ISSUE #247 – JULY 5 TO JULY 11
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GLORIANA THE NEXT CHAPTER
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MR GREEN THUMB Growing medicinal marijuana in the prairies PARTY MUSIC Dusty Tucker talks rock and roll THE LONE RANGER + THE ENGLISH TEACHER Films reviewed
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NEWS + OPINION
CONTENTS
MR. GREEN THUMB On being a medicinal marijuana farmer. 4 / LOCAL
PASSING INTO NOTHINGNESS Float tank therapy in SK. 6 / LOCAL
LET’S TAKE A SHOT
ON THE COVER:
GLORIANA
Nashville band starts a new chapter. 14 / COVER
Why we think all kids should be immunized. 8 / EDITORIAL
COMMENTS Here’s what you had to say about usage-based insurance. 10 / COMMENTS
PHOTO: COURTESY OF DAVID MCCLISTER
CULTURE
Q + A WITH BLUE KING BROWN Aussie band talks politics. 12 / Q + A
PARTY MUSIC
BIG BURGERS
Dusty Tucker, and the meaning of rock and roll. 13 / ARTS
Five Guys Burgers and Fries. 16 / FOOD + DRINK
A NEW VOCABULARY
MUSIC
Rodney LaTourelle twists formal abstraction. 13 / ARTS
Kiss, The Resignators + Five Finger Death Punch. 17 / MUSIC
ENTERTAINMENT
LISTINGS Local music listings for July 5 through July 13. 18 / LISTINGS
THE LONE RANGER + THE ENGLISH TEACHER The latest movie reviews. 20 / FILM
ON THE BUS Weekly original comic illustrations by Elaine M. Will. 26 / COMICS
NIGHTLIFE PHOTOS
GAMES + HOROSCOPES
We visited Dino’s and the Canada Day Arts & Culture Festival. 22-25 / NIGHTLIFE
Canadian criss-cross puzzle, horoscopes, and Sudoku. 27 / TIMEOUT VERBNEWS.COM @VERBSASKATOON FACEBOOK.COM/VERBSASKATOON VERB IS OWNED BY PARITY PUBLISHING INC.
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2 JULY 5 – JULY 11 VERB MAGAZINE
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MR. GREEN THUMB
Jeff Lundstrom grows weed legally, but for how long? BY ADAM HAWBOLDT
C
heck this out!” says Jeff Lundstrom, a wry smile creeping across his face. Lundstrom reaches his hand into a back pack, digs around, and comes out with a ceramic jar. He uncaps it. “Here, have a smell,” he says. Inside the jar is bud upon bud of lush, green marijuana. There’s a musky aroma coming from the canister that has a hint of berries mixed with something else that’s hard to put your finger on. Something unique. “It’s called U.K. Cheese,” says Lundstrom, and the light goes on. That unique scent wafting from the jar? It smells a bit like cheese. Putting the cork back in the jar, Lundstrom continues: “I grow this and I grow Buddha Cush, Big Buddha Cheese and LSD from Barney Farms.” And before you pick up the phone to call the cops on Lundstrom, there’s something you should know — all the weed he grows is done legally. See, Lundstrom is one of a few dozen
medicinal marijuana growers here in Saskatchewan, and boy oh boy does he know his product. Sitting in the back room of his store, Skunk Funk Smoker’s Emporium, Lundstrom talks in great, detailed, intelligent lengths about growing marijuana. “You start with the cloning of a female,” he says. “You go from
chemical nutrients he uses to help facilitate this process. “Then you switch it over to a flowering room and change the light cycle,” he continues, “It takes about two more months there for hydro, three for dirt.” Over the course of the next hour or so, Lundstrom talks about legal-
…before I opened my shop, I was on welfare. Broke. I was a broken man. JEFF LUNDSTROM
there to a pre-flower stage, what you call a vegetative stage. The whole time you’re controlling light cycle, air flow, nutrients. If it’s hydroponic, it takes about a month in this stage. In dirt, you’d veg for about two months.” On a shelf behind Lundstrom, lined up in tidy rows, are bottles of
izing marijuana, the new strain of weed he’s developing (Chunky Cheesy Perps), and the importance of nitrogen, magnesium and phosphorous in growing weed. Eventually he gets around to talking about how he became a governmentapproved medicinal marijuana grower. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »
4 JULY 5 – JULY 11 NEWS + OPINION
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And how, very soon, it will all be coming to an unwanted end.
It all started with an accident. Back in 2000, Lundstrom fell from scaffolding and did serious nerve and tissue damage to his lower back. He was prescribed Dilaudid to help ease his pain and soon found himself addicted to the opiate. “As I was coming to terms with my own opiate addiction and learning how I could overcome it, I started using marijuana for pain relief,” he says. “I was already using marijuana, but when I was cleaning up off opiates I started using it all the time for relief.” Right around the same time, Lundstrom was watching his sister, who had a cancerous tumour, waste away before his eyes. “I had to watch the chemo take her hair and take away her drive,” he says, wiping away a tear. “She was so racked up on painkillers, near the end, she barely knew who I was. She started smoking cannabis with me and started living a better quality of life than she had been for a while.” That’s when an idea took hold. “I knew it helped me with the pain, and it helped her,” says Lundstrom, who re-injured his back in 2003. “So I started wondering how I could help other people.” The answer was medicinal marijuana. But going from an underground grower (Lundstrom produced
his first underground batch of weed in a basement in Wakaw, Saskatchewan in 2004) to a legitimate one was far from easy. After trying for four straight years to get medicinal cannabis prescribed for his condition, Lundstrom decided to take matters in his own hands. “I was exhausted from trying to get it for so long, so one day I filled out all the paperwork, all the Health Canada forms, and sent them in with a cover letter saying I’d asked a bunch of doctors and was told no,” he explains. The government eventually gave him a license and for the past two years Lundstrom has been pumping out fine, delicious bud for himself and the two patients he is, by law, allowed to supply for. “Before all that happened, before I opened my shop, I was on welfare. Broke,” admits Lundstrom. “I was a broken man. Had a broken back, broken hopes, dead sister. I had no job, no hope, no anything. But things have really turned around for me.” Which is the good news. The bad news? As of April 2014, Lundstrom and every other medicinal marijuana grower in the country will be out of business.
Last month the federal government washed its hands of the medicinal marijuana industry, rolling out new legislation that states medicinal marijuana users and growers like Lundstrom will no longer be allowed to grow their own products. Instead, they will have to
purchase prescribed amounts (via mail) from licensed growers. Not surprisingly, this doesn’t sit well with Lundstrom. “You’ll have to contact those people at those facilities and then try a ton of different strains they grow, and hope they grow them as good as I do … Health Canada says they’re doing this for public safety reasons,” says Lundstrom, shaking his head. “You’re going to have some poor mail carrier carting this around in his mailbag and he gets baseball batted on his route because somebody found out. That doesn’t increase public safety in any f**king manner.” Nor does Lundstrom figure it will help with the cost. “Those facilities are not going to be cheap to run,” he says. “You’re telling me they’re going to be able to give the prices I do? Two to three dollars a gram? No way in hell.” So come April of next year, Lundstrom will be out of a gig and forced to buy his pot from a commercial producer, right? Wrong. “You think it’s going to make me stop growing cannabis?” he asks, a wry smile creeping across his face. “Yeah, right!”
