1186: Courtney Barnett

FREE (CRIPPLING SELF-DOUBT)

Borden Natural Pool 4

#1186 / JUL 19, 2018 – JUL 25, 2018 VUEWEEKLY.COM

Girl Brain 10

ISSUE: 1186 • JUL 19 – JUL 25, 2018

BLACKSMITHS 4

BLOWERS & GRAFTON 6

INDIGENOUS THEATRE 8

THE FIRST PURGE 14

WIN FESTIVAL PASS!

MICHAEL FRANTI COLIN

JAMES & SPEARHEAD Head to vueweekly.com/contests to enter for your chance to WIN!

FRONT // 4 DISH // 6 ARTS // 8 FILM // 12 MUSIC // 15 VUE PICKS ARTS // 10 MUSIC // 17

BID ONLINE July 25 - August 11 Vintage Rhythm Ace, Electrohome, Motorola, Admiral, Sanyo electronics plus Fine Art, collectibles and much more

Sign up to have fun and bid online!

www.4thMeridian.ca #

Visit our NEW showroom & shop 104 1475 Fairview Street, Penticton BC

See more on Instagram: 2 front

4th.meridian.auctions

CLASSIFIED // 20 ADULT // 20

FOUNDING EDITOR / FOUNDING PUBLISHER RON GARTH PRESIDENT ROBERT W DOULL . . . . . rwdoull@vueweekly.com PUBLISHER / SALES MANAGER JOANNE LAYH . . . . . . . . . . joanne@vueweekly.com EDITORIAL SECTION EDITORS . . . . . . . . . . . .editors@vueweekly.com MUSIC EDITOR STEPHAN BOISSONNEAULT. . .stephan@vueweekly.com ARTS AND FILM EDITOR CHELSEA NOVAK . . . . . . . . . . . chelsea@vueweekly.com FRONT AND DISH EDITOR DOUG JOHNSON. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .doug@vueweekly.com PRODUCTION MANAGER CHARLIE BIDDISCOMBE . . charlie@vueweekly.com PRODUCTION CURTIS HAUSER . . . . . . . . curtish@vueweekly.com ACCOUNT MANAGERS JAMES JARVIS. . . . . . . . . . . . james@vueweekly.com CARLY GORDON . . . . . . . . . . carly@vueweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER MICHAEL GARTH . . . . . . .michael@vueweekly.com

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

GREY AREA MUSIC FEST 16

#200, 11230 - 119 STREET, EDMONTON, AB, T5G 2X3 T: 780.426.1996 F: 780.426.2889

ONLINE

Our NEXT online auction is a fundraiser for our neighbours in the Penticton Cannery Trade Centre, Peach City Radio!

LISTINGS // 19

CONTACT

fourth Meridian

Curated Auctions & Sales for Eclectic Art Collectors

VUEWEEKLY.com /VUEWEEKLY @VUEWEEKLY @VUEWEEKLY

COVER IMAGE Courtney Barnett / Pooneh Ghana CONTRIBUTORS Jake Pesaruk, Junaid Jahangir, Gwynne Dyer, Pierre Royal, Brian Gibson, Levi Gogerla, Dan Savage, Matt Jones, Rob Brezsny, Stephen Notley, Fish Griwkowsky, Curtis Hauser, Mike Winters DISTRIBUTION Shane Bennett, Bev Bennett, Shane Bowers, Susan Davidson, Amy Garth, Aaron Getz, Clint Jollimore, Dona Olliffe, Beverley Phillips, Choi Chung Shui, Wally Yanish

Vue Weekly is available free of charge at well over 1,200 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

LIV

E

THE AVERAGE REGULATED ELECTRICITY PRICE INCREASED 103%*

BUT WE’RE HOLDING STRONG AT FOR

2 MONTHS

†

ELECTRICITY + NATURAL GAS RATES

DIAL #250 FROM YOUR CELL AND SAY

directenergy.ca/luckypenny * The average increase in the regulated market price for electricity by Direct Energy Regulated Services, Enmax (Calgary) and EPCOR (Edmonton) from July 2017 to July 2018 is 103%. † You will be billed for $.01/GJ and 1.0¢/kWh for 2 months. Refer to your contract/sales consultant to find out which months are eligible for the Penny Offer. This offer is available for new customers only. Purchase of a one, two, three or five year natural gas and electricity plan contract is required. The members of Natural Gas Co-Operatives, municipally owned utilities and some Rural Electrification Associations are not eligible for this offer. © 2018 Direct Energy. All rights reserved.

All customers are free to purchase natural gas services from the default supply provider or from a retailer of their choice and to purchase electricity services from the regulated rate provider or from a retailer of their choice. The delivery of natural gas and electricity to you is not affected by your choice. If you change who you purchase natural gas services or electricity services from, you will continue receiving natural gas and electricity from the distribution company in your service area. For a current list of retailers you may choose from, visit www.ucahelps.gov.ab.ca or call 310-4822 (toll free in Alberta).

DECA-11542 0718

011542_VueWeekly_July_RRO_NP_FP_Mech.indd 1

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

7/10/18 front 4:52 PM3

TRADE WARS

Edmonton blacksmiths are feeling the heat from the Canada-U.S. trade war. / Doug Johnson

SMITHS FORGE AHEAD IN LIGHT OF STEEL TARIFFS T

Can-U.S. Trade War Can Hit Small Edmontonian Toolmakers Right in the Profit Margin

he Canadian-United States trade war has already begun to test the mettle of buyers and sellers across industries. However, for those smaller, local businesses whose livelihood requires easy access to the U.S., their exports, and their markets, this conflict between the formerly friendly neighbours may be something of a crucible.

