Verb Issue R96 (Sept. 20-26, 2013)

Issue #96 – September 20 to September 26

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clowning around Crash Cooper talks bullfighting the folk sinner Q+A with Lee Harvey Osmond prisoners + greedy lying bastards Film reviews

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On the cover:

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Searching for something real. 10 / feature Photo: courtesy of Norman Wong

culture

NEWs + Opinion

entertainment

Q + A with tom wilson

Live Music listings Local music listings for September 20 through September 28. 14 / listings

It’s the folk sinner! 8 / Q + A

And the winner is...

getting lucky

Nightlife Photos

Behind the scenes at beauty pageants. 3 / Local

Zachary Lucky’s unexpected break.

We visit The Pump.

9 / Arts

15 / Nightlife

sucker punch

prisoners + greedy lying bastards

Fist City riding high on their second album. 9 / Arts

We review the latest movies. 16-17 / Film

clowning around Crash Cooper talks bullfighting.

4 / Local

rider outrage

organic on the go

on the bus

Our thoughts on the Riders charged with assault. 6 / Editorial

We visit Dad’s Organic Market. 12 /

Weekly original comic illustrations

by Elaine M. Will. 18 / comics

Food + Drink

comments

Music

Game + Horoscopes

Here’s what you had to say about drinking and driving. 7 / comments

Val Halla, Five Finger Death Punch, + Hedley 13 / music

Canadian criss-cross puzzle, weekly horoscopes and Sudoku. 19 / timeout

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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

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And the winner is...

Jillian Martin talks beauty pageants, Toronto and a week she’ll never forget by ADAM HAWBOLDT

S

tanding backstage at the Miss Teen Canada-World competition, Jillian Martin was overwhelmed. Caught up in a whirlwind of emotion.

Just minutes before, she was staring at an empty spot on a stage in Toronto. Barely breathing. Hoping, praying that she’d make it into the top five. The first competitor’s number was called — it wasn’t hers.

Neither was the next one, or the next one. Or even the next one.

With one number remaining, Martin was nervous. Was it possible for her to be the last girl picked?

Indeed it was. And as her number was called, a surge of emotion swept over Martin. “I remember walking back stage after that and wanting to cry,” she says. “Everyone was backstage at that point. When I got back there they were giving me hugs and wishing me well. And all I could think was ‘don’t talk to me, please.

I’m going to start bawling any second now.’ It was all so overwhelmingly emotional.”

Martin eventually pulled herself together. But as she and the other four competitors were getting ready to take the stage for their final question, Megha Sandhu — the reigning Miss Teen Canada Globe — was doing her final walk. Martin had become friends with Sandhu during the course of the past week’s activities, and when she saw her new friend

walking off stage and crying, well, the emotions started to bubble up again.

“I couldn’t even look at her,” says Martin. “I was trying to keep it together, stay focused. It was like, ‘okay, now I have to talk. This isn’t just walking and posing anymore.’ I have to stay focused, sound intelligent.” Intelligent enough to answer her final question: what is your ambition in life?

The week leading up to the Miss Teen Canada-World pageant is a hectic one, to say the least. Sixty-five girls from around the country arrive in To-

crowned Miss Teen Saskatchewan back in February. “We also did a lot of appearances. We were on Breakfast Television, we made an appearance at the CN Tower, we went to Much Music — that was so much fun.

Oh, and we went to Medieval Times, a dinner theatre in Toronto, and we went to the mall, too. We made quite a spectacle of ourselves there. There were 65 girls in crowns walking around, everyone was taking pictures. It was kind of strange. You look at all of us standing there in the mall and it’s not an ordinary scene you see every day.”

Nor was it an ordinary experience for the competitors. There they are,

…I told them that my ambition is to get into sports medicine or sports therapy.

In a situation like that, just like in any other competitive environment — whether it be a beauty pageant, a figure skating championship or a major chess tournament — it’s natural for small rivalries to spring up. That goes without saying.

But it’s just as natural for close bonds and friendships to arise.

“My roommate was from Calgary,” says Martin, “and she was so great. We ended up becoming great friends. I just love her. Actually, I made a trip [to Alberta] to visit her not that long ago.”

And while Martin became fast friends with a few of the other competitors, she did her best not to worry too much about what others were doing. The main thing on her mind was to stay focused, and do her best in every situation she found herself in.

That’s the only way she had a chance to win.

jillian martin

ronto, each with the dream of being crowned. But before that can happen, before the actual competition takes place, there’s a week chock-full of things to do. There are preliminary interviews to be held, rehearsals to be practiced, videos to be filmed, public appearances to be made.

“We did a lot of rehearsing, trying to make the final show as good as possible,” says Martin, who was

strangers thrown together for a week, running around Toronto, not getting a heckuva lot of sleep, and all the while knowing they’re being watched and judged on how they are conducting themselves in public. Each and every girl putting pressure on themselves to do everything well, to conduct themselves in a way befitting of Miss Teen Canada. To hopefully, in the end, win the crown.

If you were in a beauty pageant and someone asked you what your ambition was in life, how would you answer? Would you tell the judges you wanted to cure world hunger?

Eradicate war? End poverty?

Jillian Martin did nothing of the sort. Standing there on the stage, her chance of becoming Miss Teen Canada on the line, she answered the question as honestly and as straightforward as possible.

“I was so thankful they asked me that,” says Martin. “I knew exactly what I was going to say. So I told them that my ambition is to get into sports medicine or sports therapy. I was a football manager in high school. I was always taping and bandaging the boys up when they got hurt and I loved it. If I could get paid for doing that for a living, I would be a happy camper for the rest of my life.”

Her matter-of-fact honesty paid off, because when the runner-ups’ names were being announced, Martin didn’t hear hers.

“When it got down to the last two I remember thinking, ‘Wow! This could really happen. This could really happen,’” says Martin.

And then it did.

Jillian Martin was named 2013 Miss Teen Canada-World. What occurred immediately after that, she didn’t remember for the longest time. Not until a friend of hers mom showed her a video of that day.

Up until then the only thing she recalls in the voice in her head saying, “I did it! I did it! I really did it!”

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Clowning around

Photo: Courtesy of crash cooper facebook

Crash Cooper is a bullfigher-turned-rodeo clown with some stories to tell

by ADAM HAWBOLDT

P

icture this: you’re standing smack-dab in the middle of a rodeo arena atop a barrel. The crowd all around you is cheering. Not because of your uncanny ability to balance on the barrel, mind you, but because a 2,000 pound bull is running straight at you. It’s head is down, and it’s looking to do some harm.

Stuck in a situation like that, what would you do?

Well, if you’re Ash “Crash” Cooper the answer is simple. You wait there until the split second before the bull smashes into the barrel. Then you either take a step and walk down the

It most certainly isn’t a job for everybody, but Crash was intrigued.

