Verb Issue S249 (July 19-25, 2013)

Issue #249 – July 19 to July 25

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SAM KLASS fluid identity read & share

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top of the world One Saskatchewan man’s quest for Everest have car, will travel It’s our brand new monthly feature: Vehicles the conjuring + the kings of summer Films reviewed­

Photo: courtesy of the artist

NEWs + Opinion

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drag racing “Alcohol funny cars” on the track.

4 / Local

top of the world One Saskatchewan man’s trip up Mount Everest. 6 / Local

independence day Our thoughts on severing ties to the monarchy. 8 / Editorial

On the cover:

sam klass

comments

On Fluid Identity. 14 / cover

Here’s what you had to say about smart meters. 10 / comments Photo: courtesy of the artist

culture

Q + A with trooper Ra McGuire + party anthems 12 / Q + A

the Quest for massaman curry

love birds Technology + art come together in Mendel’s latest acquisition. 13 / Arts

We visit Keo’s Kitchen 16 / Food + Drink

alice in the park

Music

Theatre where you least expect it.

The Moas, Vibonics + Drake.

13 / Arts

17 / music

entertainment

listings Local music listings for July 19 through July 27. 18 / listings

the conjuring + the kings of summer The latest movie reviews. 20 / Film

on the bus Weekly original comic illustrations

by Elaine M. Will. 25 / comics

Nightlife Photos We visited Outlaws + Rocksugar 22-24 / Nightlife

Games + Horoscopes

vehicles

Canadian criss-cross puzzle, horoscopes, and Sudoku. 26 / timeout

Our brand new monthly section on autos, bikes and more. 27-31 / vehicles

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

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Nowhere left to climb

Photo: Courtesy of Steve Whittington

Saskatchewan mountaineer recounts his harrowing journey to the rooftop of the world

by Alex J macpherson

T

he men and women who climb mountains refer to the upper reaches of Mount Everest as the Death Zone.

Above 26,000 feet there is simply not enough oxygen in the atmosphere to sustain human life for more than a few hours. Shortly before 11:00pm on May 16, Steve Whittington left the relative safety of his tent on the South Col, the windswept plateau that marks the entrance to the Death Zone, and ascended into the night. The summit lay more than 3,000 feet above him, wreathed in clouds and hidden by the gloom. Debilitated by the altitude, Whittington knew his chances of reaching the top were slim in the best of conditions — and these were not the best of conditions. As he climbed he was buffeted by the wind and blinded by the driving snow. Normally one of the strongest climbers on any expedition, Whittington was cold and wasted. Then, he started to doubt.

“I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” he says. “I had never been that weak in my life before, and I didn’t know if I could dig deep. That’s a feeling that I’ve never had before.”

Whittington’s doubts were confirmed when his longtime friend and climbing partner, Daniel Branham, elected to turn around. After struggling on the ascent to the South Col the previous day, Branham simply couldn’t keep up. “On every climb around the world he’s been tied to me on a rope,

and he’s matched me pace for pace,” Whittington says. “I just think he lost heart when he wasn’t tethered to me and couldn’t keep up with my pace.”

I didn’t know if I was going to make it. I had never been that weak… steve whittington

As Branham began the long descent, Whittington kept slogging upward, determined to realize the moment he had been visualizing for years — the final steps up the summit ridge and the surge of emotion that accompanies arrival on the rooftop of the world.

Steve Whittington didn’t plan to spend his adult life in pursuit of the world’s most difficult and dangerous summits. He grew up in rural Manitoba, far from anything that even remotely resembled a mountain. His love of climbing was ignited ten years ago when a friend invited him to join a climb in southern Alberta. Bewitched by the rawness of the landscapes and the visceral thrill of pitting himself against the wonders of nature, he resolved to keep climbing. He has since completed many technical ice climbs and straddled some of the world’s most demanding peaks, including Denali and Aconcagua. His goal is to complete Continued on next page »

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the Seven Summits — the ascent of the highest peak on each of the seven continents. Everest has been on his horizon for years. “There’s so much history on that mountain,” he told me before leaving for Nepal. “I want to be on that mountain because … I want to be a part of that.”

Conquering Everest requires a different strategy than other, lesser peaks. Teams lay siege to the mountain, establishing a series of progressively higher camps before striking out for the summit. The route meanders from Base Camp through the serrated maw of the Khumbu Icefall, across the Western Cwm and up the Lhotse Face to the frozen expanse of the South Col. “It was fun in a terrifying way,” Whittington says of the mountain’s lower reaches. “I’d read a lot of accounts of how difficult it was, and I’d hoped that it would be easier for me — and it wasn’t. It really pushes you right down to the bottom.”

By the time he and his team set out for the summit, Whittington was in bad shape. High altitude suppresses the appetite and keeps the body from absorbing calories. Over the preceding few days, he hadn’t eaten anything more substantial than a granola bar and a few pieces of meat and cheese. He was also exhausted. Even with bottled oxygen, sleep is impossible above 24,000 feet. This, he explains, can be problematic. “That’s the point where people get into trouble. They push themselves to where they’re in this zombie-like state, just stumbling along … They lose the ability to make decisions properly

because they’re so exhausted.” And then there was the weather.

By the time Whittington and Dawa Sherpa reached the balcony, a prominent ledge at 27,300 feet, he was thinking about quitting. “We’d been knocked around and beaten up by the storm quite a bit,” he says. “The storm had gotten really bad and I remember saying to Dawa, ‘The storm…’ He knew the unfinished question was whether we should turn around, but you don’t want to say it. If you say it, you’ll start to believe it.” Then, a glance at his oxygen cylinder revealed that the bottle was half-full. Most climbers exhaust a full bottle between the South Col and the Balcony, but Whittington and Dawa were climbing well. “That renewed my hope,” he says. “I just had this renewed sense of energy, and I got mad at the mountain. I just started driving my ice axe in, kicking steps in the snow, and leading up.”

After skirting around several other climbers, Whittington and Dawa emerged into daylight. “The sun was rising … above the clouds, and I’d literally climbed out of the storm,” he recalls. “The sun brings warmth, it brings hope. The night is behind me, the storm is below me, and I’ve got a clear horizon.” As he and Dawa crested the South Summit, Whittington knew he was going to make it. After traversing a narrow corniced ridge, Whittington free-climbed the famous Hillary Step.

At the top, he and Dawa ascended the summit ridge until they reached a hump of snow adorned with countless strings of prayer flags. It was 7:00am

on May 16 and there was nowhere left to climb.

Whittington and Dawa didn’t linger on top of the world. After unfurling a pair of banners and taking a handful of photographs, the pair turned and headed down the mountain. They reached the South Col a few hours later and collapsed in their tents, too tired to move yet filled with joy at having summited — and survived — Everest. Today, Whittington is still trying to grasp exactly what Everest means.

In the past, he has struggled to return to society after a long expedition, confused and annoyed by the way people obsess over things that don’t matter at all, but Everest was different.

He returned from Nepal with a new appreciation for the slender threads from which our lives hang.

“I look at that stuff and I see possibility,” he muses. “I think the scope of what I believe is possible has been enhanced. I had a lot of confidence doing things before. However, now I’ll always be able to revert back and know what I did in May of 2013 — and know that I can dig deeper and make things happen. For myself, Everest helped dial in what’s important. I have a good life here, and I want to make sure I live it to the fullest. It’s made things a little sharper that way. But I’m still figuring it out.

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@VerbSaskatoon amacpherson@verbnews.com

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Funny Cars and fun times

Photo: Courtesy of adam hawboldt / verb magazine

Drag racing, community and lots of smoke at the Saskatchewan International Raceway

by ADAM HAWBOLDT

S

herrie Bodnarchuk is standing next to her trailer, dressed in a pale, grey racing suit. In front of her, the body of a 1970 Superbird is lifted at a 45-degree angle.

But this is no normal ’70 Superbird. With four exhaust pipes jutting out each side and a motor that stands about two feet high, Bodnarchuk’s Superbird is what people in the drag-racing business call an “alcohol funny car.”

“These cars do great burnouts, they make a lot of noise and they go really fast. This one here does about 200 miles an hour, ” says Bodnarchuk, as her crew tinkers with the engine. To her right a voice says, “Does anyone know where the shoe polish is? This one is dried up.”

Still staring at the car, Bodnarchuk explains they need shoe polish to write the racing number on the window.

Then she slides into the narrow seat of her funny car and is towed out to the starting line by a pick-up truck. The body of the Superbird still lifted on an angle, Bodnarchuk looks calm in the driver’s seat. Focused. Racing since the early ‘90s, she’s been here before. Seen it all. She’s run perfect races and blown up cars.

This is old hat for her.

Just before the car enters the burnout box, Bodnarchuk’s team takes one last look at the engine.

All eyes are on them. The crowd waits for the body of the car to be lowered and the burnout to begin.

But there’s a problem. There’s something wrong with the Superbird.

When you enter the grounds at the Saskatchewan International Raceway, the first thing you notice are the motorhomes, RVs and trailers.

Winnebagos, Gulf Streams, you name it. They’re scattered everywhere. Next to them families sit at picnic tables, shaded from the sun by umbrellas. There are cars everywhere, too. Blue SS Monte Carlos, lime-green Mustangs, black Cameros. Most have their hoods open, engines exposed. Some people tinker with their cars. Others stand around chatting, laughing in the late-morning sun.