Blacksmith Shawn Cunningham, owner of Front Step Forge, has moulded a long history in Edmonton. The veteran smith’s company creates wrought iron decorations for homes, and he teaches weekend workshops about his craft at NAIT. Cunningham uses domestic metals, often scrap, when possible, but when he makes hammers, and similarly robust, indelicate implements, he imports toolgrade steel from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Earlier this summer, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel, and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum, from Canada. Over the last few weeks, Canada responded in-kind to these tariffs, placing similar taxes on the metals from the U.S., along with other products like whiskey and some condiments.

Cunningham says he “would not be shocked” if the price of his tools doubled to accommodate for the new regulations. Across the industry, prices will get passed down onto consumers, which, usually, hurts a business. Only around 10 percent of his tools end up in the United States, but this, too, is likely to decrease as raw material costs increase.

“I believe it’s kind of doubleended in that ‘Oh, we suddenly have a glut of Canadian-made

steel that’s not going to cross the boarder; we better raise the price on that too,’” he says.

Similarly, the tariffs will likely affect all the industries relating to steel, Cunningham says. The cost of transportation and gas will, likely, increase along with the price of both import and export steel, he says.

“All these things are interconnected in the way they’re taxed,” he says, adding that the prices of steel were already increasing shortly after the very mention of tariffs.

Overall, these tariffs won’t affect amateur or hobby blacksmiths too much—he calls people in the trade “the original recyclers. There’s not a piece of steel that goes by them that they don’t add to their pile.” However, left-

over steel can’t be used to make quality knives and tools, acting as an additional barrier to entry for those looking to make smithing their day jobs.

But blacksmithing in Edmonton is more of an artisan business, as it stands. Other, more-established, trades like pipe-fitters and boilermakers, will also feel the heat of the spat between nations.

According to Wesley Kerr, NAIT’s academic chair of the boilermaker and structural steel fabricator programs, Alberta puts out steel products with high standards and regulations. This, however, gives the products a bigger price tag.

Often, businesses will seek pre-fabricated industrial steel fixtures, like boilers, outside of the province to cut costs. Most of the products made by grads of

Kerr’s program end up in Edmonton or Fort McMurray, but, even then, sometimes businesses will choose the cheaper option.

Tacking on additional tariff costs will just exacerbate the issue, he says.

“Canada is still a resource-based economy, and we wouldn’t have our hospitals and roads and everything without selling resources. We just don’t have the population or the competitive edge to be sustainable off manufacturing alone. Getting our product to other markets is just as important as manufacturing ... It’s important our exports are looked after as well,” he says.

“Unfortunately, this is just going to complicate things more with the higher costs.”

Doug Johnson doug@vueweekly.com

ECO SWIM

CHLORINE’S BAD DREAM G

Edmonton’s New Natural Outdoor Pool Is the First of Its Kind in Canada

one are the days of that chemical chlorine smell that lingers with you after you leave the swimming pool locker room.

In its stead is a far more ecofriendly approach. The Borden Natural Swimming Pool has opened its doors and is the first of its kind in not only Alberta, but all of Canada.

“We don’t rely on chemicals to clean the water, we utilize plants to help filter out the water— along with granite rocks and microscopic organisms to help in the process,” Cyndi Schlosser, facility manager, says.

Not to say you’re going to be fighting weeds during your swim,

4 front

as the majority of the filtration vegetation is in separate pools connected to the main swimming location. With that in mind certain concerns are always present when it comes to plant life— especially their viability given Alberta’s less than consistent weather—but Schlosser assures Edmonton swimmers that the pool’s local plant life has been able to thrive in northern climes such as the Northwest Territories.

So the worst that can happen to the plants is some unruly toddler going full tyrant and stomping on the mini ecosystem.

The number of outdoor pools in the city has often been reserved

to only a handful, and most of them adhere to standard practices that have been around since the inception of chlorine.

The roots of Borden’s ambitious take on a favourite summer activity go all the way back to 2008, when the city was having open public correspondence in regards to the future of Borden Park.

Upon the old pool’s closure in 2012, initial planning for the new natural installment got underway. Steps were put in place to ensure that the new pool would have all the capabilities of an outdoor pool, but with a natural alternative to chemically treated swimming pools.

Considering this is a new take on an old principle, implementations have been put in place to help educate the public in regards to the pool’s unique functions. Signage remains available throughout the facility, as well as guided tours for those curious of the logistics of the location. Sandbanks decorate portions of the pool for a simulated beach feel, and there are numerous shady spots for those in need of escape from the summer sun.

Even with all that in place, the new location still takes some adjusting.

“Everybody is a little surprised when they see that the water is

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

green. It is going to be that colour, but it is going to feel softer,” Schlosser says.

As to whether or not the pool will be open to hosting larger groups or events, that decision has been put on hold until next year.

“This is the first season of our pool after all. We want to see how the system grows and reacts. It is an ecosystem after all, and we want to see how it adapts to our clientele,” Schlosser says.

For those seeking a fresher approach to a traditional activity, the Borden Natural Swimming Pool is a perfect alternative to chlorinestung eyes and pickled skin.

Jake Pesaruk

queermonton

clerics still call for LGBTQ2s+ death

The West May Have Imported Anti-queer Ideals to Islamic Cultures, But That Doesn’t Mean They Should Stay Here

I

n 2016, I raised concerns on the choice of three speakers invited for the Islam Awareness Week at the University of Alberta. The first has been noted for spouting off homophobic remarks, the second for peddling the Caliphate, and the third for supporting medieval Islamic laws. The first two are converts, who have amassed a large following of Muslims.

Given freedom of expression and religion, Muslim students can invite any speaker they deem fit to speak on their faith. However, such reactionary, born-again Muslims and zealous converts do not speak for my faith, an Islam that rests on hundreds of years of universal pluralism nurtured

by Sufi mystics in South Asia.

