FREE (soul)
#1055 / jan 14, 2016 – jan 20, 2016 vueweekly.com
What happens to food trucks during the winter months? 6 No mean girls allowed on Flora and Fawna’s Field Trip 8
ISSUE: 1055 JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016 COVER ILLUSTRATION: MIKE KENDRICK
LISTINGS
ARTS / 12 MUSIC / 23 EVENTS / 25 CLASSIFIED / 26 ADULT / 28
FRONT
3
Skin bleaching is a dangerous practice perpetuated by western media // 4
DISH
6
What happens to street food when it goes indoors over the winter? // 6
ARTS University of Alberta Petrocultures Research Cluster
8
Fringe hit Flora and Fawna's Field Trip! returns // 8
POP
13
Stand-up Sterling Scott aims high with his second special, Jokeaholic // 13
FILM An Interdisciplinary Response to the UN Climate Convention
January 28, 7:00–9:00pm Art Gallery of Alberta LEDCOR THEATRE 2 Sir Winston Churchill Sq. Edmonton, AB T5J 2C1
The 2015 UN Climate Convention in Paris (COP21) was considered by many to be the last chance for national governments to offer a meaningful and timely course of action in response to the urgent challenges of climate change. Hosted by the Petrocultures Research Cluster at the University of Alberta, this event will provide a forum for scholars to come together and begin to take account of COP21— the outcomes and implications, the successes and failures—from a range of disciplinary perspectives and concerns.
This event is free and open to the public.
Please join us for what promises to be an important and engaging evening of discussion and debate. Sponsored by the Art Gallery of Alberta; Faculty of Arts and Kule Institute for Advanced Study, University of Alberta; and the Canada Research Chair in Cultural Studies, University of Alberta.
2 UP FRONT
15
In Alejandro González Iñárritu's hands, The Revenant plays as a cluttered campfire story // 15
MUSIC
18
Frontman Reuben Bullock on overcoming fears, Funeral Sky and new music // 18
vVUEWEEKLY #200, 11230 - 119 STREET, EDMONTON, AB T5G 2X3 | T: 780.426.1996
F: 780.426.2889
FOUNDING EDITOR / PUBLISHER.................................................................................................................RON GARTH PRESIDENT ROBERT W DOULL......................................................................................................................rwdoull@vueweekly.com VICE PRESIDENT - SALES DEVELOPMENT RON DRILLEN .................................................................................................................................rdrillen@vueweekly.com OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR VALERIE GROSS ............................................................................................................................. valerie@vueweekly.com MANAGING EDITOR / MUSIC EDITOR MEAGHAN BAXTER .................................................................................................................meaghan@vueweekly.com ARTS / FILM / POP EDITOR PAUL BLINOV ........................................................................................................................................paul@vueweekly.com NEWS & DISH EDITOR MEL PRIESTLEY ....................................................................................................................................mel@vueweekly.com POSTVUE / FEATURES WRITER & SNOW ZONE EDITOR JASMINE SALAZAR...................................................................................................................... jasmine@vueweekly.com LISTINGS HEATHER SKINNER....................................................................................................................... listings@vueweekly.com PRODUCTION MANAGER CHARLIE BIDDISCOMBE .............................................................................................................charlie@vueweekly.com PRODUCTION JESSICA HONG..................................................................................................................................jessica@vueweekly.com MARKETING MANAGER ANDY COOKSON ...............................................................................................................................andy@vueweekly.com SENIOR ACCOUNT MANAGER JOANNE LAYH ..................................................................................................................................joanne@vueweekly.com ACCOUNT MANAGER JAMES JARVIS ....................................................................................................................................james@vueweekly.com ACCOUNT MANAGER JEN CARON .............................................................................................................................................. jen@vueweekly.com NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE DPS MEDIA .......................................................................................416.413.9291....................dbradley@dpsmedia.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER MICHAEL GARTH .........................................................................................................................michael@vueweekly.com
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
CONTRIBUTORS Shawn Bernard, Josef Braun, Rob Brezsny, Ryan Bromsgrove, Bruce Cinnamon, Ashley Dryburgh, Tami-lee Duncan, Gwynne Dyer, Matt Gaffney, Brian Gibson, Fish Griwkowsky, Mike Kendrick, Brittany Rudyck, Dan Savage, Christopher Schieman, James Stewart, Mimi Williams, Mike Winters
DISTRIBUTION Terry Anderson, Shane Bennett, Jason Dublanko, John Fagan Aaron Getz, Amy Olliffe, Beverley Phillips, Justin Shaw, Choi Chung Shui, Sean Stephens, Wally Yanish
Vue Weekly is available free of charge at well over 1200 locations throughout Edmonton. We are funded solely through the support of our advertisers. Vue Weekly is a division of Postvue Publishing LP (Robert W. Doull, President) and is published every Thursday. Vue Weekly is available free of charge throughout Greater Edmonton and Northern Alberta, limited to one copy per reader. Vue Weekly may be distributed only by Vue Weekly's authorized independent contractors and employees. No person may, without prior written permission of Vue Weekly, take more than one copy of each Vue Weekly issue. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40022989. If undeliverable, return to: Vue Weekly #200, 11230 - 119 St, Edmonton, AB T5G 2X3
FRONT
NEWS EDITOR: MEL PRIESTLEY MEL@VUEWEEKLY.COM
ASHLEY DRYBURGH // ASHLEY@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Seeking gay heritage in Edmonton
The upcoming staging of The Gay Heritage Project is a chance to remember queer history Is there such a thing as a "gay heritage?" Three artists set out to answer that question in next month's performance of The Gay Heritage Project. Written and performed by Damien Atkins, Paul Dunn and Andrew Kushnir and originally produced through Toronto's Buddies in Bad Times Residency Program, the play is running at the Citadel from February 10 to 27. The trio—all formerly from Edmonton—use their own histories and cultures as a starting point to launch into an exploration of their connection to queers of the past. They worked with a historian to research archival materials to round out their own knowledge and present a series of high-energy vignettes that ask what it means to be gay. These range from the comical (a scene about the social construction of queerness featuring The Wizard of Oz and Michel Foucault) to the heartbreaking (a skit about HIV where the actors admit
DYERSTRAIGHT
that while they never lived through the ravages of AIDS themselves, it meant they lost an entire generation of mentors). Atkins, Dunn and Kushnir are upfront about all being middle class, cisgender, white gays, and that their struggle is not universal—a bit of self-reflexivity that is always appreciated. Reviews of the Toronto shows have all been generally positive, so much so that the production is currently on a national tour and slated to run on main stages in a number of other cities this year, including Vancouver and Victoria. I'm curious to hear if any of the production is tweaked to reflect events in Edmonton, given the team's connection to the city and the other
historical investigations like last year's Queer History Project. In reading about The Gay Heritage Project I was inspired to brush up on my own queer history, so I revisited Tom Warner's Never Going Back: A History of Queer Activism
sive archival research, the book traces the multiple and contradictory objectives of the "gay liberation" movement in Canada. While one of the most extensive histories that I've encountered, the book isn't perfect and could benefit from the inclusion of more stories from trans* people, indigenous communities and people of colour. However, if you want to brush up on some queer history, it's a decent place to start. What the book reminded me was that Canada does not have a Stonewall moment—a singular event that defined the beginning of our queer activism. Despite this, much of our queer history seems to be based in Toronto—the bath-
Canada does not have a Stonewall moment—a singular event that defined the beginning of our queer activism. in Canada. Be warned: this is a thick book published by a scholarly press. However, Warner is a longtime activist, and his language is accessible and the subject matter fascinating. Drawing on more than 100 interviews with gay and lesbian activists, along with exten-
house raids in that city in 1981, for example, are often cited. Indeed, The Gay Heritage Project features a scene about the Toronto raids, which is why I am so curious to see if there are local tweaks—Toronto was not the only city raiding bathhouses in the 1980s. In 1981, Edmonton's Pisces bathhouse was raided: 60 men were arrested and a membership list of over 2000 names was seized. Warner recounts the story (provided by none other than our own Michael Phair) and contextualizes it within events across the country at that time, reminding us that Canada's queer activism was as vital here as it was anywhere else. For tickets to The Gay Heritage Project, check out the Citadel's website. Never Going Back is available on Amazon or can be ordered through your local bookshop, and the Queer History Project lives online at edmontonqueerhistoryproject.wordpress.com/.V
GWYNNE DYER // GWYNNE@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Refugees, sexual harassment and Angela Merkel The Cologne attacks were fuelled by a clash of cultures and classes Chancellor Angela Merkel opened Germany's doors to a million refugees and migrants last year—three times as many as the rest of the European Union put together. Critics in Germany predicted a popular backlash, and warned that even her own Christian Democratic Party (CDU) would turn against her. In the case of the CDU, at least, they were dead wrong. At the party's annual congress on December 15, Merkel's speech—in which she did not retreat one inch from her frequent assertion that "we can do it" (accept and integrate the refugees)—got a 10-minute standing ovation that brought tears to her eyes. Despite a dip in the opinion polls, she also still enjoys widespread popular support—or at least she did until the ugly events in the city of Cologne on New Year's Eve. In the crowds that gathered in front of Cologne's railway station to celebrate the new year, hundreds of young men in gangs began harassing and robbing German women. "All of a sudden these men around us began groping us," one victim told German television. "They touched our behinds and grabbed between our legs. They touched us everywhere, so my girlfriend wanted to get out of the crowd. When I turned around one guy grabbed my bag and ripped it
off my body." There were 379 complaints to the police, 40 percent of which involved sexual assault, and two accusations of rape. Only 31 men were arrested in connection with these offences, a police failure that caused popular outrage. But the incendiary fact—which the police at first declined to reveal— was that 18 of the 31 men arrested were asylum-seekers, and all but five were Muslims. So there was a firestorm of popular protest about the Cologne attacks (which also happened on a smaller scale in Stuttgart and Hamburg). The German authorities did their best to contain the damage. The Cologne police chief, Wolfgang Albers, was suspended for holding back information about the attacks, and in particular about the origin of the suspects. Chancellor Merkel felt obliged to promise that she will change the law which says that asylum seekers can only be forcibly sent home if they have been sentenced to at least
three years in prison, and if their lives are not at risk in their home country. The new law will say that migrants sentenced to any jail time, or even put on probation, can be sent home no matter where they come from. It's the least she could do politically, as the extreme anti-immigrant parties are already making a meal out of the Cologne events.
home. I suspect that they were mostly village boys who still believe the popular Middle Eastern stereotypes about good Muslim girls whom you must not harass, and "loose" Western women who are fair game for sexual assault. I once lived in Istanbul for a while with my wife and two little boys, and we had the same experience as most other Westerners: when my wife was out with me or with the children, she was treated with respect. When she was out alone, she was the target of constant sexual harassment. At least once a day, as young men passed her in the crowded streets, she would suddenly experience the full frontal grab—and if she protested, they would simply laugh at her. So I taught her what a Turkish woman would say if the same thing happened, and it did help. She still got molested, but when she rebuked the attackers in Turkish they were overwhelmed with shame and panic, and disappeared into the crowd as fast as possible.
I suspect that they were mostly village boys who still believe the popular Middle Eastern stereotypes about good Muslm girls whom you must not harrass, and "loose" Western women who are fair game for sexual assault. But what on earth made those young Muslim men, the beneficiaries of Germany's generosity, think they could sexually attack young German women in public (and rob them while they were doing it)? They were not professional thieves, and I very much doubt that they would sexually attack young Muslim women in public if they were back
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
This was back when Istanbul only had three million people (it now has 14 million), but already my Turkish friends were moaning about how their city was being "villagerized" by people migrating from the countryside. Even Turkish women who looked too "Western" were being harassed, and they blamed the ex-villagers. When you take in a million refugees, more than half of them from the Middle East, you may expect them to include a few religious fanatics who may be or become terrorists. They will also include a considerably larger number of ignorant hicks who think that it is not a crime or a disgrace to attack non-Muslim women sexually. No good deed goes entirely unpunished, and this is part of the price Germany will pay for its generosity. It's not an unbearable price, even if it involves one or two more Islamist terrorist attacks than would otherwise have occurred—and in a couple of years most of the young Muslim men who attacked women in Cologne will have figured out that being free, as German women are, does not mean being immoral or freely available.V Gwynne Dyer is an independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries. UP FRONT 3
FRONT COVER // CULTURE
Beauty and the bleach Skin bleaching is a dangerous practice perpetuated by western media
T
// Mike Kendrick
anning has become ubiquitous in the western world, with both women and men frequenting tanning salons and resorts or using bronzing creams for a sun-kissed glow. But elsewhere in the world— especially in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean—women and men covet a paler complexion, which abets the dangerous practice of skin bleaching. The trend is gaining traction here: several ethnic-import stores around the city sell creams and soaps that promise to whiten the skin, while some local naturopathic clinics offer skin-lightening injections—which range from $100 to $150, depending on the doses used—through repeated IV infusions of vitamin C and glutathione that provides a gradual full-body lightening. Effects begin about six weeks after the initial treatment, and maintenance injections may be used alongside oral supplements to keep that lighter skin tone. Skin bleaching runs under various names depending on the region— skin whitening, skin toning and skin lightening—but generally describes the cosmetic application of topical ointments, gels, soaps and, in extreme cases, household chemicals (including the use of bleach and automotive battery acid) to physically lighten the skin. These products work by inhibiting the production of melanocytes, which reduces the concentration of melanin—the primary determinant of skin colour. Skin bleaching is not new: early records of it can be traced back to the Elizabethan period in England, when aristocratic women would apply a cosmetic concoction called Venetian Ceruse (also known as Spirits of Saturn)—a mixture of
VUEPOINT
white lead, lye and ammonia—over their bodies, or ingest arsenic wafers to maintain their snow-white complexion. At that time, physical whiteness displayed a person's social and economic status, as it meant that the individual was wealthy enough to stay indoors all day—having dark skin meant that a person worked outside under the hot sun doing hard labour. Skin whitening remained popular for white women throughout the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, but those ideals shifted during the Industrial Revolution when work for lower-class persons moved indoors, transforming their darker skin to a paler hue. "It's only within the last halfcentury that tanning has become socially acceptable as a form of leisure, because more people work indoors than work outside," explains Michael MacDonald, a professor at MacEwan University who specializes in cultural studies research, with a focus on cultural esthetics and sustainability. "It's only shifted within a certain class and within certain countries where most of the labour happens inside a room." In its current manifestation, tanned skin has become a symbol of leisure and status in the western world, as white skin once did in the Elizabethan era, MacDonald explains. Through colonization, white European ideals were spread to communities of colour where politics of colourism—discrimination based on skin colour—are played out, resulting in a hierarchy that sees lighter skin as more valuable, with greater access to power and privilege than darker skin.
MIMI WILLIAMS MIMI@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Still in the dark To the surprise of nobody who's been paying attention, we learned last week that the "community" rink adjacent to Daryl Katz' taxpayer-funded downtown ice palace isn't going to be quite as grand as the public was led to believe when city council locked us into the deal. While just the latest, and by no means most costly, in the long list of bait-and-switches surrounding this deal, it brought to light the strategy that the city councillors who sold it will be using to defend the boondoggle when the inevitable shit hits the metaphorical fan. The "community" rink, which will cost about $28 million, was originally planned to be paid for with $7 million from the Community
4 UP FRONT
Revitalization Levy (CRL) and $21 million from other levels of government. While the feds coughed up $7 million for the project, the province didn't, and a $25 million provincial grant promised through a capital region fund was never delivered. With MacEwan University throwing in approximately $2 million and the Oilers $1 million, the city is on the hook for the rest. And so it's going to look pretty much like all of the other community rinks throughout the city. Design similarities aside, this rink will be community in name only. The city—despite having paid to build it and spending about $400 000 per year to maintain it— will only have access to it when
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
it's not in use by the Oilers, the Oil Kings or Grant MacEwan as a practice facility for its teams. Councillors claimed to have been kept in the dark about all of this, of course, with one— Ward 2's Dave Lokken—laying the blame on the previous council (on which he sat!) for giving administration so much leeway on the deal. Expect to hear more of this nonsense in the years ahead. In the meantime, because Ward 6 councillor Scott McKeen let slip during budget deliberations last month that council continues to do deals with the Katz Group behind closed doors, we can rest assured that it's not just councillors who are in the dark. We all are.V
"[Skin bleaching] further entrenches the politics of skin colour," MacDonald says. "I think [skin bleaching] is a really good indication that we have not, in fact, entered a postcolonial period as far as beauty is concerned. We are still deeply impacted by European beauty values that are hundreds and hundreds of years old." Yaba Amgborale Blay, assistant professor of Africana Studies at Lafayette College in Easton, PA, discusses the phenomenon of skin bleaching and its relationship to colonialism in her 2011 academic article, "Skin Bleaching and Global White Supremacy: By Way of Introduction." "Colourism constructs a spectrum upon which individuals can circumnavigate the parameters of the white/non-white binary racial hierarchy by assigning and assuming colour privilege based upon [that] proximity to whiteness," Blay writes. "In this context, the White ideal—pale skin, long, straight hair, and aquiline features—exacts prevailing and enduring influences on societal assessments of human value. Skin bleaching then represents one attempt to approximate the White ideal and consequently gain access to both the humanity and social status historically reserved for Whites."
83 percent of models were white in 2015's Spring/Summer New York Fashion Week. "Society puts it into people's minds that you have to be a certain [kind of] black, or be light-skinned, to be seen as beautiful," says Naomi Velado, a student at the University of Alberta. "The light-skinned blacks are represented more than the dark-skinned ones in the media." Velado has a lighter complexion by birth due to her Ethiopian-Salvadoran ethnicity. Though she does not participate in the skin bleaching trend, Velado admits she chemically relaxed her hair as a child after being tormented by peers for having curly hair. Similar to nowadays, there was little representation of people like her in the media, and that impacted her greatly. "I understand why someone might want to [skin bleach], but I don't agree with it and the current procedures to achieve that lighter tone," she says. "I don't think it's a solution to feeling pretty, because it's more damaging than anything." Skin bleaching products can be expensive, which can lead to people buying them off the black mar-
stores do not contain these identification labels, suggesting they are not regulated through Health Canada. (This also goes against Health Canada's policy that "all cosmetics sold in Canada must be safe to use and must not pose health risk.") "What is troubling is occassionally patients order injectable vials and other IV supplies online from retailers and try to administer it to themselves," explains Dr Eric Muradov, a local naturopathic doctor whose clinic offers skin lightening services through IV injections of vitamin C and glutathione. "I strongly caution against this as the source, safety and efficacy of these products can never be authenticated." "In certain countries, there is unfortunately a lot of pressure for people to achieve lighter skin," says Zaki Taher, a dermatologist at Lucere Dermatology & Laser Clinic. "The creams that are available without prescription in certain parts of the world have ingredients that can have catastrophic effects on the skin." At his clinic, Taher has seen patients whose prolonged use of high-potency steroids and high concentrations of hydroquinone, in an attempt to achieve lighter skin tones, has resulted in permanent skin thinning and exogenous ochronosis— a skin condition in which a bluish-black hyperpigmentation forms. "The principle in the end that is most important is to love the skin you are in," Taher explains. "I remind patients that all shades are beautiful and the pursuit of a more even skin tone is the goal—not necessarily lighter skin." Skin bleaching is a complicated practice with a complex history linked to colourism and colonization, and various motivations for engaging in it today. It's also a source of widespread ignorance: just because we don't often see the practice being discussed doesn't mean that it isn't there. There needs to be better representation and education of all individuals, especially in western media. "This kind of education is foundational for a country that desires and strives towards multiculturalism," MacDonald says. "You think that if you don't talk about skin colour that it doesn't exist? Ignoring differences doesn't get rid of difference, it only hides inequality and maintains the white supremacy located in the esthetics of skin colour."
We are still deeply impacted by European beauty values that are hundreds and hundreds of years old.
White European beauty ideals are deeply engrained and industrially supported by the fashion industry, MacDonald notes. The media appropriates light skin as standard by the lack of representation of dark-skinned persons on magazine covers, in advertisements and on runways. Even when a dark-skinned person is depicted, their skin tone is often "white-washed" by photo-editing programs to look much lighter than it actually is. Instances of this have been seen on the covers and spreads of fashion magazines including Elle (Gabourey Sidibe's October 2010 cover, on which her naturally dark complexion was dramatically altered to a café au lait colour), Vogue UK (Rihanna's November 2011 cover) and Vanity Fair (Lupita Nyong'o's photo in the February 2014 "Vanities" section). The runways aren't much better, either: during 2014's Fall/Winter New York Fashion Week, 78.69 percent of models were white, as reported in a February 2014 Jezebel article. Only 985 of the 4621 looks presented during the shows were worn by models of colour, with 9.75 percent being black, 7.67 percent being Asian and 2.12 percent being Latina. In 2015, things didn't really improve:
ket; these illegal products can be made with mercury and other toxic chemicals. Others will make their own concoctions, such as lathering household bleach all over the body and wrapping themselves in plastic wrap. Many skin bleaching products for sale contain a chemical compound known as hydroquinone, which has been banned in countries such as Japan and Australia as it has been linked to cancer and organ system toxicity. In Canada, hydroquinone can be purchased over the counter in two-percent concentrations; four-percent concentrations can be bought with a doctor's prescription. Health Canada classifies the chemical compound as a "medicinal ingredient," which can be used to lighten hyperpigmentation such as age spots, liver spots or freckles. Authorized health products—products that have been assessed by Health Canada and are legally sellable—should have an eight-digit Drug Identification Number (DIN), a Natural Product Number (NPN) or a Homeopathic Medicine Number (DIN-HM) on the label. Interestingly, many of the whitening products in Edmonton's specialty import
JASMINE SALAZAR
JASMINE@VUEWEEKLY.COM
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
UP FRONT 5
DISH
DISH EDITOR: MEL PRIESTLEY MEL@VUEWEEKLY.COM
FEATURE // FOOD TRUCKS
What happens to street food when it goes indoors over the winter?
T
here's no denying the popularity of Edmonton's food trucks during the summer months, but the wintertime sees these local culinary creatives go into hiding until the snow melts again. A few food trucks, such as Smokehouse Barbecue and the Next Act, had established their restaurants long before they hit Edmonton streets—the truck was just an addition after the fact. But most operate the other way around, and a few staple food-truck chefs have found their way into brick-and-mortar kitchens to keep developing new ideas. "The food truck was a great way to get our name out there," Nevin Fenske says. Before he started Drift food truck in 2011, Fenske had hoped to open a restaurant on 124 Street. As it turned out, he'd have to wait until April 2015 before the doors to that place—Dovetail Delicatessen—were open. Fortunately, Drift's cult following of summer foodies quickly followed him into the new digs. Running an entire restaurant, however, is a whole new endeavour. Fenske points out that the food truck was a smaller and easier operation to run, with less staff required and fewer overall expenses. He also kept Drift's commissary kitchen—an established commercial kitchen where truck operators prepare and store food—in the
6 DISH
Blue Skies Art Lofts, running a catering side business when Drift couldn't be out on the road. (Other food truck favourites, such as Nomad and Sailin' On, also use Blue Skies as their commissary kitchen.) "We'd close the truck around the end of September, before Thanksgiving, and then get on catering until around Christmas, take a little bit of time off after that, then get back to it by February," Fenske explains. After opening Dovetail, he moved his full operation out of Blue Skies and into the new space, consolidating all three sides of his business into one kitchen. He explains that Dovetail is meant to be more of a deli and carvery, where Drift is meant to explore world foods. But there's still crossover between the two: the distinct flavours of Fenske's signature spiced fries and his unique chutney-style ketchup make regular appearances in both Dovetail and Drift. "With restaurant foods, you can take more time with them and think about other visual aspects like plating," Fenske says. "We're still working with a fast-paced service idea, similar to the food truck, but we've been able to do more course dinners and better planned-out meals."