The people come from all over.

From Regina to Prince Albert, Saskatoon to small-town Alberta.

There’s a real sense of community here. A bunch of like-minded folks brought together by a common interest — drag racing.

Continued on next page »

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The closer you get to the track, the louder it gets. The roar of engines echo through the raceway.

Great wafts of smoke and the smell of burning rubber are everywhere around the quarter-mile track. A blue and white car pulls up to the burnout box, a space just under the tower where cars go to burn rubber so that their tires will be warm and stick to the asphalt during their race. And over the PA-system, a voice is saying, “This ’79 Mustang came here all the way from Alberta.”

The driver of the Mustang revs the engine and holds in the brake. Smoke fills the burnout box. Then the Mustang jumps forward, and inches up to the starting line. Lights on the “Christmas tree” — the automatic starter at the starting line — flick on. They start

Photo: Courtesy of adam hawboldt / verb magazine

The body of Bodnarchuk’s Superbird is lowered, she pulls into the burnout box and revs the engine.

This car doesn’t sound like the rest.

It’s louder, more feral, more guttural.

When Bodnarchuk guns the engine and spins the tires, a huge cloud of smoke billows around the car. It shoots forward a couple of feet past the starting line, then backs up. Gets ready to

…you don’t … have to watch out the front to do the driving. You can actually feel it… sherri bodnarchuk

on yellow at the top, and descend slowly. Engines rev, higher and higher.

When the light turns green at the bottom of the tree, the front wheels of the Mustang pop off the ground and it’s off, speeding out of sight in a straight line down the track.

An hour or so later, Bodnarchuk and her alcohol funny car pull up to the burnout box. The engine trouble has been remedied and she’s ready to go. In front of the car, raceway workers spray traction compound on the asphalt to give it more grip.

run its first race since blowing up last year in Bakersfield.

Before Bodnarchuk pulls up to the line, she tightens her belts and puts the car back into the right gear. Pulls the car to the starting position. Then she waits.

Her foot is already on the gas, the engine roars.

When the Christmas tree lights flash she lets go of the button which is holding the car in place, steps hard on the gas and the 1970 Superbird jets off the starting line. The engine screams in your ears, sending vibrations rattling through your face when

it passes. Things are looking good out the gate, but a few feet up the track Bodnarchuk’s car jumps, nearly running into the centre area of the track.

“If the car starts to get away from you, sometimes you have to lift [your foot off the gas],” says Bodnarchuk. “Other times you have to short shift to straighten it out. The thing about these cars is, you don’t really have to watch out the front to do the driving. You can actually feel it in your bum. The back of your car does the sliding. You can feel it and have to straighten that out before it gets to the front. Otherwise you have to actually lift.”

Whatever Bodnarchuk does works, because in less than a nanosecond her car is straight and zipping down the quarter mile at 180 miles an hour.

It takes her 7.68 seconds to finish.

When it’s over, Bodnarchuk’s team drives the pick-up truck to the finish line, attaches a rope to the front of the Superbird, and takes it back to the trailer.

There’s still another race to run.

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independence day

Photo: Courtesy of NASA/Bill Ingalls

It’s time for Canada to sever its ties to the British monarchy

B

reaking news: Kate Middleton, the royal wife of Prince William, is past her alleged due date.

Or at least that was the rumour flooding the Internet when we sat down to write this piece. And who knows, by the time you read this she may have already given birth. In fact, even before the royal pregnancy Will and Kate were no strangers to media attention. Seems like everything they do (or don’t do) ends up as national headlines. They are celebrities, and it’s clear that they are rekindling people’s interest in the British monarchy.

Which is why we think this is the perfect time for Canada to cut its ties with the crown.

Well, not right this instant. Queen Elizabeth II still has plenty of fans, so ruffling feathers while she still sits on the throne would probably cause a lot of unnecessary angst. But the second she’s finished fulfilling her royal duties, we should take steps to break free of the monarchy — before it’s too late.

You see, we’ll have a window here, folks. A brief period of time when the widely unpopular Prince Charles takes over that we can push hard to sever our ties with the monarchy. Because if we wait too long, and Will and Kate ascend to the throne, or even simply take over as the public face of the royal family, well then that’s it. People will

together, maintaining our connection with the throne comes in at a price tag of around $40-$50 million per year, which we’re quite certain could get Canadians better value if it were spent on almost anything else.

Besides, Canada is a major player on the world stage, and it’s high time we asserted our independence from our current, wildly outdated model.

After all, how serious can we appear if our head of state is some other

allow their pseudo-celeb love with the new royal couple to drain their resolve to change and all will be lost. So let’s get things done while we still can.

Now, some of you may be saying “Why should we break ties with the monarchy?” It’s simple. In fact, we’ve talked about it before in these pages, and one of the reasons we pointed out was the cost. You see, Canadians spent $1.53 per capita in 2009 on the royals, according to Ma-

[Most] Canadians would like to dissolve our relationship with the royal family… verb magazine

country’s queen, a person to whom we make new Canadians swear an oath?

And her presence is everywhere: her face adorns our money (rather than some prominent, you know, Canadian).

And to really hit home just how out of touch maintaining our relationship with the Queen is, Canadian women are still expected to curtsey when they meet her. How quaint!

So not only are we paying out of pocket to support the monarchy, and not only is maintaining these ties holding us back from being an independent nation, but it turns out most of us are

clean’s. In case you were wondering, the money went to supporting the Queen’s performance of her duties when in Canada, or when she is abroad in her role as Queen of Canada. Some of the cash also covered certain costs associated with the governor general and ten lieutenant governors, including travel, security, residences and ceremonies.

Ok, so we understand that a dollar and a half might not sound like much, but as the Brits themselves were only paying $1.32 per capita, it seems a bit suspect. And added all

ready to cut the proverbial apron string. According to a 2010 Angus Reid poll, 69 percent of Canadians would like to dissolve our relationship with the royal family and see a Canadian serving as our head of state.

Of course, doing so isn’t an easy process, and would obviously require a serious constitutional amendment. So here’s what we suggest: first, let’s hold a referendum and pose the question to Canadians: should we break up with the monarchy? Presuming the answer is yes, we could set up a federal commission to determine the various ways we could select the next head of state, after which Canadians could vote on how we do this.

Perhaps the Irish model is one most worth examining: they elect

their presidents, who serve almost directly the same function as our governor generals, but with popular support because they have been chosen by the people. It is worth noting that in Ireland there has never been a struggle between the offices of president and prime minister.

Whatever answer is, we should do it and do it soon. The clock is ticking.

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 smart meters. Here's what you had to say:

– Smart meters article interesting.

My dad retired to BC he said that new meters didn’t really make any savings for him just no difference but he didn’t try to make it cost less so maybe that would have a difference.

– Smart meters are definitely the way to go. You don’t like how much you’re spending? You actually have control over something so make a change to reduce your bill. Most people were probably just pissed when they realized how much they were wasting energy. It’s hard to notice when you’re getting a rounded off figure every now and then.

– I am totally against smart meters.

They haven’t been around long enough for us to know what kind of health consequences they could have. Plus how much does it cost to roll these out? I think it makes way more sense to stick with what we’ve got for now, wait and see how it works for BC and Ontario.

– Hi I just read your article about Smart Meters. It seems to me like this article was written by Saskpower, I moved here from BC last year and stating that health issues from RF exposure and concerns over Smart Meters causing fires are the main concerns over these meters is absolute rubbish. The main objection is the cost of your power, saying Smart Meters will allow consumers to save money is absolutely nieve. Government corperations and all corporations are about profits and making money and not about investing money on new equipment to save consumers money. The truth behind Smart Meters is they will allow SaskPow

text yo thoughtsur to 881 vE R B 8372

er to increase their rates at peek power consumption times, costing consumers more money not saving them money. Arron Rigden

– Conspiracy theorists love anything like this: it’s the government, it’s the radio waves, it’s big brother.

Just relax: these have been used in various countries around the world for a while and they’re doing okay. You’ll be fine. I say bring them on

– Smart meters radio frequency is DANGEROUS FOR PEOPLE! Don’t listen to the government who says its okay it isn’t!

– Smart meters are a green solution and the way of the future. More people should be furious they’ve been shelling out their hard earned dollars on the utility companies rough estimation of what they’ve used. Why aren’t people more upset about that?! I’d rather pay for exactly what I used. And of coarse they are safe you think they don’t test that stuff? Come on!

– It’s a nice idea to think you can control the cost, but think about this: it’s costing the companys a lot of $$$ to switch things over to smart meters. How r they going to recoup that? By making the power cost a lot more! So you might be able to control when you use power better but you’re paying way more for it overall. You really put on those rose colored glass verb lol.

– You should look into who paid for those tests to see if the radio frequency were dangerous to Continued on next page »

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Powered by the crew at moga mobile

people or not. I bet it was Harper and then you’ll have to think why he would want to do that. The government wants you to think it’s all okay then you get one and you pay way more. Think about it!

Next week: What do you think of Canada cutting our ties with the monarchy ? Pick up Verb to get in on the conversation:

shows! Be a part of the creative scene in your city! Artists are the ones who will change the world.