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5 JULY 5 – JULY 11 @VERBSASKATOON
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PHOTO COURTESY OF ADAM HAWBOLDT / VERB MAGAZINE
PASSING INTO NOTHINGNESS
Float tank therapy in the Prairies BY ADAM HAWBOLDT
T
he room is warm, and smells of salt. Standing next to the door, arms hanging limp by my side, I take a deep breath and exhale, just the way Christian told me to. “Take deep, slow breaths to help relax,” he said. “And when you’re doing that, slowly turn your neck from side to side, up and down, making sure to see everything in the room. Check every corner. That way your subconscious can know that it’s 100% safe.” Turning my head to the right I notice what looks like a closet door. Maybe a door to a power box or something. Behind me is a window. I take another deep breath, swivel my head in the other direction, and there it is. A huge, white rectangular float tank. Just sitting there, waiting for me to get inside. Stretches finished, breathing exercises complete, I open the door to the float tank. A hot blast of salty air wafts out. But this isn’t the kind of air you experience at a beach or while adding salt to boiling water. No, there’s anywhere between 700-900 pounds of epsom salts mixed with the water in this tank — enough to make a human body float without treading water. Think the Dead Sea, but in your living room. One final deep breath, I crawl inside the float tank, and I say to myself, “Just relax. Nothing to worry about
here. Ninety minutes spent floating in utter, complete darkness. What’s the worst that can happen?” Soon as I think this, though, my imagination starts to rev up. Lying there in darkness, floating in a chamber of warm, salty water, I start having visions of the door to the float tank getting jammed. Of everyone outside suddenly disappearing like it’s the Rapture or something, leaving me stuck inside this tank. A slow-moving anxiety begins to creep up my spine.
…it’s almost as though I’m drifting through space. ADAM HAWBOLDT
I take another deep breath. “Settle down,” I say to myself. “Christian said this would happen the first time. All this, it’s just the anxiety leaving my body. Getting used to it’s surroundings.” Another deep breath.
During the 1950s, researchers became intensely interested in the CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »
6 JULY 5 – JULY 11 NEWS + OPINION
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human brain. Was it just an organ capable of only reacting to external stimuli? Or was there an internal force that drives it? How would the brain react if you put it in an environment where there was absolutely no stimuli whatsoever? This last question intrigued a man named John C. Lilly. So he decided to get to the bottom of it by building the first ever floatation tank at the National Institute of Mental Health Lab in the Virgin Islands. And while the device was a big step in the right direction, the tank was far from perfect. Why? Well, for starters you had to be completely submerged underwater, wearing a diver’s helmet and air tubes. The tubes, as you can probably guess, released air bubbles and made a constant noise. Jump ahead nearly thirty years, to the 1980s. By now float tanks have been taken out of the laboratory setting, they are using epsom salt to make people float, and there’s a float centre boom in the United States. Jump ahead another thirty years or so. The float tank boom of the ‘80s had deflated, nearly disappeared, but it’s now back on the rise. Enter Christian Zrymiak. As the owner of Oceanic Experience Wellness in Saskatoon, Zrymiak — who is originally from Regina — hopes to bring floatation tank therapy to the wound-up, stressed out people of our province. “For me, this all started in Vancouver,” he says. “I was living there, studying hypnotherapy … and I was at my wits’ end. I couldn’t find a job, didn’t know what in the hell I was going to do.” Then, by chance, an anonymous person contacted Zrymiak looking
to write a book about hypnotherapy. Zrymiak found this interesting and decided to keep in contact with this person. One thing led to another and, at some point during their correspondence the person mentioned that one of his dreams was to open a float centre. “That’s crazy,” thought Zrymiak. “Ridiculous!” But the idea for a float centre was already planted in Zrymiak’s head. Soon it would begin to germinate. “One day I was talking to my friend Albert on Skype,” says Zrymiak, “and I was telling him how I had to get out of Vancouver. He suggested I move to Saskatoon. I thought about it and said, “Yeah, maybe I’ll open a float centre there.’” After that, things happened quickly. Zrymiak moved to a province where he knew virtually no one, bought a float tank and started a business. It’s been open since November.
Fifteen minutes in the tank at Oceanic Experience Wellness, and all my previous anxiety has washed away. It’s been replaced by a strange, transcendental peace. There’s nothing but darkness and the thump, thump, thump of my heart in my chest. Other than that — pure nothingness. For a while I just float there, arms dangling above my head, eyes open. I focus on trying to slow my heart rate using my breathing. Doesn’t work. When I open my eyes it’s almost as though I’m drifting through space. The blackness, the quiet. And I must admit, it’s relaxing. Really though, once you get used to being in a float tank, how couldn’t it be? We live in a world that is overflowing with stimuli. From
computers to cellphones to speeding cars. The honking of horns and the flashing neon advertising signs. Everything. It’s constantly grating on you, whether you know it or not. And most of the time while we’re awake our brains exist in Alpha or Beta states (logical thinking and action) in reaction to these stimuli. Conversely, when we are in deep REM sleep, our brains are in what’s known as a Delta state. But here in the float tank, as I pretend I’m floating through space to a distant planet, my brain begins to enter a Theta state. Think of a waking dream, those last few seconds before you drift off to sleep at night. When this happens, liquid images of my childhood flood my mind. My dead friend and I laughing and throwing chestnuts at each other, walking home along the train tracks, my mom in the kitchen pretending to be one the witches from MacBeth and scaring me half to death. From off in the distance Tibetan chimes begin to ring. That means my 90 minute session is over. As I climb out of the tank and dry myself off, I can’t help but have a new appreciation for my surroundings. Everything seems a little more vivid, the edges on objects are harder. Sharper. And you know what else? All that anxiety I had in the beginning — it’s long gone now, replaced by a sense of calm. A relaxed mind, and a relaxed (almost rubbery) body. I haven’t felt this good in ages.
( ( ) 881 Feedback? Feedback?Text Textit!it!306 306) 8818372 8372 @VerbSaskatoon ahawboldt@verbnews.com
7 JULY 5 – JULY 11 /VERBSASKATOON
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EDITORIAL
LET’S TAKE A SHOT We should be immunizing all kids to prevent the spread of disease
T
o immunize or not to immunize, that is the question. Actually, as far as we’re concerned, it isn’t much of a question at all. When it comes to children who can’t intellectually or legally decide these things for themselves, as long as they aren’t allergic to something contained in an immunization shot we think they should be getting one. Many people opt out of immunizing their kids, and if you ask them why chances are they’ll mention something about that infamous study that linked the MMR vaccine (which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, and is administered to kids first when they’re roughly a year old) to autism. But you know what? That study was baloney. Published in the medical journal The Lancet in 1998, the authors of the article claimed that there was a very serious link between autism and the MMR vaccine. Upon hearing this many parents began foregoing vaccination for their children. But here’s the thing: the research paper was fraudulent. After the paper was published, an investigation by the British Medical Journal found the data behind its claims was either grossly manipulated or outright fabricated in order to reach a predetermined conclusion. What’s more, the study’s lead author, Andrew Wakefield, was discovered to be in conflict of interest, having taken over $800,000 from a group that wanted to sue vaccine makers but couldn’t since, you know, all of the existing evidence that showed the MMR vaccine was safe. Not only did Wakefield fail to mention the cash to The Lancet, he
also failed to mention that the parents of some of the children in the study were litigants hoping to sue. And if that wasn’t bad enough, further investigation also published in the BMJ found that Wakefield and the father of one of the study’s children were hopeing to develop and sell a competing vaccine once “public confidence in the MMR vaccine was damaged.” Nice. If this all sounds pretty outrageous, well, it is. Once the truth came out, 10 of the study’s 12 coauthors immediately retracted their interpretation of its “findings,” Wakefield’s licence was revoked, and The Lancet apologized and issued a rare full retraction. But somehow all of this hasn’t stopped people from choosing not to immunize their kids, fearing they may develop autism. In fact, the government of Saskatchewan has published the immunization rates for people of this province, and guess what: only 63% of kids under the age of five have been protected. This trend is deeply disturbing. As Mark Sawyer, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist in San Diego, claimed that the Lancet incident “has set us back a decade, and we’re just now recovering from that.” Or are we? In 1994 Canada was certified as a “polio free” country by the WHO. Since then, random cases of polio have cropped up in regions of B.C. where non-vaccinated people came in contact with polio-infected visitors to the province. Now, that’s not to say that polio is making an unchecked comeback. But the fact remains that in a country where the disease was eradicated nearly 20 years ago, there have been a few isolated cases that have appeared — simply because people chose not to immunize against it.