I was, and remain, concerned that year after year we witness speakers paraded as Islamic scholars and leaders who espouse anti-LGBTQ2S+ viewpoints as part of normative Islam. LGBTQ2S+ Muslims are told that it is OK to have feelings for the same sex but it is a sin to act upon them.

Such an opinion reduces human sexuality to teenage hormones. Of course, the usual prescriptions against masturbation are proffered to LGBTQ2S+ Muslims. They are told to fast, avoid bad company, and to read the Qur’an.

However, one of the popular speakers at Islam awareness

the issue is not the immorality of homosexuality but rather the absence of a legal venue to affirm same-sex desire.

Yet, the taboo against anal sex and the traditional understanding of gender and masculinity prevent the realization of a legal contract that would affirm samesex unions. It’s a Catch 22 situa-

the “dangers of a homosexual lifestyle,” whatever that means, to addressing the deep-rooted heterosexism of popular bornagain Muslims and overly zealous converts to Islam.

There exist draconian texts in Islam, as in other Abrahamic faiths. Yet, they are magnified and rendered more dangerous

“I was, and remain, concerned that year after year we witness speakers paraded as Islamic scholars and leaders who espouse anti-LGBTQ2S+ viewpoints as part of normative Islam.” events, Haitham al-Haddad, has acknowledged that same-sex feelings are developed even amongst devout Muslim youth who are memorizing the Qur’an.

However, he deems their disposition is based on “satanic whims.”

But if same-sex desire is recognized as god-given and not a corruption of fitra (nature), then

tion. The taboo against Muslim same-sex unions arises due to the absence of a legal contract, which in turn is not allowed because of the taboo.

For progress on affirming LGBTQ2S+ Muslims, the taboo has to be broken. This means that the narrative has to shift from

when wielded by those who bring their prejudice to the reading of such texts.

Therefore, we need to hold celebrity speakers accountable for propagating opinions that cause harm. This includes white converts like Abdurraheem Green and black converts like Bilal Philips and Hakim Quick, all of

whom are noted for preaching the death punishment for homosexuality and adultery.

We must probe why popular Muslim convert academics are resuscitating texts that demand death for liwat (anal sex between men), long after past and present prominent Islamic experts have rejected them.

In the past, zealous converts brought anti-Semitic texts to Islamic discourse. Such texts are regurgitated today by some clerics in Canada, who bring shame to the Muslim community. What is happening on LGBTQ2S+ concerns is similar. But we cannot allow how zealous converts address their existential angst (by rigid adherence to medieval laws) to affect the lives of vulnerable LGBTQ2S+ Muslims.

In essence, while some activists claim that homophobia was imported into Muslim countries through Victorian morality in the past, they cannot ignore how homophobia seeps into Muslim discourse through popular converts in the present.

Junaid Jahangir

dyer straight

Brexit—No Turnng Point Yet E

The UK’s Conservative Party Divided on the Matter of Brexit, Still Giving Only Vague Hope for an EU Reunion

ven with Donald Trump scheduled for a brief visit to the United Kingdom this week amid massive protests, it’s still ‘all Brexit, all of the time’ in the Sceptred Isle, and the long struggle over the nature of the deal that will define Britain’s relationship with the European Union post-exit allegedly reached a turning point last weekend.

“They had nothing else to offer.

They had no Plan B. She faced them down,” said a senior government official about the hard-line Brexiteers after Prime Minister Theresa May got them to sign up to a so-called ‘soft Brexit’ at a crisis cabinet meeting last Friday. But the armistice between the ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ factions in her fractious Conservative Party lasted less than 48 hours.

On Sunday morning, hard-line Brexiteer David Davis, the ludicrously titled Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, reneged on his short-lived support for May’s negotiating goals and resigned in protest. Then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson followed suit, claiming that May’s plan meant “the (Brexit) dream is dying, suffocated by needless self-doubt.”

The sheer fecklessness of the ‘Brexit dream’ is epitomized by Johnson, who first compared May’s negotiating plans to “polishing a turd,” and then came around to supporting them for

about 36 hours, and finally resigned, saying that they would reduce the U.K. to a “vassal state” with the “status of a colony” of the EU. Yet at no point in the discussion did either of them offer a coherent counter-proposal.

And what is all this Sturm und Drang (German for storm and drive) about? A negotiating position, devised by May with great difficulty two years after the referendum that yielded 52 percent

in the referendum. Yet they are unable to persuade their party to accept even a ‘soft Brexit’ that preserves Britain’s existing access to its biggest trading partner, the EU. The Brexiteers’ power lies in their implicit threat to stage a revolt that overthrows May, fatally splits the Conservative Party, and precipitates an early election that brings the Labour Party to power. They may not really have the numbers to do that—it’s widely

The United Kingdom will be leaving the European Union on March 29 of next year whether there is a deal that maintains most of its current trade with the EU or not. In practice, the deadline for an agreement is next October, since time must be allowed for 27 other EU members to ratify the deal. If there is no deal, the U.K. simply ‘crashes out,’ and chaos ensues.

The volume of trade in goods and services between the United King-

“The Brexiteers’ power lies in their implicit threat to stage a revolt that overthrows May, fatally splits the Conservative Party, and precipitates an early election that brings the Labour Party to power.” support for an undefined ‘Brexit,’ which could never be accepted by the European Union. Its sole virtue was that it seemed possible to unite the ‘Leave’ and ‘Remain’ factions of the Conservative Party behind it. But the unity imposed

by May broke down before the weekend was over.

