it feels like a celebration of life.
Emm Gryner — Torrential Dead Daisy, 2014
Torrential, the new album from Emm Gryner, is not a reflection of the circumstances surrounding its creation, but a refutation of them. Gryner’s life has changed dramatically since she released her first record in 1995. She has been nominated for Junos, done time in David Bowie’s band, recorded a duet with astronaut Chris Hadfield, and released a steady
stream of albums. More recently, she became a mother of two. “Everyone hears about women losing themselves to motherhood,” Gryner said in a statement. “But there is more at stake than I expected.” Torrential may be about the complications created by motherhood, but it is never consumed by them. Instead, Gryner wrote an album that shows what real strength is, and that it’s possible. At first, though, Torrential feels more like a jumbled collection of songs rather than a cohesive album. The opener, “Pioneer,” was apparently played on a vintage mandolin and recorded using an iPad. “Mammoth Ache” animates Gryner’s rich yet unaffected voice with the faintest hint of a squiggly synthesizer. And on the title track, her voice soars above a simple guitar lick as drums and synths fade in, elevating what started life as a folk ballad into a dense, glitchy pop anthem. The strongest tracks on the record are “Purge” and “Math Wiz,” and they couldn’t be more different. The former finds Gryner asserting her independence from a decidedly unpleasant side of the music business. The latter might seem cloying, but a closer listen reveals her being — as usual — honest
and clever: “Now we’re divided like a jail sentence decided / Where’s my equal now?” If Torrential has a problem, it’s the second side. Excluding “So Easy,” an uplifting duet with the aforementioned astronaut, none of the last six tracks are as striking as “Purge” or “Math Wiz.” The title track, “Mammoth Ache” and the closer, a slow piano ballad titled “End of Me” are good pop songs, but they lack the immediacy that cuts through the first side. At the same time, Torrential is still a solid collection of songs. Gryner is at her best when she is uninhibited. Perhaps venturing back into the recording studio created the very freedom from the problems she spent so much time writing about. This strength runs through every track on the record. It explains why Gryner has been able to spend the last two decades making music — and why she’s not going to stop anytime soon.
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@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com
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Feature
Southsiders
Atmosphere mines growing up and growing old on new LP by A
W
hen Sean Daley started thinking about writing a new record, it dawned on him that he had no idea what to write about. Daley, who performs under the name Slug, is one half of the Minneapolis, Minnesota rap group Atmosphere. He and producer Anthony “Ant” Davis have spent the best part of two decades releasing incisive hip hop records and touring the world. Atmosphere has for years been considered one of the most successful independent rap groups on the planet. The duo’s last album, 2011’s The Family Sign, marked something of a departure. Plainspoken and sincere, The Family Sign emerged as an extended meditation on love and its consequences, inspired no doubt by the birth of Daley’s second child. Daley has always written about his own experiences; his fondness for framing intensely personal stories as powerful metaphors has endeared Atmosphere to audi-
ences across the continent. But after three years of “playing with Legos with a three-year-old,” he was at a loss. “I made it through a lot of struggles and I rapped about a lot of those struggles,” he says, speaking quickly and articulately. “And I came out the other side of that with a life that is technically pretty good. The funny
spectives to see what your good life is really made of?” Daley is forty-one now. He is married with two children, whom he plainly adores. The ruinous emotional and personal complications that shaped Atmosphere’s early career have been supplanted by family, a strong working relationship with his musical partner, and success in his chosen career. But instead of writing
I don’t know. It might just be because some of my worst years are f*cking behind me. sean daley
thing is, I attained that pretty good life by rapping about the struggles. So what do you do when the struggles start phasing themselves out? Do you start writing about how life is good? Or do you start finding different per-