When it comes to measles, the stats are much worse. From 1950-1954, the number of infected people hovered around 307 annually, with one year spikes hitting as high as 61,370. Fast forward to ‘02, and the WHO considered measles to be eliminated in what they term the “Region of the Americas” (which includes Canada). Since then, though, measles have been popping up again in endemic fashion. In 2007 there was an outbreak that lasted 24 weeks and affected 94 people in Quebec. In the spring of 2010, there was an outbreak in B.C. of 82 confirmed cases. Then in 2011, thanks in part to another large outbreak in Quebec, there were 750 cases of measles in Canada. This is ridiculous. After all, there exists a means of protecting our children. And yet there we are, subjecting our kids to potentially fatal conditions we know perfectly well how to prevent. It’s time to stop seeing a refusal to immunize children as a brave, wellreasoned stance. By refusing sound medical help from qualified physicians, parents who go the opt-out route when it comes to vaccines put their kids — and everyone their kids come in contact with — in real danger. So let’s stop believing false information, and start immunizing our children. 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
@VerbSaskatoon feedback@verbnews.com
8 JULY 5 – JULY 11 NEWS + OPINION
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COMMENTS
ON TOPIC: Last week we asked what you thought about usage-based insurance. Here's what you had to say: – I understand that insurance is for all to share in the misfortune of the individual. In Ontario I heard of an insurance company that set rates according to the neighborhood you live in. ‘Good’ neighborhoods pay less than those deemed ‘Not Good’. That is not right! signed Bill p.s. I enjoy the SUDOKU when I ride the bus.
Text yo thoughtsur to 881 VE R B 8372
of your opinion article. Information like kms on your car etc they already have access too.
OFF TOPIC – Yay I <3 Joey Cape soooo much thanx for featuring him verb In response to “A Fitting Tribute,” Q+A #246 (June 28, 2013)
– Installing technological devices on motorcycles & vehicles to keep track of people’s driving habits including where they go may be too intrusive & an invasion of privacy by SGI contemplating to introduce usage based insurance rates. Let’s keep things the way they are. Big Brother doesn’t have to be watching all the time!! :0
– Great editorial on SGI new insurance proposal. Completely agree usage-based is NOT the way to go. It rewards the “lunatics” and don’t get me started on having the government have info on where we’ve all been and what route we used to get there, etc. This is such a stupid reaction to a problem. Make people take drivers tests more frequently, and if they fail well to bad for them. Back to school and retake again. The only way to make sure roads are more safer is to keep idiots off of them and give drivers of all kinds of vehicles the tools to make themselves better drivers. We shouldn’t punish everyone because some moron doesn’t know what to do behind the wheel. And we definitely shouldn’t allow the government to put tracking devices on our vehicles.
– Very interested in following the story of determining dinosaur colours. Cool thing to be happening in SK! In response to “The Find of a Lifetime,” Local, #246 (June 28, 2013)
SOUND OFF – Wishing everyone a Happy Canada Day on July 1st!
– HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA :D:D!!!!!
– Happy Canada Day. Take a second to think about what a great country we live in. It’s Amazing!
– Broke my arm. Spent two days in the hospital. F**k do we ever have crappy medical care!
– Water your plants in this hot weather. Don’t get caught with your plants down.
– LET’S GO RIDERS! THE CUP IS COMING TO REGINA THIS YEAR LET’S WIN IT AND KEEP IT HERE!! GREEN PRIDE!!
– You guys are overeacting about the government tracking aspect CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »
10 JULY 5 – JULY 11 NEWS + OPINION
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POWERED BY THE CREW AT MOGA MOBILE
– Summer is here so a great way to spend a Saturday morning is garage saling…BUT while driving around today I could not believe the state of some side streets. Parts of some resembled gravel grid roads..
– http://www.murfreesboropost. com/vinson-new-jackie-robinsonflick-hits-grand-slam-cms-35471: re. “42”: movie about Jackie Robinson; the 1st Negro player in Major League Baseball(MLB) who helped spark the civil rights movement in the USA. “42” was the number of his jersey; the only number retired & no longer used in MLB. 0:-)
– Reach out and touch a hand. Make a friend if you can.
– Those who get too big for their britches will be exposed in the end.
– Any chances Toontown could get Nenshi to do a guest gig while Atch is at the cottage..
– When you willfully harm another human do you know what this makes you? Do you know what you lose? Payback starts long before you go to hell!
NEXT WEEK: What do you think of immunizing children ? Pick up 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.
11 JULY 5 – JULY 11 /VERBSASKATOON
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INTERNATIONAL EFFECT
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF DWV PHOTOGRAPHY
Melbourne’s Blue King Brown on rock and roll, politics, and a new way of thinking BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
T
he best adjective to describe Melbourne, Australia’s Blue King Brown is “international.” Drawing on a diverse range of sounds, from dancehall and rock to pop and traditional percussion, the group welds their powerful urban roots sound to a philosophy that embraces justice and social consciousness. Fronted by Natalie Pa’apa’a, whose dynamic vocal delivery links the band’s diverse songs together, Blue King Brown are currently touring in support of their 2010 album, Worldwize Part 1 North & South. I caught up with Pa’apa’a via email to ask about the group’s influences, vision, and latest studio project. Alex J MacPherson: How has living and working in Melbourne shaped your sound and affected your views on music, as well as on the world? Natalie Pa’apa’a: Australia is a huge country with various different creative scenes. Where we live, in Melbourne, we believe it’s the Australian hub of arts and culture. Having come from a strong world music and percussive background we already had influences from around the globe, but being surrounded by a thriving multi-cultural music scene in Melbourne is definitely a part of what has inspired our music both sonically and lyrically. AJM: On the other hand, your albums — particularly Worldwize Part 1 North & South — has a very international
feel, musically and intellectually. How important is it to you to transcend political borders?
fore bringing it back to our home studio and adding more sounds, beats, FX and production in general.
NP: We believe music is a powerful tool in the push for a new world built on truth, equality, sustainability, and justice. And we’re both passionate about good music and human rights, as well as inspired by the people-powered movements happening across the globe at the moment. It’s important for us to reach as many people as possible with our music; it is intended for people from all nations and we are grateful for the opportunity to share it.
AJM: Your philosophy is inextricably linked to your music. How would you describe the ideas of connectedness that seem to pervade your albums? NP: The lyrical content of our music is something that came very naturally. From the time I first started writing lyrics, I’ve always written about my people, my planet, and the unique new era of change that we happen to be alive in. My words reflect the injustices we face as a global community and the victories that await us should we remember and realize that we are all indivisibly connected to the great and mysterious life force that surrounds all living things, and the individual energy we create followed by the actions we take, affect us all as a whole. I believe another world is possible, one without injustice, poverty, hatred and corporate greed over human need, and I believe the only leaders we can count on to make that world a reality [are] ourselves.
My words reflect the injustices we face as a global community… NATALIE PA’APA’A
AJM: Your music incorporates an extremely diverse range of sounds, yet your songs feel cohesive and focused. How do you go about writing songs with such a broad palette of sounds to choose from?
AJM: It’s been a couple of years since you released Worldwize Part 1 North & South, and its title hints at a follow-up. What are you working on now, and what can we expect to hear from Blue King Brown in the months to come?
NP: Usually our songs start as a guitar riff or a bass line, then the groove, harmony, melody and finally the vocals. We write a few different ways but more recently we have been using software audio programs like Logic to construct riddims and ideas. We’ll then go into the studio to record live instrumentation be-
NP: We’re currently wrapping up a new album, although it is not going to be Part 2 of Worldwize. It’s a whole lot of new works that we’re really excited about. There’s some similar sonic ideas as Worldwize, as well as continuing our conscious lyrical style and inter-
national collaborations, but there’s also some new approaches to our songwriting and production. We’re artists, constantly evolving and exploring. We’ve moved into a time where our global focus has taken control, where our words are refining themselves in order to communicate our ever evolving and growing perspective on life and our shared destination … the future.