The crew with Sailin' On food truck had a very similar experience when they took over the kitchen at The Buckingham on Whyte Avenue. Garrett Krueger explains that he and business partner Mike Brennan have been exploring what's possible with their vegan-inspired comfort food now that it has moved into a restaurant setting. But how Sailin' On wound up indoors for the winter is a bit of a different story than Drift's. "The guys at the Buckingham would always come down to Wunderbar, where the truck would be parked during our first year," Krueger says. "They loved our corn dogs, so they started carrying them in their bar, and it was partially through that success that we were able to revamp their menu." Though the Buckingham had vegan- and vegetarian-friendly dishes on its menu, Sailin' On's reimagining brought about a completely vegan
bar menu that was almost unheard of in Edmonton. Krueger says that the Buckingham's roots in a DIY punkrock ethos made Sailin' On a perfect match for partnering and expanding what the truck could do. "During the winters, [Sailin' On] would often do pop-ups around different venues in the city, and we actually did a few at the Buckingham," Krueger says. "The Buckingham has just been this safe, comfortable environment where people can try something different." Since taking over the Buckingham's kitchen this past June, Sailin' On has been able to establish a crew of seven kitchen staff at the bar who have began contributing their own ideas in their different areas of expertise,
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
// Jessica Hong
creating the Buckingham's regular daily specials. "As intertwined as they are, we try to keep a separation between The Buckingham and Sailin' On," Krueger says. "We didn't want the same Sailin' On menu in there. [The Buckingham] is crafting its own identity, but it's all still intertwined and we're bouncing ideas off of the staff all the time."
CHRISTOPHER SCHIEMAN
CHRISTOPHERSCHIEMAN@VUEWEEKLY.COM
VENI, VIDI, VINO
MEL PRIESTLEY // MEL@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Considering dry January
The fact that wine is booze is the industry's elephant in the room
// ©iStockphoto.com/Chiyacat
Dry January is a phenomenon that has been picking up traction in recent years, given the increased focus on the impact of alcohol on health. It's exactly what it sounds like: abstaining from liquor for the first month of the year, in order to "detox" after a holiday season of overindulgence. Several stories have already been written about the health benefits— or lack thereof—of a month of abstinence; regardless of one's personal position, it's obviously true that too much of anything is a bad thing. I'm not one for jumping on bandwagons, but I certainly felt the effects of too much wine and food over the holidays. Truth be told, I was feeling increasingly weary from indulging throughout much of the rest of the year, too. This is an easy trap to fall into for anyone who works in the liquor/food industry—when
you're constantly reading/writing/ talking about all these lovely things to drink and eat, it's only natural that you want to indulge in them on a regular basis. As long as you're able to maintain some discipline and moderation, this is no problem—but the slipperiness of that slope can be easy to overlook until you're already a fair way down it. I've been working in the wine industry for over a decade, and I realized a long time ago that this is the industry's proverbial elephant in the room: we can proselytize about wine, beer and spirits all day long, but the fact remains that we're talking about alcohol, and alcohol gets you drunk. Reading through the vast majority of drink discussions out there, it seems like there's been a collective effort to forget this simple fact: we wax poetic about the history and culture of wine,
fill pages describing all the wonderful aromas and flavours in the glass. Wine's intoxicating effects are rarely discussed in the average context of wine writing—and when it is, it tends to fall into one of two categories: a joke ("I'm not drinking; I'm tasting!"), or a weighty, buzz-killing discussion on binge drinking or alcoholism rates.
on light table wine in an effort to get everyone drinking wine instead. In recent years, wine marketing has focused upon women as a major— and previously overlooked—customer base. Much of these efforts have included portraying the overindulgence of wine as something not just acceptable, but praiseworthy and fun. In her book Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol, journalist Anne Dowsett Johnston discusses this disturbing trend in far more detail than I can do justice to here. Suffice to say, where wine is concerned—and especially when women are drinking that wine—there is a concerted effort to maintain the false notion that there just isn't a problem. I want to be clear that I'm not calling out the wine/liquor industry as a pack of alcoholics. But now, at the start of a new year, is as good a time as any to take a good, hard look at our habits and strive to make some changes as necessary. Dry January may work for some, but I personally advocate Moderate January instead—because I'm a wine writer, of course, but also because it doesn't have to be all or nothing. There is
still no consensus on whether or not moderate wine consumption is definitively good or bad for you, but there's no question that too much is definitely bad and increases your risk of cancer, stroke and a host of other diseases and negative health effects. The measure of "too much" is also up for debate and each country has their own guidelines; Canada's is no more than two drinks per day, 10 per week for women, and three drinks per day, 15 per week for men. Keep in mind that a glass of wine poured at home is often bigger than the serving sizes recommended in these guidelines: five ounces (about 150mL) is a standard drink of wine; a wine bottle holds 750mL, so that's five servings per bottle. Maintaining this moderation is trickier for those in the wine/liquor/ restaurant industry, so it's especially important for us to remain honest with ourselves and ensure that we aren't making excuses that could lead to much bigger problems in time.V Mel Priestley is a certified sommelier and wine writer who also blogs about wine, food and the arts at melpriestley.ca
A curious thing happens when wine is the beverage of choice for someone who's overindulging: there's a general sense that it's just not as bad as someone who drinks spirits heavily. After all, the alcohol percentage is far less, so it seems natural that wine is just not such a big deal. This has historical precedence: to combat the medical and social problems caused by his citizens' heavy consumption of spirits, British prime minister William Ewart Gladstone lowered the duty
HAPPY HOUR
EVERYDAY
2PM–7PM WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
DISH 7
PREVUE // THEATRE
ARTS
ARTS EDITOR: PAUL BLINOV PAUL@VUEWEEKLY.COM
// Ian Jackson, EPIC Photography
F
lora & Fawna's Field Trip! (with Fleurette) debuted at Edmonton's 2014 Fringe Festival, but its initial idea was hatched far from the wild banks of the North Saskatchewan River. "We were actually on a trip in the Yukon," explains Darrin Hagen, who plays nine-year-old Flora. "We were doing research for Klondykes, and we were doing the long drive from Whitehorse to Skagway. And one of us said: 'Oh my god, there's so much flora and fauna out here.' And the other one said: 'That would be two great character names.' And by the time we got back to Whitehorse at the end of that 10-hour day we kind of had the concept of the play fleshed out."
The show brings together drag veterans Hagen and Trevor Schmidt (Fawna) for a gay romp in their Magic Fairy Ring. The two girls, along with their French-speaking friend Fleurette (Brian Dooley), are tired of all the mean girls at Girl Guides. So they form the NaturElles, their own inclusive outdoor-adventure club, and give us a presentation on why we should all join them. "I generally hate audience participation," Schmidt says. "So do I," agrees Hagen, laughing with sadistic glee. "As an audience member I hate it, I'm like: 'No, thank you,'" Schmidt continues. "But in this show, it's incorporated into the show. The whole
concept of the piece is that you're at an orientation membership drive, like a presentation for this new young-girl collective. And so there's a quiz-show section where we bring people up to compete against each other. ... And then we also have a testimonial section, where someone comes up to tell a personal story about their childhood." This reliance on audience participation, rarely seen outside the Fringe, gives the play a degree of randomness with every new performance. But one thing that remains constant is the show's central theme. "The whole show is about support and inclusion and kindness between
these kids," Schmidt says. "And so for us to be able to bring someone up on stage and try and make it a safe environment for them and support them and nurture them while they're up there, protect them, is totally [in] keeping with the climate we've established. That's nice for the audience to see us taking care of whoever we bring up." Despite the show's campy comedy, Hagen and Schmidt received a huge emotional outpouring from audience members at the Fringe. "Our second night, a lady came up and approached the stage, and she was actually having trouble with mobility, but she needed to talk to Fawna," Hagen says. "She needed to
PREVUE // THEATRE
o begin exploring Leonard Cohen's catalogue—of songs, poems or both—is to walk into an avalanche. His is a daunting mountain of material which begins in the '50s; a library's worth of poetry and 13 albums of otherworldly folk fill the decades since. His lyrics and songs continue to find purchase in popular culture—it's his voice, like a gravel-pit siren, playing out as the theme song to True Detective's second season, a new song from his 13th album, Popular Problems, which was welcomed in 2014 with radiant reviews. All of which to say: when Tracey Power was considering a musician
8 ARTS
tell Trevor how moved she was by the show and how she wished there had been little girls like us when she was a little girl and being picked on. So it reaches way past, 'Oh, it's two guys in a dress pretending to be little girls.' There's lots of tears. We were really surprised by the emotional impact of it." BRUCE CINNAMON
BRUCE@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Until Sun, Jan 24 (7:30 pm; weekend matinees at 1:30 pm) Directed by Tracey Power Citadel Theatre, $30 – $110.25
Chelsea Hotel
T
Fri, Jan 15 – Sat, Jan 23 (7:30 pm; additional 11:30 pm performance on Fri, Jan 22) Directed by Trevor Schmidt ATB Financial Arts Barns, $25
to anchor a show in theatres, nobody else even came close. 'I'd been working on a show where it was just accordion music and movement storytelling," Power recalls. "It was very much like a silent film, if there was something to compare it to. From that experience, I wondered what it would be like creating story through an artist's music. And the only person I ever thought of for that was Cohen." That idea evolved into Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen, an interpretation of the poet-songwriter's works, conceived of and directed by Power. In it, six musicians play 17 instruments as they work through a
cabaret evening of Cohen's indelible songs, loosely set in the world of the Chelsea Hotel. "I wanted to find a way to put the songs together that inspired the story without adding any text of my own," she notes of the show's framework. But despite that anchoring, don't expect very literal interpretations of songs in its stagings—finding a particular read on Cohen's work wasn't what Power was exploring. "There are some artists where you read the lyrics to their song and you know exactly what it's about, no doubt in your mind," she says. "And then you take a song like 'Suzanne,' and the first verse could mean this,
and the second verse could mean that, the third verse ... I just think his lyrics are beautiful that way: they inspire story, and not necessarily the same as someone else." Power and musical director Steve Charles cast the show a couple of drafts into its inception; after they had a cast, they honed Chelsea Hotel based on the assembled musicians' particular skill sets. Chelsea Hotel premièred back in 2012, but has found itself in constant touring mode ever since: it just spent the fall on the West Coast. This is its first time in Edmonton, where Power presently calls home.
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
As she sees more audiences experience the show, Power's found the open, immutable strength of his writing grows only more apparent. "It's been pretty fantastic to talk to people about it, and hear what they say, and how it spoke to them," she says. "I think that's also what kept people coming back: we have quite a few audience members who have seen the show two, three times, sometimes more. Which certainly doesn't happen [often in theatre]. "They see something different each time. It's bringing something out in their lives that they want to explore." PAUL BLINOV
PAUL@VUEWEEKLY.COM
16.01.113 CHELSEA HOTEL VUE half page:0
1/11/16
9:45 AM
Page 1
C I TA D E L T H E AT R E P R E S E N T S THE FIREHALL ARTS CENTRE PRODUCTION OF
Head to vueweekly.com/contests for your chance to win
Enter to win tickets to see
ALEX CUBA at the Arden Theatre on January 29
The Songs of Leonard Cohen
Contest closes on January 19 Winners will be notified by email
Enter to win tickets to see
J.P. Cormier at the Arden Theatre on January 22 Contest closes on January 18 Winners will be notified by email
Enter to win tickets to see
THE RÉMI BOLDUC JAZZ ENSEMBLE - TRIBUTE TO DAVE BRUBECK -
Jan 13 - 24/16
at the Arden Theatre on January 23 Contest closes on January 21 Winners will be notified by email
Enter to win tickets to see
Vincent Van Gogh: A NEW WAY OF SEEING at the Arden Theatre on January 31 Contest closes on January 21 Winners will be notified by email
AGES 12+
DIRECTED AND CONCEIVED BY TRACEY POWER MUSIC DIRECTION AND ARRANGEMENTS BY STEVEN CHARLES
“Chelsea Hotel is a knockout… The harmonies are as thick as cabaret smoke and the performers exhale them with astonishing ease.” GEORGIA STRAIGHT
780.425.1820 citadeltheatre.com TICKETS START AT JUST SEASON SPONSOR
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
30 BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY!
$
PRODUCTION SPONSOR
CITADEL THEATRE
ARTS 9
ARTS PREVUE // DANCE
Fri, Jan 15 – Sat, Jan 16 (8 pm) Timms Centre for the Arts, $25 – $35 // Xavier Curnillion
Misfit Blues
A
s you might expect after four decades spent creating dance for himself, Paul-André Fortier has a pretty firm sense of how he creates: not just within a piece, but patterns in the sorts of works he's exploring. "For some reason, it seems I operate in groups of three, three works," Fortier reflects, from his Montréal office. Misfit Blues, the celebrated dance artist's latest work, began as the third part of a trilogy of onstage pairings: the previous two had seen Fortier share stages with Robert Racine and violinist Malcolm Goldstein, respectively. This time, he was looking to work with a woman. He'd previously done some choreography with Regina's Robin Poitras—a piece called She, in 2009—and enjoyed their process together immensely. "When you do choreography [for] about 40 years, it's not about the ideas," Fortier says. "For me, it's more about the people. Robin is one of a kind. She's very, very special. She's a
very good artist, and she, on stage, has a very unique presence. And she's a bit wild; she's a bit off the wall. I thought we would make a great team." Poitras agreed, and decamped to Montréal (and later, back to Regina) to develop what became Misfit Blues. It's a mix of not only dance, but theatre, art installation and performance art. Loosely, it finds two characters, a couple, that push the boundaries of their somewhat ambiguous relationship. "This is where I say the inspiration comes from my partner more than from my ideas," he says. "It's really the rapport with a person. "We've been extremely, extremely playful in the studio—like kids," he continues, with an audible grin. "We were not censoring what we were doing, just: let's go. I'd put an idea forward and she'd dive into it, and the two of us would just go for sessions of improvisations that were so funny, so crazy."
PAUL BLINOV
// PAUL@VUEWEEKLY.COM
“When times are tough you need to know who you can trust.”
10 ARTS
Robin Hood - Men In Tights
Robin Hood — Men In Tights / Thu Jan 14 – Sun, Jan 17 (7 pm; 2 pm weekend matinees) A new theatre company in town, Wyvern Players Society, is looking to bring the style of British pantomime away from its usual
PAUL BLINOV
PAUL@VUEWEEKLY.COM
ARTIFACTS
LOCATION: PCL STUDIO, ATB FINANCIAL ARTS BARNS, 10330-84 AVENUE TICKETS: FOR SUBSCRIPTION BOOKINGS OR TO PURCHASE A SINGLE TICKET PLEASE CALL NORTHERN LIGHT THEATRE AT 780-471-1586 OR VISIT WWW.NORTHERNLIGHTTHEATRE.COM
As more elements were folded into Misfit, he found little will to try and coral the myriad ideas being tossed out; edited down, sure, but never because it wasn't pure dance. "I did not ask myself, 'Is it the right thing to do?'" he notes. "From the inside it felt so right and so good; I didn't want to rework it in a way to make it a pure dance piece. I said, 'OK, let it happen the way it is happening, and don't be judgmental about it.'" This proved a deft impulse to follow: Misfit Blues fielded acclaim in its debut. Now, this Edmonton stop, courtesy of Brian Webb Dance Company, is part of a winter prairie tour. To Fortier, its success comes down to the rapport, the onstage chemistry between he and Poitras, that anchors the work's potency. And it's not just him. "Many people said, 'You have your partner now,'" he laughs. "That's fun to hear."
Christmas-time window of performance with this, a rollicking take on the Robin Hood story. It'll mix song, dance, slapstick, interaction and more. (Westbury Theatre, ATB Financial Arts Barns, $15 – $25)
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
Dark Matters: Adult Night at the Science Centre / Thu, Jan 21 (6:30 pm) Love the science centre, but find the endless gaggles of children on school field trips impeding to your enjoyment? Dark Matters has you covered: a regular, adultsonly night that lets you wander the permanent exhibits, plus some bonus grown-up science experiments, a bar and a DJ. This time around, the theme is Aurora, which will colour the bonus experiments appropriately. (Telus World of Science, $17 – $23) V
WHAT’S ON AT UALBERTA?
PREVUE // BURLESQUE
Winspear Centre: 50th Anniversary Music Celebrations Department of Music’s 50th anniversary showcasing students, faculty and distinguished alumni
Sun, Jan 24 @ 3 pm
c
ta musi
f UAlber
years o
Winspear Centre
U of A Studio Theatre:
FAB Gallery: Kyle Terrence MFA Show
Final visual presentation for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Drawing and Intermedia.
Alcuin Awards for Book Design in Canada 2014 Award-winning books in eight design categories (Children’s, Limited Editions, Pictorial, Poetry, Prose Fiction, Prose Non-fiction, Prose Non-fiction Illustrated and Reference).
Jan 19 - Feb 13
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
The Bard’s playful ode to the transformative power of love Feb 4 to 13 @ 7:30 pm $5 preview Wed, Feb 3 @ 7:30 pm Opening night Thurs, Feb 4 @ 7:30 pm No show Sun, Feb 7 2 for 1 Mon, Feb 8 @ 7:30 pm Matinee Thurs, Feb 11 @ 12:30 pm Timms Centre for the Arts
FAB Gallery 1-1 Fine Arts Building
ualberta.ca/artshows
All Tease All Shade: A Queer Cabaret
B
rennan Doucet, also known by the stage name Beau Creep, became an accidental boylesque performer when he took to the stage four years ago. "I was producing an event with a friend, and we had somebody bail on us last minute," he recalls. "And we were kind of freaking out that we didn't have what we were selling on the poster. And my friend looked over, [and] he's like: 'Do you have any ideas?'" Doucet had toyed with the thought of performing, but it took this extra push to seduce him into the world of heels and corsets. "Randomly at the time I had just learned how to braid a bullwhip," he explains. "So I developed this whole lion-tamer act, and my partner dressed up like a lion, and we did this act together and it went over really well." Now a veteran performer, Doucet has created a space for other curious folk to explore their playful sides at Evolution Wonderlounge. Although it began as a single burlesque event in July 2014, All Tease All Shade: A Queer Cabaret is now celebrating its first anniversary, having become a monthly mainstay at the club. Over the past year, shows have explored themes as diverse as summer blockbuster mov-
Fri, Jan 15 (9:30 pm) Evolution Wonderlounge, $5 ies (including a Godzilla number) and a food night. "One of the people that I worked closely with in starting her first performance, she did this pizza routine and she created a three-metretall piece of pizza out of fabric and glitter and couch foam," Doucet explains. "[She] did an entire burlesque routine performing to this giant piece of pizza. And it was really hilarious. Things like that don't always get to happen without events like this." The cabaret welcomes new performers of all stripes. Doucet encourages people to contact him if they want to get involved and live out their fantasies on stage. "It's just very fun to see people put themselves out there and be vulnerable in that type of setting," he says. "It feels good to be able to laugh at something, but also feel like you're being a part of this person's journey to loving themselves and being happy and content with who they are."