a record about how good his life is, or how popular Atmosphere has become, Daley started thinking about what makes a good life good. The result is Southsiders, the group’s eighth full-length record. It Continued on next page »
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Photo: courtesy of facebook
Alex J MacPherson is one of the most ambitious records Atmosphere has ever released. Its fifteen tracks cover a lot of territory, both musically and emotionally. The new record is also a reflection of the partnership at the heart of Atmosphere. Unlike rock bands, which tend to coalesce around groups of friends or acquaintances, hip hop collaborations often emerge from
Photo: courtesy of facebook
mutual admiration. “It’s like, you make good beats and I make good rhymes,” Daley says, “and maybe we wouldn’t actually get along in the real world, but in the basement we can get along just fine.” Daley and Davis were
collaborators long before they were friends. And like their friendship, their process has changed over time. “Our relationship has gone through so many twists and turns,” he says. “And I don’t even mean on an emotional level or a sensitivity level or a spiritual level, or any of that dumb sh*t. [It’s] on a physical level. Today, Daley lives in Minneapolis, Davis in Oakland, California. Southsiders was created not in a basement studio or in the back of a van, but over the Internet. According to Daley, using email to collaborate was a new experience for both artists. At the same time, he continues, each Atmosphere record was born from a slightly different process. The Family Sign was the first of the duo’s records to feature live musicians, including a guitarist and a keyboard player. On the other hand, 2008’s When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold was the product of a six month period during which the two men “spent every waking hour together.” This doesn’t seem to faze Daley, who seems to enjoy making music whatever the circumstances. “Every single time we’ve gone to make a record, our actual physical approach to it has been altered somehow,” he says. “And every time is better than the last. Does that speak to experience? Like, finding a new position to f*ck your wife? Who knows.” In other respects, Southsiders is business as usual for Atmosphere. Davis’s beats are smooth and sophisticated yet never overwrought. “Camera Thief” opens with a dark and brooding synthesizer before settling into a relaxed groove animated by a haunting violin line. The title track is anxious and unsettled, a rumbling guitar lick played through a tremolo pedal punctuated by the tight snap of a snare drum. “Mrs. Interpret” is built around a jazzy piano line, “Star Shaped Heart” a swirling synth and some Latin-flavoured percussion. The monumental “Flicker” is one of very few hip hop songs to prominently feature a harpsichord. Daley won’t speak for his musical partner’s inspiration, but he says all Atmosphere records reflect the period during which they were made. “All I know,” he says, “is that this record captured whatever the f*ck Ant was thinking about and
feeling for the last two years.” After a pause he adds, “and it captured whatever the f*ck I was thinking about and feeling for the last two years.” On the Hawaiian-influenced “My Lady Got Two Men,” Daley dives into the murky waters of personal identity, trying to make sense of his life as a touring musician and a new father and husband: “Listen, my lady’s got two men / One’s a stranger and the other’s a friend / She keeps us both ‘cause she needs us / zig zag back and forth in between us / My lady got two lovers / One for the funk and the other for the comfort / I’m trying to understand, but I’ve got to figure out which one I am.” The delicately unsettled “January On Lake Street” finds Daley exploring uncertainty, the vague sense that everything he’s worked so hard to build might come crashing down around him. This is reversed on “Kanye West,” a takedown of irony and an earnest celebration of the good things in life: “She said that she was unimpressed / That’s when I stood up and did the Kanye West / Put your hands in the air / Like you really do care, do care” Daley raps in the refrain, his voice inscrutable. Like the man who wrote them, most of the tracks on Southsiders flirt with both happiness and the lingering sense that happiness is temporary, or perhaps a meaningless construct. In the past, Daley has written almost exclusively about the present — his struggles and his troubles. The only exception on Southsiders is the title track, which sums up