Be a part of the change :D

– I can deal with hot weather, rainy weather, mosquito weather cause they are part of living here. BUT, bad drivers and crappy roads dont need to be part of living in SK..

– Justin Bieber is despicable I hate that he’s one of our biggest exports. Sorry world!

– Buying a gram of weed that’s wrapped in tin foil is DOWNtown - Z

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

– Sweatiing cheese is gross

OFF TOPIC

– Prayers for Randy Travis. Hope you recover soon!

– Henry Woolf is brilliant, apparently hilarious, and a treasure.

What a pleasure to read your profile of him. I like that he likes wine gummies :)

– What happened at Lac Megantic proves there are some businesses that need regulations that are enforced stricktly ..

In response to “Regarding Henry,” Local, #248 (July 12, 2013)

sound off – Nothing more frightening than driving the car slowly over some major potholes to avoid wrecking the suspension and then to get the savage eye from some guy driving a 4x4 with a massive lift kit

– Always and never are two words you should always remember never to use.

– We reap what we sow.

– If you’re looking to mainstream artists right now, the music being produced is totally rubbish. Support your local artists! Get out to

– Last weeks text about being with the family in the park and sharing the spot with wasted teens was great. . In the USA someone might of pulled out a revollver and tried to arrest them..canada #1

– What happens when we die??

Atheists think it is like someone shuts off your TV. Theists think someone changes channels..

– Saddened by not surprised by Travon Martin case. FL should maybe not have a law that allows some random to stalk a kid and then shoot him

– Sitting here in a motel room with a broken wrist bad back and gimpy leg I realize the average hotel or motel room isn’t very disability friendly. Its out of touch insensitive in the modern era.

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We’re Here For a Good Time

Photos: courtesy of the artist

Trooper on 40 years of rock and roll and raising a little hell

by Alex J MacPherson

T

here are perhaps half a dozen rock and roll bands who can reliably sell out big rooms across the country. One of those bands is Trooper — and they have been releasing hit singles and selling out shows since 1975. Founded by singer Ra McGuire and guitarist Brian Smith, Trooper have built a career on party anthems that stand the test of time. But songs like “We’re Here For A Good Time” and “Raise A Little Hell” are much more than just great rock songs; they have become a part of the national fabric, songs that every Canadian will recognize. Although they haven’t released a new album in years, Trooper remastered their biggest hits for Hits From Ten Albums in 2010 — and continue to tour exhaustively. I caught up with McGuire via e-mail to ask about his band’s enduring legacy and their status as the best party band in the country.

Alex J MacPherson: Your first album was released in 1975, almost 40 years ago. What do you think has allowed Trooper to sustain a career in a difficult industry where so many other bands have failed?

Ra McGuire: There’s certainly no one thing that has sustained our career for these 40 years. My guess is that it’s some combination of memorable songs, great fans, and a band that continues to work hard to deserve the loyalty of those fans.

RM: It still sort of astonishes me. All of those songs were written with no particular expectation at all — we were honestly just happy to come up with a song, any song! In retrospect, though, I think one advantage we had was not limiting ourselves to any style or attitude musically — we were just trying to come up with good songs. So even though “We’re Here for a Good Time” may not sound a whole lot like “Raise a Little Hell” we recorded them both because we thought they each worked on their own.

AJM: Many of your songs have become part of the national fabric, songs everybody knows. What quality does a song need to possess for that to happen?

RM: Again, it’s difficult, even after the fact, to determine what makes a song live on for as long as some of ours have.

I’d like to think that there’s something in each of them that strikes a chord in people — like a musical touchstone — but really on most days your guess would be as good as mine.

…the upshot really does feel more like a party than a performance.

AJM: You’re often described as Canada’s best party band, and I think people who have seen you play will agree with that.

But what is it about your live show that those people find so engaging?

Ra Mcguire

RM: We do so many different kinds of shows, we’ve gotten pretty good at sussing out what the best party can be for the people who showed up in the place we’re playing. Pretty much all of our shows are sold out, so this usually isn’t too difficult. Since the buzz in the room is a big priority for us — and since we still truly do enjoy playing and performing — the upshot really does feel more like a party than a performance.

AJM: Plenty of bands have taken on Trooper songs. What does it mean to you when you hear somebody cover a song you wrote?

RM: We were waiting to play our Canada Day show in Kanata, Ontario last week and Scott, our bass player, called and told me that Terri Clark was on TV playing “Here For a Good Time” on the CBC’s nationally televised “Canada Day on The Hill.” You can’t be anything but proud when other musicians and performers choose to cover your songs.

Trooper August 1 @ Odeon Events Centre $34.50 @ The Odeon Box Office

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AJM: Was there a moment when you realized that you were writing songs that were good enough to stick around for decades?

@VerbSaskatoon amacpherson@verbnews.com

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Love Birds

The Mendel’s latest acquisition challenges our ideas about technology

F

or most of the last two centuries, human endeavour has been directed at producing ever more efficient tools and machines. Elegant solutions to practical problems can be beautiful, but that beauty is always subservient to efficiency and simplicity. Kim Adams’ “Love Birds,” a massive two-part sculpture, subverts this idea by divorcing industrial materials from their contexts. It is a mechanical edifice whose sole purpose is to be beautiful.

“He has a love of materials and an interest in design and the evolution of design,” Lisa Baldissera, head curator at the Mendel Art Gallery, says of “Love Birds. “And at the same time, he has a desire to disrupt those things in order to reanimate them, and give them the energy back again.”

“Love Birds” consists of two related yet subtly different sculptures. One is constructed mainly from salvaged car parts, the other from plastic tubs and a sophisticated lighting apparatus. The former evokes the organic, its shape that of a great winged creature; the lat-

ter is a steampunk tower straight from the pages of Jules Verne. Together, they challenge the way we think about, and the way we use, technology.

“What do you do with objects that don’t immediately have a utilitarian purpose?” Baldissera muses.

“The work of this piece is in fact the work of the imagination.” This is the essence of “Love Birds.” The rise of technology, and the shift from mechanical to digital processes, has been accompanied by a change in the way people work. Productivity has become an end in itself. “Love Birds” challenges this idea by rejigging the tools of productivity, rendering them both useless and beautiful.

“With this particular work, in its absurdity and in its playfulness and in its insistence on ignoring the basic elements of function, and then completely reconfiguring them and punking the process, it allows us to rethink purposeful behaviour and what we’ve assigned value to,” she says. “There’s a certain liberated embodiment in the face of this sculptural achievement.”

by alex J MacPherson

Photo: courtesy of the mendel art gallery

1. Kim Adams, Love Birds, 1998-2010, kitbashed Ford Econolines, various car parts, grain silo caps, perforated water barrels, lighting and trailer systems.

Ultimately, “Love Birds” captures and holds on to the idea that before knowledge and understanding, before purpose and teleology, there is only wonder. By removing mechanical constructions from their practical contexts, Adams is able to animate that thing that lives within all of us — the childlike sense of wonder at the world, at the past and the future, and at the depth of human ingenuity.

Love Birds Til Sept 2 @ Western Development Museum $6.25+

Alice In The Park

Local theatre group determined to expand on the idea of what theatre can be by alex J MacPherson

J

oel Bernbaum believes art can change the world. His latest project, Theatre In The Park, will bring a professional production of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland to 19 parks across Saskatoon. It is the culmination of his belief that art is

important and an opportunity to introduce a new generation to the beauty of live theatre.

“I think the arts are the way that we come together as humans,” Bernbaum, artistic director of Theatre In The Park, explains. “The future of the theatre arts is making

Photos: courtesy of sumtheatre.com

theatre more accessible to people.

It’s not rational, nor is it helpful, to think that the future of the theatre is going to be people coming and paying $30 or more to see a play in a traditional space.”

Alarmed by dwindling audiences, Bernbaum set out to change the way people think about his art.

Instead of inducing audiences to visit traditional theatres, he decided to bring the theatre to the people.

His adaptation of Alice In Wonderland was designed to operate outside the confines of a traditional stage, and without the infrastructure most audiences and performers take for granted.

“We want to invite people to be participants in the piece,” he

explains, adding that Alice In Wonderland makes use of minimal costumes and takes advantage of the surroundings, rather than hiding them with a stage. “I’m talking about bringing your own imagination and your own experience to the piece.”

Shorn of its expensive trappings and formal connotations, Alice In Wonderland lays bare the essence of theatre — the idea that the audience is as important to the play as the actors. Unlike films, which are self-contained, theatre relies on the audience to create a world, both for the characters and for themselves.

And because the imagination is so powerful, it takes very little to spark a response.

And Alice In Wonderland, which features performances by Louisa Ferguson, Kristen Holfeuer, Dalton Lightfoot, Bernbaum, and Kaitlyn Semple as Alice, is the perfect play for Theatre In The Park. Most people are familiar with the story, yet it is infinitely adaptable — proof that the art and the beauty of theatre don’t disappear when the crowd walks out into the night.