BRUCE CINNAMON
BRUCE@VUEWEEKLY.COM
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
ARTS 11
ARTS WEEKLY
EMAIL YOUR FREE LISTINGS TO: LISTINGS@VUEWEEKLY.COM FAX: 780.426.2889 DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 3PM
Dance Come Join the Dance-Sacred Circle Dance • Riverdale Hall, 92 St & 100 Ave • sackerman1@me.com • sacredcircledance.com • Nurture the body, mind, and soul with a variety of songs, music and movements. All dances are taught. Open nights are for everyone. No partner required • Every 2nd Wed, 7-9pm • $10
dance crush • Mile Zero Dance Company, Spazio Performativo, 10816-95 St • 780.424.1573 • milezerodance.com • Kathy Ochoa; "Dig" • This season MZD produces four performances with some favourite movement-based artists from across Canada • Jan 22-23, 8pm • $15 (MZD members), $20 (non-members)
Fortier Danse-Création • Timms Centre for the Arts, University of Alberta, 87 Ave & 112 St NW • Exploring intimate relationships as an equation with several unknowns. Are they Lovers? Clowns? Companions? • Jan 14-15 Mile Zero Dance's Spazio Performativo • 10816-95 St • admin@ milezerodance.com • A workshop followed by a Saturday night jam • Jan 16-17, 10am-6pm • $120 (weekend), $15 (Sat night jam)
Misfit Blues • Timms Centre for the Arts, 87 Ave-112 St • 780.420.1757 • bwdc. ca • Featuring dance group Fortier DanseCreation. Fortier’s latest dance features himself and Robin Poitras (Regina), with a set by celebrated Aboriginal and Eduoard Poitras • Jan 15-16, 8pm • $35 (general admission), $20 (student/senior)
Sugar Foot Ballroom • 10545-81 Ave • 587.786.6554 • sugarswing.com • Friday Night Stomp!: Swing and party music dance social every Fri; beginner lesson starts at 8pm. All ages and levels welcome. Occasional live music–check web; $10, $2 (lesson with entry) • Swing Dance Social every Sat; beginner lesson starts at 8pm. All ages and levels welcome. Occasional live music–check the Sugar Swing website for info • $10, $2 lesson with entry
Swing 'n' Skate • City Hall - City Room & Plaza, 1 Sir Winston Churchill Square • 780.970.7766 • brasko@edmontonarts.ca • edmontonarts.ca/eac_projects/eac_projects_ churchillsquare • The Trocadero Orchestra will be bringing their 18 piece big band sound. Sugar Swing Dance Club will be on site to help put the boogie-woogie in attendees' step. Music will be broadcasted outside so ice skaters can enjoy it as well • Every Sun until Feb 28, 1-4pm • Free
Toy Guns Dance Theatre Stretch and Strength Classes • St. John's Institute, 11024-82 Ave • richelle@ toygunstheatre.com • toygunstheatre.com • Develop practical flexibility and strength • Every Tue until Feb 23, 8-9pm • $15 (drop-in), 10 class passes and monthly rates available
Transformational Ballet • Dance Code, 10575-115 St • justin@toygunstheatre. com • toygunstheatre.com • Featuring a new understanding of the body and its potential to create, communicate, and resonate in any performance medium • Every Sun, Tue, Thu until Feb 28 • $15 (drop in), 10 class passes and monthly rates available
FILM Cinema at the Centre • Stanley Milner Library Theatre, bsmt, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Sq • 780.496.7070 • Film screening every Wed, 6:30pm • Free • Schedule: Leviathan (Jan 13), Testament of Youth (Jan 20), Hungry Hearts (Jan 27)
Earth's General Store Downtown • 10150-104 St • michael@egs.ca • "GMO OMG" Documentary: How GMOs affect kids, the health of the planet, and freedom of choice; Jan 16, 7-9pm; Free (reserve at Eventbrite)
From Books to Film • Stanley A. Milner, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Sq • 780.496.7000 • epl.ca • Films adapted from
12 ARTS
books every Fri afternoon at 2pm • Schedule: Monsieur Ibrahim (Jan 15), City of Joy (Jan 22), Seven Years in Tibet (Jan 29)
metro • Metro at the Garneau Theatre, 8712-109 St • 780.425.9212 • Experimenter (Jan 18) • Chasing Shadows - Warren Miller Ski Film (Jan 14) • Victoria (Jan 15-17, Jan 20) • American Sharia (Jan 17) • The Stanford Prison Experiment (Jan 18) • The Culture Collective (Jan 21) • Canada's Top Ten Film Festival 2015 (Jan 22-31) • Dark Star: H.R. Giger's World (Jan 22-23, Jan 25) • The Mask (Eyes of Hell) 3D (Jan 23-24, Jan 26) • Beach!: Muscle Beach Party (Jan 19), The Girls on the Beach (Jan 19) • Falling Into Place: Four Films by Satoshi kon: Millennium Actress (Jan 16-17, Jan 20) • Reel Family Cinema: Mr. Peabody & Sherman (Jan 16); The Land Before Time (Jan 23); The NeverEnding Story (Jan 30) • Staff Pics: Alien (Jan 25) • Turkey Shoot: Pixels (Jan 14) VINCENT VAN GOGH: A NEW WAY OF SEEING • Arden Theatre, 5 St Anne St, St Albert • 780.459.1542 • ardentheatre.com • Made in collaboration with the curators and art historians, the film marks both a major reshowing of the gallery's collection and a celebration of the 125th anniversary of van Gogh's death • Jan 31, 2pm • $20 (adults), $15 (children)
galLeries + Museums
Gallery@501 • 501 Festival Ave, Sherwood Park • 780.410.8585 • strathcona. ca/artgallery • Portraits: artwork by Corie Side, Claire Uhlick and Marie Winters; Jan 8-Feb 21 • Interpretations: featuring paintings, printmaker, photographer; Jan 8-Feb 21
Gallery at Milner • Stanley A. Milner Library Main Fl, Sir Winston Churchill Sq • 780.944.5383 • epl.ca/art-gallery • Alberta. Of Earth and Sky: Paintings by Jay Bigam; Jan 2-31 • Edmonton Arts Council: Artists creating "maquettes," or renderings in the form of miniature sculptures of their public art proposals; Jan 2-31 Harcourt House Gallery • 3 Fl, 10215-112 St • 780.426.4180 • Main space: Natural Science: Jennifer Willet; Dec 3-Jan 21 • Riki Kuropatwa's Collide; Dec 3-Jan 22 Jeff Allen Art Gallery (JAAG) • Strathcona Place Senior Centre, 10831 University Ave, 109 St, 78 Ave • 780.433.5807 • seniorcentre.org • At Water’s Edge: artwork by Joyce Boyer; Jan 7-Mar 3; Reception: Feb 10, 6:30-8:30pm
Jurassic Forest/Learning Centre • 15 mins N of Edmonton off Hwy 28A, Township Rd 564 • Education-rich entertainment facility for all ages
Lando Gallery • 103, 10310-124 St •
ALBERTA CRAFT COUNCIL GALLERY • 10186-106 St • 780.488.6611 • albertacraft. ab.ca • Discovery Gallery: A Place for Everything: artwork by Terry Hildebrand; Jan 9-Feb 6 • Feature Gallery: X3: artwork by Alberta Potters’ Association, Contextural | Fibre Arts Cooperative and the Nina Haggerty Centre; Jan 16-Mar 26; Opening reception: Jan 16, 2-4pm
Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) • 2 Sir Winston Churchill Sq • 780.422.6223 • youraga.ca • Tyler Los-Jones: A Panorama Protects its View: Jan 23-Jan 31 • Rough Country: The strangely familiar in mid-20th century Alberta art; Oct 3-Jan 31 • Living Building Thinking: Art and Expressionism; Oct 24-Feb 15 • She's All That: artwork by Dana Holst; Oct 24-Feb 15 • Fabric: Charrette Roulette; Nov 21-Apr 10 • Artist in Conversation: Western Medicine: Social justice, universal meaning and the role of art; Jan 20 • Artist Panel: featuring artists Micah Lexier, Lisa Naftolin, Maaike Anne Stevens and Maite Zabala Meruane who will be participating in a panel discussing the boundaries between art and design; Jan 24, 12-2:30pm$15/10 (AGA Members) • Curator’s Walkthrough: The Blur In Between; Jan 24 • Open Studio Adult Drop-In : Wed, 7-9pm; $18/$16 (AGA member) • All Day Sundays: Art activities for all ages; Activities, 12-4pm; Tour; 2pm • Late Night Wednesdays: Every Wed, 6-9pm • Art for Lunch: 3rd Thu of the month, 12:10-12:50pm
Art Gallery Of St Albert (AGSA) • 19 Perron St, St Albert • 780.460.4310 • artgalleryofstalbert.ca • Night Hours: artwork
by The Collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts; Dec 3-Jan 30 • Art Ventures: Dynamic Diorama (Jan 16), 1-4pm; drop-in art program for children ages 6-12; $6/$5.40 (Arts & Heritage member) • Ageless Art: Creative Collages (Jan 21), 1-3pm; for mature adults; $15/$13.50 (Arts & Heritage member) • Preschool Picasso: Day & Night (Jan 16); for 3-5 yrs; pre-register; $10/$9 (Arts & Heritage member)
Bleeding Heart Art Space • 9132118 Ave • dave@bleedingheartartspace.com • Waiting Room: A multimedia installation by Alysha Chreighton; Nov 21-Jan 16
780.990.1161 • landogallery.com • January Group Selling Exhibition: artwork by gallery artists; Jan 6-30
Latitude 53 • 10242-106 St • 780.423.5353 • latitude53.org • Main Space: Clean, Fit, and Decease Free: artwork by Shan Kelley; Dec 4-Jan 16 • ProjEx Room: Win, Place, and Show: artwork by Lisa Turner; Dec 4-Jan 16 • Trope L'oeil: artwork by MarieAndrée Houde; Jan 29-Mar 5 • Work, Play, Sleep ... Repeat: artwork by Paul Bernhardt; Jan 29-Mar 5
Loft Gallery • AJ Ottewell Gallery, 590 Broadmoor Blvd, Sherwood Park • 780.449.4443 • artstrathcona.com • Open: Sat-Sun 12-4pm • It’s All About Texture: artwork by Joyce Boyer; Feb
McMULLEN GALLERY • U of A Hospital, 8440-112 St • 780.407.7152 • friendsofuah. org/mcmullen-gallery • The Steamfitter's Guide: artwork by Robin Smith-Peck; Dec 12-Feb 7 Multicultural Centre Public Art Gallery (MCPAG)–Stony Plain • 5411-51 St, Stony Plain • multicentre.org • Masterworks: artwork by The Alberta Craft Council; Jan 9-Feb 18; Opening reception: Jan 17, 1-3pm
Musée Héritage Museum • St Albert Place, 5 St Anne Street, St Albert • MuseeHeritage.ca • 780.459.1528 • museum@artsandheritage.ca • Take Your Best Shot: Youth Photo Contest; Nov 20-Jan 24 • The True Cost of Oil: Canada’s Oil Sands and the Last Great Forest: A photographic exhibition by Garth Lenz; Feb 4-Apr 17; Opening reception: Feb 6, 2-5pm
Paint Spot • 10032-81 Ave • 780.432.0240 • paintspot.ca • Naess Gallery: The Texture of Experience: artwork by Yasir Ali, Laurie Bentz, Terry Daly, & Janet Sutanto; Jan 7-Feb 18; Reception: Jan 21, 7-9pm • Artisan Nook: Marquetry: painting with wood: several finely crafted pieces by Jonica & Alex Heinze (Fine Lines Marquetry); Jan 7-Feb 18; Reception: Jan 21, 7-9pm
Peter Robertson Gallery • 12304
BUGERA MATHESON GALLERY • 10345124 St • bugeramathesongallery.com • New Year Show: Featuring work by gallery artists; Jan 1-31
Jasper Ave • 780.455.7479 • probertsongallery.com • Artwork by Colin Smith; Jan 16-Feb 6 • Artwork by Graham Peacock; Feb 11-Mar 1
Provincial Archives of Alberta
Cafe Blackbird • 9640-142 St • 780.451.8890 • cafeblackbird.ca • Connected 2: artwork by Trueman Macdonald; Jan 3-31
Creative Practices Institute • 10149-122 St, 780.863.4040 •
• 8555 Roper Road • PAA@gov.ab.ca • 780.427.1750 • culture.alberta.ca/paa/ eventsandexhibits/default.aspx • Voices from Our Past: artwork by Katherine Braid; Sep 25-Jan 23
sNAP Gallery • Society of North-
creativepracticesinstitute.com • Above the Clouds: artwork by Aryen Hoekstra; Jan 21Feb 27; Opening reception: Jan 21, 7-9pm; Reading and discussion group: Jan 24
ern Alberta Print- Artists, 10123-121 St • 780.423.1492 • snapartists.com • The Lebret Residential Petroglyphs: artwork by Tanya Harnett; Jan 7-Feb 20; Artist talk: Jan 14, 6pm
dc3 Art Projects • 10567-111 St • 780.686.4211 • dc3artprojects.com • Gallery will be open by appointment; Jan 1-30 • Infocus: Curated by Alexis Marie Chute; Feb 5-27 front gallery • 12323-104 Ave • thefrontgallery.com • Edmonton Suite: Group show; through Jan • Lyric: artwork by Steve Coffey; Opening reception: Feb 11, 7-9pm • Photography; Opening reception: Mar 18, 7-9pm
SPRUCE GROVE ART GALLERY • 35-5 Ave, Spruce Grove • 780.962.0664 • alliedartscouncil.com • JoAnne Denis; Jan 26-Feb 20 Strathcona County Museum & Archives • 913 Ash St, Sherwood Park • strathconacountymuseum.ca • Exhibit Grand Opening - Making Their Mark; Jan 16, 1-3pm
Telus Centre Atrium • University of Alberta • globaled.ualberta.ca/
InternationalWeek • globaled@ualberta.ca • The Global Goals for Sustainable Development: A Photo Exhibit; Jan 25-31
Telus World of Science • 11211-142 St • telusworldofscienceedmonton.com • Free-$117.95 • Beyond Rubik's Cube; Nov 7-Feb 15 • The Science Garage: new gallery opening in Dec • The International Exhibition Of Sherlock Holmes; Mar 25, 2016-Sep 5, 2016 U of A Museums Galleries at Enterprise square • Main floor, 10230 Jasper Ave • Open: Thu-Fri, 12-6pm, Sat 12-4pm • Do It Yourself: Collectivity and Collaboration in Edmonton; Nov 28-Mar 5 • Brain Storms: UAlberta Creates: hundreds of creative and visually inspiring works from University of Alberta Alumni in support of the University of Alberta Alumni Association centenary; Sep 25-Jan 23
VAA Gallery • 3rd Fl, 10215-112 St • visualartsalberta.com • Gallery A: Cultural Exchange; Dec 3-Feb 27 • Gallery B: Alberta Artists Collect Alberta Art; Dec 3-Feb 27 VASA Gallery • 25 Sir Winston Churchill Ave, St Albert • 780.460.5990 • vasa-art.com • Members Winter Exhibition; Dec 1-Jan 29
West End Gallery • 10337-124 St • 780.488.4892 • westendgalleryltd.com • Artwork by Guy Roy; Feb 6-18 Women's Art Museum of Canada • La Cité Francophone 2nd Pavillon, #200, 8627 Rue Marie-Anne-Gaboury (91 St) • 780.803.2016 • info@wamsoc.ca • wamsoc. ca • Northern Reflections: artwork by Barbara Pankratz; Jan 7-Feb 13
Literary The Carrot’s Poetry Night • The Carrot, 9351-118 Ave • A poetry open mic • Jan 28, 7:30-9pm Edmonton Story Slam • Mercury Room,10575-114 St • edmontonstoryslam. com • facebook.com/mercuryroomyeg • Great stories, interesting company, fabulous atmosphere • 3rd Wed each month • 7pm (sign-up); 7:30pm • $5 Donation to winner
Meet & Greet & Book Swap • Strathcona County Library, 401 Festival Lane, Sherwood Park • 780.410.8600 • sclibrary. ab.ca • Meet the Metro Federation 2016 Regional Writer in Residence, Marty Chan. Bring a book to trade and business cards to share with other attendees. Reps from the Writers’ Guild of Alberta, the Canadian Authors Association and the Writers Foundation of Strathcona County will also be on hand. Find out about upcoming workshops, and how to connect with Marty for one-on-one consultations • Jan 16, 1-3pm • Free Rouge Lounge • 10111-117 St • 780.902.5900 • Spoken Word Tuesdays: Weekly spoken word night presented by the Breath In Poetry Collective (BIP); info: E: breathinpoetry@gmail.com Scrambled YEG • Brittany's Lounge, 10225-97 St • 780.497.0011 • Open Genre Variety Stage: artists from all mediums are encouraged to occupy the stage and share their creations • Every Tue-Fri, 5-8pm
U of A Museums Lunch Hour Lecture: "A Story Told by Water" • University of Alberta Museums Galleries at Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Ave • museums@ualberta.ca • museums.ualberta. ca • Featuring Brain Storms: UAlberta Creates; an exhibition that features the creativity and innovation of University of Alberta alumni • Jan 14, 12-1pm • Admission by donation
Upper Crust Café • 10909-86 Ave • 780.422.8174 • strollofpoets.com • The Poets’ Haven Reading Series: Most Mon (except holidays), 7pm, Sep-Mar; presented by the Stroll of Poets Society • $5 (door)
Theatre 11 O'Clock Number • The Backstage Theatre, 10330-84 Ave (North Side of the ATB Financial Arts Barns) • 90 minutes of improvised entertainment that unveils scenes, songs and choreographed numbers completely off the cuff based on audience suggestions • Every Fri, starting Sep 25-Jun 25, 11pm (No performances on Jan 15) • $15 (online, at the door) • grindstonetheatre.ca
Back To The 80S: A Most Excellent Musical Adventure • Mayfield Dinner Theatre, 16615-109 Ave NW • mayfieldtheatre.ca • Amongst all the bad movies, hairdos, fads and faux pas of this much maligned decade some of the greatest pop tunes of all time were realized • Nov
VUEWEEKLY.com | jan 14 – jan 20, 2016
10-Jan 31
Bravo • Backstage Theatre 10330-84 Ave • By Blaine Newton (a world premiere). A Japanese fisherman caught in the fall out of an American nuclear detonation. A dispassionate anthropologist teaching the effects of radiation on human populations. A cynical politician out to protect his country no matter what the cost. Weaving back and forth between the notorious 1954 Pacific nuclear tests and the present day, Bravo is a captivating drama that compassionately explores decisions that changed the world and their all too human consequences • Jan 20-Feb 7 canoe 2016 • Backstage Theatre, ATB Financial Art Barns, 10330-84 Ave • 780.477.5955 • workshopwest.org • Presented by Workshop West. This annual Mardi Gras of theatre once again will feature the best boundary-bending theatre performances from around the corner to around the globe • Jan 27-Feb 7
chelsea hotel • Citadel Theatre, 9828 101A Ave • 780.425.1820 • citadeltheatre. com • With extraordinary new arrangements, six performers play 17 instruments in a knockout tribute to Leonard Cohen's most transcendent songs • Jan 13-24 Chimprov • Citadel's Zeidler Hall, 9828101A Ave • rapidfiretheatre.com • Rapid Fire Theatre’s longform comedy show: improv formats, intricate narratives, and one-act plays • Every Sat, 10pm • $12 (door or buy in adv at TIX on the Square) • Until Jun
Die-Nasty • The Backstage Theatre at the ATB Financial Arts Barns, 10330-83 Ave • communications@varsconatheatre.com • die-nasty.com • Live improvised soap opera • Runs every Mon, 7:30-9:30pm • Until May 30 • $14 or $9 with a $30 membership; at the door (cash) or at tixonthesquare.com
flora & fawna's field trip • Northern Light Theatre, 201, 8908-99 St • 780.471.1586 • northernlighttheatre.com • In the Fringe smash-hit play, best friends Flora and Fawna (along with their pal, Fleurette) are creating a safe place for girls just like them by launching the NaturElles, a social group with a difference. • Jan 15-23
Hey Ladies! • The Roxy on Gateway (formerly C103), 8529 Gateway Blvd • theatrenetwork.ca • Edmonton’s premier comedy, info-tainment, musical, game, talk show spectacular that’s suitable for all sexes! Featuring Baking Bad - Cakes Gone Wrong, and much more • Jan 22, May 20; 8pm • $25
Improv Open Jam • Holy Trinity Anglican Church, 10037-84 Ave • grindstonetheatreyeg@gmail.com • grindstonetheatre.ca/ openjam.html • A space to share, swap games and ideas. For all levels • Last Tue every month until Jun 28, 7-9:30pm • Free
So You Think You Can Dance • Jubilee Auditorium, 11455-87 Ave • jubileeauditorium.com • Jan 14, 8pm • $55-$75
Star Warz: A Galactic Rock Comedy • Jubilations Dinner Theatre, West Edmonton Mall, Phase II West Edmonton Mall, 8882-170 St • jubilations.ca • It is a period of galactic civil war! There are rebels with spaceships, Jedi with lightsabers, a princess, a smuggler, and robots, the Evil Darth Vador and singing… yes you heard me… singing of your favorite galactic rock tunes of the 70’s and 80’s. May the force be with you • Oct 30-Jan 30
TheatreSports • Citadel's Zeidler Hall, 9828-101A Ave • rapidfiretheatre.com • Improv • Every Fri, 7:30pm and 10pm • SepJun • $12/$10 (member) at TIX on the Square
Ursa major • Backstage Theatre, ATB Financial Art Barns, 10330 84 Ave • 780.477.5955 • workshopwest.org • Presented by Workshop West. After a horrific car accident, a retired couple must decide how to best deal with the injuries they've sustained. Based on a true story of the Dart sister's grandparents, Ursa Major is a powerful and moving story of love and devotion, and the strange world that exists between consciousness and unconsciousness • Jan 27-Feb 7 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? • Citadel Theatre, 9828 101A Ave • 780.425.1820 • citadeltheatre.com • An American theatre classic, Edward Albee's scorching tale of an embittered marriage was the Citadel's very first production in 1965. This new 50th-anniversary production will star prominent Canadian actors Brenda Robins and Tom Rooney • Jan 23-Feb 16
PREVUE // COMEDY
POP
POP EDITOR: PAUL BLINOV PAUL@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Sterling Scott aims high with his second special, Jokeaholic
'O
n average, before a joke is good for me, is about 15 times," Sterling Scott admits, a sly grin arriving on the comedian's face as he reaches the number. Fifteen tellings of a joke until it finds its form, after tweaking structure, word use, delivery and punchline— that may seem like a lot of revision, but for stand-up comedy, it's necessary and, given the nature of the form, only really possible in front of a live audience. You have to have the fortitude to put a joke with potential through the necessary paces—including watching it crash and burn—to hopefully arrive at a pristine version that consistently draws laughter from any audience. "'A joke's got legs'—that's what we say if it's funny, but it's not ready yet," Scott quips. "Change a few words here, change and ending there, until it finally becomes that refined, yes, got it." But that's when comedy is in a development phase: the comic bits, quips and stories that Scott is pouring into Jokeaholic, the special he's taping this weekend at the Citadel, have been told a cribgame's worth of 15s over the past few years. These aren't the ones that have potential: these are the ones that have delivered time and time again, a culmination of an incredible couple of years for the local comedian. He proved a finalist in both San Francisco and Seattle's Comedy Competitions, two of the largest in North America. He's done two overseas tours to entertain troops in Iraq and Kuwait. And he's
flat-out won comedy competitions in Edmonton and Calgary—the latter being where he was seen by Peter McBain, executive director of This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Scott's since ended up both writing and performing on the show. Getting here has been an almostdecade-long journey for Scott. After starting in the open-mic circuit, he pushed hard into comedy, analyzing, cultivating and eventually yielding his first special, I've Been Chocolate My Whole Life, back in 2012. His comedy is playful and energetic: early riffs ran on anything from Axe Body Spray to taking his son to Chuck E Cheese, where he discovered that A) they serve pints of beer, and B) the place looks like a club after a few drinks. Jokeaholic's a culmination of his best material of the past few years, but it's also a sense of who Scott is right now. "I put it together in a way to tell my story: Why do I feel these ways, and how I am?" he says. "At the end of the show, you'll have not only laughed your ass off, but you're going to know me. You're going to know who I am. You're going to know what I like, how I feel about things—it's like a tiny little bio of who I am as a person. Jokeaholic is not just stand-up comedy, but who I am as a person." When Scott was starting out, there wasn't the same wealth of open-mic nights in the city that there are today: he only performed 12 times during his first year,
Sun, Jan 17 (8 pm) Jokeaholic Citadel Theatre (Zeidler Hall), $25 whereas now, he notes: "If you hustle, you could get onstage four times a week." Scott himself runs two rooms: Comedy Groove on Wednesday nights at Rouge Lounge, and Leave 'em Laughing Thursdays at Dreams Lounge. He notes the differences in audience expectations between the two: Comedy Groove's regular crowd seems more focused on writing, while Leave 'em Laughing demands a more magnetic onstage performance. Being able to work with those sorts of differing audiences, he notes, is key to honing humour. "Every room has its own vibe, just like every city has its own thing," he says. "The way to get universally good is to travel. So, by having two different rooms, with two different energies and two different vibes, you've got to learn to move and shift and change. And eventually, you'll write jokes that will crush in all the rooms. And then when you've done that, then you've got to travel. "The minimum I perform per week is four times," Scott continues. "Comedy's like a knife: with constant sharpening, you can always stay on point. But if you don't, it can get dull, it can fall off. You've got to keep writing—and it takes a long time."
PAUL BLINOV
PAUL@VUEWEEKLY.COM
// Jessica Hong
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
POP 13
POP POPCULTURE HAPPENINGS
HEATHER SKINNER // SKINNER@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Magic: the Gathering – Oath of the Gatewatch Pre-release / Sat, Jan 16 – Sun, Jan 17 Every three months a new set of cards for the game Magic: the Gathering is released. To give fans an early preview of the set before its release on January 22, comic book and gaming stores around the city will be hosting pre-releases, which are great for beginners. Pre-releases allow participants to build their collections right with new cards, learn the basics of building a deck and meet other players in casual competition. (Various comic shops)
Our goal is to exceed your expectations!
Get Yo Work Done / Thu, Jan 21 (5:30 pm) Life likes to get in the way when it comes to doing anything creative. It's a wellknown fact. Happy Harbor will be hosting an event that will allow attendees to actually sit down and work on those soul projects with others who are hoping to achieve the same thing—drawing, writing, learning or anything crafty. Peer pressure: it can be a good thing. (Happy Harbor Comics)
From regular check ups to help from an emergency dentist in Edmonton, the staff at Empire Dental Associates are here to help. New patients welcome
Teeth whitening
Family dentist
Orthodontics
Routine cleanings
X-rays Botox
Evening Appointments Available
Jasper Ave.
14 POP
10126 - 118 Street Edmonton, AB T5K 1Y4
780.482.4000 empiredentists.com empiredental@mail.com @empiredentists
A Taste of Animethon / Fri, Jan 22 – Sat, Jan 23 It's cold outside, which means it'll be a while until Edmonton's summer anime-convention, Animethon, arrives. Thankfully its winter companion, A Taste of Animethon, will give anime fans a nice place to warm up and quench their desires for the main attraction later this year. A Taste of Animethon features cosplay contests, anime viewings, fan panels, vendors, pin trading, guests from the music and voice-acting community and much more. (Shaw Conference Centre, $35 – $75) V
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
REVUE // SURVIVAL
B
ased on Michael Punke's eponymous 2002 novel, The Revenant extrapolates on the incredible true story of Hugh Glass, the American frontiersman, fur trader and explorer who, in 1823, survived a savage attack by a mammoth mama grizzly, was left for dead by his colleagues in the wilds of South Dakota, and crawled, crept and staggered some 200 miles to inform said colleagues of their poor judgment. Glass is portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film and the tale of his violent near-death is fleshed out with numerous bloody melees with angry Arikara, a backstory involving Glass' adoption of an orphaned Pawnee boy and a villain named Fitzgerald
FILM
FILM EDITOR : PAUL BLINOV PAUL@VUEWEEKLY.COM
played by Tom Hardy. Fitzgerald is a Southern scumbag and former solider with a big beard and a peculiar balding pattern due to his having once been scalped. He is loathsome, occasionally amusing and adds a little colour to a film that largely goes out of its way to drain colour from every wintry setting—unless, of course, that colour is red, the red of viscera, which gets whipped around plenty in painstaking sequence shots choreographed by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. Whittled down to its essence, The Revenant is a hell of a campfire story. In theory, it could also prove conducive to some intensely vivid cinema. One can imagine a lean, mean, muscular
rendition of this story being made by, say, Anthony Mann or Don Siegel, or maybe even Jeff Nichols or Kelly Reichardt, if you favour living examples. Unfortunately, The Revenant was helmed and co-scripted by Alejandro González Iñárritu, director of 21 Grams, Babel, Biutiful and, more recently, Birdman; González Iñárritu is not one to take the lean, mean route when there's a perfectly good trail over there lending itself to protracted mysticism and displays of self-importance. I am not altogether unsympathetic to González Iñárritu's project—and I still admire his debut, Amores Perros—but it seems to me that The Revenant's ungainly refrains of flashbacks and visions and
floating ladies are not only far less poignant than its depiction of raw physicality, they detract from that physicality by cluttering the visual landscape and overall sense of momentum. González Iñárritu's alliance with the fearsomely talented Lubezki is a shrewd one, but also a bad sign: Lubezki's other most frequent collaborator is Terrence Malick, a director I revere but whose precarious penchant for invoking the spiritual should probably not be encouraged in others. (Or even in Malick, for that matter, though it must be said that with Badlands, Malick proved he can produce a crisp, brilliant genre film while staying true
Now playing Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu to his own gnomic inclinations.) There are sequences in The Revenant—such as the one that opens the film—that read very much as faux-Malick, and you get the impression that they are the most important scenes in the movie for González Iñárritu. Perhaps he regards Glass' story as having value primarily as a metaphor or an allegory. I just wish he would leave the subtext to the audience to work out.