Daley’s experiences in Minneapolis in his own metaphor-laden vaguely nihilistic way: “Y’all think that I got a damn to give / Do I look like I drive a f*cking ambulance?” When asked about his experiences in the Twin Cities, Daley hesitates before making a confession. “Especially in my city, I don’t know that I feel super closed off to anything other than things that I would file under poor decision making,” he says. “I feel like most of those things that I don’t feel like I’m a part of anymore, I’m almost grateful to not be a part of anymore. Most of the things about what I do that I still really, really love and appreciate, they’re all things that bring a better side of me out.” Ultimately, Southsiders marks yet another milestone in Atmosphere’s
long career. In the past, the group has adapted to all kinds of unenviable circumstances — and Daley has chronicled most of them in exacting, occasionally uncomfortable detail. Although he isn’t sure yet whether Southsiders will be perceived as a hit or a miss — “It’s always been our luck that every time we put out a record, people don’t usually gravitate towards it until we put out the next one,” he says with a wry laugh — he feels like his life and his career are in good shape. Which, he says, is very strange. “I’m forty-one now, and I’m not really supposed to feel like my best years are ahead of me still. But there’s a part me that kind of does feel like my best years are ahead of me. Is that because I see a grand big open
field of opportunity? I don’t know. It might just be because some of my worst years are f*cking behind me. I’m not really sure.” The last lines of Southsiders’ towering closer, “Let Me Know That You Know What You Want Now,” suggest he may be holding something back: “Get a taste of your soul when you hold breath / We act like we got a whole lot of road left.” Atmosphere May 18 @ The Exchange Sold Out Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com
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Photos: courtesy of marc messett
DRESSING UP IN YOUR BRUNCH BEST
Its owners may be changing, but Hotel Sask’s brunch is better than ever by mj deschamps
U
pon hearing the news earlier this year that Regina’s historic Hotel Saskatchewan would be changing ownership on April 1, a bit of anxiety trickled through the city. Yes, hotels are constantly switching hands and undergoing major renovations, but to many in the Queen City, the landmark downtown hotel is of a different breed. It’s not just a building they pass by on their way to work, it’s a place where colleagues gather after long
trim and Victorian-era vibe won’t be altered, he promises — and I’m inclined to believe him. After all, a big reason why the award-winning chef ended up setting up shop in the hotel to begin with was because of its beauty. Rebello has spent the last 22 years building up his cooking chops all over the world (from India to Tanzania, to Saudi Arabia) — and even cooking for royalty — but says the Hotel Saskatchewan, where he’s been for the last four years, feels like home. Rebello is certainly a busy man — running a constantly hopping kitchen that caters weddings, birthdays, corporate functions and more (along with the regular dining room menus, of course), visiting farmers markets and meeting with local producers to ensure the freshest produce is being used on the menus, and competing in national chef challenges like Gold Medal Plates — but the celebrated chef says that the big reason for his and the hotel’s success is the strong team he has working alongside him. “I’m only as good as my team,” said Rebello, gushing about his executive sous chef Chris Miller (who he says is like his “other limb”), and his talented pastry chef. “One of the most important things I’ve learned is to surround
days at the office to enjoy a scotch in the 1920s style lounge, where girlfriends dress up in pearls and chat over afternoon high tea, and where families and friends pack the elegant Victorian dining room every weekend for an elaborate brunch. Executive chef Milton Rebello assures lovers of the hotel (and fans of its classic, throwback menu with a modern twist) that any renovations or changes that do go on will be necessary ones. The hotel’s ornate, pristine glass chandeliers, head-to-toe gold
let’s go drinkin’ Verb’s mixology guide DIRTY MARTINI
Ingredients
Sitting in one of the Hotel Saskatchewan’s leather back chairs while sipping on a cocktail can certainly transport you to another time, but here’s a recipe for those days you just want to stay glued to your couch for a House of Cards marathon.