Alice in Wonderland July 12–28 @ various parks See sumtheatre.com for full schedule Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbSaskatoon amacpherson@verbnews.com

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Fluid Identity Sam Klass and his quest to become a one-man jam band

by Alex J MacPherson

S

am Klass has always been attracted to jam bands and the culture that surround them. Growing up in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, he was drawn to groups like Phish and the Grateful Dead, iconic acts who fused the improvisation and experimentation of jazz to the sounds and textures of rock and roll. He was captivated by the idea of simple rock songs as extended displays of instrumental mastery, songs that broke the rules imposed by commercial radio in search of musical perfection. Klass played in bands throughout his high school years and spent even more time jamming when he moved to Hamilton, Ontario to attend university.

But none of his projects lasted.

By the time he graduated, most of his friends had abandoned music for more stable careers.

Undaunted, Klass began experimenting with a tool he had been using for years to practice his guitar playing — a looping pedal.

In music, looping is the process by which a short audio track is recorded and then repeated. This can be accomplished with an inexpensive electronic pedal. “I kind of got good at it by accident,” Klass says with a laugh before explaining that looping allowed him to perfect difficult passages without the

other band members. “It was just a convenient thing to do. You can just keep the loop going. I was always pretty serious about wanting to pursue music, and what I was left with when all those bands broke up was my loop pedal.”

Today, Klass is one of the most accomplished looping artists in North America. His latest album, Fluid Identity, is an expression of his desire to create a one-man jam band. But it didn’t occur to him that

a multitrack environment, it just exponentially expands what you can do.”

The introduction of the Roland RC-50 changed everything. In much the same way as electronic music producers sample and combine dozens of different sounds, Klass uses the RC-50 to record and then replay as many instrumental parts as he likes. With three tracks, he can create complex songs with different parts and even different

I was just shocked at how easily people were drawn to it … In terms of being a spectacle to watch? It works for me. sam klass

looping could be anything other than a practice tool until he bought a Roland RC-50 “Loop Station.”

Early loop pedals were primitive; with only a single recording track, Klass was unable to expand his musical horizons beyond simple, onedimensional songs. The technology simply didn’t exist.

“When you have the one single loop pedal, no matter what you’re kind of always stuck with a song that’s based on one riff, or at least one key,” he says. “When you’re in

key signatures in real time.

“I only started thinking about making it into a show, a thing, a solo act, once I got the RC-50,” he recalls. “It was kind of like the ideas were there, and then as soon as the technology became available I knew what to do with it.”

Shortly after the release of his first album, 2009’s The Last Names, Klass recorded One Track One Take.

Whereas The Last Names was a collection of songs recorded as a series of overdubs, One Track One Take Continued on next page »

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Photo: courtesy of the artist

was a true looping album — one live take with no overdubs and no postproduction.

“It’s the missing link,” Klass says of the record, which bridges the gap between The Last Names and Fluid Identity. “All of these songs are straight-up loop songs without the production of Fluid Identity. All you can hear is guitar, beat-box, voice, and the bass generator.” But One Track One Take owes its existence to more than just technology. Klass

Photo: courtesy of the artist

only cut the record after he discovered that his live performances could attract a crowd. After watching a video of the Australian looping artist Dub FX performing on the street, Klass packed up his gear and ventured into the city. “I was just shocked at how easily people were drawn to it,” he says. “It makes it fun to watch, and not just because of the crazy foot dance. Things are happening, and at no point am I just chilling on my instrument. I’m always recording a loop or beat-

boxing or changing the structure of the song or manipulating the loops.

In terms of being a spectacle to watch? It works for me.”

Klass knew he could forge a career after a spontaneous performance at Nuit Blanche in Toronto attracted hundreds of people. “The street performance was what got me noticed as well as inspired me to do it,” he recalls, adding that the impromptu performance gave him the idea of travelling to electronic music festivals across North America. “I went to the Electric Forest Festival in 2011. I brought all the gear to Electric Forest and set up in the campground. It was like — holy s**t.” People were captivated by Klass, whose performances are a combination of delicate choreography and titanic waves of sound. And while Klass concedes that American fans, who are much closer to the nexus of jam band culture, are often quicker to grasp the essence of his project, Fluid Identity is the tool to which he has harnessed his hopes and dreams.

All of the songs on the record were recorded in real time, with nothing but a looping pedal, an electric guitar, and a wide array of effects boxes. “Jer’s Line,” a threeminute barrage of slippery funk guitar and complex melody lines, captures both Klass’s jam band influences and also his ability to

weave an incredibly detailed sonic tapestry with just a few simple tools. But Fluid Identity is more than just a collection of jams. “Myself,” which fuses a choppy guitar lick to a hip hop-inspired beat-box track, features Klass’s first vocal on the record. As smooth as his guitar playing, Klass’s voice adds an extra dimension to the songs — and separates him from many looping artists, who play purely instrumental music.

“Some songs are more conceptual,” he muses. “At a certain point, they become whatever they are. I don’t try and force lyrics into songs that have strong melody hooks.”

This is indicative of the way Klass thinks about music. Instead of treating songs as mere backdrops for vocals, he conceives of his voice as just another instrument, another piece of the whole. “Spiral Growth,” for example, is defined by a rotating series of complex melodic, harmonic, and contrapuntal ideas; adding a vocal line would detract from the essence of the song.

“Wrapped Up,” on the other hand, is built around a simple guitar figure and a hypnotic beat-box.

Klass’s vocal line adds to the song, providing a simple focal point for a simple yet effective song.

Fluid Identity is a strong record, both in terms of the songs it contains and as an expression of

Klass’s musical vision. But its creator has struggled to overcome the idea that his act is a gimmick. Looping is essentially live sampling, but while electronic music has a strong following, looping artists are often regarded as novelty acts.

“The idea of being a gimmick is something I’m constantly fighting against,” he says. “I feel like if I’m using my creativity and if I’m getting my artistic messages across and expressing myself live through my instrument, then that’s enough for me. I do want to develop into a band, and I do love playing with other people on stage, but I don’t think I’m missing anything as sometimes people suggest.”

This is true. Klass is a talented musician, a gifted songwriter, and

possessed of the innate ability to stop jams before they lose meaning. But he is also a pioneer, and pioneers are too often relegated to the fringes. In the same way electronic music has moved from the periphery into the spotlight, Klass’s one-man jam band idea will surely find the success it deserves.

Sam Klass August 3 @ Connect Music Festival Tickets: $130+ @ connectfestival.ca Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbSaskatoon amacpherson@verbnews.com

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You should thai some massaman curry Photos courtesy of Adam Hawboldt

World’s #1 food served well at Keo’s Kitchen by adam hawboldt

T

he other day I was perusing the Internet and typed the following into Google: “Most delicious food in the world.”

Up popped a CNN article titled the “World’s 50 best foods.” Curious, I clicked on the link and found some of my all-time favourite dishes were on it: seafood paella from Spain (#47), chili crab from Singapore (#35), pho from Vietnam (#28) and Peking duck (#5).

Going through the list, I’d eaten nearly every food mentioned. Then I got to the top spot, the #1 food in

It was a sunny Thursday afternoon, just before the dinner rush at Keo’s Kitchen. Traditional Thai music met me as I opened the door and took a seat. The manager, Jenny — whose family owns the restaurant — was gracious, friendly, and really easy to talk to. She handed me a menu, but I already knew what I wanted: massaman curry with a side of coconut rice.

With a smile, Jenny suggested I try the curry noodle bowl, too. How could I refuse?

When the dishes arrived, there was so much food I knew it would be impossible to finish. But that didn’t stop me for trying. I first dug into the massaman curry. And lemme tell ya, there’s good reason why the people at CNN ranked it so high. Consisting of beef, peanut butter, coconut milk, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, beans, peas, kaffir lime leaf and Thai basil, massaman curry is sweet and spicy, coconutty and savoury. If you’ve never tried this hearty curry before, drop whatever you’re doing right now and head to Keo’s. You won’t be disappointed.

Nor will you be disappointed with their curry noodle bowl. Basically a Thai twist on the vermicelli bowls you get at every Vietnamese place in town, this dish is a great, light meal for a hot

the world, and saw a dish I’d never tried before — massaman curry, from Thailand.

Wait a second! I’ve been to Thailand a handful of times. How in the heck haven’t I tried this yet? So I hopped back on Google and found a place here in town that serves massaman curry.

You’ve probably heard of the place before. It’s called Keo’s Kitchen and by most accounts it serves some of the best Thai food in the city.

So off I went, in search of this mysterious (at least to me!) dish. What I found was simply mouth-watering.

let’s go drinkin’ Verb’s mixology guide Mango Passion Cocktail

Ingredients

I may not have eaten massaman curry in Thailand, but I’ll tell you what: I drank copious amounts of mango-based cocktails. And they’re delicious! Why not give this one a try next time you feel like a refreshing beverage?

2 mangoes 1/2 cup vodka 1/4 cup lime juice pinch of salt 2 tbsp syrup 1 bottle champagne ice

Directions

Cut mangoes up and put them in a blender. Add vodka, lime juice, salt and syrup (sugar will do in a pinch). Blend until puréed. Pour mango concoction into martini glasses and top off with champagne. Toss in some crushed ice if you feel like it. Serve.

summer’s day. The curry is rich and sweet, and the shredded cabbage they pile on top makes for a nice texture contrast with the soft, moist noodles.

Next up for me, trying to find a place in town that serves the #7 dish on the world’s best list — Penang assam laksa. If anyone knows of a place in town where I can give this a go, gimme a call.