JOSEF BRAUN
JOSEF@VUEWEEKLY.COM
FILM // BOWIE
A cracked actor
Bowie's filmwork was modest in comparison to his music, but still distinct and fascinating
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
"Something happened on the day he died / Spirit rose a metre and stepped aside" — from "Blackstar"
I
'm writing this on the day after he died. The day we all found out. The gutting shock of David Bowie's death is matched by the sudden explosive
awareness of just how deep an impact he made on our collective imagination. His music—which at its best could be at once unnervingly personal, playfully formalist and immensely satisfying as rock—is on my turntable often and in my head still more. (How many times in the course of a week does something trigger a Bowie association?) His
allusive and audacious manipulation of style and disguise is perhaps the most widely influential of any musician. He always thought visually, and though he himself did not direct films he constructed a truly remarkable filmography as an actor. The directors he collaborated with included Nicolas Roeg, Nagisa Oshima, Martin Scorsese and David Lynch. In parts large or small he delivered something no one else could: his Bowieness. I'm writing this the day after he died, and I really cannot believe he's dead. People keep pointing out that Blackstar, his final record, released on his 69th birthday, just days ago, is rife with references to death. And it's true. But then so are at least half of Bowie's records. The first record I put on this morning was "Heroes" and for the hundredth time his voice in the last half of the title track struck me as sounding so arrestingly alive. And so fragile. It's
the fragility, I think, that made his work so poignant and that gave his presence as a screen actor its unique value—its Bowieness. From the inception of his fame he frequently seemed crepuscular, terminal, drifting away. He was susceptible to all manner of earthly corruption as an alien in Roeg's The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). He was a sad clown followed by a bulldozer in the video for "Ashes to Ashes" (1980), a guilt-ridden POW and the object of some sadomasochistic fixation in Oshima's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), and a vampire withering away in a waiting room in Tony Scott's The Hunger (1983). He was a goblin with teased hair in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in Scorsese's Last Temptation of Christ (1988), a frightful, raving disappearer in Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992), and gave the movies what is still its only affectionate embodiment of Andy Warhol in Julian Sch-
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
nabel's Basquiat (1996). In the video for "Blackstar" (2015) he's a sort of priest for some cryptic convulsive death cult. He looks more aged than before, yet he is eerily luminous, as though on the verge of transmigration. All these films are worth seeking out, and nearly all of them possess some meaningful connection to Bowie's own work. Bowie's contribution to cinema is modest in comparison to music, obviously, but it is distinct and fascinating. His image was peculiar yet seemed endlessly malleable, slippery, that of a changeling that could vanish if you turned your back. From Fire Walk With Me: "Who do you think this is?" From "Bewlay Brothers": "Leave my shoes and door unlocked / I might just slip away ... " From "Modern Love": "I'm standing in the wind / But I never wave bye-bye ... "
JOSEF BRAUN
JOSEF@VUEWEEKLY.COM
FILM 15
FILM REVUE // ANIME
Millennium Actress M
illennium Actress (2001) seems like a romantic melodrama—a young woman searches and searches for the man she fell in love with— but it's a chase film: "After all, it's the chasing after him that I really love." It's also a film that's chasing after films, as we follow an actress through different scenes and moments from her life and career (geisha periodpiece, samurai flick, Godzilla feature, space odyssey). All the world's a set as cinema and reality thrillingly blur in this second film from Satoshi Kon (1963 – 2010), continuing Metro's retrospective showcase of the anime director's work. The premise is simple: Genya Tachibana and his forbearing cameraman, Kyoji Ada, track down Chiyoko Fujiwara—a retired, reclusive, oncefamous actress—to interview her. But when the idolizing Genya returns a key to her, it's as if a steamer trunk of Chiyoko's memories is unlocked: meeting an anti-government painter on Tokyo streets during the Second World War; him giving her the key; seeking him in Manchuria, by train;
Sat, Jan 16 – Wed, Jan 20 Directed by Satoshi Kon Metro Cinema at the Garneau Originally released: 2001
travelling to Hokkaido (where Kon himself was born and raised) decades later to find him. All the while, Chiyoko's pursuing a movie career. (She's partly based on the legendary Setsuko Hara, best known for her roles in Yasujirō Ozu's films; Hara stopped acting in 1963, the year Ozu died, and lived in seclusion, unmarried, until her death last September.) So Millennium Actress whirls through Chiyoko's distant memories and celluloid-captured film scenes, often merging the two. The effect's much like that of the enter-the-screen sequence in Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr (Keaton's filmprojectionist dreamily steps onscreen and finds himself falling into different scenes, settings, genres and periods). Only Kon and co-writer Sadayuki Murai torque and twist this cine-reality into warp speed—even a rumbling shuttle launch changes metaphorical meaning. 1940s Japan is rendered crisply, in muted colours; modern-day Genya and Kyoji, always following Chiyoko into her memory scenes, are more loosely
drawn, comic characters. The tinkle of that key, clinking against Chiyoko's neck or onto the ground, recalls her "Rosebud" moment with the painter. Snowscapes become moonscapes. A night-slicked street morphs into a death-shrouded hospital corridor. But always there is Chiyoko, searching, running, chasing ...
BRIAN GIBSON
BRIAN@VUEWEEKLY.COM
REVUE // THRILLER
NEWS // FILM FEST
Victoria
Oscar nod
V
ictoria's calling-card is its making-of—shot in one nonstop go. But is this movie, shifting gears from off-the-cuff romance to stick-'em-up heist film, a one-take pony—all concept, no substance— or a towering Trojan horse, where a legendary crime-caper film suddenly busts out? Well, more of a hobbling hybrid, really: a sterile hinny (horse-donkey cross) of a flick, plodding along. It all hobbles off in a belowground Berlin club, with Victoria (Laia Costa) meeting Sonne (Frederick Lau) and his buddies, Boxer (Franz Rogowski), Fuss (Max Mauff) and Blinker (Burak Yiğit). She's a Spaniard in Germany, but the first 40 minutes here are nothing to write home about—just a scrappy sense of twentysomethings out in the wee hours, carousing rowdily in limited English; that's all. Finally, in a touching
scene, we glimpse Victoria's great talent, honed in a super-competitive childhood she's happy to leave behind. But for no truly plausible reasons (she seems to see something in Sonne that we can't; the story desperately needs to fall into the momentum of a film-noir already), she goes along with these guys (sans a puke-drunk Fuss) for a ride ... as their getaway driver. The robbery itself is sketched out for them by Boxer's former protector in prison, to whom he's indebted. They rehearse it once, get coked up, then have 10 minutes to get to the bank. A major story-event coming off as much less planned than the script itself? Not wunderbar. The indefatigable cinematographer, Sturla Brandth Grøvlen, deserves kudos, while Costa's final stretch of acting is impressive, but all the characters
Fri, Jan 15 – Sun, Jan 17 Directed by Sebastian Schipper Metro Cinema at the Garneau remain mere cogs in this perpetual-motion-picture machine. This seemingly seat-of-pants filmmaking only gets by for short spurts on its characters' recklessness or hysteria and panic mixed with drugfired euphoria, its dreamy night-life moments or the heist's inevitable fallout. Beyond the drawn-out patter of predictable story beats, Victoria's basic problem is that its wanton wanna-bes, pre- and postcrime, behave "so stupid," yet the movie-making on display keeps trying to give their sloppiness and its own scruffiness a mytho-poetic arthouse profundity.
BRIAN GIBSON
BRIAN@VUEWEEKLY.COM
EIFF can now qualify a short film for the Academy Awards
'W
ith the thousands of festivals around the world every year, how do we attract filmmakers?" Kerrie Long muses. It's a question that assuredly keeps most film-fest producers tossing and turning at night, because there's no answer, really, though a few key perks have become established: being counted among MovieMaker Magazine's list of 50 Festivals Worth The Entry Fee is one way, which the Edmonton International Film Festival was this year. "But ultimately," Long, EIFF's producer, continues, "you want to be an Academy-qualifying festival." Which EIFF now, officially, is. The festival's 2016 iteration will count itself among the 80-odd festivals in the world that can qualify a short film for the Oscars: whatever films win the Live Action and Animation categories will be forwarded along for official consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For context: there are only three other Canadian fests with the designation. Five years ago, Long started investigating the path to that designation. What she discovered was how little information was out there—the Academy is willfully opaque when it comes to its requirements. She started talking to festivals that already have the distinction to glean more info. There's an invitation to
16 FILM
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
apply that comes, but, again, through murky stipulations: having guest filmmakers connected to the Academy praise its merits is one way, but the list of Academy members isn't easy to track down. "I also knew that—and this is from talking to other festivals that had applied and were not successful—that if you're not successful, you have to wait four years, and hope that you're invited again. Usually they don't invite again—you get one shot." Eventually Long got a break: she met Tom Oyer, an awards manager for AMPAS, at a film event. It turns out the Edmonton festival has earned some buzz from filmmakers over the years. "He actually sought me out" she recalls. "[Oyer] said, 'Kerrie, this Edmonton International Film Festival, I keep hearing about it.'" He gave Long some pointers, and she submitted the festival application. The response arrived in her inbox just before Christmas. "I got the email on the 20th. I didn't open it for three days," she says. "We only had one shot at this, really. And then I fell down on the floor and cried like I was Miss Universe." The 2016 Edmonton International Film Festival runs September 26 – October 8. The call for entries opens on February 1.
PAUL BLINOV
PAUL@VUEWEEKLY.COM
ASPECTRATIO
JOSEF BRAUN // JOSEF@VUEWEEKLY.COM
A cinematic see-saw
Bitter Rice has a fascinatingly complicated attitude towards gender
Bitter Rice (1949) opens with a radio broadcaster providing some exposition on the annual rice harvest in Northern Italy. "It is hard and unchanging work," he intones, "legs in
the water, back bent with the sun beating down overhead. And yet, only women can do it." Landscapes teeming with working women fill scene after scene of Bitter Rice, a
sort of neorealist-noir, women bent over, legs spread wide, sometimes singing songs that express their grievances or their joys or that offer colour commentary to the unfolding drama. A film about women made by men, a film about women struggling out from under the corrupting or repressive influence of men, a film in which female labour is rendered with an audacious erotic charge, Bitter Rice has a fascinatingly complicated attitude toward gender, the narrative and camerawork seesawing constantly between reverence and sheer, objectifying lust, between confining macho notions about the nature of gender roles and an exaltation of female power and independence. I'd never heard of the film or of Giuseppe De Santis, its director, but Bitter Rice is now available from Criterion and is very much worth checking out.
man Always Rings Twice, and thus already known from tawdry tales of sex and crime. Bitter Rice begins with a jewel thief named Walter (Vittorio Gassman) escaping capture at a train station with the help of his girlfriend-cohort Francesca (Detroit-born Doris Dowling), who winds up joining the crowds of seasonal workers heading to the Po Valley rice paddies. Francesca forges an uneasy alliance with peasant worker Silvana (Silvana Mangano), who we first see in her tight sweater, dancing boogie-woogie with her portable phonograph, smiling in a way that radiates innocence and health and
oozes sex from every pore. Eventually Walter turns up at the rice paddies to hide out and make use of both women. He wants to perform a massive rice heist! There are scenes of love and negotiation in dunes of rice. There are midnight trysts in the forest. There are guns and sweat and tragedy and still more rice. And there are countless bravura tracking shots that allow De Santis and his collaborators to focus on the story of a few characters in big trouble while always emphasizing the wider world of work and play going on around them. Shameless eye candy with a social message. V
De Santos was one of the writers on Ossessione (1943), Luchino Visconti's adaptation of The Post-
PREVUE // FILM
The 2016 film preview, part 2
O
ur projections for the film-yearto-come continue with Brazilian odysseys, yet another defiant release from a banned Iranian filmmaker, new works from the Dardennes and Scorsese, and more ... ANIMATION Brazilian Alê Abreu's Boy & the World gets gorgeously phantasmagorical—Cuca embarks on a strange, dreamlike journey after his dad leaves their village for work in a faraway, unknown capital. Crossspecies adventures ensue when a lost boy meets a bear-man in an alternate world in Mamoru Hosoda's The Boy and the Beast. Laika Studios (The Boxtrolls) visits ancient Japan in Kubo and the Two Strings, where gods, monsters and spirits pursue a young boy searching for his samurai father's armour. FRESH EYES Andrew Haigh's sophomore work 45 Years stars Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as a long-married couple rocked by news of a tragic discovery in the Alps. Colombian director Ciro Guerra's award-winning third film, Embrace of the Serpent, snakes after an Amazonian shaman, last of his tribe, travelling with scientists to find a rare sacred plant in 1909 and then 1940. One-manPOV Holocaust drama Son of Saul
BROOKLYN
FRI 6:45PM SAT–SUN 1:00PM & 6:45PM MON–THURS 6:45PM
RATED: P.G. MATURE SUBJECT MATTER
is László Nemes' celebrated featurelength debut. Another debut is Trey Edward Shults' festival-fêted family Thanksgiving drama Krisha, starring Shults' own relatives, his aunt in the title role. Romanian new-waver Cristian Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) will lay out Family Photos. Kenneth Lonergan's forthcoming film is Manchester by the Sea—the Massachusetts hometown to which an uncle (Casey Affleck) returns to care for his nephew and deal with his ex-wife (Michelle Williams). Kelly Reichardt (Meek's Cutoff) follows Certain Women (Williams, Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern) in a small Montana town. Andrea Arnold (Red Road) hits US highways with teen-salesgirl-tale American Honey, starring newcomer Sasha Lane. John Cameron Mitchell (Shortbus) adapts Neil Gaiman's story How to Talk to Girls at Parties, about an alien coming across that dangerous species—teenagers—in a London suburb. And Michel Gondry's up to his wild, woolly wonkiness again with Microbe & Gasoline—the two teens who take to French roads in a vehicle they built themselves. OLD HANDS The late Chantal Akerman's final film, No Home Movie, sees her interviewing her late mother, an Auschwitz survivor. Rebel writer-direc-
tor Jafar Panahi's third work since his filmmaking-ban, Taxi Tehran— with Panahi car-ferrying 10 different people around the capital city—is already his most critically acclaimed. The Dardenne brothers' newest, The Unknown Girl, dogs a doctor (Adèle Haenel) trying to uncover the identity of a young woman who died after she refused surgery. Asif Kapadia (Senna, Amy) returns to fiction features with Muslim-Christian romance Ali and Nino, adapting the famous (and pseudonymous) Azerbaijan novel. Pedro Almodóvar plunges into the troubled life of Julieta, today and 30 years earlier. Argentina's Lucrecia Martel (La Ciénaga) returns with historical epic Zama (Almodóvar-produced). Cine-wit Whit Stillman teams up with regular lead Chloë Sevigny to turn litwit Jane Austen's early novella Lady Susan into Love and Friendship. And with Silence, Martin Scorsese gives big-screen voice to Shūsaku Endō's classic novel about Jesuit priests persecuted in 17th-century Japan. And there's just enough wordcount left for: David Mîchod's satire War Machine; Christopher Guest's mockumentary Mascots; Nicolas Winding Refn's beauty-horror Neon Demon; James Gray's explorer epic The Lost City of Z.
SPOTLIGHT
FRI 9:05PM SAT–SUN 3:15PM & 9:05PM MON–THUR 9:05PM
FRI, JAN. 15–THUR, JAN. 21
THE DANISH GIRL FRI 6:50PM & 9:15PM SAT–SUN 2:30PM, 6:50PM & 9:15PM MON–THUR 6:50PM & 9:15PM RATED: 14A NUDITY
RATED: 14A MATURE SUBJECT MATTER
PRESENTS WARREN MILLER SKI FILM
CHASING SHADOWS THU @ 7:00 TURKEY SHOOT!
PIXELS THU @ 9:30
18+ LICENSED NO MINORS
LIVE COMEDIC COMMENTARY
JAN 14 - JAN 20
$5 MONDAYS!
TRIBUTE TO DAVID BOWIE
ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS SAT @ MIDNIGHT
VICTORIA
FRI @ 6:45, SAT @ 4:00, SAT @ 9:00, SUN @ 9:30
GERMAN, ENGLISH & SPANISH W/ SUBTITLES EDMONTON MOVIE CLUB
NANNAKU PREMATHO FRI @ 9:30 TELUGU W/ SUBTITLES
EDMONTON MOVIE CLUB
RAJINI MURUGAN SAT @ 11:00AM TAMIL W/ SUBTITLES
PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: 9:00WED @ 7PM ART ADDICT MON SUN @@1PM, AMERICAN SHARIA SUN @ 7:00 EXPERIMENTER MON @ 7:00 THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT MON @ 9:00 BEACH PARTY DOUBLE FEATURE!
REEL FAMILY CINEMA
MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN
MUSCLE BEACH PARTY TUES @ 7:00
SAT @ 2:00 FREE ADMISSION FOR KIDS 12 & UNDER SATOSHI KON
MILLENNIUM ACTRESS SAT @ 7:00, SUN @ 4:00, WED @ 9:30
JAPANESE W/ SUBTITLES
THE GIRLS ON THE BEACH
TUES @ 9:00 LIVE MUSIC BY THE TSUNAMI BROTHERS!
Metro Cinema at the Garneau: 8712-109 Street WWW.METROCINEMA.ORG
BRIAN GIBSON
BRIAN@VUEWEEKLY.COM
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
FILM 17
PREVUE // FOLK-POP
MUSIC
MUSIC EDITOR: MEAGHAN BAXTER MEAGHAN@VUEWEEKLY.COM
VUEWEEKLY.com/music VANCE JOY TALKS STAGE FRIGHT, SONGWRITING AND WHAT’S NEXT
Frontman Reuben Bullock on making connections, Funeral Sky and new music
M
usic possesses an inexplicable ability to shape memories and forge connections—often unlikely ones, at that—and it's this inherent quality that has informed how Reuben and the Dark approaches its own work. "Not being that social of a person myself, especially when I started playing with musicians for the first time, I just thought it was such a unique thing where you could have these guys, or girls, in a room singing together. And in any other setting I probably wouldn't be involved in it," Reuben Bullock explains while en route to Vancouver to begin the Calgary-based band's tour support for Vance Joy. "That's been the whole reason for the band, and for all of it, is to enjoy that and explore making music." As for not being a particularly social individual, Bullock—who started out as a solo musician—admits it's caused some roadblocks when it comes to performing. His confidence has improved over the years, but Bullock recalls shaky hands and feeling sick to his stomach as regular symptoms when he would have to get on stage. "I spent a year or two just on my own playing open mics, like three or four nights a week, just to get in front of people and try and get over that," he says. "I found the band helped me with confidence in that area too, so as soon as I had a band with me I was like, 'OK, this takes the edge off.' And I slowly got over that." But a musician can't simply get up on stage, play a set and hightail it out of the venue after their final song—fans want to chat and get to know the person they've been watching. It can be an uncomfortable prospect if talking to strangers is not your forte, but Bullock is open to it. "I want to connect with people, I want to have conversations and be open to that stuff," Bullock says. "Musicians get thrown into these spots that they didn't understand it was part of the job, you know? You just play guitar and write tunes and you kind of forget that if you do that enough you end up being an entertainer and a performer, and those don't always come out of the same person." The number of people attending shows and wanting to meet the band has only grown in the wake of Funeral Sky, Reuben and the Dark's 2014 debut, released on the vener-
18 MUSIC
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
Sat, Jan 16 (8 pm) With Vance Joy Jubilee Auditorium, $39.50 able Arts & Crafts label. On it was "Rolling Stone," a richly textured dark folk tune that gleaned steady radio play and drew comparisons to Mumford & Sons—likely due to the presence of a banjo, Bullock guesses—though that isn't the most accurate descriptor. "Most of the time people just hear one song or whatever ends up on the radio, so I think the reviews tend to be quite different based on if someone's listened to the album or if they've just kind of skimmed by it on the Internet or heard one song on the radio," Bullock notes. "I feel our album is very dynamic and hard for me to even pinpoint a genre or an influence." Indeed, "Rolling Stone" isn't necessarily indicative of the type of tracks that make up the rest of Funeral Sky, which moves through sombre, languid folk to soul-fuelled melodies to pop-infused earworms. The deluxe version also includes alternate versions of several songs, including a full-band version of "Standing Still," which appears as a stripped-down piano ballad on the original record. "The first scratch track that we did with me just singing over piano, just a first pass kind of trying something out, that first take ended up being the song that went on the album, so just raw piano and voice— one try," Bullock explains of the song. "We thought that was such a unique moment, that's it, that's the song, and just left it that way. We don't play it that way, so we went back in and recorded the way we play it for the deluxe." While the band continues to tour in support of its debut, there's new music on the way. The single "Heart in Two" sees its official release on Friday, January 15, an emotive yet uptempo tune that juxtaposes love and darkness. It hints at a potential new direction for the group, but Bullock is reluctant to say for sure. "We're just trying to bring the songs to life in a way that feels right," he says. "So I'm not sure if this song will be an indication of the sonic direction of the album— it might—but I think we'll have to wait and see when it's all recorded."
MEAGHAN BAXTER
MEAGHAN@VUEWEEKLY.COM
PREVUE // COUNTRY-BLUES
Wed, Jan 20 (7 pm) With Lyra Brown, Jesse Northey Mercury Room, $10 advance in advance, $12 at the door
Devin Cuddy D
evin Cuddy (yes, he's Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo's son—let's just get that out of the way) delights in the slap-back echo of Sun Studios and the rolling piano blues in every rollicking juke joint and speakeasy around. It's a nostalgic sound, sure, but it's affable and mischievous too. With a short Western Canadian tour about to get underway this January, Cuddy answers the question on everyone's mind: Why? "Well, you can't be afraid of the winter if you're living in Canada," Cuddy laughs. "We've done it once before, and my dad and Blue Rodeo do it all the time. People still want to go out and have a good time. [In] most places in Canada, people don't shy away from the cold and the snow. The hardest part is the driving, but just follow the truckers and drive slow." The reality of being a Canadian performer means long hauls and severe weather, jack-knifed semi-trucks blocking mountain roads and black ice. But these experiences seem to lend themselves to the identity of the Canadian musician. It's an identity Cuddy finds hard to put into
words, but one he feels inspired by, and the lineage of which he hopes to contribute to. "I think it's one of the great unknowns," he notes. "When you think of the Tragically Hip—why can't they make it in the States? What is it they don't get down there? Sam Roberts, the Hip, Sloan, Blue Rodeo—there's something that they do that is Canadian. We don't know what it is, but that's the thing that I admire the most about it. We just accept it because it is—it's instinctual or something. And to me, that is what the Canadian sound is all about." With lyrical content touching on topics like "Afghanistan" ("Daddy always said 'be a man,' so I'm shipping off to Afghanistan") and "My Son's a Queer" ("Give me the strength to love him, Lord, and treat him right"), Cuddy seems to revel in the juxtaposition offered by pointedly contemporary subject matter crooned over a '50s backbeat. "At first it wasn't something I was aware of, but as I realized it was happening with a couple of songs I really grew to like it," he explains. "At
first, I was just singing about what I saw around me over the template of music that I liked, but the more that I've written I do very much enjoy that and try consciously to do it for sure. The next record will probably be very different musically, more rock 'n' roll. Not because I'm worried about being pigeonholed or to get out of a niche or anything, but that's just what's coming out of me right now. And it's a challenge to myself." Finally, promotional footage sees Cuddy sitting atop a keg in some Ontarian beer cooler, plucking a jig from a mandolin. The song is "Peter Garvey's Big Fat Mouth," which asks the question: who is Peter Garvey, and why does he have a big fat mouth? "That was a little jig I've had for years, he's a friend of mine from Ireland. He was a friend I used to work at a restaurant with, and he really did have a big fat mouth. It was fucking ridiculous," Cuddy laughs. "I wrote that song after he told somebody about something, I showed it to him and he laughed, but he told me his mother was upset about it."