All four of the great offices of state—prime minister, chancellor (finance minister), foreign secretary and home secretary (interior minister)—are now held by Conservative politicians who voted remain

assumed that a majority of the Conservative members of parliament secretly want a very soft Brexit or no Brexit at all—but May dares not test that assumption.

So, horrified by the prospect of a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn (who is regularly portrayed by the right-wing media as a Lenin in waiting), the Conservatives are doomed to cling desperately to power even though they can probably never deliver a successful Brexit. And time is running out.

dom and the rest of the EU is so great, and the preparation for documenting the safety and origins of goods and collecting customs on them so scanty, that the new border would simply freeze up.

That would cause great difficulty for many European enterprises, but for Britain it would be a catastrophe. As an example, two-fifths of the components for cars built in the U.K. are sourced from elsewhere in the EU. Yet most of the time available for negotiating a soft Brexit has al-

VUEWEEKLY.com | jul 19 - jul 25, 2018

ready been wasted, and Britain still does not have a realistic negotiating position.

This preposterous situation is almost entirely due to the civil war within the Conservative Party between the Brexit faction and the rest. The only reason that there was a referendum at all was because former prime minister David Cameron thought that a decisive defeat in a referendum would shut the Brexiteers up and end that war. He miscalculated.

The Brexiteers spun a fantasy of an oppressive EU that was the cause of all Britain’s troubles and sold it to the nostalgic older generation, the unemployed and underemployed who were looking for somebody to blame, and sundry nationalists of all colours.

They narrowly won the referendum with the help of a rabidly nationalist right-wing press, spending well beyond the legal limits in the campaign—and, it now appears, with considerable support from Russia. (The biggest contributor to the Brexit campaign, mega-rich investor Arron Banks, met the Russian ambassador at least 11 times during the run-up to the referendum and the subsequent two months.)

There’s still a chance that reason will prevail before the UK crashes out of the EU, of course. But the odds are no better than even.

Gwynne Dyer front 5

DISHBRIEF

FARM FUNDS

HALIGONIAN HUNGER Blowers & Grafton serves a smorgasboard of East Coast fare. // Supplied

Alberta’s agriculture sector is getting a boost thanks to a partnership between the provincial and federal governments. The Canadian Agricultural Partnership, announced last week, will provide agri-businesses in the province with more than $90 million to help them export their products and develop consumer confidence in the industry. This represents, between both levels of government, an investment of $406 million over five years.

There are 15 projects under this funding in total. Alberta’s agriculture industry generates $5.6 billion, according to 2017’s numbers, and more than 23,000 jobs.

The projects also aim to increase agriculture literacy among the rest of the province, allow the creation of potential certification programs, and give a boost to K to 12 education relating to farming in the province.

“Alberta’s agricultural sector is a vital and dynamic contributor to our economy and to our rural communities. In an increasingly challenging global marketplace, it is essential that our processors’ and agri-food producers’ competitive edge remains sharp. These programs will help companies expand their export capacity and further enhance Alberta’s reputation as a supplier of safe, highquality food products to the world,” a Government of Alberta press release says.

“As an organization dedicated to promoting agriculture in Alberta, Ag for Life supports the opening of these programs designed to enhance public trust in our province’s agriculture sector.

Building greater awareness of the sector helps consumers make more informed choices and fosters a greater appreciation of the role agriculture plays in society, the environment and the economy.”

Doug Johnson doug@vueweekly.com

6 dish

Halifax Street Food Co. Blowers & Grafton Offers Some Coastal Delights to the City

T

here is a tragic misconception that when you have a location offering coastal fare, the emphasis lies on the word ‘coastal’ and not on ‘fare.’ This results in East Coast joints with fish nets dangling from the ceilings and sea shanties playing on repeat.

New to Whyte Avenue, Blowers & Grafton has managed to completely circumnavigate this pitfall, and produced something that this city has long awaited— traditional East Coast food, drink and atmosphere in a modern and contemporary setting.

After a successful venture in Calgary, the business has opened an Edmonton location that feels quaint, not tacky; its décor more modern pub than dock house— all of this culminates into a cozy venue for a Nova Scotia-inspired lunch or dinner.

“When we began conceptualizing the location, we wanted it to be something that those from the East Coast would be proud

of—not just the food but also the feel, look and music—while, at the same time, not alienating those who don’t know much about the East Coast,” Josh Robinson—owner, operator and former Haligonian—says.

Robinson intends to bring a more genuine approach to Atlantic eats, and it shows in the menu, which honours its namesake— Blowers & Grafton is the street in Halifax where many locals get their fix for all sorts of pizza, donairs, and maritime munchies.

“If there’s one place where people flock back home, its Blowers & Grafton,” Robinson says.

The sign outside reads ‘Nova Scotia Street Food,’ but this isn’t to say that Blowers & Grafton is strictly limited to that sphere of influence. At first glance, the menu may seem like traditional pub grub, but what separates it from other locations is just how much in-

tent and authenticity there is surrounding the food—even something as simple as a donair tastes better because there’s respect behind its preparation.

“We don’t try to bind ourselves to strictly just street food, but all of our seafood is inspired by the food trucks by the waterfront back home that sell some of the best fried seafood in the world—that right there is our street food, that’s Nova Scotia,” Robinson say.

Apart from top-notch seafood, the donair is a force to be reckoned with, as it sticks to the base essentials that the original donair had back during its infancy in Nova Scotia. The fixings are simply onions and tomatoes, but the meat is succulent and the sauce divine. On the subject of sauce, the restaurant’s Pictou County Combination Pizza is a go to for a shareable as its sauce is a county specialty shipped all the way from its

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

Blowers & Grafton 10550 82 Ave. NW 780 250 3663 namesake, and the pie is topped with green peppers, mushrooms and pepperoni. In all, the pizza has significant weight to it.