Keo’s Kitchen 1013 Broadway Avenue | 306 652 2533

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbSaskatoon ahawboldt@verbnews.com

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music

Next Week

coming up

the moas

vibonics

drake

@ amigos cantina friday, july 26 – $TBD

@ lydia’s pub friday, july 26 – $5

@ credit union centre wednesday, oct 2 – $62.75+

Someone once said that “Change always comes bearing gifts.” True or not, it certainly was the case with Sonia Dickin. For years she played in a band called A Gentle Forest, with a paireddown, laid-back sound. But one day Dickin decided she wanted to change things up, and play music with more energy. The gift she received from this change was an excellent up-and-coming band called The Moas. Consisting of Dickin, Jim Ginther, Chad Munson, Sarah Rutley and Scott Gowen, this local group plays a sweeping, up-beat brand of indie rock you can’t ignore.

Driven by Dickin’s whimsical voice and the group’s bouncing guitar riffs, The Moas are well on their way to make a name for themselves. They’ll be rocking Amigos next week; tickets available at the door.

Ever wonder how rap and acoustic music came together? Well, according to most, it all started back in the early 1990s. In the wake of the popification of rap by people like MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice, people in the rap world began looking for new sounds. Up sprung the popularity of gangster rap and the less popular acoustic hip hop — pioneered by bands like Arrested Development and The Fugees. The sub-genre waned in popularity in the early 2000’s, but it’s making a comeback and at the head of the Canadian charge is Toronto’s Vibonics. Created

by MC Crossword and guitarist Alfred, Vibonics is a six-person band that sings infectious rap tunes backed by an excellent band. Come see what they’re all about when they take the stage at Lydia’s.

Sure, you know about Drake’s on-again-off-again relationship with Rihanna, his feud with Chris Brown and the millions of records this Canadian rapper has sold over the past few years.

But did you know Drake got his start in the entertainment industry as an actor? True story. He played basketball star Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Back then he was known as Aubrey Drake Graham. These days, though, he’s known as the most popular and successful rapper working in the Great White North. Hailing from Toronto, Drake has rapped alongside the likes of Eminem, Kanye West and Lil Wayne. He’s written songs for Alicia Keys and Jamie Foxx, and he’s one of the best rappers in the game. So yeah, you should probably check out his show. Tickets through Ticketmaster.

– By Adam Hawboldt

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

Sask music Preview If you are a musician or vocalist that has performers as a featured or background performer on a commercially released sound recording, then Musicians’ Rights Organization Canada may have some money for you! MROC collects a different type of royalties than SOCAN does — ones for performers, not songwriters. For more information, and to complete your free registration, please visit http://musiciansrights.ca.

Keep up with Saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org

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July 19 » July 27 The most complete live music listings for Saskatoon.

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21 22 23 24 25 26 27

Friday 19 House DJs / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk, soul & lounge DJs liven up the atmosphere at 6Twelve. 9pm / No cover The Resignators / Amigos — Psychoska from the Land Down Under. 10pm / Cover TBD Kashmir / Buds — Western Canada’s premier Led Zeppelin tribute band. 9pm / $5 DJ Aash Money / Béily’s UltraLounge — DJ Aash Money throws down a high-energy top 40 dance party every Friday night. 9pm / $5 cover BPM / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin electro/ vocal house music. 10pm / $5 DJ Eclectic / The Hose & Hydrant — Local turntable whiz DJ Eclectic pumps snappy electronic beats. 8pm / No cover DJ Stikman / Jax Niteclub — Kick off your weekend with all your favourite party hits..

9pm / $5 cover

Kaitlin and the Strength / Lydia’s Pub — A night of sweet, catchy tunes. 10pm / $5 Cruz FM the 80’s / Odeon Events Centre — Featuring Chilliwack, The Odds and The Rebel O’s. 8pm / $9.60 (theodeon.ca) DJ Big Ayyy & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Round up your friends ‘cause there’s no better country rock party around. 8pm / $5; ladies in free before 11pm Where’s My Mullet / Piggy’s — Come and rock out! 9pm / No cover One More Troubadour / Prairie Ink — Instrumental acoustic music. 8pm / No cover Kroovy Rookers / Rock Bottom — Also featuring Zero Cool, Exoskeleton and Zombie Bouffant. 9pm / $10 Dislexik / Spadina Freehouse — Spinning tunes that’ll make you wanna move. 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 / $5 Ripper Train / Taste of Saskatchewan — Great food and great tunes.

11:30am onwards Party Rock Fridays / Tequila — Featuring DJ Anchor. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Nick Ruston / Uncle Barley’s — Come and check him out! 9pm / Cover TBD Pandas in Japan / Vangelis — Also appearing is Dead Soft and Sightlines.

10pm / $8

Saturday 20

House DJs / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin soulful tunes all night. 9pm / No cover Jay Arner / Amigos — A psychadelic pop rocker from the West Coast. 10pm DJ Aash Money + DJ CTRL / Béily’s — These two DJs throw down a high-energy top 40 dance party. 9pm / $5 cover Kashmir / Buds — Western Canada’s premier Led Zeppelin tribute band. 9pm / $5 SaturGAY Night / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin exclusive dance remixes every Saturday. 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. 9pm / $5 cover The Nobles, One More Troubadour / Little Stone Stage — Broadway’s live at lunch is back! 11:30am / No cover The Empire Associates / Lydia’s Pub — A folk duo from Regina. 10pm / $5 Apathy, Celph Titled / Odeon Events Centre — Two talented hip-hop artists. 9pm / $30 (theodeon.ca) DJ Big Ayyy & DJ Henchman / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Round up your friends ‘cause there’s no better country rock party around. 8pm / $5 Where’s My Mullet / Piggy’s — Come and rock out! 9pm / No cover Wires n’ Wood / Prairie Ink — Local trio playing jazz, latin and gypsy music. 8pm / No cover

The Weber Brothers / Rock Bottom — Rockin’ rockabilly-esque tunes from America. 10pm / Cover TBD Fuse Productions / Spadina Freehouse — Come check out this dope act. 9pm / No cover Dueling Pianos / Staqatto Piano Lounge — With Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King. 10pm / $5 DJ Anchor / Sutherland Bar — It’s the world famous video mix show! 10pm / Cover TBD Riff Raff + More / Taste of Saskatchewan — Great food and great tunes.

11:30am onwards Datsik / Tequila — A dub step producer and DJ from BC. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Thorpdeo / Uncle Barley’s — Spinning hot tunes all night. 10pm / Cover TBD

By Divine Right, The Moas / Vangelis — A night of cool indie rock. 9pm / $10

Sunday 21

RA the Rugged Man, Klee Major, Life Unspoken / Amigos — Also featuring Hustle and Thrive, Killa 1nce and Dayda Banks. 10pm / $20 (ticketedge.ca) Industry Night / Béily’s UltraLounge — Hosted by DJ Sugar Daddy; this crowd favourite has always been known to break the latest and greatest tracks in multiple genres.

9pm / $4; no cover for industry staff DJ KADE / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover

Weedeater / Rock Bottom — A night of metal also featuring Narcissistic and Chronobot. 9pm / $10 Blues Jam / Vangelis Tavern — The Vangelis Sunday Jam offers great tunes from blues to rock and beyond. 7:30pm / No cover

Monday 22

Ross Neilsen / Buds — Roots, blues and rock out of Fredericton, N.B. 9pm / $5 DJ Audio / Dublins — Spinning dope beats.

9pm / Cover TBD Metal Mondays / Lydia’s Pub — If hard, heavy awesomeness is your thing, swing by. 9pm

Tuesday 23

Ross Neilsen / Buds — Roots, blues and rock out of Fredericton, N.B. 9pm / $5 Steve Earle and The Dukes / Dakota Dunes — A Grammy-winning, master singer/songwriter. 8pm / SOLD OUT DJ SUGAR DADDY / The Double Deuce — This crowd favourite rocks. 9:30pm / $4 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, and is a chance for bands, solo artists and even comedians to showcase original material.

9pm / No cover Open Mic / The Somewhere Else Pub — Come out to show your talent. 7pm / No cover

Continued on next page »

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Wednesday 24 HUMP WEDNESDAYS / 302 Lounge & Discotheque — Resident DJ Chris Knorr will be spinning all of your favourite songs. 9pm / No cover until 10pm; $3 thereafter Sweatshop Union / Amigos — Also featuring Def 3, Sirvis, Fabric and Heywood.

10pm / Cover TBD Ross Neilsen / Buds — Roots, blues and rock out of Fredericton, N.B. 9pm / $5 DJ Memo / Dublins — Spinning dope beats.

9pm / Cover TBD 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. 9pm / No cover WILD WEST WEDNESDAY / Outlaws — Hosted by DJ Big Ayyy & DJ Henchman.