JAMES STEWART
JAMES@VUEWEEKLY.COM
PREVUE // EXPERIMENTAL Sat, Jan 16 (9 pm) With Will Scott Band, fauxtoe The Almanac, $10
N3K I
n just a few short days N3K will be concurrently giving birth, and putting to death a six-track EP/LP/Galactic voyage, that's been with the trio for over half a decade. Lucky, Extra, a collection of avantgarde, jazz-inspired, noise-hip-hop tracks, began its journey out of N3K's sonic birth canal in 2010. It's a collection that spans the entirety of the band's existence and now denotes an official recording of some of these young, enigmatic and talented local musicians' oldest songs. "These are the songs that we've been playing live for going on seven years now," reflects Ross Nicoll, N3K's keyboard player. The album's central track, "Blitzed by Breakfast," an autobiographical account of "waking up and getting really drunk and recording," as drummer Connor Ellinger describes it, was recorded in June 2013, just one year after the band members graduated high school. "We decided we owed it to a couple of our friends to actually put out a decent recording," Nicoll says with a chuckle. And with that, a series of events that began in 2010 will end in 2016 with the official release of Lucky, Extra. Funnily enough, N3K will be releasing "Ashley Madison," the first single from its follow-up album to Lucky, Extra, one day before the record's actual release.
Edmonton-based, N3K has been, in one way or another, playing together since its member were in their early teens. Composed of Nicoll, Ellinger and bassist Dean Kheroufi, the trio bonded over a shared interest in jazz and a fevered participation in the local open-mic scene, notably contributing to the much-storied, nowdefunct Expressionz Café. You may also know them as the foil-clad robots who periodically jam on Whyte Avenue. Imagine something Ed Wood might create, and an image of these guys in costume may come to mind. There isn't a lot one can do to undersell the scope of what N3K has been doing over the past half-decade. It's music that celebrates the chaos between form and function, melody and rhythm, art and appeal. It's loud and chaotic, but you can dance to it. It gets in your head, like the strangest parts of a Can album mixed with the funkiest parts of a Parliament record. Citing influences like Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Common and Robert Glasper, it's easier to understand the band's ambition. Nicoll explains that it's not simply a search or drive for the esoteric that yields the nuanced asymmetry that defines N3K's sound, but the relationships between its members that brings out the weirdness. "Us having played together since we were 16 and having learned to listen to each other, respect each other
personally, [we have] the same colour palette to draw on," he says. "I'll start playing this weird, polyrhythmic thing that sounds like an Instagram video that drummer Tony Royster Jr posted three weeks ago that Connor and I talked about once, and he'll pick that up." SHAWN BERNARD
SHAWN@VUEWEEKLY.COM
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
MUSIC 19
MUSIC PREVUE // ALTERNATIVE
Crystal Eyes Fri, Jan 15 (9 pm) With Gender Poutine, Strange Fries, Shukov 9910, $8 in advance, $10 at the door
// Mathieu Blanchard
A
rtistic fluidity comes naturally for Erin Jenkins, founder of Calgary's pseudo-solo project, Crystal Eyes. Spawning from "guerrilla jams" held across Canada, Jenkins takes humble credit for the music created with the diverse collection of musicians contributing to the project. "It's not a real solo project, because I get so much help from everyone around me," Jenkins explains. "I really draw on those people, but it's the first chance I've had to do songs that are exclusively mine, as opposed to other bands I've been in where I play more of a collaborative role." Any time you may have seen the dreamy, melancholy pop group play, it's most likely been with a different lineup. Jenkins utilizes the talents of numerous musicians ranging from her hometown to Montréal. The two group members that have remained the most consistent include Samantha Savage Smith and Chris Dadge, who records with several artists in Calgary. "The upcoming Edmonton show gets yet another unique lineup. Jesse Powell is going to play bass. I've got Kenny Murdoch, who is in Outlaws of Ravenhurst and a really, really great guitar player, so that's fun," Jenkins adds. "Andy Flegel, who is a great
PREVUE // FOLK
amilton-based singer-songwriter Terra Lightfoot has had a busy 2015: she released her sophomore album, Every Time My Mind Runs Wild, played the festival circuit across Canada and performed at Massey Hall as part of the 29th-annual Women's Blues Revue. For the next month, Lightfoot will be hitting the road with Blue Rodeo for 13 dates across Canada. She answered some questions over email just a few hours before her Thunder Bay set.
VUE WEEKLY: What inspired your latest album, Every Time My Mind Runs Wild? TERRA LIGHTFOOT: Lots of things. I'm a pretty truthful person, so the songs don't generally move very far away from my life and the people close to me. VW: How do the songs encompass the album title? TL: Well, it's a lyric from the song "No Hurry": "Every time my mind runs wild, you are always where it goes." I guess it speaks to that sort of obsession everyone goes through when you first start to fall for someone—where you can't control your own thoughts about somebody or something and you get carried away. But you kind of like it, too.
20 MUSIC
Since returning home, the focus has been predominantly on creating a new record. Until then, watch for a few live appearances from Crystal Eyes, including the Big Winter Classic Festival in Calgary at the end of the month. "It was May when we released the newest album, and we're working on a new one right now that will hopefully be a full length," Jenkins says. "It's going pretty well. It's two-thirds of the way written, there are scratch demos and hopefully the recording process will start pretty soon. I'd love to release it come spring." BRITTANY RUDYCK
BRITTANY@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Wed, Jan 20 & Thu, Jan 21 (8 pm) With Blue Rodeo Jubilee Auditorium, $29.50 – $79.50
Terra Lightfoot H
drummer, has been living in Montréal, but he's back in Calgary, and I jumped at the chance to [have] him play a few shows. Plus, we'll have some back-up vocals on stage, so it's a motley crew, but a really talented group." Crystal Eyes has been particularly prolific since its inception last year. In May 2015 the group released an EP titled No Man is an Island, and immediately began touring, hitting Shake-O-Rama on the West Coast and, later in the summer, went east to POP Montréal, among other dates in several cities.
VW: When did recording start for the album and when it did it finish? TL: It was all done in April or May of 2013. It was a long time ago, now that I think back to it! VW: What was it like working with
producers Gus van Go and Werner F? What made them a good fit for this album? TL: I hadn't really worked with a real producer before, so I didn't know what to look for, really. Werner and Gus were really smart and talented guys who took the whole band to the next level. They made me play each guitar chord perfectly, made [drummer] Joel Haynes and [bassist] Matthew Fleming go over new parts over and over until they were perfect. They pretty much ripped apart all of our performances. It wasn't hard or disheartening, though—just a welcome challenge. It was a really great feeling in the end when we felt we had accomplished something and improved ourselves as musicians. VW: How does this album compare to your previous works? TL: My previous recordings were always completed with someone else steering the ship with the songs. My first record I made with my friend Pete Hall, and we had arranged those songs together. This album was my
first time taking control of the songs and the amazing players I had at my disposal and trying different parts and structures with them. VW: In making this record, what did you learn about yourself as a songwriter? TL: As a songwriter, I was really challenged—in a good way—by Gus. He was really supportive of what we were doing, but was also trying to find the glue that would bring the album together songwise. I had some country songs, some soul tunes, some rock songs, and we had to meld all of those together. Gus really helped me step into my power as a songwriter and be able to write a chorus at the drop of a hat and show it to someone else. I was very guarded with my work before. He gave me a lot of confidence. VW: Did you come across any challenges during the making of this album and how did you overcome them? TL: Recording the vocals was a little challenging, just knowing that what I was recording would be on an album that people would be able to access for the rest of my life. Gus helped me with that too [and] made me feel more relaxed and empowered. JASMINE SALAZAR
JASMINE@VUEWEEKLY.COM
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
PREVUE // FOLK
.com
karaoke THURSDAYS with JR • 9pm–1am
friday & Saturdays Live ENTERTAINMENT • 9PM-1AM AMIE WEYMES & THE ATTA BOYS Jan 15 & 16
TWIN FIDDLES Jan 22 & 23 ABBEY POWELL Jan 29 & 30
Sunday OPEN JAM •
7pm – 11pm
12340 Fort RD • sandshoteledmonton.com
Fred Penner L
ong before the TV show (Fred Penner's Place, 1985 – 1997), and long before the records, Fred Penner discovered the therapeutic and beneficial effects that music can have at an early age. He also saw the possibility for music as a tool for education, empowerment and inclusion. "It's been fascinating, because when I started this journey I certainly didn't know how far or how long it would continue," he explains. "I got into it because I had worked with a number of specialneeds organizations in Winnipeg, and had done a couple of camps working with physically and mentally challenged kids. I have a sister who is a Down syndrome child, so the music and the connection with all children was very clear to me in the beginning." After working the university circuit with his band throughout the '70s, Penner began tailoring his work towards entertaining families and children. His first record, The Cat Came Back, was released in 1979, and he worked with Raffi's company for five years, recording and performing his music. The opportunity to do a television show appeared suddenly and without warning. "CBC makes the call and says, 'So, would you like to do a TV series?'" Penner laughs. "It was completely out of the blue—I had no plan to do TV, but because I put so much clear energy into what I was doing and tried to do it with as much integrity as possible, that sort
up
close
&
of established a really strong foundation for my work." With no clear mandate from the CBC, Penner was allowed to construct the children's entertainment that he was never exposed to growing up. "It could have gone so many different directions, but I wanted to create a space that had some level of security for the child, and for the viewer," he explains. "Starting the show with the journey across the field, balancing on a rock, going through the woods, finally getting to that famous log and going into Fred Penner's Place. Children came with me on that journey, and once you crawl through that log you knew you were safe and sound. There was security in that area of play, in getting the guitar and singing the songs and telling the stories." It was around 10 years ago that Penner started to receive emails from his nowgrown audience, looking to pass on their thanks and describe the often-profound influence his music and television show had on their lives. "I'd ask, 'Well, what are you doing now?' People would be studying music or early childhood education, and I said, 'Well, why don't you talk to your campus and see if I could come have a visit?'" Penner recalls. "To have that generation keen to reconnect is awesome, to say the least. I never would have expected that to happen, but the Fred-heads are
Fri, Jan 15 (8 pm) With the Willy Nillies, Rusty The Buckingham, $22 in advance, $30 at the door now in their twenties and thirties, and they have their own children or are going to university, so that's the path that allows me to come and do events like this across the country. It's quite a fascinating journey, and the phone's still ringing." Penner is quick to chuckle at the disconnect of a beloved children's entertainer singing cherished childhood songs at a bar on Whyte Avenue. But the response from the adult crowds has been consistently joyous as the audience is transported back to those moments in the past, even if their first reaction is usually the same. "'Penner doing a bar? How does that work?'" he laughs. "But there's been a real delight in reconnecting to me adultto-adult. Maybe it's a desire for some kind of primal therapy, or just going back to an earlier time of life and wanting to reconnect with that beautiful vulnerability that we have as children. To know that I'm in any way still considered to be part of people's lives is quite an honour. And I'm very excited that it's continuing."
personal!
1001 Calahoo Rd., Spruce Grove
Kira Isabella
with guest Livy Jeanne Friday, Jan. 22 – 7:30 p.m. One of Canada’s hottest young county music stars Tickets: $40 Adults, $35 Students & Seniors
780-962-8995 www.horizonstage.com
JAMES STEWART
JAMES@VUEWEEKLY.COM
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
MUSIC 21
MUSIC DUSTY TUCKER / SAT, JAN 16 (8 PM) This hard-rock outfit has opened the likes of Cancer Bats. For this show, the Revival, Wheelhouse and Savage Playground open up for the Red Deerbased group. (Mercury Room, $10 in advance, $15 at door)
THE GOOD LOVELIES / SUN, JAN 17 (8 PM) The folk-trio is on tour for
its latest album, Burn The Plan. (The Club at the Citadel, $29.71)
10442 whyte ave 439.1273 10442 whyte ave 439.1273 JOHN WILLIAMS STAR WARS ULTIMATE SOUNDTRACK COLLECTION
LP
THE 2016 FOLK ALLIANCE FUNDRAISER / SUN, JAN 17 (1 PM)
blackbyrd
M
Y
O
O
Z
I
K
w w w. b l a c k b y r d . c a
This one-day event raises money for Alberta musicians so they can get their butts to Kansas City for the Folk Alliance International Conference in February. Music from Matt Patershuk, 100 Mile House, Kimberley MacGregor, Erin Kay, Ken Stead and Justine Vandergrift. Admission gets you entry and one beer, courtesy of Steamwhistle. Additional beer will be by donation. (The Audio Department, $15)
SEE MAG: Jan 3, 1c x 2”/ 28 AG RB: BLACKBYRD MYOOZIK SALES:Samantha H S01367 TYLER BUTLER / MON, JAN 18 (7 PM) In case you missed it, the folkbased musician is back with a new album, Tyler Butler and his Handsome Friends, and a full backing band of the same name. It's also Blue Monday, so some music might help your mood. (Mercury Room, $15 in advance, $20 at door)
ZAMEER / TUE, JAN 19 (7 PM)
Zameer Rizvi's songwriting style often pairs social and political issues with pop melodies, which led him to write the theme song for the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic games. His latest album, Her, features collaborations with Mia Martina and Johnny Fay of the Tragically Hip. (Mercury Room, $10 in advance, $12 at door)
COMEDY AT THE CENTURY CASINO
Call 780.481.YUKS FOR TICKETS & INFO .....................................................................
DARRIN ROSE JAN 15 & 16
SAT JAN 16
HIGH TIDES / WED, JAN 20 (8 PM)
High Tides wants to get you groovin' with its electronic-based sounds. Check out the band's latest EP, O'Keeffe. (Black Dog, Free)
FRI FEB 12
FRI JAN 29 COMING SOON: GEORGE CANYON, IRISH DESCENDANTS, DAVID WILCOX AND MORE!
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT CENTURY CASINO AND TICKETMASTER TERRIAN / THU, JAN 21 (8 PM)
íí įĤĉ qÃPØĥį ʼn ğŎį PŎįí įıÀ įŊ Ö
EDMONTON.CNTY.COM 13103 FORT RD • 643-4000 22 MUSIC
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
New to the scene, Teresa Dzavik, aka Terrian, has already made the rounds playing popular summer festivals such as Astral Harvest Music & Arts Festival and Phantasam Festival. Her pop-electronic tracks will get you moving, so prepare to dance. (Brixx, $10) V
MUSIC
WEEKLY
DJs BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Thu Main Fl: Throwback
MUTTART HALL Spanish
Iguanas (country rock); 9pm
Nights - A Romantic Journey; 8pm; $28-$40
Chill Factor
DJs
Open mic; 7pm; $2
CASINO YELLOWHEAD
Live Music every Thu; 9pm
Thursdays with Thomas Culture - Rock&Roll, Funk, Soul, R&B and 80s jamz that will make your backbone slide; Wooftop Lounge: Dig It - Electronic, Roots & Rare Grooves; Underdog: Underdog Comedy Show
BIG AL'S HOUSE OF BLUES
CENTURY ROOM Lucky 7:
FESTIVAL PLACE The Ray
EMAIL YOUR FREE LISTINGS TO: LISTINGS@VUEWEEKLY.COM FAX: 780.426.2889 DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 3PM
THU JAN 14 ACCENT EUROPEAN LOUNGE
Blackboard Jungle (rock); 9pm DUGGAN'S BOUNDARY Duff
Robison (folk); 9pm DV8 Reckless Rebels with
guests (metal/hard rock/ punk); 9pm; No minors
Thirsty Thursday Jam; 7:30pm
Retro '80s with house DJ every Thu; 7pm-close
Charles Tribute Orchestra; 7:30pm
BLUES ON WHYTE Stude-
THE COMMON The Common
FILTHY MCNASTY'S The Introverts (alt/blues/rock) and Three Brothers and a Bud; 8pm; No cover
baker John & the Hawks; 9pm
Uncommon Thursday: Rotating Guests each week!
BOHEMIA Swear By The Moon with Luke Thomson and guests; 9pm; $10; 18+ only
ELECTRIC RODEO–Spruce Grove DJ every Thu
BRITTANY'S LOUNGE
Back Thursdays
Scrambled YEG: Open Genre Variety Stage: artist from all mediums are encouraged to occupy the stage and share their creations • Every Tue- Fri, 5-8pm
KRUSH ULTRA LOUNGE
CAFE BLACKBIRD Shauna Specht; 7:30pm; $6 CAFÉ HAVEN Music every
FILTHY MCNASTY’S Taking
LB'S PUB Koreen Perry
(country/jazz/pop); 9:30pm; No cover MKT FRESH FOOD AND BEER MARKET Thu and
Open stage; 7pm; no cover
Fri DJ and dance floor; 9:30pm
ON THE ROCKS Salsa
MERCURY ROOM
Rocks: every Thu; dance lessons at 8pm; Cuban Salsa DJ to follow UNION HALL 3 Four All Thursdays: rock, dance, retro, top 40 with DJ Johnny Infamous
Thu; 7pm
#LOSTINTHEYEGSAUCE; 8pm; $10 (adv), $15 (door); 18+ only
THE BOWER Strictly Goods:
CENTURY CASINO Blackout - The Scorpions Tribute Band; 7pm (door); $29.95; No minors
Old school and new school hip hop & R&B with DJ Twist, Sonny Grimez, and Marlon English; every Fri
Robison (folk); 9pm
Fridays: nu disco, hip hop, indie, electro, dance with weekly local and visiting DJs on rotation plus residents Echo and Justin Foosh
FESTIVAL PLACE Roy
DRUID IRISH PUB DJ every
Fri; 9pm ELECTRIC RODEO–Spruce Grove DJ every Fri THE PROVINCIAL PUB
Jam every Sat; 3:30-7pm
ON THE ROCKS Mustard
indie, rock, funk, soul, hip hop with DJ Gatto, DJ Mega Wattson; every Fri
HORIZON STAGE Fred
Smile
SOU KAWAII ZEN LOUNGE
Amplified Fridays:
Tucker with The Revivaland Wheelhousealong with Savage Playground; 8pm; $10 (adv), $15 (door); 18+ only
northlands.com
MKT FRESH FOOD AND BEER MARKET Live Local
Bands every Sat
FRI JAN 15
RED PIANO BAR Hottest
9910 Crystal Eyes (alt/pop) with Gender Poutine and Strange Fires and Shukov; 9pm; $8 (adv), $10 (door)
dueling piano show featuring the Red Piano Players every Fri; 9pm2am To Exile. Tyrants Demise, The Press Gang; 8pm
L.B.'S PUB South Bound
Graceland!; 7:30pm; $28
Freight open jam with hosts: Rob Kaup, Leah Durelle
ATLANTIC TRAP & GILL
MERCURY ROOM Lucette
Texas Flood; 9pm; $10
ARDEN THEATRE Going to
Sweet Vintage Rides BIG AL'S HOUSE OF BLUES BLUE CHAIR CAFÉ The
Rault Brothers; 7:3010:30pm; Cover by donation (suggested $10)
RIVER CREE–THE VENUE
Don Burnstick; 7pm (door), 9pm (show); Tickets start at $24.50 SANDS HOTEL Amie Weymes & the Atta Boys; 9pm SHERLOCK HOLMES– DOWNTOWN Andrew Scott
Dubstep, house, trance, electro, hip hop breaks with DJ Aeiou, DJ Loose Beats, DJ Poindexter; 9:30pm (door) UNION HALL Ladies Night
every Fri Y AFTERHOURS Foundation
Fridays
SAT JAN 16 9910 Transmission Dance Party featuring Eddie Lunchpail and Blue Jay; 9pm; $7 (door) THE ALMANAC N3K Album
country/folk); 9pm
release show with Will Scott Band and guests (instrumental jazz/avante garde noise/hip hop); 8pm (door), 9pm (show); $10; 18+ only
SHERLOCK HOLMES–WEM
APEX CASINO Vera (rock/
Rodeowind
music each week with a different band each week; 8pm
NORTH GLENORA HALL
BRITTANY'S LOUNGE
NEW WEST HOTEL
Jam by Wild Rose Old Time Fiddlers every Thu; 7pm; contact Gary 780.998.4904 RED PIANO Every Thu:
Dueling pianos at 8pm RIC’S GRILL Peter Belec
(jazz); most Thursdays; 7-10pm RICHARD'S PUB The Big Daddy Thursday Jam hosted by Randy Forsberg; Every Thu; 7:30-11pm SMOKEHOUSE BBQ Live
Blues every Thur: rotating guests; 7-11pm TAVERN ON WHYTE Open
stage with Michael Gress (fr Self Evolution); every Thu; 9pm-2am
Classical MYER HOROWITZ THEATRE
Rufus Wainwright; 7pm (door), 8pm (show); $49.50; All ages
Vance Joy, Fire and the Flood North American Tour 2016 with guests Reuben and the Dark; 8pm; $39.50
MERCURY ROOM Dusty
pop/indie); 9:30pm
open stage; 8pm; all ages (15+)
JUBILEE AUDITORIUM
Stage Sat–It's the Sat Jam hosted by Darren Bartlett, 5pm
RENDEZVOUS PUB Driven
NAKED CYBERCAFÉ Thu
Penner; 2pm; $12; All ages
LEAF BAR AND GRILL Open
APEX CASINO Vera (rock/
Fri DJ and dance floor; 9:30pm
HILLTOP PUB Open Stage,
The Blues Hounds (blues); 9:30pm; No cover
Open stage with One Percent (R&B/soul); 8pm every Thu
MKT FRESH FOOD AND BEER MARKET Thu and
GAS PUMP Saturday Homemade Jam: Mike Chenoweth
RED STAR Movin’ on Up:
EARLY STAGE SALOON–
with Mariel Buckley and El Niven; 7pm; $10
FILTHY MCNASTY'S Free Afternoon Concerts: The Orchard with guests Railtown Park; 4pm; No cover
Rodeowind
Stony Plain Open Jam Nights; no cover
KRUSH ULTRA LOUNGE
Rogers & The Delta Rhythm Kings featuring Carlos Del Reyes; 7:309:30pm; $34-$38
LB'S PUB Big Daddy &
Bar: Beach Party Jam hosted by the Barefoot Kings; Ukulele lessons 7:30pm followed by Jam at 8:30pm
Jam Thu; 9pm
DUGGAN'S BOUNDARY Duff
THE COMMON Good
CORAL DE CUBA Beach
J R BAR AND GRILL Live
CASINO YELLOWHEAD
Blackboard Jungle (rock); 9pm
Your Own Vinyl Night: Every Thu; 8pm-late; Edmonton Couchsurfing Meetup: Every Thu; 8pm
Foster; 7:30-9:30pm; $40-$46
Iguanas (country rock); 9pm
House, Hip-Hop with DJ Babr; every Fri
CHA ISLAND TEA CO Bring
FESTIVAL PLACE Ruthie
CASINO EDMONTON Mojave
NEW WEST HOTEL
City Sound Machine (rock/ pop/indie); 9:30pm
Thu Open Mic: All adult performers are welcome (music, song, spoken word); every Thu, 1:303pm
BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: DJ Kevin Martin; Wooftop: DJ Remo & Guests; Underdog: Rap,
CARROT COFFEEHOUSE Sat
Friday Nights: Indie rock and dance with DJ Brodeep
PALACE CASINO–WEM Oil
CARROT COFFEEHOUSE
CAFFREY'S IN THE PARK
CASINO EDMONTON Mojave
BLUES ON WHYTE Stude-
baker John & the Hawks; 9pm BOURBON ROOM Live
(alt/country); 9pm SHERLOCK HOLMES–U OF A Jake Buckley (blues/
Chill Factor CARROT COFFEEHOUSE Live
music every Fri: this week with The Ugly Mugs; all ages; 7pm; $5 (door)
perform every week; $10 PALACE CASINO–WEM Oil
City Sound Machine (rock/ pop/indie); 9:30pm RED PIANO BAR Hottest
dueling piano show featuring the Red Piano Players every Sat; 9pm2am RENDEZVOUS PUB Filthy
ATLANTIC TRAP & GILL
RIVER CREE–The Venue
Sweet Vintage Rides
BLUE CHAIR CAFE Dave
CAFFREY'S IN THE PARK
ORLANDO'S 1 Bands
Celeigh Cardinal Band (rock/pop/indie); 8pm; No minors
UPTOWN FOLK CLUB
Chipman Quartet; 8pm; $15
ON THE ROCKS Mustard
Smile
SIDELINERS PUB & PANTRY
BRIXX BAR Hard Rocking
CAFE BLACKBIRD Mallory
O’BYRNE’S Live band every Sat, 3-7pm; DJ every Sat, 9:30pm
Sinner and Guest Needs a Bass Player; 8pm
UNION HALL Excision with Bear Grillz and Pill Dickle; 9pm; $35 and up
Fred Penner with The Willy Nillies and Rusty; 7-11:30pm; $22 (adv), $30 (door); 18+ only
Rodeowind
pop/indie); 9:30pm
Hair of the Dog: this week with Krista Hartman (live acoustic music every Sat); 4-6pm; no cover
THE BUCKINGHAM
Harvey Band; 8pm; $48 NEW WEST HOTEL
Mike Letto; 9pm
Scrambled YEG: Open Genre Variety Stage: artist from all mediums are encouraged to occupy the stage and share their creations • Every Tue- Fri, 5-8pm Winter Party with Face First, Sara’s Ransom & Bad Communicators; 8pm (door), 9pm (show); $10; 18+ only
MORINVILLE COMMUNITY CULTURAL CENTRE Derina
TIRAMISU BISTRO Live
music every Fri
Uptown Folk Club Open Stage; 6:30pm (door), 7pm (music)
BIG AL'S HOUSE OF BLUES
Texas Flood; 9pm; $10 BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE
Babcock and the Jump Trio; 8:30-10:30pm; $15 BLUES ON WHYTE Stude-
Smokey Robinson; 7pm (door), 9pm (show); Tickets start at $69.50 SANDS HOTEL Amie Weymes & the Atta Boys; 9pm SHERLOCK HOLMES– DOWNTOWN Andrew Scott
(alt/country); 9pm SHERLOCK HOLMES–U OF A Jake Buckley (blues/
country/folk); 9pm
WILD EARTH BAKERY– MILLCREEK Live Music
baker John & the Hawks; 9pm
SHERLOCK HOLMES–WEM
Fridays: this week featuring; Each Fri, 8-10pm; $5 suggested donation
BOHEMIA DARQ Saturdays:
SNEAKY PETE'S Sinder
Classical CONVOCATION HALL
Violinissimo Ii featuring University of Alberta Department of Music with Guillaume Tardif and Roger Admiral; 8pm; $20 (adult), $10 (student), $15 (senior)
Industrial - Goth - Dark Electro with DJs the Gothfather and Zeio; 9pm; $5 (door); (every Sat except the 1st Sat of the month) BOURBON ROOM Live
Mike Letto; 9pm Sparks K-DJ Show; 9pm-1am
Classical MUTTART HALL Spanish
Nights - A Romantic Journey; 8pm; $28-$40
music each week with a different band each week; 8pm
DJs
CAFE BLACKBIRD Jake Ian;
Main Floor: The Menace
8pm; $10
BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE
Sessions with Miss Mannered featuring Alt.