6 oz. vodka 1 dash dry vermouth 1 oz. brine from olive jar 4 stuffed green olives
directions
In a mixing glass, combine vermouth, vodka, brine and olives. Pour into a glass over ice or strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
yourself with people who are as good — or better — than you.” One thing I always make a point to surround myself with is brunch, and if you’ve never stopped by the Hotel Saskatchewan for it, just know you’ll be in good company. From a gourmet omelette station to a freshly pressed waffle bar to homemade sausages, mapleglazed bacon, fresh fruits and yogurts (along with an entire table of mousses and delicate dessert squares), the hotel takes breakfast classics and elevates them from granola to gourmet. If you’re not in the mood for a buffet, the made-to-order brunch menu is full of decadent, indulgent dishes like steak and eggs, eggs benedict and Saskatoon berry pancakes. I strolled around the heaping buffet tables on my visit, filling my plate with French toast, crispy bacon and tender pork loin with teriyaki glaze to warm up my appetite, before sous chef Miller brought us out a couple of elegant menu favourites. I can never say no to an eggs benedict dish, and this one — with perfectly poached, farm fresh eggs, layers of bright Atlantic smoked salmon and buttery citrus hollanda-
ise sauce, all on a bed of warm, thin, rosti potato — really kicks it up to a whole new level. I’m not a huge lover of sweets for breakfast, but the warm, cake-like banana French toast on thick slices of ridiculously moist, house-made banana bread with a thin, crispy exterior, topped with caramelized bananas, toasted pecans and fresh whipped cream … oh my god. It just might be the dish that changes my mind. Much-loved brunch favourites with an unexpected, refined twist in a dining room with just as much elegance as there is history are the reason why people keep coming back week after week, said Rebello. Yes, I know the urge to show up for brunch in sweatpants is enticing — but it’s definitely a welcome change to have an excuse to wear your Sunday best. Just make sure your pants are stretchy ones. Radisson Plaza Hotel Saskatchewan 2125 Victoria Avenue | (306) 522 7691 Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbRegina mdeschamps@verbnews.com
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Next Week
coming up
Andino Suns
Charlie, Monster!
Rascal Flatts
@ The Exchange Friday, May 9 – $10+
@ The Club (@ the exchange) Friday, May 9 – $8
@ Brandt Centre Saturday, June 28 – $63+
Some music contains a powerful, lasting message, other music doesn’t. For Regina’s Andino Suns, it’s never been a question of what path they’d take. They always knew they wanted to follow the former, to create something with meaning. Something that resounds with the messages of hope, love, and freedom. They do this by mixing the traditional sounds of the Andes Mountains with modern Latin grooves, Canadian folk-rock and much much more. The result is a sweeping, adventurous, seductive sound that has been captivating audiences and winning over critics since 2009. To hear Andino Sons is to like them. To see them live is an uplifting experience that’ll make you want to dance. Tickets available at Vintage Vinyl.
You know the old game where you choose your nickname by combining the name of your first pet with the name of the street you grew up on? Well, that’s kind of how the pop-punk band Charlie, Monster! got its name. Instead of the street they grew up on, they went with the street they practiced on (St. Charles Street in Winnipeg). And instead of the pet name, they chose a word that describes their sound — hence, Monster! That happened in late 2012 when the band (Tye Barker, Reno Capizzi and Eric Lavalle) first formed. Less than a year later they released their first EP, The Voice That Suits Us, followed by their first single, “Shark Tank,” all the while, rocking local venues with their bright, at times gritty, pop-punk sound. Tickets at ticketedge.ca.
Rascal Flatts are no strangers to putting out hit singles. Back in 2000, when they released their self-titled debut album, not one, not two, but four of the songs managed to crack the top-10 on the Billboard country charts. Heck, one of those songs — “I’m Movin’ On” — even won Song of the Year at the Academy of Country Music awards. It was a strong start to a career that hasn’t let up since. Fourteen years, dozens of awards, millions of record sold, and 12 U.S. Country #1 singles later, the talented trio from Columbus, Ohio, is still going strong, still pumping out records (the latest being their recent release, Rewind). Still making the kind of music their legion of adoring fans long to hear. They’ll be in Regina in June. Tickets available through Ticketmaster. – By Adam Hawboldt
Photos courtesy of: the artist/ truncata/ amanda ash
Sask music Preview
Photo: courtesy of facebook
Saskatchewan will be represented at the Canadian Music Week (CMW), being held May 6-10 in Toronto! Included in the event’s lineup are Autopilot, Bastard Poetry, Close Talker, Keiffer McLean, The Dead South and more! CMW is a once-a-year opportunity for fans to catch more than 1000 artists in a week of shows, and for artists to get their band in front of over 3,000 industry insiders and 700 media reps from Canada and all over the world.