The location has a keen interest in bringing just everything they can over from the East Coast, including beer and cocktails. For the thirsty, there are numerous beers that can’t be found elsewhere on the prairies and, and it offers several cocktails with coastal flare—going as far as to even incorporate fruit imported from the area, like blueberries.

Blowers & Grafton offers the opportunity for the land-locked to at least taste something coastal—if we can’t feel the sea breeze on our faces, we may as well enjoy their food.

Jake Pesaruk

PALEO

PALEO PAL: THE CAVE OPENS IN EDMONTON After a Primal Diet Changed His Health, Dave Kantor Is Set on Opening a Gluten, Soy, and Dairy-free Eatery

D

ave Kantor—owner of The Cave, Paleo Beastro—would paint a picture. Seven years ago, he weighed in at 327 pounds, and his doctor told him he had diabetes.

Preparing healthy meals was a lot to manage with his work life, and he recalls his Ukrainian grandma’s propensity to cook up hearty, and heavy, meals as a rule.

“It was just the way my life was.

I woke up at seven in the morning and didn’t get back until 10, so cooking wasn’t an option,” he says.

“It was not a good thing. It was time for a change.”

It wasn’t through exercise that Kantor lost 160 pounds. Sure, he played tennis here and there, but the bulk of his weight loss came from his diet—switching from convenient fast foods to paleo eats—no gluten, no dairy (negotiable for some), no processed foods. Last September, spurred on by his success, Kantor took the first few steps towards opening his own paleo eatery.

The Cave—which will open by the end of July, according to Kantor— sits just off Calgary Trail, across from The Ranch Roadhouse. True to Kantor’s vision, The Cave offers gluten, soy, dairy, and refined-sugar free meals out of its restaurant. (It will also offer vegetarian, though not vegan, options.)

Fully aware that eating healthy can be a time-consuming process, Kantor also sells prepped, paleo meals that clients can buy by the

The Cave, Paleo Beastro 102 6104 104 St. 587 991 2283 day, week, or month and take home.

These will be available online, and can be kept in a freezer, Kantor says.

And, in all, the business owner says that people who eat paleo end up eating similar foods to everyone else, with just a few elements removed.

“I don’t consider it a diet,” he says.

“I consider it a lifestyle now. You’re eating the same foods; you’re just eliminating a lot of the refined and processed stuff. That’s why I wanted to do the restaurant. I see a lot of people out there with a lot of dietary restrictions in their lives, and unable to go out and enjoy a good meal, because a lot of chefs out there don’t want to eliminate things off it.”

The Cave sources its ingredients from as many local sources as it can. Things like meat and produce come easy to local restaurants, but some rarities—nut flour, for instance—have to be imported. The upcoming restaurant also plans to have a cultivating machine so it can grow its own vegetables in house.

“We’re trying to stay as local as possible,” Kantor says. “We still source [our nut flours] out of Canada, but you’re not going to find a nut farmer here.”

Doug Johnson doug@vueweekly.com

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

A paleo mussel-filled delight // Supplied

dish 7

A workshop presentation—called a calling in ceremony—of Hunter Cardinal’s new play

Lake of the Strangers. // Natalie Wright

INDIGENOUS THEATRE

Indigenous Actors and Productions Slowly Making Strides in Edmonton

W

hile there are many choices when it comes to taking in a show in Edmonton, there has been a significant lack of Indigenous-led theatre.

However, according to some artists and other professionals around the city, that is starting to change.

Lorne Cardinal is an accomplished actor of stage, television and film.

He was a regular cast member on the popular show Corner Gas and has made appearances in films such as the 2002 crime thriller Insomnia, starring Al Pacino.

“The whole stereotype of the Indigenous Indian still exists. It still happens now, but it’s a slow rising tide—but Hollywood still has the image of the noble savage,” he says.

“You can tell the tone of the noble savage by reading a script—he can’t be smart, romantic or even funny. I can play that with my eyes closed,” he says with a chuckle.

While Cardinal has made huge strides for himself in the industry, his nephew, Hunter Cardinal, is also making a name for himself in the Edmonton theatre scene—and bringing an Indigenous outlook to the local stage.

“In my work right now, I think there is a great opportunity to bring a new perspective into how we create and tell stories,” he says.

Cardinal, 24, is Woodland Cree and

8 arts

has preformed across Canada and in New York. Recently, he played the eponymous role in Hamlet at the Freewill Shakespeare Festival in Hawrelak Park.

“One of the things I’ve been doing is working with arts organizations on a training program called Tatawaw, and what that does is provide those organizations with an opportunity to rediscover and engage with an ancient Indigenous perspective of welcoming,” he says.

Essentially, Tatawaw is a round table discussion that gives many different organizations and their staff insight into Indigenous worldviews.

“It’s also an acknowledgment of treaty relationship,” Cardinal says.

Currently, he is working with the Fringe to lend a different eye to their festival.

“We’ll be working with them [to provide] a training program for them as an organization to engage in an Indigenous perspective,” he says.

Keri Mitchell, the executive director for Theatre Alberta, says that her organization has been working to provide members with more access to Indigenous actors, writers and directors through relationship building.

Theatre Alberta held a workshop in Banff called Truth and Reconciliation Through Theatre that was

specifically geared towards theatre educators, at all levels of education.

“This is a classic example of how Theatre Alberta is approaching and providing equity for Indigenous artists in the province,” Mitchell says.

There are still hardships faced by the Indigenous community, with theatre being no exception according to Miranda Jimmy, an Indigenous arts development consultant for the Government of Alberta.

“Participation in mainstream arts is often a challenge because so many barriers exist for Indigenous artists.