9pm / $4; no cover for industry staff The Avenue Recording Company presents Open Mic / Rock Bottom — Hosted by Chad Reynolds. 10pm / No cover CJWW Karaoke / Stan’s Place — Your talent, aired on the radio! 9pm / No cover Dueling Pianos / Staqatto Piano Lounge — With Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King. 10pm / No cover

Thursday 25

Brewster and the Roosters / Buds — A rockin’ local trio. 9pm / $5

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 Shane Chisholm / Piggy’s — An oldschool country crooner. 9pm / No cover Thunder Riot w/Conky Showpony / Rock Bottom — Come dance the night away as this local DJ plays the kind of music that’ll get your feet moving. 9pm / $5 Triple Up Thursdays / Tequila — Featuring DJ Stikman. 9pm / Cover TBD The Reckless Heroes / Vangelis — Also featuring The Bella Donnas and Good Enough. 10pm / $5

Friday 26

House DJs / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk, soul & lounge DJs liven it up. 9pm / No cover The Moas / Amigos — Energetic indie rock from a local band. 10pm / Cover TBD Riff Raff / Buds on Broadway — A night of classic rock. 9pm / $5 DJ Aash Money / Béily’s — DJ Aash Money throws it down. 9pm / $5 cover 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 — Kick off your weekend with all your favourite party hits.. 9pm / $5

Vibonics / Lydia’s Pub — Infectious acoustic rap from Toronto. 10:30pm / $5 DJ Big Ayyy & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — Round up your friends! 8pm / $5; ladies in free before 11pm The Mudd Brothers / Piggy’s — A rockin’ talented four-piece. 9pm / No cover The Worst Pop Trio Ever / Prairie Ink — Playing smooth jazz licks. 8pm / No cover Iron Kingdom / Rock Bottom — Also featuring Naraka and Desecrate Scripture.

9pm / Cover TBD DJ Fink / Spadina Freehouse — Spinning tunes that’ll make you wanna move. 9pm 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 Fuzz Kings / Vangelis — Edmonton’s underground troubadours. 10pm / $8

Saturday 27

House DJs / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin soulful tunes all night. 9pm / No cover Wizards / Amigos — Leaders in the Prairie Surf Revival movement. 10pm / Cover TBD DJ Aash Money + DJ CTRL / Béily’s — These two DJs throw down a high-energy top 40 dance party. 9pm / $5 cover

Riff Raff / Buds on Broadway — A night of classic rock. 9pm / $5 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 — Ladies night with DJ Stikman. 9pm / $5 cover Apollo Cruz / Little Stone Stage (Victoria School) — It’s Broadway’s “Live at Lunch” series. 11:30pm / No cover Sean Burns Band / Lydia’s Pub — Folk/ roots music out of Oshawa. 10:30pm / $5 Mikey Dangerous / Odeon Events Centre — A Juno-winning reggae sensation. 8pm / $20+ (theodeon.ca) DJ Big Ayyy & DJ Henchman / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — There’s no better country rock party around. 8pm / $5 The Mudd Brothers / Piggy’s — A rockin’ talented four-piece you don’t want to miss.

9pm / No cover

The Dave Nelson Trio / Prairie Ink — Light jazz and latin standards. 8pm / No cover Mitchy the Kid / Spadina Freehouse — Come check out this dope act. 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 / $5 DJ Anchor / Sutherland Bar — It’s the world famous video mix show! 10pm / Cover TBD Sexy Saturdays / Tequila — A night of hot tunes. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Thorpdeo / Uncle Barley’s — Spinning hot tunes all night. 10pm / Cover TBD Ray Elliott Band / Vangelis — A local folk-rock/alt-country band. 10pm / $8

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Photo: Courtesy of warner bros pictures

true terror

Lovers of horror films will dig The Conjuring by adam hawboldt

I

t’s 1971. The Perron family — Roger (Ron Livingston), Carolyn (Lili Taylor) and their daughters — have moved into a musty, old townhouse in Rhode Island. There’s nothing out-of-the-ordinary about the Perrons: they’re a generic, working-class family.

But there is something out-ofthe-ordinary about the house they’re moving into.

Covered in cobwebs, there’s a hidden cellar door in the bowels of the house. The kind of door you see in horror movies and think: “Whatever you do, don’t open that!”

Alas, the door is opened and strange things start happening — creepy things. The family dog takes off, all the clocks in the house get stuck at 3:07am, strange odors fill the house, one of the Perron daughters begins sleepwalking. Oh, and the youngest daughter starts talking to an imaginary friend.

Things get so creepy the Perrons decide to get some help.

Enter Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga.)

The Warrens aren’t your average, run-of-the-mill married couple. No. They’re what we call, in today’s lingo, ghost hunters. Lorraine is a clairvoyant, Ed is a Vatican-sanctioned demonologist. Working for the church, the pair have investigated hauntings and waged holy war on evil spirits. More often than not, the cases they work on are hoaxes.

But not this one.

The Perron case is about to take the Warrens (and the Perrons, for that matter) to the brink of fear and madness.

This, in case you’re wondering, is a true story. It’s also the plot of James Wan’s new horror flick. The Conjuring.

And you know what? Wan, who previously directed Saw and Insidious, has hit a home run with this film. Unlike most horror flicks out there these

the conjuring James Wan Starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston + Lili Taylor Directed by

112 minutes | 14A

ways. He doesn’t try to smack you in the face with shock after shock.

Instead, Wan lets the tension slowly mount, piece by piece, until the audience is on the edge of their seat (or clinging onto the person next to them), then he strikes.

It’s a master work of a director who seems to have really found his stride in the horror genre.

It’s also a display of excellent acting. Both Taylor and Farmiga are excellent in their roles. They bring a gravitas to the screen, a whole lot more than many horror heroines who get by on being pretty and being able to scream really well. The guys (Ron Livingston and Patrick Wilson) are also good.

Same goes for the kids.

So if you’re a fan of horror (or if you just want to stay awake at night wondering if something is going to yank you out of bed), you should probably check out The Conjuring. It’s one heckuva film.

…Wan lets the tension mount slowly … until the audience is on the edge of their seat…

Adam Hawboldt

days — which fall under massacre porn or a special-effects bonanza — The Conjuring isn’t out to shock or wow you. It’s a throw-back horror flick, kind of like The Amityville Horror or Poltergeist or The Exorcist. Those late-’70s/ early ‘80s horror films that worked their way under your skin like a slowmoving virus.

The Conjuring is that kind of film.

Relying on small things like pencils, a ball and a music box, Wan takes horror and makes it minute again. He makes it creepy, makes it scare the bejesus out of you in subtle, smart

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Kings of Summer?

Indeed.

Photo: Courtesy of cbs films

New coming-of-age movie, The Kings of Summer, is wise, charming and hilarious by adam hawboldt

I

f you watch Parks and Recreation, you know Ron Swanson. And to know Ron Swanson is to love him. A staunch libertarian, dedicated handyman and master of the manly moustache, Swanson (played by Nick Offerman) is as funny a character as you’ll find on television. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

In one of his finer moments, Swanson, tackle box in hand, looks straight at the camera and says: “Fishing relaxes me. It’s like yoga, except I still get to kill something.”

Then and there, I developed a serious man-crush on Nick Offerman. I knew that, quick as a hiccup, I’d watch him in any show or movie he’s ever in.

Enter The Kings of Summer.

This new coming-of-age film — written by Chris Galletta (Late Show with David Letterman) and directed

by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (of Funny or Die fame) — is quirky and charming and, in spots, funny as hell.

It’s the kind of movie that’ll bring you back to those halcyon summer days, just before you got overly interested in sex and stuff. Back to the days when you woke up in the morning and ran wild and free until the sun set on the horizon.

Think Stand By Me, but with a splash of Napoleon Dynamite or Wes Anderson.

Without giving too much away, the plot of The Kings of Summer

revolves around a young teenager named Joe (Nick Robinson.) Like most boys his age, Joe isn’t really a fan of his overbearing father (Nick Offerman). One day, while stumbling through the woods, he has a plan — build a summer cabin and run away from dear old dad.

Anyone who has ever built a cabin in the woods knows this isn’t the kind of project you go at alone.

So he enlists the help of his friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso), who is having his own family issues, and a neighbourhood oddball named Biaggio (Moisés Arias.)

It’s the kind of movie that’ll bring you back to those halcyon summer days…

Adam Hawboldt

Together they forage (read: steal) building materials from a nearby residential development, build their cabin and promptly run away.

For a while everything is excellent. They hunt for their own food (which, more often than not, they find at a Boston Market), hang out, grow beards and go on adventures.

But when they bring in a girl named

the kings of summer Jordan Vogt-Roberts Starring Nick Offerman, Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso + Moisés Arias Directed by

93 minutes | PG

Kelly (Erin Moriarity) to give the place a “woman’s touch,” the glue that has held their summer of freedom together starts coming undone.

Oh, and all the while the parents are trying to find their kids.

All this makes for one memorable, passionate, hilariously good movie, made all the better by the aforementioned Offerman.

Does he steal the show? You bet.

Offerman plays Joe’s dad much like he plays Ron Swanson: a stern, lovable grizzly bear of a man with a good heart. The scene with him arguing about wontons is priceless. Come to think of it, so too is much of The Kings of Summer.

No, it’s not a perfect movie. There are pacing issues and the third act isn’t quite as strong. But, pound-forpound, The Kings of Summer is one of the most enjoyable films of the summer so far. It’s currently being screened at Roxy Theatre.