“I grew up playing really physical sports,” explains Crash. “I played Team Sask rugby. I played junior, college and a little bit of minor pro hockey. Guess I really liked the rough stuff. Anyway, one year I was at the Canadian Finals Rodeo watching my brother ride saddle bronc horses, and I saw the bullfighters out there protecting the bullriders and I thought, ‘Wow! That has to be the toughest, roughest sport I can think of … where do I sign up?’”

Later that spring, Crash signed up for a three-day course on how to be a bullfighter, on how to protect the cow-

…the bull pulled his horn out of my stomach and rammed it into my mouth.

Ash “Crash” Cooper

bull’s back or simply leap over the charging beast.

Okay. There’s nothing actually “simple” about that. But for years that’s how Crash Cooper made a living — as a bullfighter. And we’re not talking the kind of bullfighter that Hemingway was enthralled with here: the matador who uses a cape to pass the bull and his sword to slay the creature. No, we’re talking about North American rodeo bullfighters. The guys you see at the rodeo distracting the bulls while the cowboys scamper to safety.

boy and get bulls to chase him without getting run over … hopefully.

“I grew up on a ranch,” says Crash, “and when something chased you, you ran and jumped over the fence.

That was it. So when I took that course I asked them what I was supposed to do to get the bull to chase me and how do avoid the damn thing. And do you know what they said? Just before I got into the arena for the first time the only instructions they gave me were ‘Pretend like you’re going left, and go right!’” Crash laughs out loud and Continued on next page »

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repeats the directions. “That’s seriously all they said.” But they are words Crash now knows to be true.

Most people think that rodeo clowns and bullfighters are the same thing, but they aren’t. The clown is the entertainer. The bullfighter is the guy who risks life and limb to protect fallen cowboys.

Crash Cooper knows this because Crash Cooper has worn both hats.

“I used to do this thing called freestyle bullfighting,” he explains. “That’s when they just let the bull out to chase you … You’re out there all alone and the bull is basically trying to kill you.”

In a competition like this, the bullfighters are marked on how well they can manipulate the bull in the ring, on how close they can get to the bull without being gored, on the tricks they can perform (like the jumping-off-thebarrel-and-walking-over-the-bull bit previously mentioned).

“That’s what I really, really loved doing,” says Crash. “It’s quite a thrill, freestyle bullfighting. There’ll be a Mexican-bred bull that’ll come out of the gates running at you as fast as it can. And you just stand there, facing him. You don’t move a muscle until he’s maybe 10 feet in front of you. And I tell ya, that is some feeling.”

That feeling of an adrenaline rush is understandable, but what in the hell do you do once the bull is 10 feet away from you?

“You just fake left and go right,” chuckles Crash. “Fake left, go right.”

After that you want to step around the bull, run towards its hips, then it’ll come full circle. If you can stay in the pocket there, you can manipulate the bull without fear of being gored by a horn. Well, hopefully. “I remember this one time this bull caught me,” says Crash. “I’d finished my fight and was just making one last step-through to finish it off and sell it, but the bull got its horn up inside my protective vest in my back. He lifted me off the ground, tried throwing me off.”

It didn’t work. The bull couldn’t shake him, but the harder it tried the more skin from Crash’s back piled on the horn. When the bull finally shook him loose Crash ended up on the ground with its horn dug into the pit of his stomach. “I have a picture of that,” says Crash. “I wish the photographer would’ve waited a fraction of a second longer because the bull pulled his horn out of my stomach and rammed it into my mouth. That would’ve been a cool picture to have. He knocked out a tooth, chipped some teeth, busted up my face pretty good.”

That wasn’t the only injury Crash had back in his bullfighting days. He also broke his leg, cracked some ribs, and tore some ligaments. But nothing too major. Crash’s only major accident came after he put the bullfighting behind him and became a full-time rodeo clown.

There are two things you should know about Crash Cooper. One, he is a quick

learner. And two, he’s not a big fan of giving up. When he was hired to host the nation-wide television show Cowboy Country, he was admittedly “terrible in the beginning,” but he learned quick, honed his skills and eventually won awards for his work.

Crash’s life as a rodeo clown has been no different.

“When I started out I was pretty bad,” he says, matter of factly. “The only reason people hired me as an entertainer is because there was a real shortage in the profession at the time.”

But Crash stuck with it, and once he realized there’s more to being a rodeo clown than just being funny, he began getting bigger gigs. And then disaster struck. “I wear stilts in my act, these stilts with springs on ‘em, and I can jump, like, six feet in the air,” says Crash. “So one day, I thought it would be good to come out into the arena, jumping and doing backflips in the bed of a half-ton [truck]. Problem is, I jumped straight out of the half-ton, onto the ground doing a black flip through the air.”

He landed it fine, but the momentum from the flip caused Crash’s feet to fly out from underneath him.

The result? A broken back.

“I always considered myself lucky that I escaped from bullfighting without any major injuries,” says Crash.

“Then I become a rodeo clown and break my damn back!”

But that didn’t stop him. Once healed, Crash went right back to being a rodeo clown. These days he works

most of the major rodeos throughout the United States. Heck, in 2011, he was the first Canadian rodeo clown to ever perform at the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

And while he may not be faking left and going right anymore, Crash still has that never-say-quit attitude

that has propelled him to the top of his profession.

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Rider outrage

The three players charged with aggravated assault should be suspended We have interrupted our drinking and driving series to weigh in on the recent assault charges facing three Saskatchewan Roughriders. We will continue with our drinking and driving series in next week’s issue of Verb.

Y

our conduct has brought embarrassment and ridicule upon yourself, your club, and the NFL, and has damaged the reputation of players throughout the league.”

That’s what NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote to Tennessee Titans Adam “Pacman” Jones, who was suspended without pay for the 2007 season after he was charged in connection with a fight at a Las Vegas strip club, as well as other off-the-field incidents. The reason we bring this up is because we feel Goodell acted appropriately in light of the circumstances, and that the Saskatchewan Roughriders should take a page from his playbook and suspend three of their players who have recently been charged with aggravated assault. Instead of, you know, letting them continue to play.

In case you missed it, defensive halfback Dwight Anderson, 32,

wide receiver Tajiddin Muquadir Smith-Wilson, 29, and wide receiver Eron Riley, 26, have all been charged after an incident took place outside of a nightclub on August 18th, which has left a 20-yearold man with serious injuries.

Now, to be clear, we aren’t saying these men are guilty. That’s up to the courts to decide, not us. But the fact remains that these three men have been charged with a serious felony and should not be granted the privilege to play with the Riders until the issue has been cleared up. It’s as simple as that.

Suspending players in light of serious allegations is not unheard of.

In the past, when professional athletes have allegedly broken the law, they have been held accountable for their actions. Look at Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who was suspended for six games (reduced to four) in 2010 after sexual assault charges were filed against him. Look at former Bengals’ running back Cedric Benson, who was suspended for three games (reduced to one) for misdemeanour assault charges, or Plaxico Burress, who was suspended four games for shooting himself in the leg when he played with the

New York Giants. Or why not look at former Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry, who was suspended for eight games in the 2007 season for violating the league’s conduct policy?