Whether it’s auditioning and practicing and accessing roles [or it’s] finding content that is meaningful and culturally appropriate—across the board that is a challenge in mainstream arts,” she says.

Jimmy also says that over the last decade, the situation has slowly improved.

“There is a movement for Indigenous artists to create their own spaces as opposed to fitting into the ones that already exist,” she says. “That means their own theatre companies, [their] own galleries as opposed to the existing models.”

But change also requires support from non-Indigenous peoples.

“Indigenous people make up about five percent of the population and in order for things to

change and be better then the other 95 percent have to care and do things differently,” Jimmy says.

“So that’s across the board whether we’re talking about the arts or social inclusion or access to funding in government programs.”

According to Jane Heather, University of Alberta drama professor, the problem lies in the fact that Indigenous plays are difficult to cast and sell.

“There are areas where historically we can’t do this, or we don’t have the people resources,” she says.

Heather also says that while the theatre tends to think of itself as more of a liberal area for its participants, racism still exists.

“There’s racism anywhere, why not the theatre?” she says.

Heather adds that the issue lies with the audiences, which are typically made up of white women. “[Producers and show runners] need to adjust their programming in order to attract a different audience,” Heather says. “How we can bring Indigenous people into the theatre? Well that hasn’t been thought about a lot.”

While this all remains a bit of a dilemma, there is still hope for Indigenous-led theatre and the Cardinals are at the forefront of overcoming the odds stacked against them.

Lorne Cardinal offered some ad-

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

vice for Indigenous youth getting involved in theatre, saying that they can’t expect to be a star.

“Realize what you’re getting into. If you want to be a star, then don’t do it. If it does happen then great but don’t do it for that reason,” he says.

As for producing more Indigenous-led theatre, Hunter Cardinal is hard at work on an Indigenous production, which he wrote with his sister Jacquelyn, entitled Lake of the Strangers.

“It’s a story that centres around two brothers going on their last summer adventure and they’re basically going on a fishing trip where a bunch of conflict happens,” Cardinal says.

He claims that the essential tools for him to create plays such as Lake of the Strangers lie in the myths that his culture holds so dear.

“We need to be creating… and myths are those tools that transcend those funny stories and actually can be useful 10,000 years from now,” he says.

Cardinal is also hoping to workshop his show in the River Valley, which he says is a stone’s throw away from where his ancestors lived.

Lake of the Strangers is tentatively set for the end of August or early September.

Pierre Royal

THE HEADLINERS HAVE NEVER BEEN BETTER! ENJOY A BIGGER STAGE, A CRAFT BEER GARDEN AND IT’S ALL AGES PERMITTED. Friday, July 20

Tuesday, July 24

Saturday, July 28

MEDIA PARTNER: 100.3 The Bear

MEDIA PARTNER: Fresh Radio 92.5

MEDIA PARTNER: 104.9 Virgin Radio

Saturday, July 21

Wednesday, July 25

Sunday, July 29

MEDIA PARTNER: KiSS 91.7

MEDIA PARTNER: K-97

Sunday, July 22

Thursday, July 26

BILLY TALENT

WALK OFF THE EARTH

MARIANAS TRENCH

CHEAP TRICK

THE BEACH BOYS

VILLAGE PEOPLE

MEDIA PARTNER: UP! 99.3

MEDIA PARTNER: KiSS 91.7

Monday, July 23

Friday, July 27

ICE CUBE

MEDIA PARTNER: HOT 107

LIL JON

KONGOS

MEDIA PARTNER: SONiC 102.9

ELIJAH WOODS X JAMIE FINE

THE RURAL ALBERTA ADVANTAGE MEDIA PARTNER: SONiC 102.9

GET YOUR TICKETS AT K-DAYS.COM EXPERIENCE THE PREMIUM PARTY.

A special front of house section with the best views of the concert and a private bar. Limited space available so get your tickets today!

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

arts 9

SKETCH COMEDY

The women of Girl Brain aren’t your typical bridesmaids. / BB Photography Collective

BETTER THAN BRIDESMAIDS...

Girl Brain Creates a Show about the Weird and Hellish Times Surrounding Weddings

Sat., Jul. 21 (9 pm) Girl Brain (Weddings) Grindstone Theatre $12 General Admission

W

e’ve all experienced a wedding in some way, shape, or form.

Depending on our role, it can be a fun, rambunctious, drunken affair or a night of clinging onto the bowels of hell. For their fourth headlining show at The Grindstone Theatre, Girl Brain—a three-person sketch comedy troupe that focuses on situational, physical, observational, and sensational humour—decided to run with the wedding theme. After all, it’s wedding season.

“This show is from the point of view from people who aren’t really down with weddings,” Girl Brain member Ellie Heath says.

“Everybody has been that person in some way,” member Caley Suliak says. “The person who has to sit at table 43 and all that’s left is the pork and pasta.”

“Our characters are sometimes bitter bridesmaids who are like ‘I’m gonna die before I marry some asshole named Brad,’” Alyson Dicey, the final member of the troupe, adds. “I’m not against getting married one day, but for now, why the fuck do it. Let’s just make fun of it instead.”

The sketches for the weddingthemed show are at their heart, eerily relatable. One sketch has Heath acting as a woman going to a wedding alone, deciding what to wear and being interrupted by Depression (Dicey) and Anxiety (Suliak).

Both Anxiety and Depression take physical forms in the sketch and slowly try to whittle down the woman to the point of insanity. Chiming phrases like: “you’re wearing that? You look like you’re going to a funeral.” “She’s celebrating the death of her love life,” Depression stabs in a monotone cadence.

“Maybe I’ll meet somebody tonight,” the woman interjects.

“Your friend is marrying a rig pig. The only guy you’re going to meet is chalk full of STDS and cocaine,” Anxiety says.