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21 July 19 – July 25 @verbsaskatoon

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saturday, july 13 @

Outlaws

Outlaws Country Rock Bar 710 Idylwyld Drive N (306) 978 0808 Music vibe / Rock and country specials / $1 off drinks and cover Drink of Choice / Bottles of

Bud Light something new / Saskatoon’s only

mechanical bull — come out and give it a try!

Check out our Facebook page!

These photos will be uploaded to Facebook on Friday, July 26. facebook.com/verbsaskatoon

Photography by Patrick Carley

22 July 19 – July 25 entertainment

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23 July 19 – July 25 /verbsaskatoon

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friday, july 12 @

rocksugar

Rocksugar Karaoke Tea Bar 3110 8th Street East (306) 955 6667 Music vibe / Electronic and reggae Drink of Choice / Bubble shot top eats / Beef noodle soup — special spiced beef, baby Chinese greens

and udon noodles, all in a light broth something new / Check out their private karaoke rooms

Check out our Facebook page!

These photos will be uploaded to Facebook on Friday, July 26. facebook.com/verbsaskatoon

Photography by Cortez Photography by Cortez

24 July 19 – July 25 entertainment

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comics

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

25 July 19 – July 25 @verbsaskatoon

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crossword canadian criss-cross

Horoscopes july 19 – July 25

27. Sends out 30. They are eaten mixed with milk 34. Cutting side of a blade 35. Modelling material 36. ‘The dog ate my home work’ is one 37. Weather map symbol 38. Does garden work 39. Place to build 40. Has an inclination 42. The remaining ones of several 44. Attempt to heal 45. Whom a leader follows 46. Big elephant features 47. Complete collections

Aries March 21–April 19

Leo July 23–August 22

Sagittarius November 23–December 21

You’re going to be like the Energizer Bunny this week, Aries.

You’ll keep going and going and going, so make sure you’re accomplishing something.

Your emotional cup may overflow this week, Leo. This could mean a couple of turbulent days, but don’t fret.

The storm will soon pass.

The sun is shining, the weather is sweet. Don’t get stuck indoors.

Your adventurous energies will be taking over, so go out and explore, Sagittarius.

Taurus April 20–May 20

Virgo August 23–September 22

Capricorn December 22–January 19

Don’t be afraid to let new people into your life, Taurus. They’ll be of use to you in the weeks ahead. Trust in them, and you can achieve great things.

Tasks and appointments may threaten to overwhelm you in the coming days, Virgo. Get your cards in order — now is not the time for things to get confusing.

I see patios and friends and drinks in your near future, Capricorn.

What better way to unwind in the summer?

Enjoy it. Things won’t remain calm for long.

Gemini May 21–June 20

Libra September 23–October 23

Aquarius January 20–February 19

Some people will have fun at your expense very soon, Gemini. Don’t take it too seriously, their hearts are in the right place.

Questions will fly at you this week.

Too bad the answers are nowhere to be found. Try not to speak out of turn unless you’re certain of what you’re saying.

It’s tempting to take things at face value, Aquarius. But not this week.

Objects and people may be different than they appear.

Cancer June 21–July 22

Scorpio October 24–November 22

Pisces February 20–March 20

Ever get the feeling you aren’t getting out what you put into things, Cancer? Don’t worry. That’ll change this week when all your efforts bear fruit.

Don’t doubt the power of positive thinking, Scorpio. You’ll be needing every ounce of that power in the coming days.

If you can dream it, you can do it. Act as though those words are always dangling over your left shoulder, Pisces. Time to tackle that big project!

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

sudoku answer key

1. Unpleasant surprises 2. Raptorial bird 3. Unrefined rock 4. Entertain an audience 5. Back of a boat 6. Facility 7. Gallery display 8. Pollen-bearing organ 9. Put a polish on 11. Fixate one’s eyes 12. Came into a base horizontally 14. Places for patches 17. Written piece in a newspaper 20. Flower gardens 21. Be hard to find 23. Auction

24. Exceedingly 26. Thinks logically about 27. Hoarder’s problem 28. Mature person 29. Pay no attention to 31. Beings from another world 32. 1.76 pints 33. Catches a glimpse of 35. Is priced at 38. Get wind of 39. Hypodermic injection 41. Pod occupant 43. Bunion locale

A

B

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

© walter D. Feener 2013

DOWN

1. Use a cart, perhaps 5. The world has seven of them 9. Be unselfish 10. Bite-size pies 12. It sprays water over you 13. Landed property 15. Eat an ice cream cone 16. Price of a cab ride 18. Fifth calendar page 19. Big expense for news papers 20. Brought into life 21. In no other place 22. You may not have room for it 24. Trailing plants 25. Looked up to

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

ACROSS

crossword answer key

A

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

B

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A Comet in Space Photo: Courtesy of rhiannon herbert

An interview with Shakey Wilson and his 1964 Mercury Comet 202 by rhiannon herbert

S

hakey Wilson: musician (member of The Shakey Elevators), budding filmmaker, host of CFCR’s Tin Cans & Twine, and all-round Renaissance man.

Rhiannon Herbert: So tell me: when did you buy your car?

SW: About a year ago, from my friend Kalon Beaudry of the Foggy Notions. He just fixed it up real nice, made sure that everything was workin’ super proper before he sold it to me. The thing’s just run amazing ever since.

RH: Do you have a name for it?

SW: [Laughs] Yeah, I do, but I’ve been thinking about changing the name.

The name’s Lou right now. From the Velvet Underground. I just threw that in there, and thinking of names that seemed to fit, and I thought, “yeah, Lou, it’s a totally Lou kind of car.”

Lou seemed to fit right off the bat, so I went with it.

RH: Have you done any fun road trips in it yet?

RH: What’s your favourite music to listen to while driving?

SW: The Ramones, Neil Young, the Clash, the Beatles for sure. If I do a little bit of cruising about town, I make sure I have a tape in of songs I absolutely love and then I just roll down all the windows and tear it out of here, because I can’t stand the junk you hear coming out of cars these days. Sometimes I watch TV in here. I get people to sit in the back seat, stick a TV in here and prop it up a little bit. I used to do it in garages, but now I just do it out here. If the mosquitoes get a little crazy I just do the windows up.

RH: What’s your favourite drive to take in Saskatchewan?

SW: I’m taking it to Banff right away, with one of my kids. Otherwise I’ve just been taking it an hour or so east to see my mom and look at the countryside. I’ve hardly been driving it in the city, because I have a motorcycle. What I have done is made movies in it.

RH: That sounds intriguing.

SW: It’s called Space Kids in a Comet.

The film is about an intermission at the drive-in. We had seven of us in here: two couples in the back, and then I was shooting the film, so I was driving in the front along with another girl in the front. I had my cat in here, and I had all my cassettes lined up on the dash as part of the film. I’m trying to think of new films to shoot in here. I want to make a series of films [in the car].

SW: There’s two elevators on the way to Humboldt, and I always take my cars into the elevators because they’re owned by farmers … and they’re open all the time, so I can just drive in the doors and then drive through the other side and keep on goin’. I want to put all

that stuff in films. But my favourite drive is just heading east, out on the road. And I love to do it when the sun is behind me, because everything looks more magical. I usually head out in the evening. I love how the cassettes on the dash sparkle in the evening light. I love how this car gives me a magical

view through the windshield. This is the one.

auto specs.

– 1964 Mercury Commet 202 _ metallic, shade of champagne – “three on the tree transmission” – 6 straight cylinders

– 60,000 original miles – named “Lou” – bought for $1500 Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbSaskatoon rherbert@verbnews.com

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The Strong, Silent Type

2014 Kia Forte by rhiannon herbert

T

Photos: courtesy of verb magazine

he 2014 Kia Forte sedan, in the typical car review nomenclature, is “all new.” While the Forte was initially launched four years ago, the fifth generation of the Forte may as well be considered the genuine debut of the car. Think of the old Forte as a pair of beige capri pants: entirely un-noteworthy.

Now imagine pulling on a much more stylish pair with an incredible silk/cotton thread count that you somehow found on sale. Or it could be a blazer. New shoes?

The fashion analogy is endlessly accommodating. Point is, we have revamped our look and suddenly feel a lot more expensive … and we are in a Kia. Ralph Tjoa, the product planning manager for Kia, says that “when consumers shop for a small car, the rational part of the brain dominates.” How sad. But it’s really quite true; factors

such as fuel economy, fuel economy and fuel economy comprise the bulk of a person’s shopping criteria when considering a smaller vehicle. Style is a happy accident if you can find it. The new Forte, however, successfully offers consumers a sense of chrome-touched, up-scale drama in a car that obliges the real need of practicality.

Styling

I

n brief, the Forte has gotten a whole lot better looking. 2014’s dimensions include a dropped inch off the top, and a wheelbase two inches wider than the previous sedan. The

Continued on next page »

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car is longer, too, and outfitted with a more aggressive-looking front end featuring Kia’s “signature grill,” which is vaguely reminiscent of what bees would build in a distant future where everything is made of metal alloys from space. The improved look of the Forte can be credited to the artistic direction of Peter Schreyer, formerly of Audi, and his talent is visible in the clean yet interesting contours of the Forte profile. It’s not completely unique — I’ve heard several people remark it looks a lot like a Civic — but it’s imbued with a certain sex appeal that was previously missing.

interior

t

he size and style of the exterior flows easily into the interior, where smooth lines, chrome touches and leather abound. Despite the sporty vibe of the Forte, it’s roomy, seating up to five individuals with ample leg and head room. Luxury touches are

prevalent, such as a 7-inch touch screen display, a better-than-decent sound system, Sirius satellite radio, Bluetooth, internal music storage capabilities, ergonomic armrests, plenty of steering wheel mounted controls, climate control, and power everything. This includes two memory settings for front seat adjustments, which allows the seat to glide into place once the start button is pressed, using the stored preferences of up to two individuals.