If only the Riders had a code of conduct, perhaps that would make the decision to bench the charged players a no-brainer. Oh wait, they do have one! The code, which was adopted in 2007, requires players to obey the law, to conduct themselves with honesty and integrity, to respect others, and to take responsibility for their actions.

Clearly, though, Rider management isn’t taking this seriously. In fact, both the Riders’ head coach, Corey Chamblin, and general manager, Brendan Taman, have doubled down on supporting Riley, Anderson and Smith-Wilson, with Chamblin stating “These guys are part of this team … We’re going to support them until we get to the point where we can’t anymore.”

But if the code of conduct for the Saskatchewan Roughriders isn’t being taken seriously by their own management, then what’s the sense of having a code of conduct at all?

And it’s important to remember that we’re not talking about two

“bad apples.” After all, it’s not just Anderson, Smith-Wilson and Riley that have brushed up against the law. Former defensive end Odell Willis was charged with driving under the influence in Atlanta in 2012; he got a slap on the wrist.

So did running back Kory Sheets when he was arrested earlier this year over an alleged instance of domestic violence. It would seem that this problem is a systemic one for the Roughriders’ management, so perhaps this current situation would be a good time to start turning things around.

You know, like maybe the Riders’ brass could actually start holding their players accountable for their behaviour. Doing so would be

a great first step towards creating a team culture of honour and dignity and accountability in players and coaches alike, a culture that is obviously sorely lacking at present.

And maybe, just maybe, to do that you start with suspending the three players who stand charged with federal crimes.

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 drinking and driving rates in Saskatchewan. Here’s what you had to say:

– All these drunks killing themselves on the roads I have absolutely no sympathy for. What I have a problem with is when they take innocent lives. Grow up and act like a responsible adult!

– To help curb drinking and driving in the city we should have more random check stops I have seen one here in the past four years. This is a city with a university, lots of kids out there partying. Keep it safe!

– In regards to the drinking/driving in Sask…People need to get past wether its “cool” or not to take the BUS!!! I have lived in large cities around the world and it is just NORMAL to take the bus to the bars/restaurants when it is just known that you will be drinking. All walks of life take public transportation. Why can’t this province open their eyes and see the simplicity of it all. Take the bus. Walk. Taxi. If you can afford to drink, you can afford to take another source of transportation.

Get over yourselves.

– Don’t just suspend a drunk driver’s license. Lock ‘em up too!

Our judicial system stinks. Anyone can do whatever they want with no consequences!

– Drinking and driving is a problem but the more serious problem is the ease of access to alcohol

– First time offenders of drunk driving should have thier licince taken away for life! Too many people are taking this problem lightly.

text yo thoughtsur to 881 ve r b 8372

– drinking and drive is wrong in so many ways . take a cab or call a friend you might be saving a life. * infinity & beyond ‘

– Would SK’s lowest legal limit of BAC in contrast to all other provinces have anything to do with the disproportionate represetation of drunk Drivers. After all you have to be caught driving drunk to be a statistic

OFF TOPIC – You hit the nail on the head, with the exception of one issue: comparatively, deregulated govern ment services havent really meant open competition so much as oligopoly for consumers; telecom and energy are good examples.

I think that it’s time for CP to be partially deregulated, but wholly selling it off leaves folks in more remote areas vulnerable. The old “It costs more to deliver service” excuse has been used by every company under the sun, except that mail is a vital service, one that government still uses to communicate with its citizens. How much do we want to expose that to potentially conflicting private interests and the pursuant loss of control? That being said, if there are online firms that deliver goods using Canada Post, I actively avoid using them. Canada Post NEEDS to change. Just how much and how fast is up for debate. Karim Kassam In response to “You’ve got mail.” Editorial, ,

new nightmare the demented duo finally arrive in the 30666!!!!

– When I was a preschooler TV was new. My AM lineup was Friendly Giant, Chez Helene, Mr Dress Up (Butternut Square at 1st) and Ed Allen’s Exercise Show which I mimicked faithfully. 1st gen of kids with such CBC “babysitters”. Fairly good educators for a preschooler. Mom was still home doing whatever mom’s do. Big Thanks for Ed Allen. Those early skills likely saved my adult life more than once. Hopefully some Wii games do the same now.

#94 (September 6, 2013)

sound off

– Thoughts and prayers for the OC Transpo tragedy.

– TWIZTID next week in this province for 15 years I’ve been waiting for those words. Abominationz

– Riders charged with assault should be punted from the team??

Charged does not mean guilty and convicted. Let them play…Who knows maybe they were defending themselves from a coked up clown with a bad attitude..

Next week: What do you think of suspending the Roughriders who are charged with aggravated

assault? Pick up a copy of 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.

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The Folk Sinner

Photos: courtesy of Marsha Z

Tom WIlson embraces a new kind of storytelling

by Alex J MacPherson

T

om Wilson always wanted to be a folk singer. It just didn’t work out that way. Wilson, who is 54, has spent his life playing in rock bands, notably Junkhouse and Blackie & the Rodeo Kings. In 2009, however, he transformed an invitation to record with Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkies into an album. Based on Wilson’s love of bottom-heavy New Orleans folk, A Quiet Evil was released in 2009 under the name Lee Harvey Osmond; a year later, it was named to the Polaris Music Prize long list. Last year, Wilson released a second Lee Harvey Osmond record. Featuring collaborations with Andy Maize, Hawksley Workman, Colin Linden, and Margo Timmins, and again produced by Michael Timmins, The Folk Sinner emerged as the sort of record that makes the listener pay attention — acid folk born from Wilson’s experiences and performed in inimitable style by some of the best musicians in the country.

Alex J MacPherson: It seems like more than anything Lee Harvey Osmond is about making the records you really wanted to hear.

Tom Wilson: Junkhouse was supposed to be a vehicle for my songwriting, it was supposed to be based

attention anymore. It seems that capturing people’s imaginations is a difficult thing to do, but when you do it’s an interesting place to be.

off of bass, bottom end, grooves. I had just come from New Orleans, working with Daniel Lanois, and had learned a lot about how down South they really concentrate on bottom end. So I wanted my writing to be that way.

But as we progressed no one really was interested in what we were doing, and then we started drinking and

AJM: That idea of communication seems to be at the heart of your idea of what folk music is, or what it should be.

It seems that capturing people’s imaginations is a difficult thing to do… tom wilson

AJM: That’s what I noticed about both records, especially The Folk Sinner: they make you lean in and pay attention.

TW: They’re folk music in the tradition that I bring the stories that are around my fire over to your fire, you know? The beauty of folk music is that we were able to communicate what was going on in each other’s neighbourhood or household to the next neighbourhood or household, and that’s essentially what I’m doing on these records: I’m telling stories about my city, about my neighbourhood, about people I know, and I happen to be doing it with a very large bottom end, a New Orleans-style appreciation of bass.