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
MUSIC 23
Rock/Electro/Trash; Wooftop: Sound It Up! with DJ Sonny Grimezz spinning classic Hip-Hop and Reggae; Underdog: Hip Hop open Mic followed by DJ Marack THE BOWER For Those Who
JAN/22
Know...: Deep House and disco with Junior Brown, David Stone, Austin, and guests; every Sat
STRIKER
THE COMMON Get Down
It's Saturday Night: House and disco and everything in between with resident Dane
ALBUM RELEASE W/ GUESTS
JAN/23
UBK PRESENTS CELEBRATION OF FUNK
FORT KNOX 5
DRUID IRISH PUB DJ every
Sat; 9pm ENCORE–WEM Every
W/ FUNKANOMICS & MARTEN HORGER
JAN/28
Sat: Sound and Light show; We are Saturdays: Kindergarten
CONCERTWORKS.CA PRESENTS
ENFORCER & WARBRINGER
MERCER TAVERN DJ Mikey
Wong every Sat THE PROVINCIAL PUB
Saturday Nights: Indie rock and dance with DJ Maurice
W/ CAULDRON & EXMORTUS
JAN/30 FEB/5 FEB/9
UBK PRESENTS
KRAFTY KUTS COYOTE KISSES BILLY KENNY & WILL CLARKE PROPAGANDHI
RED STAR Indie rock, hip
hop, and electro every Sat with DJ Hot Philly and guests ROUGE LOUNGE Rouge Saturdays: global sound and Cosmopolitan Style Lounging with DJ Mkhai
UBK, NIGHT VISION, AND DIRTYBIRD PRESENT
SOU KAWAII ZEN LOUNGE
Your Famous Saturday with Crewshtopher, Tyler M SUGAR FOOT BALLROOM
Swing Dance Party: Sugar Swing Dance Club every Sat, 8-12; no experience or partner needed, beginner lesson followed by social dance; sugarswing.com
CONCERTWORKS.CA PRESENTS
W/ SLATES & STRANGLED
FEB/10
CONCERTWORKS.CA PRESENTS
TRIVIUM
TAVERN ON WHYTE Soul,
Motown, Funk, R&B and more with DJs Ben and Mitch; every Sat; 9pm-2am
W/ THE ORDER OF CHAOS & GUESTS
FEB/13
UNIONEVENTS.COM PRESENTS
YUKON BLONDE
UNION HALL Celebrity
Saturdays: every Sat hosted by DJ Johnny Infamous
W/ GUESTS
THE STARLITE ROOM IS A PRIVATE VENUE FOR OUR MEMBERS AND THEIR GUESTS. IF YOU REQUIRE A MEMBERSHIP YOU CAN PURCHASE ONE AT THE VENUE PRIOR TO / OR AFTER THE DOOR TIMES FOR EACH SHOW.
Y AFTERHOURS Release
Saturdays
SUN JAN 17 ARDEN THEATRE Duo
Rendezvous; 3pm; $28 BIG AL'S HOUSE OF BLUES
JAN/15
HARD ROCKING WINTER PARTY WITH
FACE FIRST
W/ SARA’S RANSOM & BAD COMMUNICATORS
JAN/21
TERRIAN
W/ LAUREN MARIE & CIARA PROZNIK
FEB/5
JCL PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS
FEB/6
VOODO CHILDREN PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS
THE BRIGHT LIGHT SOCIAL HOUR
SPARROW BLUE W/ FORBIDDEN RHYTHM, FINGERTIPS, & CATCH THE DAY DREAMER
FEB/12
THE INTROVERTS
W/ DEBUTANT, THE HUSTLE, ZOEY ZAPISOCKI
MAR/12
NOISEY PRESENTS
BLACK TUSK & HOLY GRAIL
W/ GUESTS
24 MUSIC
BLUES ON WHYTE Stude-
baker John & the Hawks; 9pm CLUB AT THE CITADEL The Good Lovelies (country/ folk); 8pm; $29.71 DANCE CODE STUDIO
Flamenco Guitar Classes; Every Sun, 11:30am12:30pm DIVERSION LOUNGE Sun Night Live on the South Side: live bands; all ages; 7-10:30pm DUGGAN'S BOUNDARY
Celtic Music with Duggan's House Band 5-8pm DV8 Rampage (featuring
Randy Rampage of D.O.A./ Annihilator) with Zero Cool and Rhubarbs (metal/hard rock/punk); 8pm; $12; No minors MACLAB CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Fred
Penner (children/folk); 2pm; $12 (adv) NEWCASTLE PUB The
Sunday Soul Service: acoustic open stage every Sun NEW WEST HOTEL
Rodeowind O’BYRNE’S Open mic every Sun; 9:30pm-1am ON THE ROCKS Jay Gilday/
BLUES ON WHYTE The
Dylan Farrell Band; 9pm CAFE BLACKBIRD Paint
DRUID IRISH PUB Open Stage Tue: featuring this week: Dave Johnston; 9pm
Monday open mic MERCURY ROOM Blue
Monday featuring Tyler Butler with Jordan Norman and the Wisdom Teethand Theodore Fox; 7pm; $15 (adv), $20 (door); 18+ only NEW WEST HOTEL
Rodeowind & 4's A Crowd PLEASANTVIEW COMMUNITY HALL Wild
Rose Old Tyme Fiddlers Association: Acoustic instrumental old time fiddle jam every Mon; hosted by the Wild Rose Old Tyme Fiddlers Society; 7pm; contact Vi 780.456.8510 ROUGE RESTO-LOUNGE
Skate; 1-4pm; Every Sun until Feb 28 POLISH HALL Holiday
WINSPEAR CENTRE
ROYAL GLENORA CLUB
DJs
& Chopin Concertos; 2pm; $24-$59
DJs BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: Soul Sundays
with DJ Zyppy ~ A fantastic voyage through 60’s and 70’s funk, soul & R&B; Every Sun
MON JAN 18
BLUE CHAIR CAFE Sunday
Blue Mondays with Jimmy and the Sleepers; 8-11pm
BIG AL'S HOUSE OF BLUES
BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: Blue Jay’s
BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: Blue Jay’s
Messy Nest with DJ Blue Jay - mod, brit pop, new wave, British rock DV8 T.F.W.O. Mondays:
Roots industrial,Classic Punk, Rock, Electronic with Hair of the Dave TAVERN ON WHYTE Classic
Hip hop with DJ Creeazn every Mon; 9pm-2am
TUE JAN 19 BIG AL'S HOUSE OF BLUES
Tuesday Night Jam with host Harry Gregg and Geoffrey O'Brien; 8-11pm BLUES ON WHYTE The
Dylan Farrell Band; 9pm
Static; 9pm BRITTANY'S LOUNGE
Scrambled YEG: Open Genre Variety Stage: artist from all mediums are encouraged to occupy the stage and share their creations • Every Tue- Fri, 5-8pm DUGGAN'S BOUNDARY Wed
open mic with host Duff Robison FILTHY MCNASTY'S Luke Thomson (alt/country/ rock) and Edronet; 8pm; No cover JUBILEE AUDITORIUM Blue
MERCER TAVERN Alt
MERCURY ROOM Devin
Tuesday with Kris Harvey and guests MERCURY ROOM Zameer
with Mohsin uz Zaman and guests; 7pm; $10 (adv), $12 (door); 18+ only NEW WEST HOTEL Tue Country Dance Lessons: 7-9pm; Rodeowind & 4's A Crowd
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ICEHOUSE Live music
Songwriter Monday Night Open Stage; Hosted by Celeigh Cardinal; Every Mon (except long weekends), 8:30-11:30pm; Free; Runs until Jun 27, 2016
BLUES ON WHYTE JK & the
LEAF BAR AND GRILL Tue Open Jam: Trevor Mullen
SHERLOCK HOLMES–U OF A
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats; 8pm; $30
WINSPEAR CENTRE Vivaldi
Night Open stage with Darrell Barr; 7-11pm
O’BYRNE’S Celtic jam every Tue; with Shannon Johnson and friends; 9:30pm
Spirit Concert; 5pm; $11.75-$22 Opera Brunch; 11am1pm; $85 (adult), $35 (child)
L.B.'S PUB Tue Variety
Open Mic Night with Darrek Anderson from the Guaranteed; every Mon; 9pm
SIDELINERS PUB Singer/
CITY HALL Swing 'N'
CAFE BLACKBIRD Paint
DUGGAN'S BOUNDARY
RICHARD'S PUB Mark
Classical
Scrambled YEG: Open Genre Variety Stage: artist from all mediums are encouraged to occupy the stage and share their creations • Every Tue- Fri, 5-8pm Nite; 7pm; $45
Short of Able Ammar's Sunday Sessions Jam; Every Sun, 4-8pm
BRITTANY'S LOUNGE
Nite; 7pm; $45
Open Mic Night hosted by Adam Holm; Every Mon
Sun BBQ jam hosted with the Marshall Lawrence Band; 4pm Brunch: Jazz Passages Trio; 9am-3pm; Cover by donation
Blue Jay - mod, brit pop, new wave, British rock; Wooftop: Metal Mondays with Metal Phil from CJSR's Heavy Metal Lunchbox
with the Icehouse Band and weekly guests; Every Tue, 9pm SANDS HOTEL Country music dancing every Tue, featuring Country Music Legend Bev Munro every Tue, 8-11pm
DJs BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: Eddie Lunchpail
spins alternative retro and not-so-retro, electronic & euro; Every Tue BRIXX Metal night every
Tue DV8 Creepy Tombsday:
Rodeo; 8pm Cuddy Band with Lyra Brown and Jesse Northey; 7pm; $10 (adv), $12 (door); 18+ only NEW WEST HOTEL 4's A
Crowd ORIGINAL JOE'S VARSITY ROW Open mic Wed:
Hosted by Jordan Strand; every Wed, 9-12 jordanfstrand@gmail.com / 780-655-8520 PLEASANTVIEW COMMUNITY HALL Acoustic
Bluegrass jam presented by the Northern Bluegrass Circle Music Society; every Wed, 6:30-11pm; $2 (member)/$4 (nonmember) RED PIANO BAR Wed Night
Live: hosted by dueling piano players; 8pm-1am; $5 ROSSDALE HALL Little
Flower Open Stage with Brian Gregg; 7:30pm (door); no cover ZEN LOUNGE Jazz Wednesdays: Kori Wray and Jeff Hendrick; every Wed; 7:30-10pm; no cover
Classical
Psychobilly, Hallowe'en horrorpunk, deathrock with Abigail Asphixia and Mr Cadaver; every Tue
WINSPEAR CENTRE ESO &
WED JAN 20
BILLIARD CLUB Why wait Wednesdays: Wed night party with DJ Alize every Wed; no cover
B STREET BAR Live Music
with Lyle Hobbs; 8-11pm, every Wed BIG AL'S HOUSE OF BLUES
Wailin' Wednesdays Jam; Every Wed, 7:30pm; All ages BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: DJ Kevin
Martin; Every Wed
Winspear Overture Tour; 12-1pm
DJs
BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: DJ Kevin
Martin; Every Wed BRIXX BAR Eats and Beats THE COMMON The Wed
Experience: Classics on Vinyl with Dane
Messy Nest with DJ
VENUEGUIDE 9910 9910B-109 ST ACCENT EUROPEAN LOUNGE 8223-104 St, 780.431.0179 ALE YARD TAP 13310-137 Ave THE ALMANAC 10351-82 Ave ARDEN THEATRE 5 St Anne St, St Albert ATLANTIC TRAP AND GILL 7704 Calgary Trail South "B" STREET BAR 11818-111 St BIG AL'S HOUSE OF BLUES Yellowhead Inn, 15004 Yellowhead Trail BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE 1042582 Ave, 780.439.1082 BLUE CHAIR CAFÉ 9624-76 Ave, 780.989.2861 BLUES ON WHYTE 10329-82 Ave, 780.439.3981 BOHEMIA 10217-97 St BOURBON ROOM 205 Carnegie Dr, St Albert THE BOWER 10538 Jasper Ave, 780.423.425; info@thebower.ca BRITTANY'S LOUNGE 10225-97 St, 780.497.0011 BRIXX BAR 10030-102 St (downstairs), 780.428.1099 THE BUCKINGHAM 10439 82 Ave, 780.761.1002, thebuckingham.ca CAFE BLACKBIRD 9640-142 St NW CAFÉ HAVEN 9 Sioux Rd, Sherwood Park, 780.417.5523, cafehaven.ca CAFFREY'S IN THE PARK 99, 23349 Wye Rd, Sherwood Park CARROT COFFEEHOUSE 9351-
118 Ave, 780.471.1580 CASINO EDMONTON 7055 Argylll Rd, 780.463.9467 CASINO YELLOWHEAD 12464153 St, 780.424 9467 CENTRAL SENIOR LIONS CENTRE 11113-113 St CENTURY CASINO 13103 Fort Rd, 780.643.4000 CHA ISLAND TEA CO 10332-81 Ave, 780.757.2482 CITY HALL 1 Sir Winston Churchill Square CLUB AT THE CITADEL 9828101A Ave COMMON 9910-109 St CONVOCATION HALL University of Alberta 113 St and 91 Ave DARAVARA 10713 124 St, 587.520.4980 DUGGAN'S BOUNDARY 9013-88 Ave, 780.465.4834 DRUID 11606 Jasper Ave, 780.454.9928 DUSTER’S PUB 6402-118 Ave, 780.474.5554 DV8 8130 Gateway Blvd EARLY STAGE SALOON– Stony Plain 4911-52 Ave, Stony Plain, 780.963.5998 ELECTRIC RODEO–Spruce Grove 121-1 Ave, Spruce Grove, 780.962.1411 ENCORE–WEM 2687, 8882-170 St FESTIVAL PLACE 100 Festival Way, Sherwood Park, 780.449.3378 FILTHY MCNASTY’S 10511-82 Ave, 780.916.1557
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
HILLTOP PUB 8220 106 Ave HORIZON STAGE 1001 Calahoo Rd, Spruce Grove IRISH SPORTS CLUB 12546-126 St, 780.453.2249 J AND R 4003-106 St, 780.436.4403 JAVA XPRESS 110, 4300 South Park Dr, Stony Plain, 780.968.1860 JUBILEE AUDITORIUM 1145587 Ave NW KELLY'S PUB 10156-104 St L.B.’S PUB 23 Akins Dr, St Albert, 780.460.9100 LEAF BAR AND GRILL 9016-132 Ave, 780.757.2121 MACLAB CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 4308-50 St, Leduc MKT FRESH FOOD AND BEER MARKET 8101 Gateway Blvd, 780.439.2337 MERCER TAVERN 10363 104 St, 587.521.1911 MERCURY ROOM 10575-114 St MORINVILLE COMMUNITY CULTURAL CENTRE 9502-100 Ave, Morinville MUTTART HALL 10050 MacDonald Dr NW MYER HOROWITZ THEATRE 8900 114 St NAKED CYBERCAFÉ 10303-108 St, 780.425.9730 NEWCASTLE PUB 8170-50 St, 780.490.1999 NEW WEST HOTEL 15025-111 Ave NOORISH CAFÉ 8440-109 St NORTH GLENORA HALL 13535-
109A Ave O2'S–West 11066-156 St, 780.448.2255 O’BYRNE’S 10616-82 Ave, 780.414.6766 ORIGINAL JOE'S VARSITY ROW 8404-109 St ORLANDO'S 1 15163-121 St O'MAILLES IRISH PUB 104, 398 St Albert Rd, St Albert ON THE ROCKS 11730 Jasper Ave, 780.482.4767 PALACE CASINO West Edmonton Mall 8882-170 St NW PLEASANTVIEW COMMUNITY HALL 10860-57 Ave POLISH HALL 10960-104 St NW THE PROVINCIAL PUB 160, 4211-106 St RED PIANO BAR 1638 Bourbon St, WEM, 8882-170 St, 780.486.7722 RED STAR 10538 Jasper Ave, 780.428.0825 RENDEZVOUS 10108-149 St RICHARD'S PUB 12150-161 Ave, 780.457.3118 RIC’S GRILL 24 Perron Street, St Albert, 780.460.6602 ROCKY MOUNTAIN ICEHOUSE 10516 Jasper Ave, 780.424.3836 ROSEBOWL/ROUGE LOUNGE 10111-117 St, 780.482.5253 ROSE AND CROWN 10235-101 St ROYAL GLENORA CLUB 11160 River Valley Road SANDS HOTEL 12340 Fort Rd, 780.474.5476 SHERLOCK HOLMES– DOWNTOWN 10012-101A Ave
SHERLOCK HOLMES–U OF A 8519-112 St SHERLOCK HOLMES–WEM 1650-8882-170 St SIDELINERS PUB 11018-127 St SMOKEHOUSE BBQ 10810-124 St, 587.521.6328 SNEAKY PETE'S 12315-118 Ave SOU KAWAII ZEN LOUNGE 1292397 St, 780.758.5924 STARLITE ROOM 10030-102 St, 780.428.1099 STUDIO MUSIC FOUNDATION 10940-166 A St SUGAR FOOT BALLROOM 10545-81 Ave TAVERN ON WHYTE 10507-82 Ave, 780.521.4404 TIRAMISU 10750-124 St UPTOWN FOLK CLUB 7308-76 Ave, 780.436.1554 VEE LOUNGE, APEX CASINO–St Albert 24 Boudreau Rd, St Albert, 780.460.8092, 780.590.1128 WILD EARTH BAKERY– MILLCREEK 8902-99 St, wildearthbakery.com WINSPEAR CENTRE 4 Sir Winston Churchill Square; 780.28.1414 Y AFTERHOURS 10028-102 St, 780.994.3256, yafterhours.com YARDBIRD SUITE 11 Tommy Banks Way, 780.432.0428 YEG DANCE CLUB 11845 Wayne Gretzky Dr YESTERDAYS PUB 112, 205 Carnegie Dr, St Albert, 780.459.0295 ZEN LOUNGE 12923-97 St
EVENTS WEEKLY EMAIL YOUR FREE LISTINGS TO: LISTINGS@VUEWEEKLY.COM FAX: 780.426.2889 DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 3PM
COMEDY Black Dog Freehouse • 10425-82 Ave • Underdog Comedy Show • Every Thu
Century Casino • 13103 Fort Rd • 780.481.9857 • Open Mic Night: Every Thu; 7:30-9pm
COMEDY FACTORY • Gateway Entertainment Centre, 34 Ave, Calgary Tr • Fri-Sat: 8:30pm • Tom Liske; Jan 14-16 • Kabir Singh; Jan 21-23 • Brian Link; Jan 28-30
Comic Strip • Bourbon St, WEM • 780.483.5999 • Wed-Fri, Sun 7:30pm; Fri-Sat 9:45pm • Battle to the Funny Bone; every Mon at 7:30pm • Triple Threat Tuesday; every Tue at 7:30pm • Bert Kreisher; Jan 14-16 • Alice Wetterlund; Jan 21-24 • Steve Byrne; Jan 28-31 Connie's Comedy presents Comedy @ Draft • Draft Country Nightclub,12912-50 St • With Danny Martinello and Matt Labucki • Jan 13, 7:30pm
Connie's Comedy presents Comedy @ Draft • Draft Country Nightclub,12912-50 St • With Charles Haycock and Craig Sherburne • Jan 20, 7:30pm
meeting with an under $10 gift exchange • 3rd Wed each month, call for time
Edmonton Podcasting Meet-Up • Variant Edition, 10441-123 St • Organized by Karen Unland and Seen & Heard in Edmonton. Discussing the best ways you can promote your podcast, along with chit-chat of how we all podcast, and why • Jan 24, 1pm
Edmonton Ukulele Circle • Bogani Café, 2023-111 St • 780.440.3528 • 3rd Sun each month; 2:30-4pm • $5
FOOD ADDICTS • Alano Club (& Simply Done Cafe), 17028-124 St • 780.718.7133 (or 403.506.4695 after 7pm) • Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA), free 12-Step recovery program for anyone suffering from food obsession, overeating, under-eating, and bulimia • Meetings every Thu, 7pm
Fort Saskatchewan 45+ Singles Coffee Group • A&W, 10101-88 Ave, Fort Saskatchewan • 780.907.0201 (Brenda) • A mixed group, all for conversation and friendship • Every Sun, 2pm
Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Information Night • Habitat for Humanity Prefab Shop, 14135-128 Ave • 780.451.3416 ext. 236 • vbatten@hfh. org • hfh.org/volunteer/vin • Learn about taking the next steps and what opportunities are available at Habitat for Humanity • Jan 21, 6-7pm (Every 3rd Thu of the month, excluding Dec) • Free
Illness support and solutions • Robertson Wesley United Church Library, 10209-123 St • 780.235.5911 • Crohn's Colitis, I.B.D. Support and Solutions • Every 2nd and 4th Tue, 7-9pm
Connie's Comedy presents Comedy @ Draft • Draft Country and Night-
Lotus Qigong • 780.477.0683 • Down-
club, 12912-50 St • With Ryan Paterson and Mike Dambra • Jan 27, 7:30pm
MADELEINE SANAM FOUNDATION •
DRUID • 11606 Jasper Ave • 780.710.2119 • Comedy night open stage hosted by Lars Callieou • Every Sun, 9pm DJ to follow
Empress Ale House • 9912-82 Ave • Empress Comedy Night: featuring a professional headliner every week Every Sun, 9pm
Rouge Lounge • 10111-117 St • Comedy Groove every Wed; 9pm
Groups/CLUBS/meetings Aikikai Aikido Club • 10139-87 Ave, Old Strathcona Community League • Japanese Martial Art of Aikido • Every Tue 7:30-9:30pm; Thu 6-8pm
Argentine Tango Dance at Foot Notes Studio • Foot Notes Dance Studio (South side), 9708-45 Ave • 780.438.3207 • virenzi@shaw.ca • Argentine Tango with Tango Divino: beginners: 7-8pm; intermediate: 8-9pm; Tango Social Dance (Milonga): 9pm-12 • Every Fri, 7pm-midnight • $15
Babes In Arms • The Carrot, 9351-118 Ave • A casual parent group • Every Fri, 10am-12pm
Brain Tumour Peer Support
Group • Mount Zion Lutheran Church, 11533-135 St NW • braintumour.ca • 1.800.265.5106 ext. 234 • Support group for brain tumour survivors and their families and caregivers. Must be 18 or over • 3rd Mon every month; 7-8:45pm • Free Canadian Injured Workers Association of Alberta (CIWAA) • Augustana Lutheran Church, 107 St, 99 Ave • canadianinjuredworkers.com • Meeting every 3rd Sat, 1-4pm • Injured Workers in Pursuit of Justice denied by WCB
Carrot Board Games Night • The Carrot, 9351-118 Ave • An evening of lattes, laughs and board games. Bring your own or choose from the Carrot's collection • Jan 26, 7-9pm • All ages
EDMONTON OUTDOOR CLUB (EOC)
town • Practice group meets every Thu Faculté St Jean, Rm 3-18 • 780.490.7332 • madeleine-sanam.orgs/en • Program for HIV-AID’S prevention, treatment and harm reduction in French, English and other African languages • 3rd and 4th Sat, 9am-5pm each month • Free (member)/$10 (membership); pre-register
Northern Alberta Wood Carvers Association • Duggan Community Hall, 3728-106 St • nawca.ca • Meet every Wed, 6:30pm
Organization for Bipolar Affective Disorder (OBAD) • Grey Nuns Hospital, Rm 0651, obad@shaw.ca; Group meets every Thu, 7-9pm • Free
Poor Vote Turnout • Rossdale Hall, 10135-96 Ave • poorvoteturnout.ca • Public meetings: promoting voting by the poor • Every Wed, 7-8pm
sAWA 12-STEP SUPPORT GROUP • Braeside Presbyterian Church bsmt, N. door, 6 Bernard Dr, St Albert • For adult children of alcoholic and dysfunctional families • Every Mon, 7:30pm
Schizophrenia Society Family Support Drop-in Group • Schizophrenia Society of Alberta, 5215-87 St • schizophrenia.ab.ca • The Schizophrenia Society of Alberta-Edmonton branch provides a facilitated family support group for caregivers of a loved one living with schizophrenia. Free drop-in the 1st and 3rd Thu each month, 7-9pm
Sensational Ladies Night • Warp 1 Comics & Games, 9917-82 Ave • 780.433.7119 • facebook.com/sensational. ladies.night • A night dedicated to women indulging in various geekeries with other women in a friendly and safe environment. Featuring a book club, board game nights, art jam and much more. No prior geekery knowledge required • 3rd Wed of every month, 6-8pm • Free