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may 2 » may 10 The most complete live music listings for Regina.
Friday 2
Polka Fest / Casino Regina — With Walter Ostanek + more. 4:30pm / $35+ Mayday 2014 / The Club, The Exchange — With Rebel Spell + more. 7pm / $15 DJ Dallas, driven on influence / Eldorado — Come on down! 9pm / $5 DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s — Local DJs spin top 40 hits. 9pm / $5 cover Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster — Cool lounge beats. 8pm / Cover TBD Jordan Klassen / O’Hanlon’s — With Close Talker. 9pm / Cover TBD Sean Burns Band / McNally’s — A singer from Ontario. 10pm / $5 Craig Moritz / Pump — Country music from Alberta. 9pm / Cover TBD Albert / Pure — Appearing every Friday night. 10pm / $5 cover DJ Longhorn, JJ Voss / Whiskey Saloon — Come on down! 8pm / $10
Saturday 3
AndersonBurko / Artesian on 13th — A folk/rock/country/blues duo. 8pm / $20 Beat Gallery / Artful Dodger — The best beats in town. 8:30pm / Cover TBD Polka Fest / Casino Regina — With Walter Ostanek + more. 4:30pm / $35+ Andrea Menard / Conexus — Classy jazz songs that entertain. 8pm / $89.25 DJ Dallas, driven on influence / Eldorado — Come on down! 9pm / $5 Ten Second Epic / The Exchange — With Living With Lions. 8pm / $12 MayDay and the BeatCreeps / Lancaster — Folk-hop from Edmonton. 9pm Sean Burns Band / McNally’s — A singer from Ontario. 10pm / $5 Beautiful UFO / Mercury Cafe — With Laska. 8:30pm / $5 Craig Moritz / Pump — Hot country. 9pm Wafflehouse / Pure — Doing what he does best. 10pm / $5 cover JJ Voss / Whiskey Saloon — Urban outlaw country. 9pm / $10 Fan expo after party / YQR Niteclub — With Skulltrane + more. 9pm / $20
Sunday 4
Stillhouse Poets / Artesian on 13th — With Megan Nash. 8pm / $10+
Naysa / Creative City Centre — With JP Hoe. 7:30pm / $10 Misery Signals / The Exchange — With Lest We Fall + more. 7pm / $15
DJ Longhorn, Alex runions / Whiskey — Start your weekend right! 8pm Ales Runions / Whiskey Saloon — Rockin’ country done right. 9pm / $10
Monday 5
Saturday 10
Jazz night / Bushwakker — With Jeff Mertick and the Blue Beat Singers. 9pm Polka Fest / Casino Regina — With Walter Ostanek + more. 4:30pm / $35+ Andrew and Zachary Smith / Creative City Centre — Indie-folk. 7:30pm / $10
Mahler’s Fifth / Conexus Arts Centre — Playing the works of Gustav Mahler. 8pm / $66.15 (mytickets.reginasympony.com)
DJ Dallas / Eldorado Country Rock Bar — Regina’s number one party DJ! 9pm / $5 Tim Romanson / Eldorado — With Cattle Drive. 9pm / $5 F.O.G.D.O.G. / McNally’s — Break out the track suits and get ready to party. 10pm / $5 Wafflehouse / Pure Ultra Lounge — Doing what he does best, every Saturday night. 10pm / $5 cover
Ales Runions / Whiskey Saloon — Rockin’ country done right. 9pm / $10
Get listed Have a live show you'd like to promote? Let us know! layout@verbnews.com
Tuesday 6
Mandy Ebel / Bocados — Performing and hosting the open mic! 8pm / No cover Polka Fest / Casino Regina — Wtih Walter Ostanek + more. 4:30pm / $35+ Criminal Code / The Club — With Good Girls and Gutless. 7:30pm / $10 DJ night / Q Nightclub — With DJs Snakeboots + Code E. 9:30pm / No cover
Wednesday 7
Folk night / Bushwakker — Featuring Bears in Hazenmore. 9pm / No cover The Gnar Gnars / The Club — With Bats Out! and FPG. 7pm / $10 WayBack Wednesday / McNally’s — Featuring Leather Cobra. 9pm / No cover
Thursday 8
Decibel Frequency / Gabbo’s — A night of electronic fun. 10pm / Cover $5 PS Fresh / Hookah Lounge — With DJ Ageless + DJ Drewski. 7pm / No cover Open Mic Night / King’s Head Tavern — Show what you got! 8pm / No cover Ross Neilson / Lancaster — Sweet rockin’ blues music. 9pm / Cover TBD Real Poncho’s / McNally’s — With Slim City Pickers + more. 8pm / $5 DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — One of Regina’s best DJs. 8pm / Cover TBD
Friday 9
George Thorogood + The Destroyers / Casino Regina — Kickass rock. 8pm Charlie, Monster! / Club — With Highwind + more. 8pm / $8 DJ Dallas, tim romanson / Eldorado — Friday night right! 9pm / $5 Andino Suns / The Exchange — With The Bureau. 7pm / $10+ (@ Vintage Vinyl) DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s — Local DJs spin top 40 hits. 9pm / $5 cover Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster — Cool lounge beats. 8pm / Cover TBD FOGDOG / McNally’s — Party! 10pm / $5 Naysa / O’Hanlon’s — With Laska. 9pm Albert / Pure — Appearing every Friday night. 10pm / $5 cover