TW: Sometimes you have to approach it on your own terms, and when the world is screaming at you, for the most part we just don’t pay

AJM: Could you have made these records if you’d grown up inside the folk tradition rather than coming in from outside?

taking a lot of pills and fighting with each other onstage and breaking s**t — and then that was that, we got a big record deal. So all of a sudden the initial idea of communicating quietly, communicating without ego, communicating through bass, bottom end, grooves, that got lost. It didn’t get lost on me, but the ability for me to do that got lost for about 15 years, until Mike [Timmins] invited me in.

TW: It’s the wayward son that gets embraced by the father. I am kind of the son that went and f**ked everything up and drove his life into the ditch and had that experience and I know what that feels like. And I also know what it’s like to be excessive. Therefore I appreciate minimalist movements even more. I need to be able to appreciate what it’s like to sing the song and to get that message across.

AJM: And given the amazing list of people who joined you, it seems like that idea carries a lot of weight in this country, in this time.

TW: It’s about the song. And the people I got involved in the record are people that understood that.

Andy Maize from the Skydiggers. Oh Susanna. Hawksley Workman. Michael Timmins. Margo Timmins. More of the Skydiggers. The Sadies. These are all people that walked down the same road I walked down when it comes to writing music and performing music. It was a real given and I appreciate that they came on, but it was a natural place for them to be.

Lee Harvey Osmond October 2 @ Artesian on 13th $30.87 @ Picatic.com Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

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Getting Lucky

How an unexpected break led to a new album for Saskatchewan songwriter Zachary Lucky by alex J MacPherson

E

arlier this year, Zachary Lucky spent some time in Toronto. He was house-sitting for some friends and eager to unwind after a long stint on the road.

Lucky, who is based in Saskatoon and has written three albums of graceful country weepers and tender folk ballads, typically avoids writing on the road. But with time to kill, the songs began to pour out.

“I had the space to sit there and think and be alone,” he says, “and all of these songs started to come out, one after another. I wrote a couple of them in the afternoon.” Although he had most of a new album written, Lucky sensed that his new songs were too good to ignore. He put his older material on the shelf and the Toronto songs became the core of his latest release, The Ballad Of Losing You. Like his last record, a moving collection of songs about his relationship to Saskatchewan, The Ballad Of Losing You is spare and spartan. Lucky cut the album with just a few other players. Aaron Goldstein, who plays with

Daniel Romano and Lee Harvey Osmond, contributed soaring pedal steel lines; fiddle wizard Karrnnel Sawitsky played the opposing role, using his instrument to shadow Lucky’s simple guitar parts.

On the surface, The Ballad Of Losing You is a breakup album. Lucky looked deep within himself and explored the ideas that define us all: time and distance, finding love and losing it. “Ramblin’ Man’s Lament” is a 1950s-vintage road song, an ode to the comfort and familiarity of home; “Waitin’ For The Day” is a straightforward heartbreaker about the inexpressible feeling of waking up alone.

The songs are made more poignant

by Lucky’s refusal to complicate them.

He could have added electric guitars and drums and transformed The Ballad of Losing You into a rollicking country record. But he didn’t, and the songs benefit from the simple yet haunting combination of guitar, voice, pedal steel, and violin.

“That’s what these songs needed,” he says of the album’s stirring

Photos: courtesy of christina bourne

minimalism. “They needed space. I’ve always been a believer in letting the song speak, and I’ve always been attracted to songwriters who sing about real things and don’t make it showy.”

The Ballad of Losing You is anything but showy: it is devastating and poignant and mature — and proof that Lucky’s country and roots playbook is growing with each passing day. It is what happens when a musician finds his voice — and finds himself.

Zachary Lucky 3 October @ The Exchange $10 at the door

Sucker Punch

Lethbridge rockers Fist City riding high on their second album of edgy punk by alex J MacPherson

L

ike a solid sucker punch, Fist City makes a big impression. The four-piece punk band from Lethbridge, Alberta released their first album in early 2010, after just three months of playing together. Hunting You was a collection of hyperactive punk songs, packed with spiky guitar parts and coated in a sheet of distortion. The band spent the next two years on the road, building a following in dive bars and dodgy venues across the country. But it was not until last year, when they released It’s 1983, Grow Up!, that Fist City emerged as a potent force on the Canadian music scene.

“We’ve always sort of been DIY when it comes to recording and putting our albums together,” says Ryan Grieve, who plays drums in the band, of It’s 1983, Grow Up!. “Paul [Lawton] recorded the first album and he recorded the second album. It was just watching him learn in the studio.” Lawton, who has played in and recorded dozens of bands, and the members of Fist City — Grieve, Evan Van Reekum, and twins Kier and Brittany Griffiths — stripped away the grime coating their first album, leaving behind a simple yet effective blast of searing guitar and punishing double-tracked vocals.

The songs that make up It’s 1983, Grow Up!, which was re-

leased last summer and features song titles like “Boring Kids” and “The Creeps,” can be divided into two broad categories. Some, like “F**k” and “Spit,” reflect the angular punk sensibility of Van Reekum, whose punchy chords and spiky melodies cut through the album like a knife. Others, like “Wet Freaks” and “Blow,” are slightly slower and much spacier than Van Reekum’s fractious punk; they capture Kier Griffiths’ fondness for ethereal melodies.

What all the songs on It’s 1983 have in common is tension. Every track on the album feels like it is about to descend into chaos. The vocals and the guitars battle for

dominance, the drums threaten to overwhelm, and the sheer hyperactive violence of it all makes the whole project seem like a delicate balancing act doomed to fail. But somehow, they don’t. The strength of the songwriting, as well as the band’s determination to write the songs they want to play, keeps It’s 1983 on the rails. More importantly, it is a strong foundation on which they can build.

But the band won’t make a new album for a few months. Right now, they are hitting the road. After spending most of last spring touring the United Kingdom, where they shocked locals by refusing to hire a driver and spending nights camping wherever

they could park their van, the band took the summer off. It was a necessary break given their fall schedule: an appearance at Pop Montreal followed by a tear across western Canada. “It’s was pretty f**king energetic and raucous,” Grieve says of the band’s first show after two months off.

“But it wasn’t enough.”

Fist City October 11 @ O’Hanlon’s Free Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com

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Feature

A New Direction Austra and the search for something real

A

fter more than two years on the road in support of their ferocious and evocative 2011 debut, Feel It Break, Austra, an electronic pop band from Toronto, decided to make some changes. Olympia, which was released in June, marks a radical departure from the formula that produced Feel It Break. Katie Stelmanis, the classically-trained vocalist whose voice has become an integral part of the Canadian pop landscape, wrote most of Feel It Break in her bedroom using a computer. For Olympia, she relied much more heavily on her bandmates, Maya Postepski and Dorian Wolf.