Seventies Forever Music Society
• edmontonoutdoorclub.com • Offering a variety of fun activities in and around Edmonton • Free to join; info at info@ edmontonoutdoorclub.com
• Call 587.520.3833 for location • deepsoul. ca • Combining music, garage sales, nature, common sense, and kindred karma to revitalize the inward persona • Every Wed, 7-8:30pm
Edmonton Photographic Historial Society • Call for location •
Sherwood Park Walking Group + 50 • Meet inside Millennium Place,
780.436.3878 • Gather and marvel over the latest finds in photography, discussions, and much more. This month features a dinner
Sherwood Place • Weekly outdoor walking group; starts with a 10-min discussion, followed by a 30 to 40-min walk through
Centennial Park, a cool down and stretch • Every Tue, 8:30am • $2/session (goes to the Alzheimer’s Society of Alberta)
Sugar Foot Ballroom • 10545-81 Ave • 587.786.6554 • sugarswing.com • Friday Night Stomp!: Swing and party music dance social every Fri; beginner lesson starts at 8pm. All ages and levels welcome. Occasional live music–check web; $10, $2 (lesson with entry) • Swing Dance Social every Sat; beginner lesson starts at 8pm. All ages and levels welcome. Occasional live music–check the Sugar Swing website for info • $10, $2 lesson with entry TAKE OFF POUNDS SENSIBLY (TOPS) • Grace United Church annex, 6215-104 Ave • Low-cost, fun and friendly weight loss group • Every Mon, 6:30pm • Info: call Bob 780.479.5519
Toastmasters • Club Bilingue Toastmasters Meetings: Campus St. Jean: Pavillion McMahon; 780.667.6105 (Willard); clubbilingue.toastmastersclubs. org; Meet every Tue, 7pm • Fabulous Facilitators Toastmasters Club:
2nd Fl, Canada Place Rm 217, 9700 Jasper Ave; Carisa: divdgov2014_15@outlook. com, 780.439.3852; fabulousfacilitators. toastmastersclubs.org; Meet every Tue, 12:05-1pm • N'Orators Toastmasters Club: Lower Level, McClure United Church, 13708-74 St: meet every Thu, 6:45-8:30pm; contact vpm@ norators.com, 780.807.4696, norators.com • Terrified of Public Speaking: Norwood Legion Edmonton, 11150-82 St NW; Every Thu until 7:30-9:30pm; Free; contact jnwafula@ yahoo.com; norwoodtoastmasters.org • Upward Bound Toastmaster Club: Rm 7, 6 Fl, Edmonton Public Library–DT: Meets every Wed, 7-8:45pm; Sep-May; upward. toastmastersclubs.org; reader1@shaw.ca • Y Toastmasters Club: Queen Alexandra Community League, 10425 University Ave (N door, stairs to the left); Meet every Tue, 7-9pm except last Tue ea month; Contact: Antonio Balce, 780.463.5331 • Toastmasters Demo Meeting: Highstreet Speakers: Rm 107, Westmount School, 11125-131 St; highstreetspeakers@ hotmail.com; 780.454.5001; facebook.com/ HighstreetSpeakers; Jan 19, Jan 26; 5-6pm; Free
Wild Rose Antique Collectors Society • Delwood Community Hall, 7515 Delwood Rd • wildroseantiquecollectors. ca • Collecting and researching items from various periods in the history of Edmonton. Presentations after club business. Visitors welcome • Meets the 4th Mon of every month (except Jul & Dec), 7:30pm
WOMEN IN BLACK • In Front of the Old Strathcona Farmers' Market • Silent vigil the 1st and 3rd Sat, 10-11am, each month, stand in silence for a world without violence
LECTURES/Presentations A New Year, A Healthy You: The Abundant Health Lifestyle Launch • Pura Vida, 14920 Stony Plain Road • 780.700.5533 • entrepreneurialfreedom.ca/abundanthealth • Jan 19, 6:309:30pm • Tickets available at Eventbrite
Building a Vision and a Team • Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science 1-440, University of Alberta • globaled. ualberta.ca/InternationalWeek • globaled@ ualberta.ca • Brothers Marc and Craig Kielburger draw on their experiences as lifelong activists and social entrepreneurs to discuss how to implement key elements of team collaboration and mobilization • Jan 25, 6-7pm • Free, register at bit.ly/BuildingaVision Fertility Awareness Charting Circle • Remedy Cafe, 8631-109 St • faccedmonton@gmail.com • fertilityawarenesschartingcircle.org • First Mon each month (Oct-May), 6:30-8:30pm • $10 (suggested donation) • RSVP at faccedmonton@ gmail.com
International Week: For a Better World • University of Alberta, Telus Centre, 87 Ave and 111 St • globaled. ualberta.ca/InternationalWeek • globaled@ ualberta.ca • This year's theme: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 17 ambitious goals that aim to “eliminate extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and fix climate change” by 2030 • Jan 25-31
Seeing is above All • Acacia Hall, 10433-83 Ave, upstairs • 780.554.6133 • Free instruction in meditation on the Inner Light • Every Sun, 5pm
The TRC & You: Creating Allies for a Positive Future • Idea Lounge at University of Alberta Museums Galleries at Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Ave • 780.248.1217 • macrae@ualberta.ca • metislifeskills.com/lunchtime-series • A panel discussion surrounding the impact of the Truth & Reconciliation Commissions of Canada's recommendations for universities and communities • Jan 15, 12-1pm • RSVP at Eventbrite
(Un)masking Spirit: Mask Creation and Exploration with Elsa Robinson • Robertson-Wesley United Church, 10209-123 St • rwuc.org/sac.html • Every Tue, 7-9pm; Jan 12-Mar 22
QUEER EPLC Fellowship Pagan Study Group • Pride Centre of Edmonton, 10608-105 Ave • 780.488.3234 • eplc. webs.com • Free year long course; Family circle 3rd Sat each month • Everyone welcome
Evolution Wonderlounge • 10220103 St • 780.424.0077 • yourgaybar.com • Community Tue: partner with various local GLBT groups for different events; see online for details • Happy Hour Wed-Fri: 4-8pm • Wed Karaoke: with the Mystery Song Contest; 7pm-2am • Fri: DJ Evictor • Sat: DJ Jazzy • Sun: Beer Bash
G.L.B.T.Q Seniors Group • S.A.G.E Bldg, Craftroom, 15 Sir Winston Churchill Sq • 780.474.8240 • Meeting for gay seniors, and for any seniors who have gay family members and would like some guidance • Every Thu, 1-4pm • Info: E: Tuff69@telus.net
INSIDE/OUT • U of A Campus • Campusbased organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-identified and queer (LGBTQ) faculty, graduate student, academic, straight allies and support staff • 3rd Thu each month (fall/winter terms): Speakers Series. E: kwells@ualberta.ca Pride Centre of Edmonton • Pride Centre of Edmonton, 10608-105 Ave • 780.488.3234 • Daily: Community drop-in; support and resources. Queer library: borrowing privileges: Tue-Fri 12-9pm, Sat 2-6:30pm, closed Sun-Mon; Queer HangOUT (a.k.a. QH) youth drop-in: Tue-Fri 3-8pm, Sat 2-6:30pm, youth@pridecentreofedmonton. org • Counselling: Free, short-term by registered counsellors every Wed, 5:30-8:30pm, info/bookings: 780.488.3234 • Knotty Knitters: Knit and socialize in safe, accepting environment, all skill levels welcome; every Wed 6-8pm • QH Game Night: Meet people through board game fun; every Thu 6-8pm • QH Craft Night: every Wed, 6-8pm • QH Anime Night: Watch anime; every Fri, 6-8pm • Movie Night: Open to everyone; 2nd and 4th Fri each month, 6-9pm • Women’s Social Circle: Social support group for femaleidentified persons +18 years in the GLBT community; new members welcome; 2nd and 4th Thu, 7-9pm each month; andrea@ pridecentreofedmonton.org • Men Talking with Pride: Support and social group for gay and bisexual men; every Sun 7-9pm; robwells780@hotmail.com • TTIQ: a support and information group for all those who fall under the transgender umbrella and their family/supporters; 3rd Mon, 7-9pm, each month • HIV Support Group: Support and discussion group for gay men; 2nd Mon, 7-9pm, each month; huges@shaw.ca St Paul's United Church • 1152676 Ave • 780.436.1555 • People of all sexual orientations are welcome • Every Sun (10am worship)
Team Edmonton • Various sports and recreation activities • All-Bodies Swim: Bonnie Doon Leisure Centre, 8648-81 St NW; pridecentreofedmonton.org; Every 3rd Sat of the month, 9:30-10:30pm • Badminton: Oliver School, 10227-118 St; badminton@teamedmonton.ca; Every Wed (until Feb 24); $5 (drop-in) • Board Game Group: Underground Tap & Grill, 10004 Jasper Ave; Monthly on a Sun, 3-7pm; RSVP to boardgames@teamedmonton. ca • Bootcamp: Oliver Community Hall, 10326-118 St; bootcamp@teamedmonton.
VUEWEEKLY.com | jan 14 – jan 20, 2016
ca; Every Thu, 7pm; $30 (full season), $15 (low income or students) • Equal, Fit, Fierce, and Fabulous: Pride Centre, 10608-105 Ave; pridecentreofedmonton.org/calendar; Drop in games and activities for youth; Every other Tue, 4:30-6pm
WOMONSPACE • 780.482.1794 • womonspace.org, womonspace@gmail.com • A Non-profit lesbian social organization for Edmonton and surrounding area. Monthly activities, newsletter, reduced rates included with membership. Confidentiality assured
Woodys Video Bar • 11723 Jasper Ave • 780.488.6557 • Sun: Last Sun each month, Woodys Jam Session with the talented regular customers; Jugs of Canadian or Kokanee only $13 • Mon: Massive Mondays features talented comedians • Tue: Domestic bottle beer special only $3.75 all night long • Wed: Jugs of Canadian and Kokanee for $13; Karaoke with Shirley from 7pm-12:30am • Thu: Highballs on special only $3.75 all night long; Karaoke with Bubbles 7pm-12:30am • Fri: Comming soon: DJ Arrow Chaser's new TGIF Party • Sat: Pool Tournement, 4pm; Jager shots on special only $4; Coming soon, DJ Jazzy SPECIAL EVENTS A Taste of Animethon • Shaw Conference Centre, 9797 Jasper Ave NW • Revolving around Japanese animation. Featuring guests, anime viewings, cosplay and much more • Jan 22-23 • $35 (plus service fees) Celebrate Robert Burns • Rutherford House Provincial Historic Site, 11153 Saskatchewan Drive • 780.427.3995 • rutherford.house@gov.ab.ca • rutherfordhousehistoricsite.org • Celebrate poet Robert Burns with dancers, pipes and a reading of Burns' poem, Address to a Haggis • Jan 17, 12-4pm • $6-$20
DeepSoul.ca • 587.520.3833; call or text for Sunday jam locations • Every Sun: Sunday Jams with no Stan (CCR to Metallica), starring Chuck Prins on Les Paul Standard guitars; Pink Floydish originals plus great Covers of Classics: some FREE; Twilight Zone Lively Up Yourself Tour (with DJ Cool Breeze); all ages Do You Want to Build a Snowman • John Janzen Nature Centre, 7000-143 St • 311 • edmonton.ca • For all ages • Jan 21, 2-3:30pm
Hot Chocolate on the Hill • Charlesworth Park Hill, 59 St & 3 Ave • ellersliecommunityleague.com • Bring a toboggan and dash down the hill for some good riding. Hot chocolate will be provided • Jan 23, 1-3pm
Ice Castles • Hawrelak Park, 9930 Groat Road • icecastles.com • A massive castle made of ice, craft by hand using only icicles and water • Jan 5-Mar 1 • $9.95-$15.95 Ice on Whyte • End of Steel Park, Gateway Boulevard & Tommy Banks Way • iceonwhyte.ca • Featuring ice and snow exhibits, interactive kids play area, and the famous ice slide • Jan 21-24, Jan 28-31
Malanka: Ukrainian New Year Celebration • Ukrainian Centre, 1101897 St • 780.434.1690 • judy.lederer@ hotmail.com • Featuring a huge Ukrainian Feast featuring roast turkey, meatballs, perogies, cabbage rolls, and more. A traditional Floor Show of dancing, music and pageant dedicated to 125 years of Ukrainian settlement in Alberta will also be presented • Jan 16, 5:30pm • $45 (dinner, floor show & dance), $20 (dance only); Attendance by invitation only
Nerd Nite #24 • The Club at the Citadel Theatre, 9828-101A Ave • Featuring the topics such as: Harry Potter and the Prisoners of Narrative: On Reading and the Virtues of Constant Vigilance, Going nuts over girls: how chasing tail influences ageing, Smoke and Mirrors: Unveiling Invisibility • Jan 14, 7:30pm (doors), 8pm (show) • $20 (adv), $25 (door) • 18+ only Scrambled YEG • Brittany's Lounge, 10225-97 St • 780.497.0011 • Open Genre Variety Stage: artist from all mediums are encouraged to occupy the stage and share their creations • Every Tue-Fri, 5-8pm
AT THE BACK 25
classifieds To Book Your Classified, Contact Valerie at 780.426.1996 or at classifieds@vueweekly.com 130.
Coming Events
January 22 - welcome 2016! singles mixer @On The Rocks 5:30 - 8:30 $5 admission, includes free beverage coupon. January 28- new year - new singles mixer @The Druid 5:30 - 8:30 $5 admission includes free beverage coupon.
1600.
Volunteers Wanted
community leaders in waste reduction Complete a free, 40-hour course. Learn about composting, recycling & more. Volunteer at least 35 hours. Show friends & family how to reduce waste. Apply at edmonton.ca/mcrp.
2020.
Musicians Wanted
3100. Appliances/Furniture
drummer wanted Black/Death Metal Band will pay $150 per show for session drummer. Contact www.facebook.com/anthroplaq ue or call 780.292.3397.
old appliance removal Removal of unwanted appliances. Must be outside or in your garage. Rates start as low as $30. Call James @780.231.7511 for details
ALBERTA-WIDE CLASSIFIEDS •• auctions •• PEAK FITNESS EXERCISE EQUIP. Dispersal #8, 7710-50 Ave., Red Deer, AB. Sat., Jan. 23, 2016 @ 11 AM. Cardio, Spin Bikes, Selectorized & Plate Loaded Weight Equip., Dumbbells, Benches, Racks, Tanning Bed, TV’s, Lockers, Office, Daycare, & More. See www.montgomeryauctions. com or call 800-371-6963
•• business •• opportunities HIP OR KNEE Replacement? Restrictions in walking/dressing? $2,500 yearly tax credit. $20,000 lump sum cheque. Disability Tax Credit. Expert Help: 1-844-453-5372.
is proud to be involved in the making of these products
work-from-home career! Contact us now to start your training day. www.canscribe. com. 1.800.466.1535. info@canscribe.com.
•• employment •• opportunities INTERIOR HEAVY EQUIPMENT SCHOOL. Hands-On Tasks. Start Weekly. GPS Training! Funding & Housing Available! Job Aid! Already a HEO? Get certification proof. Call 1-866-399-3853 or go to: iheschool.com. CHRYSLER DEALERSHIP Hiring immediately in Killam, AB. 3rd/4th year Automotive Journeyman Technician. Competitive wages, clean atmosphere, full benefits. Send resume mcwes@telus.net
GET FREE VENDING MACHINES. Can Earn $100,000.00 + Per Year. All Cash-Locations Provided. Protected Territories. Interest Free Financing. Full Details CALL NOW 1-866-668-6629 Website WWW.TCVEND.COM
MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION! In-demand career! Employers have work-at-home positions available. Get online training you need from an employer-trusted program. Visit: CareerStep.ca/ MT or 1-855-768-3362 to start training for your work-at-home career today!
GREAT CANADIAN Dollar Store franchise opportunities are available in your area. Explore your future with a dollar store leader. Call today 1-877-388-0123 ext. 229; www.dollarstores.com.
SEEKING A CAREER in the Community Newspaper business? Post your resume for FREE right where the publishers are looking. Visit: awna.com/ for-job-seekers.
•• career training ••
MANAGING EDITOR wanted for weekly newspaper in Viking, Alberta. Experience with reporting and sales? Come join our team! Email eric@cariboupublishing.ca
MEDICAL TRAINEES needed now! Hospitals & doctor’s offices need certified medical office & administrative staff! No experience needed! We can get you trained! Local job placement assistance available when training is completed. Call for program details! 1-888-627-0297. HEALTHCARE DOCUMENTATION SPECIALISTS in huge demand. Employers prefer CanScribe graduates. A great
FULL TIME REPORTER wanted for weekly newspaper in Viking, Alberta. Interested in journalism? Come join our team. Room for advancement. Email eric@cariboupublishing.ca
•• for sale •• POLE BARNS, Shops, steel buildings metal clad or fabric clad. Complete supply and installation. Call John @ 403-998-7907; jcameron@advancebuildings.com. REACH OVER 1 Million Readers Weekly. Advertise Province Wide Classifieds. Only $269 + GST (based on 25 words or less). Call now for details 1-800-282-6903 ext. 228; www.awna.com. METAL ROOFING & SIDING. 32+ colours available at over 55 Distributors. 40 year warranty. 48 hour Express Service available at select supporting Distributors. Call 1-888-263-8254. PASTURE & HAY LAND. 400 8000 acres of year round water supply. Full operational with management available. Central Saskatchewan. Crossfenced & complete infrastructure. Natural springs, excellent water. Shortly ready to locate cattle. Other small & large grain & pasture quarters. $150k - $2.6m. Call Doug Rue 306-716-2671 saskfarms@shaw.ca STEEL BUILDING SALE REALLY BIG SALE - YEAR END CLEAR OUT! 21X22 $5,190; 25X24 $5, 988; 27X28 $7,498; 30X32 $8,646; 35X34 $11,844; 42X54 $16, 386. One End wall included. Pioneer Steel 1-800668-5422 www.pioneersteel.ca REFORESTATION NURSERY SEEDLINGS of hardy trees, shrubs, & berries for shelterbelts or landscaping. Spruce & Pine from $0.99/tree. Free Shipping. Replacement guarantee. 1-866873-3846 or www.treetime.ca
•• health •• CANADA BENEFIT GROUP Do you or someone you know
suffer from a disability? Get up to $40,000 from the Canadian Government. Toll-free 1-888 -511-2250 or www.canadabenefit.ca/free-assessment Do you have a DISABILITY? Physical or mental? We can help you get up to $40,000 back from the Canadian Government. FOR DETAILS check out our website: disabilitygroupcanada.com or CALL us today Toll-Free 1-888875-4787.
•• manufactured •• homes CROSSCOUNTRY HOMES. Come view our show homes that are ready for quick possession; or custom build for spring. Save over $10,000 on show homes. 780-470-8000 www.crosscountryhomes.com HARVEST SALE! Save $50,000 from the replacement cost of this 20 X 76 drywalled Grandeur Showhome that has to go! A sacrifice at $124,900. Call Terry 1-855-347-0417 or email: terry@grandviewmodular.com.
•• services •• CRIMINAL RECORD? Think: Canadian pardon. U.S. travel waiver. Divorce? Simple. Fast. Inexpensive. Debt recovery? Alberta collection to $25,000. Calgary 403-228-1300/1-800347-2540. BANK SAID NO? Bank on us! Equity Mortgages for purchases, debt consolidation, foreclosures, renovations. Bruised credit, selfemployed, unemployed ok. Dave Fitzpatrick: www.albertalending.ca. 587-437-8437, Belmor
•• mortgage ••
. EASY ALBERTA DIVORCE. Free Consultation 1-800-320-2477; www.canadianlegal.org. CCA Award #1 Paralegal. A+ BBB Reputation. 26 Years Experience. Open Mon. - Sat.