14 May 2 – May 8 entertainment
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saturday, april 26 @
the callie
Check out our Facebook page! These photos will be uploaded to Facebook on Friday, May 9. facebook.com/verbregina
Callie Curling Club 2225 Sandra Schmirler Way (306) 525 8171
Photography by Marc Messett
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Not so amazing
Photo: Courtesy of columbia pictures
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 a campy throwback to early cartoons by adam hawboldt
I
n every good story there’s strong character motivation. It’s what drives the character’s actions, which in turn drives the plot. The greater and more realistic a character’s motivations, the better that character will be, and the better the story will be. That’s a lesson you learn in Story Writing 101, but it is clearly something the writing team that put together The Amazing Spider-Man 2 must have forgotten somewhere along the way. But we’ll get to that in a minute. Right now, let’s focus on the movie’s strengths. For starters, it’s almost impossible not to like Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker. And Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy so sweetly she’ll make your teeth ache (but in a good way). Hmmm … what else? Oh yeah, there are some amazing fight scenes, the effects are cool, and it’s great to see Spidey slinging and swinging his
film is like a steroid-infused version of a Saturday morning cartoon you’d see in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Well, that entirely depends on what you want from your superhero movie. Personally, I thought it was refreshing to see a director take this angle, but that doesn’t mean the film
way around New York like the good ol’ days (which, let’s be honest, didn’t happen enough in the last installment of this series). And speaking of the good ol’ days, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 harkens back to them in a big way. In a day and age when superheroes like Batman and Superman are getting dark
[Webb] has filled it with corny oneliners [and] over-the-top action… Adam Hawboldt
is in the same league as Christopher Nolan’s Batman. Right, now back to character motivation. There’s a lot going on in the plot of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. There’s the love story between
and gritty makeovers by Hollywood, director Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) takes his film in the opposite direction. He’s filled it with corny one-liners, over-the-top action, and moments of pure camp. Basically, the
Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. There is also the ongoing evildoings of Oscorp, Peter’s friendship with Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), and the rise of a new villain called Electro (Jamie Foxx). It’s in these last two situations that character motivation flies out the window. Not with Peter Parker, but with his foils. First, there’s the issue of Harry’s unrelenting hatred for Spider-Man, which, in and of itself, is fine. Osborn can hate what he wants, but in this film his resentment isn’t explored or developed, which results in a hollow character. Then there’s Electro, who begins the movie as the uber-nerd Max Dillon and whose only real claim to fame is a chance encounter with Spidey (during which he seems almost star-struck). Then, as soon as he gets his superpowers, Electro focuses all his attention on taking out Spider-Man, for some reason.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Marc Webb Starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx Directed by
142 minutes | PG
There’s no real explanation and no examination into Electro’s tortured soul or lingering sorrows. Oh, well. No one is perfect, I guess. Nor is The Amazing SpiderMan 2. But if all you’re looking for is a cheesy, action-packed superhero movie, it’ll do just fine.