The results were dramatic. Whereas Feel It Break emerged as an anxious dance record bent and twisted into a catalogue of emotional trauma, Olympia is more reserved — understated and disarmingly direct.

The album was recorded in short, frantic bursts at a studio in Michigan.

All of the parts were played live, by the core band members as well as touring members Sari and Romy Lightman, of Tasseomancy, and keyboardist Ryan Wonsiak, who is from Saskatoon. Unlike the songs on Feel It Break, which sounded raw and open and edgy, those on the new album are calculated and coherent and polished. But the record does not lack emotional depth. Two years on the road convinced Stelmanis that directness could be both refreshing and potent, and the songs on Olympia reflect her desire to address problems — personal and political — head on. And because it was recorded using real instruments the album feels alive — its imperfections preserved and cherished rather than excised.

Ultimately, Olympia marks a watershed for the band, and provides proof that Stelmanis and her colleagues are capable of much more than simply mashing buttons. I caught up with Stelmanis at a tour stop in California, where she discussed the pressure of releasing a new album after a sleeper hit and the cutting openness that characterizes the new album.

Alex J. MacPherson: It’s been awhile since Feel It Break came out. Did you feel a lot of pressure to get Olympia out sooner rather than later?

by Alex J MacPherson so quickly. I think this new record, it’s not quite as immediate as Feel It Break. It takes a few more listens to get into it. I think maybe a lot of people who liked Feel It Break were like, ‘this one’s not as good.’ But then slowly but surely we’re starting to get more and more positive feedback about the album, which is cool.

AJM: Olympia is clearly an Austra record, but there were some big changes from Feel It Break, like the fact that all the instruments were played live. What was that like?

I spent so long making music that was essentially solo music. I wanted this album to be the complete opposite. katie stelmanis

AJM: Feel It Break grew slowly and steadily. All of a sudden, you have all these fans excited for a new one.

KS: I spent so long making music that was essentially solo music. I wanted this album to be the complete opposite.

I wanted to experience working with other people. I think also the live show was a big influence. We had toured the album for over two years as a six-piece band, and within that time the live show had become something quite different than the recording. I think the Feel It Break recording, it’s a bit dark, it tends to be a bit austere; in the live show it turned into this celebratory dance party, and we wanted that to reflect on the new album.

KS: It’s funny because we didn’t really expect to get so much feedback

AJM: Did you find it difficult to move away from that solo way of thinking?

Katie Stelmanis: I didn’t feel any pressure when we were in the writing process and the recording process. Everything felt very natural.

We knew what kind of experience we wanted to have in the studio, and we weren’t really thinking about how people were going to receive it. But I guess the scary part happens when we actually release the record and we start getting the reviews.

Continued on next page »

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Photo: courtesy of Norman Wong

KS: It wasn’t too difficult. Basically I started a lot of the demos at home by myself. If I had sort of an immediate direction, or if there was an obvious place that I wanted the song to go, I would finish it. But if I didn’t really have an immediate idea, rather than mulling over it for weeks and weeks like I would normally do, I would immediately present it to the other musicians in my band and let them flesh out their ideas — and then it became this ricochet process. Someone would give me an idea and then I’d think of another idea and vice versa.

Photo: courtesy of Norman Wong

AJM: It’s probably easy to get bound up in all sorts of weird thought problems when you’re working alone.

KS: It’s difficult either way, because it’s also hard when you are collaborating with so many people to sort of make sure that your idea is staying unique. When you bring too many people into the pot everything mellows out or homogenizes — it gets diluted. So I think it’s still important to make sure there’s a clear direction when you’re working with so many people.

AJM: The direction of Olympia is very direct. Feel It Break was personal, but in

an abstract sense. It conveyed an emotion. This one lays it all out.

KS: That was definitely an intention.

I think a lot of that actually came from live performance as well, just the idea of performing songs for people and singing for people. I had a desire to sing songs that were about real things and have lyrics that people could more directly connect with, because I felt like people in the audience really wanted that.

AJM: So you treated the recording process sort of like you would a performance, rather than something sterile and removed?

KS: Yeah, I mean that was the idea.

We wanted it to feel like an interaction between people, or an engagement between people. I mean, recording thirty tracks by yourself on a computer versus a whole bunch of musicians playing parts on top of each other has a very different feeling, and there’s a lot of imperfection in that. Maybe some stuff works and other stuff doesn’t work, but it feels more alive.

AJM: Did it occur to you that just as loads of other people are incorporating electronic sounds into their music, you’re sort of moving away from that, back to synthesizers and so on?

KS: Yeah, it was kind of intentional. I think in this day and age everybody’s doing it — and everybody who has a computer can put out a record — and I think that’s changed the landscape of music that is happening right now in the world, music that people are listen-

ing to. We had done that for a long time so we just wanted to do something different, to try and separate ourselves from that kind of culture.

AJM: Which is strange, because even though it’s live, Olympia sounds a lot better than Feel It Break — the sonics are much better.

KS: That was the main thing we wanted to change from Feel It Break. When we made that record none of us really knew anything about production. Just through playing live and gaining more and more experience in the studio, and more and more familiarity with electronic instruments, that difference became really obvious — and Feel It Break became this plastic record and we wanted to make something real and thick. So every single sound on the album we just took great care with, and shaped in a way so that it wasn’t about layering thirty sh**ting sounds, but that it was about choosing one really beautiful thick sound. That’s what we were focusing on.

AJM: And now you’re heading back out on the road. Is it hard to make that transition?

KS: Well, to be honest, we never really took enough time off to make it feel that different. We recorded the album for the most part at a studio in Michigan, and we really did it between tours. We were planning to kind of stop but then we kept on getting offered all these awesome support tours that we couldn’t say no to. So while we were supposed to be mixing we ended up doing this American tour with the XX. You can’t really say no to something

like that. And in that sense, we just never stopped.

Austra October 6 @ Exchange $18 @ Ticketedge.ca

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina amacpherson@verbnews.com

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ORGANIC ON THE GO Photos courtesy of Maxton Priebe

Dad’s Organic Market offers fresh, more ‘natural’ takeout options

by MJ DEScHAMPS

I

doubt my own meat and potatoes-loving French Canadian father would know anything about organic or natural foods, but Regina certainly has a ‘Dad’ who does.

Just like its name suggests, family-owned franchise Dad’s Organic Market has been bringing certified organic, non-GMO groceries to Reginans since 2010. Although the spot is a relative newcomer to this city, owners Carl and Ann Dyck are no strangers to the business.

The pair first opened up a tiny, 500 sq. ft store in Warman, Saskatchewan in 1989 — selling mainly supplement products — before relocating to a much bigger location in Saskatoon in 1991, and expanding their offerings to include produce and natural groceries.

at home, but here we’ve made it convenient.”