“You’re not only single. You’re old. Even rigs pigs don’t date girls in your age bracket. Maybe you don’t have kids, but you look like you have kids,” Depression adds.

It’s a situation we’ve all been in.

Having two inner voices making us feel uneasy about going out or wearing something new.

“Using humour is really constructive,” Heath says. “The Anxiety and Depression scenes, I was pretty scared the first time we performed, but people related to it so well. It is weird reading it over and being like ‘That’s what my inner voices sound like? Shit.’”

Girl Brain is still relatively new to the local arts scene. The sketch group began when Heath, Dicey, and Suliak all decided to meet up and start writing down a few sketches that were inspired by their lives.

“I’ve known Caley for a really long time. We went to theatre school together and met a drama camp when we were 15,” Heath says. “I met Alyson in 2012

when we were doing a show.

Caley was living in San Francisco and moved back to Edmonton and wanted to reintegrate back into the theatre world and the three of us have pretty similar looks so we decided to say ‘fuck it’ and write something and see if it would go anywhere.”

As luck would have it, founder and artistic director of Grindstone Theatre, Byron Martin, was looking for a month-by-month, scripted comedy show. After the ladies polished their material, meeting up and hashing out sketches at their headquarters in BRU Coffee + Beer House, Girl Brain had their first show in April.

“We’re talking about important issues I think, and bringing it to a level that’s pretty relatable,” Dicey says. “It makes people question some of the stuff they’ve done in their lives or we’ll hear things like ‘Oh, I’ve been trying to

bring that up with my husband, but I didn’t know how and now we can laugh about it.”

The wedding-themed show will also feature local singer-songwriter Lindsey Walker who will provide a few tunes between each sketch as well as act in a few.

“There’s a part called ‘Today I had Girl Brain’ where she will freak out about an irrational thought,” Heath laughs.

A bit that always kills at a Girl Brain show is “The Weeping Vag” sketch—ridiculous times and hypothetical events that make the girls in Girl Brain cry.

“But it’s like super epic, narrated, and has lots of physical comedy,” Heath says.

“Weeping Vag has John Cleese written all over it, and I still have a crush on that old man,” Suliak, who created the sketch, says.

This particular one will have Heath narrating—in an almost near-perfect David Attenborough

voice—as Suliak struggles to fit on a bridesmaid’s dress that’s three sizes too small.

Trust me, when you hear Heath utter phrases like “she pulled it [the dress] over her head, arms flailing like a muppet in distress,” or “she bent over like a drunk hobo taking a dump,” while Suliak flails around the stage, you’ll lose it.

Anyone can find a Girl Brain show funny. Each performer is wildly talented, doing things like adopting accents with ease, using strange body language or facial cues, and writing absurd situations that we have all unfortunately found ourselves in.

“It’s all about embracing the weirdest parts of our lives, but saying we love ourselves,” Dicey says. “No matter what gender, we’re all weird, shy, anxious, and depressed. So let’s embrace it and make fun of it.”

Stephan Boissonneault stephan@vueweekly.com

VUEPICKS Put a Bird On It! // Thu., July 19 (4-10 pm) Put a Bird On It! is a workshop giving people the opportunity to bring anything flat and printable—or just wing it with SNAP’s purchasable totes, tanks, or t-shirts—and make some fresh print-art for anybody that gives a hoot.

SNAP Printshop provides accessible and inclusive opportunities for creative practice, exhibitions, learning, and building community. Any and all skill levels are welcome.

(SNAP Printshop, a donation of $10 per three printable items is suggested) //LG

Snapshots of Canada // Thu., July 19 - Mon., July 24 (10 am - 5 pm) Canada’s history has been, for lack of a better word, fraught. Despite a long and quiet history of human rights abuses, the sleepy northern nation’s art is relatively tame. Snapshots of Canada doesn’t exactly buck this trend, but it does offer an interesting glimpse into the country’s past. A mobile exhibition developed by the Canadian Museum of History, the exhibit shows 50 images from the country’s past, paired with texts from academics, journalists, and writers. (Borealis Gallery, Free) //DJ

Edmonton Carnival: Multicultural Carnival // Fri., July 20 - Sun., July 22 (all day) The Edmonton Carnival has been running in the city’s festival season for years now. Basically, if you don’t like Latin food you are wrong; entitled to your opinion, sure, but wrong. This year is jam-packed with festivities and acts from across the world, like Julissa Ventura, Sonora Maya, and Vive La Salsa. It’s the kind of festival that you drive by on Whyte Avenue, but maybe haven’t experienced yet.

Now is the time. (Dr. Wilbert Mcintyre Park, Free) //DJ

Home and Garden: Artwork by Micheline Durocher // Until Sat., July 21 Montreal artist Micheline Durocher uses common household objects and fragmented human subjects to create images that are both familiar in their domesticity and deeply disturbing. (You’ll understand when you see the watermelon photo.) As the exhibit’s name suggests, the images look like they could be torn from a home and garden magazine, but Durocher’s presentation of objects lends them a sinister aspect. (SNAP Gallery, Free) //CN

Naked Guys Reading // Sat., July 21 (8 pm) Naked men are going to be reading literature! Readers announced so far are Travis Dart and Juda Knockoff.

Dart’s favourite authors include Joe Hill, Clive Barker, H.P. Lovecraft, and David Wong. Knockoff grew up on scifi and fantasy, but now enjoys Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics and biographies. So who knows what you might hear (or see). The event is a fundraiser for Naked Girls Reading season at the 2018 Fringe Festival. (Evolution Wonderlounge, $10) //CN

Glass Buffalo Summer 2018 Launch // Wed., July 25 (6:30-10:30 pm) Glass Buffalo is launching its summer issue, featuring the winners of the 2018 Salter Tea Awards from the University of Alberta’s English and Film Studies departments.