How awesome is that? Never again would one have to hop in the car, only to realize that your taller/shorter partner wreaked havoc on your ability to reach the gas pedal or not be completely scrunched up against the wheel. Optional heat is also provided in almost every conceivable surface of the vehicle, including the back seats, outside mirrors and steering wheel.

Come winter, that heated steering wheel is going to be the best thing in life next to warm, dry socks.

Other expensive-feeling features loaded into the Forte include chrome dials, a digital external temperature display, and a stitched leather shift for the manual transmission. In lieu of a golden cobra head, nothing beats the feel of leather when you’re working your way up the gears. Kia’s selectable FlexSteer is another high end-feeling addition, which allows the driver to choose between one of three driving

modes that are meant to offer varying degrees of responsiveness at the wheel. Ultra light comfort steering felt incredibly loose, while the normal and sport settings were pretty stiff. I don’t think I’d often be switching modes in my everyday driving, but the feature is there if you want it. That’s a theme with the features of the Forte: there are so many that it’s hard to even be aware of them all, but they’re nice to have.

driving experience

I

n terms of the driving experience, perhaps the most striking difference in the new Forte is what you don’t notice: it’s quiet.

Previously bemoaned levels of road noise have been quashed, leaving one to enjoy the ride without all the rattle. Some may argue this point, but for those who have ridden in previous attempts at this compact model the difference is assuredly marked. While the ‘normal’ steering

setting is on the stiff side, the ride itself avoids being brittle, and one comes close to the thrill of a tightly handled car when reaching higher speeds. Overall smoothness left a little something to be desired, but for the price and range of the car, this is to be somewhat expected — even some luxury class vehicles offer disappointingly harsh rides these days, and on Saskatoon roads … well, you get the idea. For this test drive I took out the EX edition, which comes standard with a 2.0-litre inline four cylinder GDI engine, offering 173 horsepower available at 6,500 rpm. (Fun fact: the term “horsepower” was adopted in the late 18th century by the Scottish engineer James Watt to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses. To better conceive this range of power, please close your eyes and picture 173 white stallions thundering across the open plain.

It is inaccurate, but fun). With a decent 154 lb–ft of torque available at 4,700 rpm, the EX is available in six-speed automatic as well. The standard was quick to shift, and delivered a surprising amount of speed from the launch of the lower gears through smooth transitions to the mid-range. It had pep, as they say. However, that pep comes with

a cost, namely the Forte’s justaverage fuel economy of 24/35 city to highway. Not great, but not bad either.

bottom line

I

n all, Kia has put some worthy thought and effort into its new model. For the price, it offers a thoroughly complete offering with an upmarket edge — just like those new pants. Kia of Saskatoon has already counted the Forte as their top seller, and I can see why. The Forte is a strong contender in the segment for most buyers, and with this many improvements already visible, the Forte promises a lot more just a little further down the road.

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@VerbSaskatoon rherbert@verbnews.com

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easy rider Photo: Courtesy of rhiannon herbert

A mini-guide to riding gear for town and highway by rhiannon herbert

T

hinking of getting fitted out for a ride this summer? I consulted some experts to get a quick refresher on the essentials for comfortable, safe and easy riding.

Unlike the physically enveloping experience of driving your car, being on a motorcycle has you right out on the road. This independence and exposure is a big part of why so many people love to ride — and it’s also why you need the proper gear.

First and foremost, any rider in the city or beyond is going to need a helmet, and a DOT approved one at that. DOT is a safety standard provided by the United States Department of Transportation. If your helmet isn’t DOT certified, don’t buy it. Some helmets are additionally ‘Snell’ certified, which means they’ve been given the thumbs up by the Snell Memorial Foundation (named after late sports car racer William Pete Snell, who died in 1956 of head injuries when his helmet let him down on the track).

Helmets come in a range of coverage, including modular, full-face, ¾ coverage, or half coverage. The half helmet or ‘beanie’ is a popular choice for summer, offering basic protection in a small, lightweight unit that’s cool in hotter weather.

Women-specific helmets are also an option, as with Harley Davidson’s well-designed Skyline range.

While a windshield does a lot to cut down on eating bugs, many riders opt for a bandana or face-mask for added protection. My personal favourite has to be the skull mask by Zan, which makes you look a little like the Ghost Rider. Riding goggles or glasses are a must for riding, as they block out glare, wind, and the

occasional rock. Look for WX Z87 and WX+ markings on the frames, temples and lenses to ensure you’re getting ANSI Z87.1 rated eye protection for high velocity and high mass impacts. Further options to consider include specially coloured or halfpolarized lenses, and removable foam seals that block out wind and dust at high speeds. Half blind? Not to worry: most frames can even be fitted with prescription lenses.

Of course, a crucial item for many riders is a good riding jacket.

Spend high on a jacket — it’s a good investment. To this end, FXRG riding gear is the best you can get.

Offering both wind and waterproof membranes, optional insulation, removable body armor, reflective piping, and a whack of other features, your safety and comfort will be first and foremost.

A solid pair of boots is another good thing to have; look for a sturdy base, ankle-height support, and thick construction to protect against hits. A pair of riding gloves never hurts, and packing away a rain suit for longer excursions will save you in an unexpected storm.

There are also plenty of storage solutions for the would-be tripper, from packs and bungee cords on the sissy bar, to weatherproof travel and saddlebags. In essence, almost any bike can transition from city to highway riding with the right gear. We’ve got a few good weeks in the season left, so visit your local dealership and start planning your ride.

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nice rack!

A mini-guide to buying the right rack for your vehicle by rhiannon herbert

S

ummer is finally in full swing, and this means most of us are already planning our next great weekend, holiday or full-on road trip out of the city. Great trips need great equipment, and roof racks are a fantastic way to bring along almost everything you need, from bikes to boats to extra storage space.

Buying a roof rack is a relatively straightforward process. As with all car-related purchases, it just requires a little advance research. The important things to consider before beginning your shopping process include:

- what you want the rack to support in terms of gear or storage; - whether you are dealing with adding on to pre-existing factoryinstalled racks or working solely with aftermarket parts; - weighing the benefits between permanently installed racks versus removable models (i.e. security, frequency of use, length of trip, etc.)

If you’re transporting bikes only, a true plethora of rack options awaits you. Front, rear, as well as overhead rack arrangements are all available for a bike setup, with choices falling along a broad spectrum of price, style, and quality.

However, if you plan on adding a kayak, canoe, snowboard or extra storage into the mix, you’re likely in the market for a proper roof rack.

Roof racks offer the highest level of versatility and stability for transporting a range of outdoor gear, and do a great deal to protect the surface of your beloved car (and belongings) in the process.

Determining rack compatibility with your vehicle may seem overwhelming, but it isn’t. Fit guides are provided by the top rack dealers, such as Thule’s Automated Fit Guide, or the Yakima Rack Configurator, both available through each company’s website.

Fit guides are a great reference for buying new as well as used rack systems and parts, and while brand-specific, chances are you will be working with these makes since they totally dominate the roof rack market. Consulting your local vendor (specifically, a gear

shop) is another good way to get informed, in addition to having somebody else take care of all the ordering.

Whether you drive a Smart Car, a truck, or a Winnebago, there’s a rack out there that fits. So get out

there, have fun, and put some stuff on your roof.

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@VerbSaskatoon rherbert@verbnews.com

hitch rack

roof rack

COST: $$ - $$$$

COST: $$ - $$$

ACCOMODATES: Bikes, boats, skis, snowboards, surfboards, cargo boxes

ACCOMODATES: Bikes, adaptable for skis, snowboards, cargo

PROS: Most versatile, stable; secure; unimpeded door and trunk access

PROS: Less expensive; easy loading, can be removed

CONS: Cost; wind resistance; may not fit in low-clearance places; lifting required

CONS: Limits trunk or hatch access; less secure; risk of abrasion

tire rack

trunk rack

COST: $ - $$

COST: $$

ACCOMODATES: Bikes

ACCOMODATES: Bikes, adaptable for skis and snowboards

PROS: Inexpensive; easy to load, removable; can be used on wide variety of vehicles CONS: Limits trunk or hatch access; risk of abrasion

truck rack

PROS: Inexpensive; easy to load CONS: Dependent on tire size; limited number of items

cargo boxes

COST: $$

COST: $$ - $$$

ACCOMODATES: Bikes, boats, cargo

ACCOMODATES: Loose gear, skis, snowboards

PROS: Inexpensive; easy to load; higher weight tolerance; can attach to tool boxes

PROS: Weather protection; secure (locks); good spot for dirty/wet gear outside of vehicle

CONS: Fills up truck bed (bikes take up majority of space)

CONS: Cost; wind resistance

31 July 19 – July 25 /verbsaskatoon

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