The deli doesn’t have to go far for its ingredients, either — everything is sourced from the store’s shelves, said Dyck. All the fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and grains used in the deli are 100% certified organic — meaning no GMOs or synthetic chemical pesticides — while the meats are freshly sliced and nitrate-free.

I slid into the bar-style seating and started off with a grilled panini with freshly sliced roast beef, marble cheese, bright and crunchy yellow peppers and stacks of sautéed mushrooms. I paired that with the roasted vegetable soup, which is packed full of certified organic fresh veggies: onions, carrots, peppers, corn, sweet potatoes, eggplant (I’m sure I’m missing a few), and a nice medley of herbs and spices in the broth.

Next, I wanted to give one of their chilled items a go, and picked up the raspberry and pecan spinach salad.

With big, ripe berries, soft pecans and a sweet and tangy raspberry vinaigrette, it tasted bright and balanced.

And with its ingredients coming from literally across the room, this summer salad is possibly even fresher than if you were to make it yourself at home.

Craving something a bit sinful after all that healthy food, I tried the quinoa brownie — where the only thing that surprised me more than hearing the words “quinoa” and “brownie” together was how much I actually enjoyed it. Made with ingredients like vegan butter, coffee and quinoa, this gluten-free treat has definitely got a different texture than Betty Crocker, but is still rich and fudgy … and a heck of a lot healthier for you.

Today, the 6,200 sq. ft. Victoria Avenue franchise store is brimming with everything for the health-conscious: fresh, organic produce and dairy; gluten-free breads and pastas, organic and non-organic meats, good-for-you grains like quinoa and spelt, even non-toxic personal care and cleaning products for your home. Knowing that its customers lead busy lives and often have to eat on the go, Dad’s recently added a made-to-order takeaway deli counter, offering fresh paninis and soups, as well as chilled salads, sandwiches and sweet organic treats.

“It’s nice for people to be able to come in and get something that’s quick and easy — and healthy,” said Wayne Dyck, Carl and Ann’s son. “Usually with organic, it’s something that you have to prepare

let’s go drinkin’ Verb’s mixology guide ORGANIC BERRY MOJITO

Ingredients

In the spirit of healthy eating, everyone deserves a healthy dose of drinking, too, right? This refreshing, ‘health-conscious’ cocktail can’t make you feel too guilty, as it’s made from allorganic ingredients — even the alcohol part.

1 cup fresh, organic mint leaves 4 tablespoons organic blueberries (or substitute for raspberries or blackberries) 1.5 oz organic rum 1 teaspoon fair trade sugar 1/2 cup organic lemonade 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice soda water lime slice and mint sprig for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Crush the mint leaves, lime juice and sugar together in a tall glass. Add in half the berries and mash them up. Fill the glass 3/4 of the way with ice, and add in lemonade. Fill up the remainder with a splash of soda, rum, whole berries and stir. Garnish with lime slice and mint sprig and serve.

So if you haven’t stopped by Dad’s yet, there is no better time: the store’s ‘Organic Week’ is taking place from September 21 – 28, during which, customers can enjoy gift baskets, demos, sales and specials, new products, and most importantly — taste tests.

Dad’s Organic Market 425 Victoria Ave. E. | 306.924.0561 Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina mdeschamps@verbnews.com

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Next Week

coming up

Val Halla

Five Finger Death Punch

Hedley

@ The Exchange Friday, September 27th – Cover TBD

@ Evraz Place Wednesday, October 2nd – $54.25

@ Brandt Centre Thursday, November 21st – $51

It’s not quite country, not quite rock. The kind of music that Regina’s Val Halla makes lies somewhere in between. Some have described her sound as “Courtney Love meets the Allman Brothers,” others call it “Gruntry” (a mix between grunge and country.) But regardless what you call it, Val Halla’s sound is all kinds of infectious. The kind of sound you put endless hours into developing. But develop it she has, as can be seen on her 2007 self-titled album and 2010’s No Place. With swirling, bluesy riffs and rootsy acoustic ballads, Val Halla’s albums strike a fine balance that allow her to channel all her musical influences while entertaining crowds from coast to coast and beyond.

It’s no great secret this metal quintet digs kung fu. Their name, Five Finger Death Punch, refers to a technique known as Dim Mak (Touch of Death), which is mentioned in films from Clan of the White Lotus to Executioners, Shaolin and Kill Bill. Oh, and their first album, The Way of the Fist?

It’s the English name of a Chi- nese martial art known as Kuntao. But Five Finger Death Punch is more than just a band with an awesome name and a predilection for kung fu. They’re also a band whose sound has continuously evolved with each passing record. On their latest album they have really come into their own, playing an infectious brand of hard- charging melodic heavy metal that blows your hair back.

Tickets at Ticketmaster.

Since the release of their selftitled debut album in 2004, Hedley has experienced nothing but success with two platinum albums, a couple of Juno’s, more than a million downloads and 10 consecutive videos hitting #1 on the MuchMusic countdown. With songs like “Never Too Late,” “Cha-Ching,” “Invincible” and “Kiss You Inside Out,” this rockpop quartet from Abbotsford, B.C., have gained a huge following here in Canada and beyond. Now, with their fifth studio album Wildlife about to be released, theire band — Jacob Hoggard, Tommy Mac, Dave Rosin, Chris Crippin — is back on the road and on its way to Regina. They’ll be rocking the Brandt Centre in November. Tickets through Ticketmaster.

– By Adam Hawboldt

Photos courtesy of: the artist/ ConcertTour/ the artist

Sask music Preview The 2013 Breakout West Festival takes place on October 4 + 5, and features 60 original artists performing in 15 venues throughout Calgary. This year Saskatchewan is well represented, with Castle River, Fur Eel, George Leach, Indigo Joseph, Jason Plumb and the Willing, Jeans Boots, Jess Moskaluke, Slow down, Molasses, the Spoils and more taking to the various stages. The Western Canadian Music Awards will end the weekend. Saskatchewan artists nominated are Alexis Normand, Jack Semple, Donny Parenteau, Jess Moskaluke and Cities Under Fire. For more info see http://breakoutwest.ca Keep up with Saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org

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sept 20 » sept 28 The most complete live music listings for Regina.