Blue King Brown July 18 @ Amigos Cantina $10 @ Ticketedge
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12 JULY 5 – JULY 11 CULTURE
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PARTY MUSIC
Dusty Tucker on the meaning of rock and roll
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ock and roll music is party music. At least that’s what the members of Dusty Tucker, an energetic rock band from Red Deer, Alberta, will tell you. After coming together in 2009, the band embarked on a quest to play rock and roll music the way they think it ought to be played: fast, loud, and drenched in beer and sweat. “We all like heavy music, but I think sticking to your roots — where you’re from and what you grew up on — is what makes good music,” explains Travis Hallonquist, the band’s vocalist. “We all grew up on country music, and we all liked that twang. We started jamming with a few guys, and almost a dozen guitar players later we got a band together that I think we’re pretty proud of.” These sounds are summed up on the group’s first EP, the spectacularly
BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
titled Locked Loaded And Ready For Bear. From the reverb-drenched “Last Stand Of Ol’ Sneak Head Sam” to the machine-gun riff that kicks “Real Lady Like” into high gear and the utter insanity of “Locked Loaded,” Dusty Tucker’s sound injects the unmistakable sound of Southern rock with oldschool grit and a modern edge. “Being a rock band that has powerful solos and parts to our music that your parents can get up and dance to is the appeal of what we do,” Hallonquist says. “We all just love rock and roll. We all love guitar solos. We all love just riffin’. That’s it, actually. It’s pretty simple.” But forging a career in music is anything but simple. Dusty Tucker are proudly independent, and the absence of a record label has proven to be anything but a hindrance. In just over three years the group has played hundreds of shows across western
Canada, including gigs with the Cancer Bats and Billy Talent. Working as an independent band allows Dusty Tucker to do things their own way — even if it means taking longer to release albums. The group’s latest effort, a short EP called Dun Went And Got Gone, is scheduled for release this month. “It’s a fun record, it really is” laughs Hallonquist, pointing out that it features contributions from the band’s new guitar players. “It sounds totally different, but you can tell that the core of what we do is there.” If the raunchy new single, “Gettin’ Goonied,” is any indication, it will be a long time before Dusty Tucker tire of huge riffs, shouted choruses, and outrageously energetic performances. Dusty Tucker July 12 @ Rock Bottom $10
A NEW VOCABULARY
Rodney LaTourelle’s latest installation puts a twist on formal abstraction
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odney LaTourelle, a Canadian artist who lives and works in Berlin, is known for largescale installations that challenge the way people think about art and the space it occupies. His latest creation, “Leaves,” derives its power from the juxtaposition of formal aesthetics and the chaos of the human body. It is both a part of, and a reaction to, the evolution of abstract art. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to add to the formal or the abstract vocabulary,” LaTourelle says, referring to the shape, colour, line, and space that make up the language of formal
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE MENDEL ART GALLERY
Rodney LaTourelle’s design for “Leaves,” his site-specific installation at the Mendel Art Gallery.
abstraction. “A kind of social dimension and the dimension of the body, and how people interact physically in space … together.” “Leaves” is an installation that demands interaction. Made up of a series of planes mounted on steel frames and set at angles to each other, “Leaves” unfolds like the pages of a book. Its formal elements are a reference to the growth of abstraction, which shaped every aspect of art and culture in the 20th century, and is still prevalent today. “Having art that’s rectilinear and very refined and minimal is still captivating in a certain way,” LaTourelle muses. “That language is still very strong, or still has an impact for me. But I like to use that in more everyday ways.” In this sense, “Leaves” is an attempt to subvert the establishment by introducing elements that are unpredictable and confusing. LaTourelle designed the structure of “Leaves” as a place to read and relax, a public artwork that is only complete when it is being used. “It’s relaxing, a
BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
meeting space,” he says. “I’m adding that to the language of abstraction; that kind of interaction is the essence of the piece. It’s not just about that dualism; it’s about how people integrate into it.” By encouraging people to interact with his installation, LaTourelle is able to create contrast between two distinct ideas. The spare outlines of the work are obscured by the human body, a messy and indistinct agglomeration of flesh and bone. And because “Leaves” is very much a public installation, it changes the way most people think about and use the gallery space. “Leaves” is formal art, but its brilliance is a function not of its aspirations, but of the way its aspirations are altered by the audience. Leaves Through 15 September @ Mendel Art Gallery Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbSaskatoon amacpherson@verbnews.com
13 JULY 5 – JULY 11 @VERBSASKATOON
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A THOUSAND MILES LEFT BEHIND
Nashville’s Gloriana start a new chapter in their career BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
PHOTO: COURTESY OF DAVID MCCLISTER
F
or the members of Gloriana, a country trio based in Nashville, Tennessee, the difference between success and obscurity was a stroke of luck — and a lot of hard work. Brothers Tom and Mike Gossin grew up in Utica, New York. Although their family didn’t have a lot of money, the Gossins venerated songwriters. Their two sons spent their early years listening to records and playing piano. After finishing high school, Tom spent two years studying at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington before dropping out to pursue a music career. He was soon joined by his brother. Together, they spent the next ten years barely scraping by. They played bad venues for worse money, slept on unfamiliar sofas, and survived on cheap ramen noodles. Meanwhile, across the country, Rachel Reinert was preparing to move from LA to Nashville to start her own career. In early 2008, the brothers moved into her apartment — and Gloriana was born. “It was just happenstance,” Tom recalls from a tour stop in Kansas City,
one of dozens the band will play this summer. “We met Rachel and were just, like, maybe we should all try singing together.” It didn’t take long before the three musicians realized they had unearthed something special. “We all had one of those goose bump moments,” he continues. “It definitely stood apart from the rest of the experiences in my life.” Tom is reluctant to analyze the musical
Less than a year later, the trio released a short EP called The Way It Goes. A few months after that they put out their eponymous long play. Although it received mixed reviews, Gloriana was embraced by country fans across North America and it established the band as a serious force in the genre. Deeply influenced by groups like Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles, Gloriana emerged as a synthesis of
There are not a lot of those groups like us, where each individual person could sing on their own and write on their own… TOM GOSSIN
alchemy that defines Gloriana, but he and his bandmates were quick to recognize that it was working. “You need a connection like that in a group,” he says, “and it’s not something you can just manufacture: it’s either there or it’s not. And we were really lucky to find that setup.”