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbRegina ahawboldt@verbnews.com
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oh, what could have been Photo: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Jodorowsky’s Dune introduces you to the greatest movie never made by adam hawboldt
I
t was the greatest movie that never was. Or at least that’s what you’re led to believe in Frank Pavich’s new documentary, Jodorowsky’s Dune. And you know what? After watching this doc it’s hard to disagree. Sure, Terry Gillam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote would have been seven shades of awesome. But the Dune film — based (very loosely) on Frank Herbert’s sci-fi masterpiece of the same name — that Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky set out to make in the mid-’70s would have been a hellfire screamer with an off-beat, innovative pulse all its own. Don’t believe me? Stop and think about this for a second. Jodorowsky’s team consisted of Dan O’Bannon, Chris Foss, Jean Giraud and H.R. Griger — four of the people responsible for the look and feel of 1979’s Alien. Jodorowsky had convinced Orson Welles, Salvador Dali and Mick Jagger to act in the film. He had Pink Floyd on board to play music, just one of
the many mid-’70s prog-rock bands he intended to use to compose the film’s score. Oh, and Jodorowsky was a lunatic genius who sought to make something bigger and more outrageous than anything that had ever been on the silver screen before. In fact, while being interviewed at one point during the documentary, Jodorowsky says to the camera,
To say that Jodorowsky’s ambition for Dune was tremendous is an understatement. He wanted to change the young minds of the world, and to bring about a new god, an artistic, cinematographic god that would bring about a new perspective. Alas, for reasons you’ll learn in the documentary the movie never got made, yet still it was influential.
It’s also the story of bats**t lunacy and a man with a dream… Adam Hawboldt
“I wanted to do a movie that would give the people who took LSD at that time the hallucinations that you get with that drug, but … I did not want LSD to be taken, I wanted to fabricate the drug’s effects. This picture was going to change the public perceptions.” He says this, and you believe him.
The sword fights in Star Wars, the opening shot of Contact, the cyborg POV in The Terminator — none of these, experts argue, would have been possible if not for the massive Dune storyboard that was circulated through studios in the ‘70s. Whether all this is true, you’ll have to decide for yourself. But
what is true is this: the sprawling, whacky, state-of-the-art space opus that Jodorowsky envisioned would’ve changed the game if his vision had come to fruition. Kind of like Star Wars did years later. Problem is, sometimes the film directors envision in their minds and the film that ends up on screen are two very, very different creatures. And there’s no guarantee, in the pre-CGI era of movie making, that Jodorowsky could have brought his Dune to life. But who cares? The documentary that Pavich made about the film is fascinating for cinephiles and non-cinephiles alike. It’s a story about obsession, about genius and about art. It’s also the story of
jodorowsky’s dune Frank Pavich Starring Alejandro Jodorowsky, H.R. Giger + Chris Foss Directed by
85 minutes | NR
bats**t lunacy and a man with a dream that never came true. Jodorowsky’s Dune will be opening at Regina Public Library on May 8; see reginalibrary.ca for show times.
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Š Elaine M. Will | blog.E2W-Illustration.com | Check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!