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20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

Friday 20

Ben Sures / Artesian — A CD release party for this talented singer. 8pm / $15/20 AroarA / Artful Dodger — A haunting Montreal duo. 8pm / Cover TBD Eric Bourdin / Casino Regina — One of the best voices of all time. 8pm / $40

Coldest Night of the Year + more / Exchange — Rock all night. 7:30pm DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s — Local DJs spin top 40 hits every Friday night. 9pm / $5 Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster — Get your weekend started. 10pm / Cover TBD Adam’s Rib / McNally’s — A rock/reggae/ jam band you should check out. 10pm / $5 Foxx Worthee / Pump — A country female duo. 10pm / Cover TBD Albert / Pure Ultra Lounge — Appearing every Friday night. 10pm / $5 cover DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — Dropping hot country beats. 8pm / Cover TBD Alex Runions / Whiskey Saloon — A talented local country artist. 9pm / $10

Carter Powley Jazz Trio / Lancaster — Jazz tunes to get it going. 8pm / Cover TBD Adam’s Rib / McNally’s Tavern — A rock/ reggae/jam band. 10pm / $5 Jamie Stever / The Pump — A Canadian country artist. 7pm / Cover TBD Foxx Worthee / Pump Roadhouse — A country duo. 10pm / Cover TBD Drewski / Pure — Doing what he does best, every Saturday night. 10pm / $5 cover Alex Runions / Whiskey Saloon — A talented local country artist. 9pm / $10

Sunday 22

Sexy Retro Dance Party / McNally’s — With DJ Baby Daddy will get you grooving and grinding. 10pm / Cover TBD

Saturday 21

Monday 23

The Opera Gala / Conexus — The music of Verdi and Wagner. 8pm / Tickets TBD

Open Mic Night / The Artful Dodger — Come down and jam! 8pm / No cover

Monday Night Jazz / Bushwakker Brewpub — Featuring Shane Reoch. 8pm / No cover

Tuesday 24

Rose Cousins / Artesian — A Juno-winning roots musician. 8pm / $15+ Mo Kenney / Artful Dodger — A talented singer from Nova Scotia. 9pm / $10 Troubadour Tuesdays / Bocados — Live tunes from local talents. 8pm / No cover

Wednesday 25

Groenland / Artful Dodger — Catchy indie pop out of Montreal. 8pm / Cover TBD Wednesday Night Folk / Bushwakker — Featuring Andrew & Zachari Smith. 9pm Jealousy Mountain Duo / The Club — With Daniel Besuijen + more. 7:30pm Authority Zero + more / The Exchange — Punk and ska all night. 7pm / $13

Jam Night and Open Stage / McNally’s — Come enjoy some local talent. 9pm

Thursday 26

Andrew and Zachari Smith / The Club — A father-son folk duo. 8pm / $15 Decibel Frequency / Gabbo’s Nightclub — A night of electronic fun. 10pm / Cover $5 PS Fresh / The Hookah Lounge — With DJ Ageless and DJ Drewski. 7pm / No cover Open Mic Night / King’s Head Tavern — Come show your stuff. 8pm / No cover Brian Templeton + more / McNally’s — Come support local musicians. 8:30pm / $5 Tequila Wranglers / Pump — It’ll be a foot-stomping good time. 10pm / Cover TBD DJ Longhorn, Chris Henderson / Whiskey — It’s sure to be a good night. 8pm

Friday 27

Sliver Gun + more / Artful Dodger — It’s a three-for-one bill. 8pm / Cover TBD Nick Faye + more / The Club — Come out and rock out for a good cause. 7:30pm / $10 Val Halla + more / The Exchange — Rockin’ alt-country. 7:30pm / Cover TBD DJ Pat & DJ Kim / Habano’s — Local DJs spin top 40 hits. 9pm / $5 cover Big Chill Fridays / Lancaster — Come get your weekend started. 10pm / Cover TBD Alex Runions / McNally’s — Rockin’ country covers and originals. 10pm / $5 Tequila Wranglers / Pump — It’ll be a foot-stomping good time. 10pm / Cover TBD Albert / Pure — Appearing every Friday night. 10pm / $5 cover DJ Longhorn / Whiskey Saloon — He’ll get the party started. 8pm / Cover TBD Chris Henderson / Whiskey — Country to make you move. 9pm / $10

Saturday 28

Broadway Today / Conexus Arts Centre — A night of show tunes. 8pm / Cover TBD Regina Drum Festival / The Exchange — With Matt Halpern + more. 7:30pm / $55 The Stillhouse Poets / Lancaster — A roots duo from Regina.9pm / Cover TBD Alex Runions / McNally’s — Rockin’ country covers and originals. 10pm / $5 Tequila Wranglers / Pump — It’ll be a foot-stomping good time. 10pm / Cover TBD Drewski / Pure — Doing what he does best.

10pm / $5 cover Chris Henderson / Whiskey — Country to make you move. 9pm / $10

Get listed Have a live show you'd like to promote? Let us know! layout@verbnews.com

14 Sept 20 – Sept 26 entertainment

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friday, september 13 @

the pump

The Pump Roadhouse 641 Victoria Avenue East (306) 359 7440

Check out our Facebook page!

These photos will be uploaded to Facebook on Friday, September 27. facebook.com/verbregina

Photography by Maxton Priebe

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We’re all prisoners of Dennis Villeneuve

Photo: Courtesy of warner bros.

Quebecois director’s new film, Prisoners, is a thriller you won’t want to miss by adam hawboldt

N

ot sure about anyone else out there, but after I watched the trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s new movie, Prisoners, I couldn’t help but think the whole thing looked a little clichéd. A little tired and unoriginal.

At first glimpse, it looked like it was just another movie about a child abduction in which the police can’t find the culprit and the father of the missing kid takes justice into his own hands. End stop.

Boy was I wrong. Like, really, really wrong.

Yes, ostensibly Prisoners is about abduction and a vigilante father out for justice — well, at least that’s what the first 30 minutes boil down to. But after that? Damn skippy! You have no idea what’s in store. Prisoners is one of those twisty, turny, I-think-he-did-it-no-wait-maybethat-guy-did-it kind of movies. The kind of movie that, say like Se7en, allows its puzzles to unfold in a way that thoroughly engages the viewer.

The story begins on a rainy Thanksgiving in a Pennsylvania town/suburb. Keller (Hugh Jack-

man), his wife (Maria Bello) and their children go to their friends Franklin (Terrence Howard) and Nancy’s (Viola Davis) house for turkey dinner. Everything is going well, for a while. The families eat, drink and are merry. But when they realize that two of the youngest children — Keller’s daughter Anna (Erin Gerasimovich) and their friends’

prisoners Denis Villeneuve Starring Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Melissa Leo + Paul Dano Directed by

146 minutes | 14A

ing the ladder on an old camper van that was parked outside.

Enter detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), who becomes responsible for the case. Eventually the cops find the owner of the camper, a hapless man named Alex (Paul Dano) with the IQ of a 10 year old.

But because there is no evidence, they have to let him go. This is when Keller takes matters into his own hands. He finds Alex, chains him to a radiator and proceeds to beat the ever-loving s**t out of him. Then the movie really gets interesting.

Full of twists and turns you never see coming, Prisoners takes the audience on a dynamic, visually stunning ride that deftly introduces new players as the story unfolds, and keeps viewers guessing to the very end.

Somehow, as the minutes tick by and the tension builds, Villeneuve and the terrific cast manage to take

Prisoners takes the audience on a dynamic… ride [that] keeps viewers guessing…

Adam Hawboldt

daughter Joy (Kyla Drew Simmons) — have vanished, the mood changes quickly. A wave of panic pervades the festivities as the two families search, in vain, for the kids.