slick rock and roll, traditional country, and powerful three-part harmonies. Reinert and the Gossin brothers spent more than two years touring behind the record, including a stint with Taylor Swift, before returning to the studio. A Thousand Miles Left Behind, which was released late last summer, builds CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »
14 JULY 5 – JULY 11 CULTURE
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on and refines the ideas laid out on Gloriana. Tom says it marks a turning point for the band. “It’s like the end of the chapter of being a struggling musician, and then making that transition from a bar musician that sleeps on people’s couches and is always struggling to pay bills and find food to getting onto a tour bus and touring the world with Taylor Swift,” he says. “It was a huge life change.” All records are a snapshot of a moment in time, and the songs on A Thousand Miles Left Behind address the frustration and agony of life as a working musician — a period the band has since left behind. These ideas are captured on songs like “Gold Rush” and “Turn My World Around.” The former is a meditation on the dreams and the unshakable convictions of the pioneers who flooded into California in the late 1840s, in search of gold that was never within their reach. It is a fitting metaphor for the people who gamble everything on a chance at success. The latter is Mike’s reflection on the years he and Tom spent searching for success. “It’s about always wanting what you don’t have,” Tom says of “Gold Rush,” as well as the broad theme of the album. “When I had gigs in bars every night and I could stay at home and I was with my lady daily, not travelling all the time, all I ever wanted to do was get on the bus and travel. And now, of course, after six years of touring, it’s like, if only I could stay home for a day.” But A Thousand Miles Left Behind is more than just a nostalgic look at the glory days. It is also an example of how contemporary country is growing and
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
evolving. “We live in a world where Taylor Swift’s new album is still being considered for country music awards,” he muses, “and if you want to really get into it, that sounds nothing like traditional country music. So I think the lines have been really blurred. We just try to stay true to our hearts and not
think about that stuff too much. We just try to do what feels right, you know?” In practice, this means writing songs about meaningful experiences, songs everybody can identify with. “Sunset Lovin’” is a slinky track about a couple Mike saw making out in a car. It is a simple yet effective ode to the beauty of young love in the summer, complete with a grungy Telecaster lick and a towering chorus. “Carolina Rose,” on the other hand, is a song Tom wrote for his fiancée, a gentle ballad about leaving on tour and coming home again. Drawing on a range of influences, from the smooth grooves of California rock and roll to the mandolins, banjos, and pedal steels that outline so many classic country songs, A Thousand Miles Left Behind bridges the gap between tradition and innovation. Tom’s philosophy is straightforward. “Beautiful simplicity,” he says with a laugh, citing Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way” as an example. “It’s a thought that we’ve all had. You come up with a clever way to say it and with a perfect little melody — and it’s a simple little song that’ll stand the test of time.” What separates Gloriana from many, if not most, of their contemporaries is the fact that all three members contribute songs. A Thousand Miles Left Behind includes tracks written by all three band members and producer Matt Serletic. But the record doesn’t feel splintered or jagged. Tom attributes this to common experience and, more importantly, the fact that he and his bandmates have grown accustomed to writing for the group — and embracing the possibilities offered by a group made up of unique individuals. “There are not a lot of those groups like us, where each individual person could sing on their own and write on their own and play on their own,” he muses. “You’re putting the collective thing in rather than being by yourself.” And while this sense of collective purpose has grown stronger over time, the trio’s circumstances have changed dramatically. Which is why A Thousand Miles Left Behind feels like the end of one era and the beginning of another. Reinert and the Gossins are no longer struggling to pay their bills or find a decent meal. “I’ve been trying to make it in music since I was sixteen — paying my dues and working so hard,” Tom recalls. “Towards my late twenties it was like, oh man, is this ever going to
happen? Was I silly to go for this? And I think with making that transition, getting the record deal and putting out a couple albums and having some success with that, I’ve really moved on to the next chapter in my life.” Today, Tom is preparing to get married and buy a house — realties he could once only dream of. A Thousand Miles Left Behind hints at the old adage that the grass is greener on the other side, but making the record convinced Tom that he should step back and enjoy the moment. “I just love life right now,” he says. “We’re going to try and have our next single go in that direction.” Gloriana July 14 @ Craven $100+ @ cravencountryjamboree.com Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbSaskatoon amacpherson@verbnews.com
15 JULY 5 – JULY 11 /VERBSASKATOON
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FOOD + DRINK
BIG BURGERS IN A BUSY JOINT
Five Guys Burgers and Fries has simple menu, great taste BY ADAM HAWBOLDT
Photo: courtesy of Adam Hawboldt
T
he new Five Guys Burgers and Fries is packed. The line snakes from the counter, past the stack of bagged potatoes, nearly to the door. The first few notes of “Lighting Crashes” by Live fills the restaurant. There isn’t an open seat in the place. A good sign for a hot new burger joint here in town. By the time the chorus to “Lightning Crashes” kicks in I’m halfway through a handful of free peanuts I grabbed from a barrel near the entrance, and close enough to see the menu behind the counter. It’s simple, this menu. Your options run as follows: hamburger, cheeseburger, bacon burger,
bacon cheeseburger, a couple of different kinds of hot dogs, three types
menu and do it well than an expansive one and only have a couple of good dishes. Besides, at Five Guys there are 15 free toppings to choose from, so the ways in which you can dress up your burger are endless. Okay, not endless, but there are over 250,000 possible ways to order a burger so it’s not like you’ll be stuck eating the same thing every time you visit. Unless, of course, you want to. By the time it’s my turn to order I’ve talked myself into getting a bacon cheeseburger with everything on it. Every. Last. Topping. But at the last minute, when the young lady behind the counter asks me what I want, I balk. “Egads! This girl is going to think I’m a savage,” I say to myself. So instead of being bold, I stare at the menu, order a bacon cheeseburger and start rambling off whatever toppings my eyes fall on. “Mayo, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions,” I tell her. Pause. Then I continue: “Grilled mushrooms, too, and ketchup and mustard and jalapeños and pickles. Oh, and I’ll also have a small Cajun fries.” A minute later I have a paper bag filled with food and I’m ready to eat. The fries, which come overflowing in a white paper cup, are
The fries … are freshly cut, fried in peanut oil and seasoned with a delectable spice. ADAM HAWBOLDT
of sandwiches and either Five Guys fries or Cajun fries. That’s it. And you know what? It works. It’s always better to have a small
LET’S GO DRINKIN’ VERB’S MIXOLOGY GUIDE THE STRAWBERRY SMASH
INGREDIENTS
Feel like having a sweet, refreshing drink now that the warmer weather has arrived? Try this fresh-as-can-be cocktail, and you’ll be more than pleased.
4 strawberries 2 oz white rum 1 oz fresh lemon juice 1 oz simple syrup
DIRECTIONS
In a cocktail shaker, muddle 3 hulled strawberries. Add rum, lemon juice and syrup. Fill shaker with ice, cover, and shake until the outside of the shaker is frosty. Fill a highball glass with crushed ice. Pour out the concoction and garnish with the last strawberry.
freshly cut, fried in peanut oil and seasoned with a delectable spice. And the burger, well, this thing is fat and sloppy and oh so good. The patties (there are two of them) are made from fresh ground beef and are juicy and hearty. As for the toppings I chose — good call on my behalf. Next time I go to Five Guys Burgers and Fries, though, I’m
going with every topping on the board. I swear. Five Guys Burgers and Fries 1840 8th St. E | 306 373 5555 Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbSaskatoon ahawboldt@verbnews.com
16 JULY 5 – JULY 11 CULTURE
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VERBNEWS.COM
MUSIC
NEXT WEEK
COMING UP
KISS
THE RESIGNATORS
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH
@ CREDIT UNION CENTRE SUNDAY, JULY 14 – $28.25+
@ AMIGOS CANTINA FRIDAY, JULY 19 – $TBD
@ CREDIT UNION CENTRE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 – $39.50+
When Kiss burst onto the music scene in 1973, people hadn’t seen anything like them before. With their painted faces, outlandish outfits and flamboyant stage antics (which ranged from breathing fire to spitting blood to shooting rockets), this hard-rocking quartet from New York certainly grabbed peoples’ attention. Fast forward 40 years and 40+ million records sold, and Kiss is still a hot act to see. Whether playing their hard rock from the ‘70s, glam metal of the ‘80s or their grittier stuff from the ‘90s, this band — led by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons — never fails to deliver. Especially for the loyal members of the Kiss Army. They’ll be in Saskatoon next week. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.
Ska is a music that was born in Jamaica in the late 1950s. Combining elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with jazz and R&B, it served as the precursor to both rocksteady and reggae. Many people know this. What a lot of people don’t know, though, is that in the early days of ska, many of the early hits were played by The Caribs (an Australian band living in Jamaica) and were engineered by Aussie Graeme Goodall. So it makes perfect sense that The Resignators, a ska band from Down Under, fell into playing this upbeat, engaging genre of music. Mixing ska with punk, The Resignators have a sound (which they call “psychoska”) that will pull you out of your seat and make your feet move. Tickets available at the door.
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 Chinese 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 hardcharging melodic heavy metal that blows your hair back. Tickets at Ticketmaster. – By Adam Hawboldt
PHOTOS COURTESY OF AKTIVIOSIO / PCARMICH / THE ARTIST
SASK MUSIC PREVIEW The Ness Creek Music Festival is almost here! Head up to Big River July 18-21 to take in the performances, workshops, Eco-Village, artisan market, drum and dance circle, and more, all in the heart of the boreal forest. Headliners this year include Elliott Brood, Old Man Luedecke, Said the Whale and The Wooden Sky. Oh, and did we mention camping is free with a weekend pass? Head on over to www.nesscreek.com for more information.