•• travel •• SEE POLAR BEARS, Walrus and Whales on our Arctic Explorer Voyage next summer. SAVE 15% With Our Winter Sale for a Limited Time. CALL TOLLFREE: 1-800-363-7566 or visit: www.adventurecanada.com. (TICO#04001400)
•• wanted •• BLUE GRASS LTD. is looking for logging truck loads of Birch Firewood. Split or logs, delivered or picked up. Contact Bill 403226-0468. BLUE GRASS LTD. is looking for Lodgepole Pine and Scots Pine in any size. Willing to dig or pick up ourselves. Contact Bill 403-226-0468. WANTED - SHED ANTLERS. Buying shed antlers all sizes and conditions. Paying top dollar for elk, deer, moose. Buying all the time. Phone, text, email: 403-352-9397 or donovanh@telus.net.
go to postvuepublishing.com for more info 26 AT THE BACK
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
FREEWILLASTROLOGY ARIES (MAR 21 – APR 19): You love autonomy. You specialize in getting the freedom and sovereignty you require. You are naturally skilled at securing your independence from influences that might constrain your imagination and limit your self-expression. But here's a sticking point: if you want the power to help shape group processes, you must give up some of your autonomy. In order to motivate allies to work toward shared goals, you need to practice the art of interdependence. The next test of your ability to do this is coming right up. TAURUS (APR 20 – MAY 20): "Nothing is really work unless you'd rather be doing something else." So said Taurus writer James M Barrie (1860 – 1937), who created the Peter Pan stories. Your challenge and invitation in the coming months is to increase the amount of time you spend that does not qualify as work. In fact, why don't you see how much and how often you can indulge in outright play? There'll be no better way to attract grace and generate good fortune. GEMINI (MAY 21 – JUN 20): Here's my proposal: get in touch with your madness. And don't tell me you have no madness. We all do. But listen: when I use the word "madness," I don't mean howling rage, hurtful lunacy or out-of-control misbehaviour. I'm calling on the experimental part of you that isn't always polite and reasonable; the exuberant rebel who is attracted to wild truths rather than calming lies; the imaginative seeker who pines for adventures on the frontiers of your understanding. Now is an excellent time to tap into your inner maverick. CANCER (JUN 21 – JUL 22): Here's an excerpt from Dorianne Laux's poem "Antilamentation": "Regret nothing. Not the cruel novels you read to the end just to find out who killed the cook. Not the insipid movies that made you cry in the dark. Not the lover you left quivering in a hotel parking lot. Not the nights you called god names and cursed your mother, sunk like a dog in the living room couch, chewing your nails." I'm giving you a good dose of Laux's purifying rant in the hope that it will incite you to unleash your own. The time is favourable to summon an expanded appreciation for the twists and tweaks of your past, even those that seemed torturous in the moment. Laux doesn't regret the TV set she threw out the upstairs window or the stuck onion rings she had to sweep off the dirty restaurant floor, and I hope you will be that inclusive. LEO (JUL 23 – AUG 22): "Modesty is the art of drawing attention to whatever it is you're being humble about," said Alfred E
ROB BREZSNY FREEWILL@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Neuman, the fictitious absurdist whose likeness often appears on the cover of Mad magazine. I'm here to tell you, Leo, that now is an excellent time to embody this aphorism. You are in a perfect position to launch a charm offensive by being outrageously unassuming. The less you brag about yourself and the more you praise other people, the better able you will be to get exactly what you want. Being unegotistical and non-narcissistic is an excellent strategy for serving your selfish needs. VIRGO (AUG 23 – SEP 22): "To go wrong in one's own way is better than to go right in someone else's," says a character in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. I don't agree with that idea 100 percent of the time. Sometimes our wrong ideas are so delusional that we're better off getting interrupted and redirected by the wiser insights of others. But for the near future, Virgo, I recommend Dostoyevsky's prescription for your use. One of your key principles will be to brandish your unique perspectives. Even if they're not entirely right and reasonable, they will lead you to what you need to learn next. LIBRA (SEP 23 – OCT 22): "I love kissing," testifies singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. "If I could kiss all day, I would. I can't stop thinking about kissing. I like kissing more than sex because there's no end to it. You can kiss forever. You can kiss yourself into oblivion. You can kiss all over the body. You can kiss yourself to sleep." I invite you to temporarily adopt this expansive obsession, Libra. The astrological omens suggest that you need more sweet, slippery, sensual, tender interaction than usual. Why? Because it will unleash sweet, slippery, sensual, tender emotions and sweet, slippery, sensual, tender, thoughts, all of which will awaken a surge of dormant creativity. Which you also need very much. SCORPIO (OCT 23 – NOV 21): "Everything has been said before," said French author André Gide, "but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again." I am happy to inform you that you're about to be temporarily exempt from this cynical formulation. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will be able to drive home certain points that you have been trying to make over and over again for quite a while. The people who most need to hear them will finally be able to register your meaning. (PS: This breakthrough will generate optimal results if you don't gloat. Be grateful and understated.) SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22 – DEC 21): Do you want more money, Sagittarius? Are there treasures
JONESIN' CROSSWORD
"Worst of Pop Culture, 2015" —a year to remember.
you wish you could have, but you can't afford them? Do any exciting experiences and life-enhancing adventures remain off-limits because of limited resources? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, now would be an excellent time to formulate plans and take action to gather increased wealth. I don't guarantee total success if you do, but I promise that your chance to make progress will be higher than usual. Cosmic tendencies are leaning in the direction of you getting richer quicker, and if you collaborate with those tendencies, financial magic could materialize. CAPRICORN (DEC 22 – JAN 19): "It's a terrible thing to wait until you're ready," proclaims actor Hugh Laurie. He goes even further: "No one is ever ready to do anything. There is almost no such thing as ready." His counsel is too extreme for my tastes. I believe that proper preparation is often essential. We've got to get educated about the challenges we want to take on. We need to develop at least some skills to help us master our beloved goals. But it's impossible to ever be perfectly prepared and educated and skilled. If you postpone your quantum leaps of faith until every contingency has been accounted for, you'll never leap. Right now, Capricorn, Laurie's view is good advice. AQUARIUS (JAN 20 – FEB 18): Fate has transformed a part of your life that you didn't feel ready to have transformed. I won't offer my condolences, though, because I've guessed a secret that you don't know about yet. The mythic fact, as I see it, is that whatever you imagine you have had to let go of will ultimately come back to you in a revised and revivified form—maybe sooner than you think. Endings and beginnings are weaving their mysteries together in unforeseen ways. Be receptive to enigmatic surprises. PISCES (FEB 19 – MAR 20): Good news: your eagerness to think big is one of your superpowers. Bad news: it's also one of your liabilities. Although it enables you to see how everything fits together, it may cause you to overlook details about what's undermining you. Good news: your capacity for intense empathy is a healing balm for both others and yourself. At least potentially, it means you can be a genius of intimacy. Bad news: your intense empathy can make you fall prey to the emotional manipulation of people with whom you empathize. Good news: your willingness to explore darkness is what makes your intelligence so profound. Bad news: but that's also why you have to wrestle so fiercely with fear. Good news: in the next four weeks, the positive aspects of all the above qualities will be ascendant.V
MATT JONES JONESINCROSSWORDS@VUEWEEKLY.COM
Across
1 Muppet with an orange nose 5 Certain physical measurement, for short 8 "___ first you don't succeed ..." 12 Short, shrill sound 13 ___ fro 15 "___ arigato, Mr. Roboto" 16 Poultry herb 17 Nomadic mob 18 Class with graphs, for short 19 2015 superhero film reboot with a 9% score on Rotten Tomatoes 22 Iggy Azalea/Britney Spears collaboration, listed on Entertainment Weekly's Worst Singles of 2015 23 "Mission: Impossible" character Hunt 25 "Full," at a theater 26 Hatha and bikram, for two 29 Weather map lines 31 Get hold of again 32 Feline tooth 33 President who's thanked a lot? 37 College in New Rochelle, New York 38 "Oh, yeah!" 39 Santa-tracking defense gp. 40 Paper wounds 41 Canadian vocal tics that aren't as commonplace as Americans think 42 Doesn't say outright 44 Little ___ ("Languages for Kids" learning series) 45 Short-lived Rainn Wilson cop show, listed on Yahoo's Worst TV Shows of 2015 47 Change places with one's wrestling teammate 50 ___ of Sauron 51 Seafood selections 55 Power shake need 57 Rooster's morning perch 59 Choir 60 Mix it up (var.) 61 2015 Adam Sandler movie that got an epic ten-minute review/rant from "MovieBob Reviews" on YouTube 62 Much-maligned 2015 reality show which put contestant couples in the titular enclosure (later to be interviewed by therapists)
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
Down
1 Some CDs 2 Nissan hybrid 3 Cones of non-silence? 4 Cattle site 5 Gives a leg up to 6 Sacrificial figure 7 Part of Roy G. Biv 8 Visionary 9 Market research panel 10 Love, in Xochimilco 11 Massive quantity 13 "Yeah, about ___ ..." 14 Prefix meaning "one-tenth" 20 It's designed to stay up all night 21 "Punky Brewster" star Soleil Moon ___ 23 Trinket in "The Hunger Games" 24 Totally destroy 27 "___ a stinker?" (Bugs Bunny catchphrase) 28 Back twinge 30 Hedgehog of Sega fame 31 "M*A*S*H" character 34 Nutsoid 35 Like craft shows 36 High degree 42 "Messiah" composer 43 In the future 45 Go nuts with a whole season, e.g. 46 "Fantastic" character in a Roald Dahl novel 47 1/16 of a cup, briefly 48 Et ___ (and others) 49 Baby boomer followers 52 Get from ___ (make progress) 53 Doofus 54 Glasses, in comic book ads 56 Hosp. locations 58 Cries of surprise ©2016 Jonesin' Crosswords
AT THE BACK 27
ADULTCLASSIFIEDS To Book Your Adult Classifieds, Contact James at 780.426.1996 or at adultclassifieds@vueweekly.com 9450. MASSAGE
#1 IN CUSTOMER
SERVICE. OUR LADIES OFFER A FULLY PAMPERED SESSION. COME IN AND BE SPOILED!
16628-109ave
•
9450.
Adult Massage
Text “I LOVE REDHEADS” to (780) 938-3644 Available now Text For Details *slim yet curvy* lic #44879215-002
Lisc# 068956959-001
PASSIONS SPA
Happy Hour Every Hour! Early Bird Specials Mon - Fri 9am - 11am 9947 - 63 Ave, Argyll Plaza www.passionsspa.com 780-414-6521 42987342
•
SUPREME SPA
NOW HIRING
780-444-4974
Book an appt. or walk-in today Open 7 days a week, 10am - 11pm
www.dejavumassage.ca
LIC#74125963-001
Winter Specials!
Adult Massage
For the MEN who love black girls 780-710-4833 Available for outcall, Edmonton and surrounding areas Relax & Unwind
Upscale unparalleled adult bodysage. 18 Alluring Ladies! Discreet entrance in back. www.supremespa.com. 5932 Calgary Trail South (104 St) 780.430.0962
TOP GIRL NEXT DOOR STUDIO www.thenexttemptation.com Open 7am Daily $160 Specials 7-10am CALL US (780) 483-6955 * 68956959-001
9640.
Fetishes
A REAL DOMINATRIX Bondage, Spanking, CBT Sissy slut training Mistress Morganna (780) 454 - 1726 For all Bondage & Fetishes, Fantasy & Roleplay Call Dominatrix Desire (780) 964 - 2725 Introductory Specials
Gentlemen’s Spa
LICENSE# 156382060
Escort Agency Ltd
Ocean Spa
780.758.2442
New, Gorgeous Asian Massage in Downtown Edmonton
10219-112 St. • 780-244-3532 • Open 8:30am-11pm Discreet backdoor entrance with free parking at rear of the store.
www.EliteRetreatEdmonton.com LIC# 88051843-002
Lic. 131198519-001
24HRS OUTCALL ONLY • EDMONTON & SURROUNDING AREAS • STAGS & BACHELOR PARTIES
#102 9006–132 Ave.
Gentlemen’s
Elite Escort Agency Ltd
CHOICE ADULT SPA
Edmonton 780.488.8570 Toll-free 1.855.788.8570 elite_booking@hotmail.com
APPOINTMENTS & WALK-INS WELCOME! ° HOT YOUNG 19+ YEAR-OLD GIRLS °
New management
$160/HALF-HOUR
780.452.7440 • 11910 127 Ave gentlemenschoicespa.com
License # 171986099-002
— Newly renovated — Las Vegas theme
CLASSIFIEDS ARE GO 28 AT THE BACK
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
THEPASSIONVAULT.COM
99 SPA
STREET
8131 99 Street 780.709.7999 Open 9 – 11pm 7 days a week
Asian Attendants Below “Subway”, back entrance, ATM
EXTREME BODYCARE
ARISTOCRAT MASSAGE
New Asian Massage
Upscale. Luxury. Relax
780-486-4444
9164 23 Ave 780.721.7222 Open 9 – 11pm 7 days a week
8:30AM-10AM! BLONDE AND ASIAN GIRLS Open 8:30am –11pm Same plaza as O2 Bar! 11050 – 156 Street
Rear entrance, ATM
aristocratmassage.ca
Lic# 151375442-001
ASIAN GIRLS 587.523.1100 12040 FORT ROAD 8:30am - 11pm Parking in rear Lic# 119269321-001
PLATINUM SPA
Wed–Fri: 9am–5pm Sat: 10am–4:30pm 587.712.7529
Mention This Ad For Special Gift OPEN 8AM - 11PM
7 days a week 200-10408 118 Ave 780.885.1092 Lic. 118832868-001
Discreet parking in rear
ATM, Visa, Debit
AFTER HOURS CALL 780.414.6521 • 9947 63 AVENUE, ARGYLL PLAZA LIC# 042987342-001
NEW MANAGEMENT
$2250 Complete Kit* *plus GST
EARLYBIRD SPECIAL
Gia is at Passions Spa! Fort Road Studio
When just a massage is not enough!
LINGERIE • COSTUMES • SHOES • TOYS • LOTIONS • BDSM MON−SAT: 11am−10pm | Closed Sundays & Statutory Holidays
15239 111 Avenue, Edmonton | 780-930-1169
REAL PEOPLE REAL DESIRE REAL FUN.
Try FREE: 780-490-2275 More Local Numbers: 1-877-756-1010
Ahora español Livelinks.com 18+
The truly Japanese Sensual Massage in Edmonton Beside liquor store at front
9547-76 Ave. Free parking at back From 9am=11pm LIC#132648203-001
Naturally Glamorous Redhead PHONE 587.317.5905
Booking 587-523-6566 | chikoyamada1212@hotmail.com
Appointments available Walk-ins always welcome 3372 99 St. (Parsons Rd) Mon–Sun 7am–11pm maxumspa.com 780.989.2055
for Ginger
Lic# 128267268 VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
AT THE BACK 29
SEX-OLOGY
tami-lee duncan tami-lee@vueweekly.com
The art of rebounding
It can reignite hope for the future, but it also might hold you back
Q
: My buddies and I are debating the benefit of a rebound relationship after a breakup and were hoping you could weigh in. In your professional opinion, is rebounding always a bad or unhealthy thing to do?
A
: The fact is that nothing is always bad—there are plenty of circumstances that defy the general rule—so no, rebounding isn't always unhealthy. But it certainly can be. Grieving a relationship is not unlike grieving death. First comes denial and then anger, followed by bargaining and depression, and finally acceptance. Interspersed among those stages are the additional phases of idealizing the ex, obsessing over how they're moving on (including Internet stalking), the intense terror of being alone and fear you'll never find someone as good—and of
course, rebounding. (The definition of rebounding, for those unfamiliar, includes "going from one relationship to another to avoid the pain of a breakup" and "being a whore after getting dumped." Thanks, Urban Dictionary, for your irreverent concision.) In many ways, rebounding is an essential stage of grieving, and it can serve some very important purposes. For instance, hooking up with someone new is a powerful way to demarcate the end of a relationship. One of the hardest tasks in a breakup is coming to grips with the fact that the relationship is actually over (see: denial and bargaining), and rebounding can act as the proverbial line in the sand that says: "that was before and this is after"—an essential step in letting go. Rebounding is also a confidence booster, especially if you
are on the receiving end of rejection. Having someone new acknowledge your value is a huge boost to a crippled self-esteem—though, I assure you, external validation is only a temporary solution. The main advantage to rebounding is that it reignites hope for the future. In the painful throws of a breakup, it is easy to believe that you'll never feel normal again. Crushing on someone new can help introduce a little excitement and fun back into your life. But most importantly, it can remind you that your ex is not the only one for you. It's easy to fixate on all the ways they were perfect and feel that no one else can measure up, or to make defeatist assumptions about your eligibility based on your age, baggage, etc. But in reality, there are tons of prospects with whom you
could build a happy life. Rebounding helps remind you of this. Despite those benefits, rebounding is risky. Moving on too quickly prevents you from processing the breakup, which interrupts the learning process. We all need time to reflect and grow, and skipping the hard part may mean repeating history. We also need time for the emotions to settle. Emotions are like the Laws of Motion: an object in motion will stay in motion, and for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. (Laws one and three, respectively). During a breakup there is often some serious emotional inertia, and physics dictates that the intensity of your post-split emotions can propel you to prematurely transfer intense feelings onto your next partner, potentially leading to a tumultuous relationship or forging a commitment to someone
who's not a good fit. There's also the risk of projecting your baggage onto an unsuspecting bystander, which really isn't fair. Overall, rebounding has a place but carries serious risk. While there are exceptions, it's probably not a good idea to form an intense relationship with someone on the back of a breakup. However, perusing an online dating profile or having a mutually understood casual encounter may help you get back on track.V Tami-lee Duncan is a Registered Psychologist in Edmonton, specializing in sexual health. Please note that the information and advice given above is not a substitute for therapeutic treatment with a licensed professional. For information or to submit a question, please contact tami-lee@vueweekly.com. Follow on Twitter @SexOlogyYEG. Dan savage savagelove@vueweekly.com
RACIST PREFERENCES
As a queer man of colour—I'm Asian—I feel wounded whenever I am exposed to gay men in New York City, Toronto, or any city where white gay men dominate. Gay men, mostly whites and Asians, reject me because of my race and no one admits to their sexual racism. I understand that sexual attraction is subconscious for many people. But it is unfair for a gay Asian like myself to be constantly marginalized and rejected. I fight for gay rights, too. I believe in equality, too. I had the same pain of being gay in high school and the same fears when coming out. Why is there no acceptance, no space, no welcome for me in this white-painted gay community? I'm six-foot-one, 160 pounds, fit and very good-looking. What can I do? I might as well be a sexless monk. Enraged Dude Details Infuriating Experience "I relate to a lot of what EDDIE is feeling here," said Joel Kim Booster, a Brooklyn writer and comedian. "The double-edged sword of living in a city with a large gay community is that the community gets so large that we finally have the opportunity to marginalize people within it." Jeff Chu, a writer who also lives in Brooklyn, can relate: "racism still thrives in the gay community, just as in broader society," Chu said. "Many of us who are Asian American come out of the closet and walk into this weird bamboo cage, where we're either fetishized or ignored. Many times I'd go into a gay bar and see guys playing out some gross interracial porno in their heads—with me playing the part of their Chinese pocket gay. Others (the ones I was interested in, to be candid) would act as if I were wearing an invisibility cheongsam." Chu feels there's plenty of blame to
30 AT THE BACK
go around for this sad state of affairs. "It's the gay media," said Chu. "It's Hollywood. (Even with all the LGBT characters we have on TV now, what images do we have of Asian American ones?) It's that LGBT-rights organizations still haven't diversified enough, especially in their leadership. And it's all of us, when we're lazy and don't confront our own prejudices." Booster and Chu are right: racism is a problem in the gay community, some people within are unfairly and cruelly marginalized, and we all need to confront our own prejudices. Even you, EDDIE. You cite your height (tall!), weight (slim!) and looks (VGL!) as proof you've faced sexual rejection based solely on your race. But short, heavy, average-looking/ unconventionally attractive guys face rejection for not being tall, lean or conventionally hot, just as you've faced rejection for not being white. (The cultural baggage and biases that inform a preference for, say, tall guys is a lot less toxic than the cultural baggage and biases that inform a preference for white guys—duh, obviously.) "As a stereotypically short Chinese guy, my first reaction to reading EDDIE's letter? Damn, he's six-foot-one! I'm jealous," Chu said. "And that's also part of the problem. I, like many others, have internalized an ideal: tall, gym-perfected, blah blah blah—and, above all, white." Booster was also struck by your stats. "It's hard for me to wrap my head around any six-foot-one, fit, VGL guy having trouble getting laid,"
Booster said. "On paper, this is the gay ideal! I don't really consider myself any of those things—and I have a perfectly respectable amount of sex." Booster, who somehow manages to have plenty of sex in New York's "white-painted gay community," had some practical tips for you. "EDDIE should stay away from the apps if the experience becomes too negative," Booster said. "If logging on to a hookup app bums him out, take a break. Being a double minority can be isolating, but living in a big city can be great. There are meet-ups and clubs and activities for all stripes. Join a gay volleyball league—truly where gay Asian men thrive—or find one of the
not some limited and limiting racist crap pounded into your head by TV, movies and porn. But while preferences are allowed (and gay men of colour have them, too), there's no excuse for littering Grindr or Tinder or Recon—or your conversations in bars—with dehumanizing garbage like "no Asians," "no Blacks," "no femmes," "no fatties," etc. And while racism is a problem in the gay community (sometimes thoughtless, sometimes malicious, always unacceptable), according to 2010 US Census data, as crunched by the Williams Institute at UCLA, same-sex couples are far likelier to be interracial (20.6 percent) than oppositesex couples (13.9 percent). So there's hope—and I don't mean "hope that EDDIE will one day land a magic white boyfriend," but hope for less racism in the gay community generally and fewer racist Grindr profiles specifically. The last word goes to Booster: "a note to the rice queens who will undoubtedly write in about this man: we like that you like us. But liking us solely because of our race can be uncomfortable at best, and creepy as hell at worst. In my experience, it's perfectly OK to keep some of those preferences behind the curtain while you get to know us a bit as humans first." Jeff Chu is the author of Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian's Pilgrimage in Search of God in America. Follow him on Twitter @jeffchu. Follow Joel Kim Booster on Twitter @ ihatejoelkim.
A quick word to gay white men: it's fine to have "preferences." But we need to examine our preferences and give some thought to the cultural forces that may have shaped them. many gay Asian nights at one of the gay bars around the city. They're out there." Chu has also managed to find romantic success in New York. "I've been where EDDIE is, except shorter, less fit and less good-looking, and somehow I found a husband," Chu said. "The monastery wasn't my calling, and I suspect it's not EDDIE's either." A quick word to gay white men: it's fine to have "preferences." But we need to examine our preferences and give some thought to the cultural forces that may have shaped them. It's a good idea to make sure your preferences are actually yours and
VUEWEEKLY.com | jan 14 – jan 20, 2016
BISEXUAL DILEMMA
I am an Italian bisexual 25-year-old guy. I'm in love with a great guy, but he lives far away, and we see each other only one time per month and sometimes less. A few weeks ago, I had sex with a female university colleague. It wasn't anything special: she was somewhat drunk and hurt me with her teeth during petting, so I didn't have a good erection and I didn't come. But I liked having sex with a woman. I want to do it again, but I love my boyfriend and I don't want to hurt him. Am I destined to be unfaithful? More Or Less Italians pet with their teeth? Good to know. Also good to know: yourself. Now, I would never suggest that bi guys can't honour monogamous commitments—even though I routinely say just that about straight guys, gay guys, straight women and lesbians—but it would be foolish for you to make a monogamous commitment. Not because you're "destined to be unfaithful," MOL, but because you've already been unfaithful. Here's what you know about yourself: you're bisexual, you want to have sex with women and men, and you don't want to cheat. Which means you'll have to either renegotiate the terms of the relationship you're in now—get your boyfriend's OK to have sex with a woman once in a while—or end the relationship and find a boyfriend (or girlfriend) who will give you their OK.V Listen to the Savage Lovecast every week at savagelovecast.com. @fakedansavage on Twitter
LBTM
January 12 – January 18, 2006 Issue #534
TRISTAN & ISOLDE
COPEMAN HEALTHCARE
GANGLAND DIARIES
WORKINGMAN’S DEATH
KARLA ANDERSON DISCUSSES BIG BROTHER MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF EARTH
PREMIER RALPH KLEIN
WIRRA WIRRA CHURCH BLOCK
THE SCOTS FERNIE CUP KARLA ANDERSON DISCUSSES BIG BROTHER
BANFF MOUNTAIN
FILM FESTIVAL WORLD TOUR VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016
TWO TONES ARE GREATER THAN ONE/NIGHT DANGER
THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Week of: Jan 12–Jan 18
2006 Issue 534 #
THE GOURDS
VALENCIA
LOS COMALES DAVID SUZUKI OUR MERCURY
THE EPOXIES
DR LEXXXI TRONIC
THE EDMONTON FREECYCLE NETWORK
ROSIE O’DONNELL AT THE BACK 31
2015-2016
J.P. CORMIE� The folk music veteran showcases his powerful lyricism and stirring narratives from his latest album, Live Acoustic at The Carleton.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 22 • 7:30 PM • $34
THE REMI BOLDUC JAZZ ENSEMBLE
Tribute to Dave Brubeck Canada’s finest jazz scholars present a spirited homage to one of the most influential jazz artists of our time.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 23 • 7:30 PM • $32
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
ALEX CUBA
ARDEN THEATRE BOX OFFICE
780-459-1542
This Latin Grammy Award winner heats up the New Year with soulful tracks from Healer.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29 • 7:30 PM • $38 E
ardentheatre.com 32 EAT TACOS
VUEWEEKLY.com | JAN 14 – JAN 20, 2016