One of the older children mentions he saw the girls earlier climb-

a clichéd situation and turn it into something new, something fresh, something that’s impossible to ignore.

Even though the movie has a rather long running time, never once will you sit there and wish it was over.

Every action leads into another action, every small detail grows as the story plays out.

And while the ending may disappoint some, the ride you have to

take to get there is well worth the price of admission.

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina ahawboldt@verbnews.com

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In a state of denial

Photo: Courtesy of one earth productions

Greedy Lying Bastards and the attack against climate change deniers by adam hawboldt

A

word to the wise: if you plan on watching Craig Scott Rosebraugh’s new documentary about climate change, don’t enter the theatre expecting to get an even-handed, unbiased account of the situation.

Hells no. One look at the title, Greedy Lying Bastards, should be enough to tell you that Rosebraugh is a man with an agenda and an axe to grind.

The target of his rage? The heads his axe is aimed at?

Climate change deniers and their big-money backers. To get his point across, Rosebraugh begins his doc with a series of natural disasters that we’re told are products of climate change. There’s footage of wildfires, melting ice caps, massive floods, Hurricane Katrina, serious droughts, dust storms and much, much more.

Rosebraugh does this to establish a connection and a visceral gut reac-

tion with viewers. And depending on your personal beliefs, it can be very effective. It can also, for people of a different bent and belief system, be extremely infuriating.

Therein lies the rub of Greedy Lying Bastards: it’s a divisive movie.

If you believe that climate change is man-made you’re going to champion his cause and love this flick. If you’re one of those people who professes not to know what’s causing climate change, you’ll see the documentary as a one-sided rant in an on-going debate. And if you’re a climate change denier, well, this movie will grind your gears worse and harder than you can readily imagine.

Why? Well, because at the root of Rosebraugh’s argument lies three main points: 1) climate change is a scientific fact, a fact you can’t doubt; 2) the reason why these changes are occurring and why people continue

to deny the idea of climate change is because of all the shady, behindthe-scenes lobbying of Big Oil; and 3) by creating doubt in people, these Masters of the Oil-Driven Universe are preventing people who truly care

Problem is, in his attempt to skewer these people Rosebraugh doesn’t connect all the dots. As a result, Greedy Lying Bastards itself ends up coming off as an exercise in propaganda instead of a hard-hitting exposé on what these

… [director] Rosebraugh is a man with an agenda and an axe to grind.

Adam Hawboldt

about the climate from dealing with this crisis to end all crises.

It’s this last part that is the point that Rosebraugh really wants to bang home. To do that he takes to task people like the Koch Brothers and other barons of industry for fueling what he calls the “climate denial propaganda machine.”

executives are doing and exactly how they’re spending their money to create this climate of denial.

That’s not to say Greedy Lying Bastards is a bad documentary.

The “statistics” and “facts” will make certain people question their belief on climate. But not everyone.

Those who realize these “stats” and

greedy lying bastards Craig Scott Rosebraugh written by Patrick Gambuti Jr. + Craig Scott Rosebraugh Directed by

90 minutes | NR

“facts” are lobbied for and paid for by organizations on both sides of this argument will walk away from Greedy Lying Bastards thinking, “while entertaining, the most provocative and powerful thing about this film is its title.”

Greedy Lying Bastards will open at the Regina Public Library on September 26.

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbRegina ahawboldt@verbnews.com

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

18 Sept 20 – Sept 26 entertainment

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crossword canadian criss-cross 33. Mansion on the water 37. One-room building 38. Not sensible 40. Winnie-the-___ 41. Meal for a horse 43. One who lacks technical training 45. Sundial numeral 46. Alternatively 48. Head of a convent 50. Be behind in a race 51. Place where legal cases are heard 52. Nimbly energetic 53. Typewriter parts

DOWN 1. Spoke monotonously 2. Assist financially 3. A plane on a radar screen 4. You do it with your eyes closed 5. Pertaining to the stomach 6. Toward the stern 7. Floating barrier used to confine an oil spill 8. Comfort at a time of sadness 9. Asian peninsula 11. Choir voice 12. Roll up 14. Report of a recent event 17. Give enough to

20. Jacob’s son sudoku answer key 22. Friendly nation A 25. Dorky sort 27. Distance jumped 29. Majestic 30. Scare away birds 31. 1.136 litres 32. Speaks 34. Hides from view 35. Lift with ropes and pulleys B 36. The one here 39. Racecourse for horses 42. Hit with the palm of the hand 44. Double-reed instrument 47. Letter salutation 49. Purchase

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

1. Applies with cotton balls 5. Talks a lot 9. Food of baleen whales 10. Walking 12. Bon vivant 13. Obtained illegally 15. Container for ashes 16. A mosquito can be one 18. Head of hair 19. Lively dance 21. Prefix for chute 23. Female whale 24. Carrying a lot 26. Rudder handles 28. Air-filled swelling in a seaweed 30. Meddlesome children

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

ACROSS

© walter D. Feener 2013

Horoscopes September 20 – September 26

Aries March 21–April 19

Leo July 23–August 22

Sagittarius November 23–December 21

If you’ve been focusing on the internal a lot lately, it’s time to take all that energy and project it outward.

You’ll be grateful you did.

Pay close attention, Leo, or else this week could very well slip right by you in the blink of an eye. And who knows what you’ll miss.

There’s a dynamism in the air that might make you feel antsy. That’s okay. Ignore it, and harness the week’s potential for yourself.

Taurus April 20–May 20

Virgo August 23–September 22

Capricorn December 22–January 19

With a spark in your eyes and a spring in your step, you’ll be riding high this week, Taurus — for a while, anyway. Enjoy it while it lasts.

This week, you may find that other people’s words hit a lot closer to home than usual. Don’t take it to heart.

New beginnings are just around the corner, Capricorn — whether you want them or not. Try to keep an open mind about what the universe has in store.

Gemini May 21–June 20

Libra September 23–October 23

Aquarius January 20–February 19

Feeling upset? Unnerved? A little rough around the edges, Gemini?

It might be time to try some relaxing activities to set yourself straight.

Wake up a tad bit earlier this week, Libra. Do that, and you’ll get way more done than you ever thought possible.

It’s okay to be a bit selfish at times, Aquarius. And this week, well, it’s definitely one of those times. Make yourself your top priority.

Cancer June 21–July 22

Scorpio October 24–November 22

Pisces February 20–March 20

Should you find that most of your thoughts are emotionally charged this week, don’t squander them. Acting based on feelings can get you a long way.

Be true to yourself. If you can manage to do that this week, Scorpio, the world, and everything in it, will be your oyster.

Your mind is going to be sharp this week, Pisces, your actions decisive. Don’t let obstacles get in your way; pursue what you want.

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

crossword answer key

A

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

B

19 Sept 20 – Sept 26 /verbregina

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