Keep up with Saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org
17 JULY 5 – JULY 11 @VERBSASKATOON
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LISTINGS
JULY 5 » JULY 13 The most complete live music listings for Saskatoon. S
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FRIDAY 5 HOUSE DJS / 6TWELVE LOUNGE — Funk & lounge DJs liven it up. 9pm / No cover WEAK ENDS / Amigos — Also appearing: Castaway. 10pm / Cover TBD RIPPERTRAIN / Buds — Hard rocking’ tunes! 10pm / Cover TBD DJ AASH MONEY / Beiley’s — DJ Aash Money throws it down. 9pm / $5 cover KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS / Dakota Dunes — Some rockin’ music from the heart of Kentucky. 8pm / Cover TBD BPM / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin electro/ vocal house music. 10pm / $5 DJ ECLECTIC / The Hose — Local turntable whiz pumps snappy beats. 8pm / No cover DJ STIKMAN / JAX NITECLUB — Kick off your weekend. 8pm / $5 cover CROOKED CREEK / Lydia’s Pub — Looking for a good time? Look no further. 10pm / $5 DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — There’s no better country rock party around. 8pm / $5; ladies in free before 11pm GORGEOUS BLUE DOGS / Piggy’s — Come rock the weekend away. 9pm / No cover EMILY ROWED / Prairie Ink — A west coast roots/folk songstress. 8pm / No cover THE BIG RIVER BOYS / Rock Bottom — It’s gonna get loud. 9pm / Cover TBD RED LACE / Stan’s — If the bar is a rockin’, please come a’ knockin’. 8pm / No cover DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto — With Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King. 10pm / $5 PARTY ROCK FRIDAYS / Tequila — With DJ Anchor. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ NICK RUSTON / Uncle Barley’s — Come and check him out! 9pm / Cover TBD CALGARY FLOOD FUNDRAISER / Vangelis — Featuring Triplophonics + more. 10pm / $8
SATURDAY 6
HOUSE DJS / 6TWELVE — Resident DJs spin deep and soulful tunes. 9pm / No cover FRIENDS OF FOES + MORE / Amigos — A night of rockin’ bands. 10pm / Cover TBD DJ AASH MONEY + DJ CTRL / Béily’s — These two throw it down. 9pm / $5 cover
RIPPERTRAIN / Buds — Hard rocking’ tunes! 10pm / Cover TBD THE TRAGICALLY HIP / CUC — Iconic rockers. 7:30pm / $34.75+ (ticketmaster.ca) SATURGAY NIGHT / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin exclusive dance remixes. 10pm / $5 DJ KADE / The Hose — Saskatoon’s own DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DJ STIKMAN / Jax Niteclub — It’s ladies night! 9pm / $5 cover SKYLAB / Le Relais — Featuring Def Poet + more. 8pm / Cover TBD LORDS KITCHNER / Lydia’s Pub — Indie rock from Moose Jaw.10pm / $5 ILL ADVENTURE / Odeon — Featuring Kidalgo and more. Time and cost TBD DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — It’s a party! 8pm / $5 GORGEOUS BLUE DOGS / Piggy’s — Come rock the weekend away. 9pm / No cover THE LOST KEYS / Prairie Ink — Eclectic easy listening tunes. 8pm / No cover THE CLEANERS / Rock Bottom — With All Mighty Voice. 9pm / Cover TBD RED LACE / Stan’s — If the bar is a rockin’, please come a’ knockin’. 8pm / No cover DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto — With Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King. 10pm / $5 DJ ANCHOR / Sutherland Bar — It’s a video mix show! 10pm / Cover TBD SEXY SATURDAYS / Tequila — Get the party started! 9pm / Cover TBD DJ THORPDEO / Uncle Barley’s — Spinning hot tunes all night. 10pm / Cover TBD THE DEAD SOUTH + MORE / Vangelis — A little bit of everything. 10pm / $8 SIX MOONS LATER / Victoria School’s Little Stone Stage — It’s Live at Lunch! 11:30am
SUNDAY 7
MARY GAUTHIER / Amigos — A talented folk artist from Louisiana. 10pm / $20 INDUSTRY NIGHT / Béily’s — Hosted by DJ Sugar Daddy. 9pm / $4; no cover for industry staff DJ KADE / The Hose — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover
MONDAY 8
SNFU / Amigos Cantina — Hardcore punk out of Edmonton. 10pm / $15 (ticketedge.ca) JESSE ROADS / Buds on Broadway — Classic rock from southern Alberta. 10pm / $6 DJ AUDIO / Dublins — Spinning dope beats. 9pm / Cover TBD METAL MONDAYS / Lydia’s — If hard, heavy awesomeness is your thing, swing by. 9pm
TUESDAY 9
JOEY CAPE / Amigos — Former Lagwagon leadman. 10pm / $10 (ticketedge.ca) CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »
18 JULY 5 – JULY 11 ENTERTAINMENT
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JESSE ROADS / Buds on Broadway — Classic rock from southern Alberta. 10pm / $6 DJ SUGAR DADDY / The Double Deuce — Able to rock any party, this crowd favourite has always been known to break the latest and greatest tracks. 9:30pm / $4 cover DJ NICK RUSTON / Dublins — Spinning dope beats. 9pm / Cover TBD VERB PRESENTS OPEN STAGE / Lydia’s Pub — The open stage at Lydia’s has hosted many of Saskatoon’s finest performers. 9pm / No cover OPEN MIC / Somewhere Else Pub — Come out to show your talent. 7pm / No cover
WEDNESDAY 10
HUMP WEDNESDAYS / 302 Lounge & Discotheque — Resident DJ Chris Knorr will be spinning all of your favourites. 9pm / No cover until 10pm; $3 thereafter THE MULES / Buds on Broadway — Some rockin’ local blues. 10pm / $6 DJ MEMO / Dublins — Spinning dope beats. 9pm / Cover TBD DRUMHAND / Gillian Snider’s House — World music you can groove to. 8pm / $10+ DJ KADE / The Hose — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DR. J ‘SOULED OUT’ / Lydia’s Pub — Dr. J spins hot funk and soul every Wednesday night. 9pm / No cover WILD WEST WEDNESDAY / Outlaws — Hosted by DJ Big Ayyy & DJ Henchman. Come out and ride the mechanical bull! 9pm / $4; no cover for industry staff THE AVENUE RECORDING COMPANY PRESENTS OPEN MIC / Rock Bottom — Hosted by Chad Reynolds. Sign up and play at this weekly event. 10pm / No cover CJWW KARAOKE / Stan’s Place — Your talent, aired on the radio! 9pm / No cover DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King belt out classic tunes and audience requests, from Sinatra to Lady Gaga. 10pm / No cover MOONBAHN / Vangelis — Time to blow your mind. 10pm
THURSDAY 11 HARRISON JAMES BAND / Buds on Broadway — Some rockin’ good tunes for a Thursday. 10pm / $6 THROWBACK THURSDAYS / Earls — Come experience the best in retro funk, soul, reggae and rock. 8pm / No cover DJ KADE / The Hose — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover THUNDER RIOT W/CONKY SHOWPONY / Rock Bottom — Come dance the night away. 9pm / $5 TRIPLE UP THURSDAYS / Tequila — It’s almost the weekend! 9pm / Cover TBD
FRIDAY 12
HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk, soul & lounge DJs liven it up. 9pm / No cover THE NEW JACOBIN CLUB / Amigos — A gothic shock rock outfit. 10pm / Cover TBD DJ AASH MONEY / Béily’s — DJ Aash Money throws it down. 9pm / $5 cover SEVEN STRAIGHT / Buds on Broadway — Hard rock the way it’s meant to be played. 10pm / $6 BPM / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin electro/ vocal house music. 10pm / $5 DJ ECLECTIC / The Hose — Local turntable whiz pumps snappy electronic beats. 8pm / No cover DJ STIKMAN / Jax — Kick off your weekend with all your favourite hits. 8pm / $5 MISS QUINCY AND THE SHOWDOWN / Lydia’s Pub — Also featuring Hello, Lady. 10pm / $5 ANDY PERSIAN / Odeon — Also appearing is DJ Ammo. 6:30pm / $60+ DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — Round up your friends. 8pm / $5; ladies in free before 11pm UNDERCOVER PIRATES / Piggy’s — Playing hits from the 60s to today. 9pm / No cover JENELLE ORCHERTON DUO / Prairie Ink — A Montreal jazz duo. 8pm / No cover DUSTY TUCKER + MORE / Rock Bottom — A CD release party full of hard-rocking jams. 7:30pm / $10