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© walter D. Feener 2014
28. Ways of pronouncing a language 30. Coquette 33. Shots in the dark 37. Electrically charged atom 38. Unwanted e-mail 40. Garment worn by the Romans 41. Press down tightly 43. Globes 45. Canadian who played for the Bruins 46. Traps 48. Overjoyed 50. Be in the initial lineup 51. Starboard side of a ship 52. Needle holes 53. German admiral
27. Attention-getting sound 29. What we use for counting 30. Has the proper size 31. Bank transactions 32. One in prison 34. Make less painful 35. White heron 36. Variety of chalcedony 39. Fence parts 42. Communicate with God 44. Move out of place 47. Before 49. Add years to one’s life
sudoku answer key
A
B
3 9 6 7 2 8 1 4 5 1 8 4 6 3 5 7 2 9 7 5 2 9 4 1 6 3 8 4 2 1 5 8 9 3 7 6 5 6 7 2 1 3 8 9 4 9 3 8 4 7 6 2 5 1 6 7 3 1 9 4 5 8 2 8 1 9 3 5 2 4 6 7 2 4 5 8 6 7 9 1 3
1. Slide sideways 5. Salty drop 9. Point out the way for 10. Plant deeply 12. Drum played with the hands 13. Place where sermons are given 15. Liquor made from molasses 16. Score of zero, in tennis 18. Make less painful 19. A long time 21. Row of seats 23. What hockey is played on 24. Be relevant to 26. Garment worn in the kitchen
DOWN 1. Hottest season 2. Set of tools 3. Object of worship 4. Of the common people 5. Conical abode 6. Australian bird 7. Experienced 8. Fix 9. Charge an unreason able price 11. Dance music 12. Prevent from escaping 14. Adolescent 17. Mayonnaise ingredient 20. Be the main character 22. Cost per unit 25. New Testament book
7 4 5 8 3 1 2 6 9 3 1 6 2 4 9 8 7 5 2 8 9 7 5 6 4 1 3 6 7 1 5 9 8 3 2 4 8 9 2 3 1 4 6 5 7 5 3 4 6 7 2 9 8 1 4 5 8 1 6 3 7 9 2 1 2 3 9 8 7 5 4 6 9 6 7 4 2 5 1 3 8
crossword canadian criss-cross
ACROSS
Horoscopes May 2 - May 8 Aries March 21–April 19
Leo July 23–August 22
Sagittarius November 23–December 21
New friendships and romantic bonds could be formed this week, Aries. All you have to do is give them a chance.
The time has come for you to start expanding your horizons, Leo. New adventures could abound, but how you find them is up to you.
Try to be innovative this week, Sagittarius. Think outside the box and be as creative as you can be, and you’ll surprise yourself with what happens.
Taurus April 20–May 20
Virgo August 23–September 22
Capricorn December 22–January 19
If you find yourself in a state of confusion some time this week, Taurus, don’t panic. Embrace the temporary insanity.
Pay very close attention to the small details of what’s going on this week, Virgo. It will make all the difference in how things play out.
You may have a chance encounter with a complete stranger this week, Capricorn. Prepare to be amazed — it could change everything.
Gemini May 21–June 20
Libra September 23–October 23
Aquarius January 20–February 19
The warm weather is on its way, Gemini, so don’t worry! It’s best if you make a point to get outside and enjoy it.
Be very wary of yes-men and yeswomen in the coming days, Libra. They’ll be of more harm than good, even if their intentions are noble.
Focus on communication in the coming days, Aquarius. It may not come easy, but stick to it — it’s important that you’re heard right now.
Cancer June 21–July 22
Scorpio October 24–November 22
Pisces February 20–March 20
A sudden change in your life will catapult you into new and exciting territory this week, Cancer. It’s time for you to go with the flow.
This is a good week to focus on investments. Whether it be time or money or whatever — it will pay dividends in the long run.
Sometimes it’s best to go with the flow and not fight inevitability, Pisces. It can be a waste of energy. This is one of those times.
sudoku 4 6 9 3 6 2 4 8 7 8 5 6 7 1 5 2 4 8 3 1 5 4 2 9 8 1 7 9 1 2 3 9 7 6 5 3
crossword answer key
A
3 9 6 7 2 4 5 4 6 7 9 1 2 1 7 5 6 1 3 8 4 7 6 5 9 5 8 8 9 3 2 2 4 8 1 3
B
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