BLACK RIDGE COUNTRY / Stan’s Place — A night of kicking country. 8pm / No cover DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto Piano Lounge — With Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King. 10pm / $5 PARTY ROCK FRIDAYS / Tequila — Featuring DJ Anchor. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ NICK RUSTON / Uncle Barley’s — Come and check him out! 9pm / Cover TBD DESPISTADO W/ SPOILS / Vangelis — Also featuring Myles and the Blanks. 10pm / $10
SATURDAY 13
HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin deep and soulful tunes. 9pm / No cover BOB LOG III / Amigos — An American oneman blues punk band. 10pm / $10 DJ AASH MONEY + DJ CTRL / Béily’s — These two DJs throw it down. 9pm / $5 SEVEN STRAIGHT / Buds — Hard rock the way it’s meant to be played. 10pm / $6 SATURGAY NIGHT / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin exclusive dance remixes. 10pm / $5 DJ KADE / The Hose — Saskatoon’s own DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DJ STIKMAN / Jax — Ladies night with DJ Stikman and the Jax party crew. 9pm / $5 FUR EEL / Lydia’s Pub — A funk/soul/rock band out of Regina. 10pm / $5 DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — Round up your friends ‘cause there’s no better country rock party around. 8pm / $5 UNDERCOVER PIRATES / Piggy’s — Playing hits from the 60s to today. 9pm / No cover TWO TALL DUDES / Prairie Ink — Acoustic versions of 70s and 80s rock. 8pm WHO DREW A PORNO? / Rock Bottom — Progressive funk/punk country. 10pm / Cover TBD POSEIDON / Saskatoon Academy of Music — Featuring Battlebots, Billy B, and more. 10pm / $15(advance), $25(door) BLACK RIDGE COUNTRY / Stan’s Place — A night of kicking country. 8pm / No cover DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto — With Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King. 10pm / $5 DJ ANCHOR / Sutherland Bar — It’s a video mix show! 10pm / Cover TBD
SEXY SATURDAYS / Tequila — Get your night started right! 9pm / Cover TBD DJ THORPDEO / Uncle Barley’s — Spinning hot tunes all night. 10pm / Cover TBD THE TREBLE, BASTARD POETRY, SEAT OF MORPHUS / Vangelis — Three talented acts, one low price. 10pm / $8
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THE LONE RANGER RIDES AGAIN ...
PHOTO: COURTESY OF WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
but the questions is: why? BY ADAM HAWBOLDT
W
here to begin? In the beginning, I s’pose. When I first heard they were remaking The Lone Ranger, and it would star Johnny Depp, I was all kinds of excited. Why? Well, for starters, I’m excited about any movie Johnny Depp puts out. But more than that, as a kid I watched the ever-loving hell out of The Lone Ranger television series. In re-runs, naturally. The original series ran from 1949-1957. But that’s beside the point. I used to sit around in my onesie, impatiently waiting for the intro where the Lone Ranger goes racing across the screen atop his horse and says those magic words: “Hi Ho Silver away!” Still gives me goosebumps, just to think about it. So when Disney announced a big-budget remake of The Lone Ranger for 2013, my hopes were tremendously high. But alas, Depp and that film have instantly shattered those dreams of mine. But before I get into why this happened, let’s quickly look at the plot. The Lone Ranger begins with an elderly Tonto (the Lone Ranger’s sidekick, for those of you who don’t know), played by Johnny Depp, telling a young boy in a Lone Ranger mask about his adventures. The film cuts to an action sequence involving a train and a prisoner and a gang led by Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner). And for the first 20 minutes or so I
thought I was watching something exceedingly special. But then, somewhere along the way, the whole movie goes off the rails. The plot gets convoluted, the script wears thin, and the clichés start flying. Butch kills a dozen or so Texas Rangers and eats one of their hearts — a Ranger named Dan Reid. Dan’s brother John (Armie Hammer), a dis-
THE LONE RANGER Gore Verbinski STARRING Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, Helena Bonham Carter + William Fichtner DIRECTED BY
135 MINUTES | PG
And while it’s always nice to see Mr. Depp do his quirky thing, I couldn’t help but want more Lone Ranger, less Tonto. You know, like in the original series. Hmmm … what else was wrong with the movie? Well, the Lone Ranger comes off as wimpy, there are way too many set pieces involving trains, and, oh yeah, there’s also gratuitous violence — which was kind of shocking, considering it’s a Disney film and all. Don’t get me wrong; I like my cinematic violence as much as the next red-blooded hooligan, but it somehow seemed out of place in a Lone Ranger movie. So too did the way the movie jumped around, from humour to genocide, joking to jarring murder. Watch at your own risk. Oh, and don’t bring your kids. It’s not that kind of a Disney movie.
But then, somewhere along the way, the whole movie goes off the rails. ADAM HAWBOLDT
trict attorney in Texas, vows revenge. He puts on a mask, becomes the Lone Ranger, teams up with Tonto, and kicks copious amounts of ass. Okay, not really. Because while this movie is named after Reid’s character, it should’ve really been called The Tonto Story because nearly all the focus is on Johnny Depp’s character. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Depp’s Tonto is funny and strange and, well, kind of like Jack Sparrow (of Pirates of the Caribbean fame), but not quite as entertaining.
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A LESSON IN WATCHABILITY
The English Teacher won’t blow your hair back, but it won’t make you regret watching it, either BY ADAM HAWBOLDT
Q
uick, name your top three movies about an older woman falling for a younger man. If you need some help, here’s a list of a few to get the brain juices flowing. There’s The Graduate, Unfaithful, White Palace, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, The Piano Teacher, and Notes on a Scandal — to name just a few. Alright. Have you figured out your three favourite older-woman-falls-foryounger-dude flicks? Good. Now that you’ve done that, know that after you see The English Teacher it probably won’t make your list. And that’s not to say The English Teacher is a bad movie. Because it’s not. In fact, it is a nice, fun, watchable movie.
THE ENGLISH TEACHER Craig Zisk STARRING Julianne Moore, Michael Argarano, Nathan Lane + Greg Kinnear DIRECTED BY
93 MINUTES | PG
English Teacher tells the story of Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore), a 45-year-old high school educator from small town Pennsylvania. Linda is single and content. Sure, she goes on dates (most of which end horribly), but she really doesn’t need a guy to complete her. Her love of literature is all she needs. And Linda tries to instill that love in her students, teaching them about Emily Brontë and Jane Austen with passion and zeal. Everything is steady and swell in Linda’s life until one night when she pepper sprays a mugger at an ATM.
Moore plays Linda perfectly. She’s subdued, strait-laced [and] passionate… ADAM HAWBOLDT
Watchable. That’s the ticket! The English Teacher isn’t a great movie, it isn’t a terrible movie. It’s a thoroughly watchable flick. No more, no less. Directed by TV veteran, Craig Zisk (Parks and Recreation, Weeds), The
Turns out the guy wasn’t a mugger at all, but one of Linda’s brilliant ex-pupils named Jason (Michael Angarano), who recently returned home after a failed stint at trying to be a playwright in New York.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF CINEDIGM
One thing leads to another, and Linda finds out Jason has written a play that was never produced. She, along with the school’s drama teacher (Nathan Lane), read the play and both think it’s a masterpiece. And so they go about trying to get the play made into a student production at the school. But there’s a problem. Jason’s play contains, um, “adult themes,” some pretty racy language, and has an ending the school principal deems unacceptable. The idea of changing an author’s original vision doesn’t sit well with Linda, so she and the drama teacher say “to hell with it” and go on with the show. Along the way she falls for Jason, and her structured, slow world begins to unravel in a hurry. Julianne Moore plays Linda perfectly. She’s subdued, strait-laced, passionate, moral and, at times, even kind of funny. The rest of the
cast is good, too, from Lane to Angarano to Kinnear (who plays Jason’s overbearing dad). And yet, even with all those excellent thespians, there’s something lacking in The English Teacher. Maybe it’s because the comedy isn’t overly funny. Or because the drama isn’t very dramatic. I’m not sure. But what I am sure of is this: The English Teacher is one of those movies that you’ll enjoy while watching it, but won’t run to tell your friends about when it’s over. The English Teacher is currently being screened at Roxy Theatre.
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21 JULY 5 – JULY 11 @VERBSASKATOON
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SUNDAY, JUNE 30 @
DINO’S
Dino’s Bar & Grill 906 Central Avenue (306) 373 6666 MUSIC VIBE / A little bit of
everything FEATURED DEALS / Wings or pints
of Original 16 for $4.50; ribs or a deluxe burger and fries for $4.98; chicken Caesar salad or a quesadilla for $5.98; New York steak with Caesar salad and fries or a large, 2-topping pizza for $9.98 DRINK OF CHOICE / Pints of Great Western Original 16 TOP EATS / NY steak special SOMETHING NEW / New photo booth, and the patio is now open COMING UP / The next BarCraft event (watching StarCraft on the big screen at bars) will take place at Dino’s in September
22 JULY 5 – JULY 11 ENTERTAINMENT
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CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! These photos will be uploaded to Facebook on Friday, July 12. facebook.com/verbsaskatoon
Photography by Patrick Carley
23 JULY 5 – JULY 11 /VERBSASKATOON
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MONDAY, JULY 1 @
CANADA DAY ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL
The Canada Day Arts & Culture Festival Rotary Park THE EVENT / A free, all-day festival featuring urban art & DJ culture MUSIC VIBE / Electronic dance tunes MUSICAL TALENT / Danger Sinclair, Waverace, Emelio Del Canto, Chris
Knorr, Kemical Reaktion, US Marshall, Mr Fudge, & Mitchy the Kid TOP EATS / Hamburgers, sausages, vegan burgers, ice cream treats and smoothies PRESENTED BY / Pro Plus Production & Verb magazine SPECIAL MENTIONS / The National Youth Arts week, which was involved in creating art, We Are Many, which helped out with a free water station, and Create by Kate, which provided the decor
24 JULY 5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; JULY 11 ENTERTAINMENT
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CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! These photos will be uploaded to Facebook on Friday, July 12. facebook.com/verbsaskatoon
Photography by Cortez
25 JULY 5 – JULY 11 @VERBSASKATOON
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© Elaine M. Will | blog.E2W-Illustration.com | Check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!
26 JULY 5 – JULY 11 ENTERTAINMENT
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TIMEOUT
CROSSWORD CANADIAN CRISS-CROSS DOWN 1. Principal ore of lead 2. Kick yourself for 3. From scratch 4. One who runs a business 5. Fingerboard ridges 6. Half of a road, usually 7. Conclusion 8. Keen insight 9. Wrestler Stock from Manitoba 11. Long-legged, long- necked bird 12. Perch relative 14. Have supper 17. Personification of tiredness 20. Say hello to
22. Wanderer SUDOKU ANSWER KEY 24. Kiss of peace A 25. Eavesdropping device 27. What kings, queens, princes, and princesses are 28. Card game for three 29. ___ circle 30. Ignore the trash can 32. Some gourds 33. They make necklaces B 34. “Coffee, tea, ___?” 36. Sheriff’s group 39. Without 40. Underdone, as a steak 43. ___ de Janeiro 45. Hombre
6 5 3 1 9 2 7 4 8 1 4 7 8 6 3 2 9 5 8 2 9 5 4 7 1 6 3 2 9 8 7 5 4 3 1 6 4 1 6 2 3 8 5 7 9 3 7 5 6 1 9 8 2 4 5 8 4 9 7 1 6 3 2 9 6 1 3 2 5 4 8 7 7 3 2 4 8 6 9 5 1
26. Tympanic membrane 28. Heat-resistant glass 31. Film starring Clark Gable 35. Grow together, as broken bones do 36. Kind of phone 37. Animal that eats grass 38. Hard-working insect 39. Echo finder 41. Hasty escape 42. Aquarium fish 44. A ___ 46. They control horses 47. Kind of fat 48. Prickly-stemmed flower 49. Has a craving
9 7 2 3 8 6 5 4 1 5 3 4 9 7 1 2 6 8 1 6 8 5 4 2 7 9 3 6 4 9 2 3 7 1 8 5 7 1 3 8 9 5 6 2 4 2 8 5 6 1 4 3 7 9 4 5 7 1 2 8 9 3 6 8 9 6 7 5 3 4 1 2 3 2 1 4 6 9 8 5 7
ACROSS 1. Metric unit of weight 5. Bug on a dog 9. Finnish steam bath 10. Salad dressing choice 12. Whalebone 13. Provided with a power 15. 100 square metres 16. Use more of something than is necessary 18. A doctor might send you to the hospital for one 19. Competed in “Canadian Idol” 21. Pedal next to the brake 22. Advertising sign 23. Make knifelike 25. ___ bouche (tidbit) © WALTER D. FEENER 2013
HOROSCOPES JULY 5 – JULY 11
ARIES March 21–April 19
LEO July 23–August 22
SAGITTARIUS November 23–December 21
Listen to your emotions this week, Aries. Forget logic and rationality, and do whatever it is your heart tells you to do.
You may want to pay attention to the details this week, Leo. You know, so something important doesn’t slip past you.
Your confidence will begin to soar as the week goes on, Sagittarius. Put it to good use. You can achieve anything you set your mind to.
TAURUS April 20–May 20
VIRGO August 23–September 22
CAPRICORN December 22–January 19
Whoa, nelly! You might want to slow things down this week, Taurus. If not, you’re going to risk a total burnout.
Someone may come to you with a problem this week, Virgo. Don’t try to solve it for them, just be there and be sensitive to the situation.
Spend some time this week trying to find your true self, Capricorn. It may be hiding in places you haven’t yet looked.
GEMINI May 21–June 20
LIBRA September 23–October 23
AQUARIUS January 20–February 19
Some weeks it’s best to keep your opinions to yourself, others it’s best to put them out there for people to hear. Opt for the latter this week.
If you’ve burned some bridges lately, Libra, the best thing you can do is start trying to rebuild them. The tools you need are already in your possession.
Creativity is the key word for this week, Capricorn. So why not start a new project and put those creative juices to work?
CANCER June 21–July 22
SCORPIO October 24–November 22
PISCES February 20–March 20
There is potential for conflict waiting around every corner this week, Cancer. Tread carefully, and you’ll make it through unscathed.
If you’re feeling out of sorts this week, like your everyday approach to things isn’t working, you have to learn to adjust.
Someone may try to throw a monkey wrench into your plans, Pisces. Yank it out and keep going — you’ve got what it takes.
SUDOKU 6 5 4 1 5 3 9 2 6 8 5 2 4 3 1 7 8 9 4 2 8 4 7 9 7 2 3 6 7 1 3 1 6 9 8 5
CROSSWORD ANSWER KEY
A
5 7 8 1 4 8 6 3 9 5 1 6 9 7 5 3 4 6 2 7 3 1 2 4 5 8 9 6 2 1 3 2 8 7 4 9
B
27 JULY 5 – JULY 11 /VERBSASKATOON
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