The evening will feature a number of readers—including Gavin Doyle, Scott Jackshaw and Austen Lee—and all attendees will receive a free copy of the issue. (Yellowhead Brewery, $5-$10) //CN

10 arts

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

POETRY REALNESS

Matthew Stepanic pays homage to

WERK OF PASSION

the queens of Ru Paul’s Drag Race in

Local Poet and Writer Matthew Stepanic Shares His Feelings on His New Ru-PaulInspired Poetry Collection

I

t’s a ritual known to many— come home, kick off your boots and watch the eternal drama of America’s best drag queens competing for glory in Ru Paul’s Drag Race. This pastime may be entertainment for some, but others have found artistic vigor and inspiration from just how much this nicheshow-turned-cultural-phenomenon has done for the global community.

Matthew Stepanic, a local poet and writer, is releasing a chapbook here in Edmonton that takes direct inspiration from the show’s tenth season and its glamorous competitors. Relying on that Body is equal parts love letter and interpretation of the show, where Stepanic builds a poem around the queen eliminated from the show each week.

Having always had a flare for creative prose, Stepanic has published numerous works of fiction, yet his passion has always been in verse and versatility.

“The catalyst for me back when I started writing poetry years ago was being sad about a boy, then writing a poem about that experience and then I’d just write a

his new chapbook. // Lindsey Catherine

Fri., Jul. 20 (7-9 pm) Ru Paul Poetry Chapbook Launch Evolution Wonderlounge Free, $10 for chapbook

poem about being awful at dating boys … As it went on I found a lot of my poems to be political and I found Drag Race brought queer issues to the forefront with multiple queens on the show talking about it,” Stepanic says.

The initial idea for the chapbook stemmed from Stepanic posting his poetry surrounding Drag Race online via social media as the weekly eliminations occurred. The feedback he accumulated was so immensely positive that he worked with editors to build a more polished and tangible collection of his works, resulting in Relying on that Body.

Each poem takes a different approach to an aspect of the eliminated queen’s personality, skill and message. Issues explored vary from the expense of drag, to body image, to sexual assault and other concerns shared by the queer community.

“These are stories that everyone should be watching and hearing about to understand the different types of people in the world,” Stepanic says.

The chapbook spends just as much time on the wit that the show provides, reveling in each queen’s individual identity and what they bring to the queer and drag community as exuberant personalities and forces for change.

Stepanic, however, doesn’t want his work to come across as too calculating, ensuring the authenticity of his own poetic interpretation.

“I really didn’t want my poems to

just be reads of the queens; I wanted [to take] what I think they’re saying and trying to convey on the show and heighten it. Be it the humour, the fashion or the aspect of identity,” Stepanic says.

Stepanic’s work celebrates how the show has become accessible to a wider audience, as over its 10-year span it has gained immense favour with audiences all over the world.

“It’s a show that everyone can

CATHARTIC TAP

relate to, which is incredible because it is one of the only shows where the entire cast is queer,” Stepanic says.

Relying on that Body aims to be a celebration of what Ru Paul’s Drag Race has done for queer culture as much as it is an artistic interpretation. With immense heart this work of passion has all the bass in its walk.

Jake Pesaruk

Jenna Werhun created for

DANCING RESILIENCE

the arms that have held me as part of her healing process. // Tracy Kolenchuk

Edmonton Tap Dancer Jenna Werhun Celebrates Healing with Multidisciplinary Performance

A

fter a tough couple of years, Edmonton tap dancer and musician Jenna Werhun has reached a point in her healing process where she’s ready to celebrate herself— and she’s bringing other artists along for the journey.

When Werhun finished her counselling through the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton (SACE), she was asked to throw a party for herself. She was given a number of options for how to do that—inviting friends and family over for dinner, releasing balloons over the river— but none of them felt right to her.

“Creating has always been healing and cathartic, and the way I’ve been able to really get out what I need to get out,” she explains.

Werhun put together a show that combines tap and hip hop dance, music, and poetry to share her personal journey. Titled for the arms that have held me, the performance brings together an all-female cast— with some men supporting the performance with music—to chart the transition from trauma to resiliency.

Werhun started working on for the arms that have held me about a year ago and was able to secure a grant. She then started bringing

others on board the project, including other tap dancers.

“There’s not a lot of work for tap dancers, and when [there] is, it’s few and far between,” she says. “And it’s little performances where we don’t have a wooden stage, and we don’t have access to live musicians.”

The dancers in the show include some of Werhun’s students from Next Steps—a professional development program for dancers.

She also recruited Edmonton jazz musician Mallory Chipman as the show’s musical director.

Chipman has rearranged a number of familiar pieces to have more of a jazzy feel—though Werhun says there will also be some straight-up hip hop.

Werhun also approached former Youth Poet Laureate and spoken word performer Nasra Adem.

“I was asked to write some poems—four poems throughout the show—that will kind of act as a little bit of a poetic narrative to accompany the pieces,” Adem says.

Adem worked with footage of the performance and the music for the show while writing their pieces. They also had a list of words from the web series The

Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows— which provides words for previously unnamed emotions.

The show is divided into five parts, each based on a word from the dictionary.

“It’s starts with rigor samsa, which is when you go through something, and it kind of breaks you, and you feel like this hollowed out shell of yourself,” Werhun explains.

The piece ends with énouement, “Which means the bittersweetness of coming to the end of an experience and looking back at yourself at such a horrible time in your life, and wanting to help yourself, but also being so content in the fact that you’ve done this work and you’re here now,” Werhun says.

Adem is thrilled that it’s an allfemale cast.

“It’s so feminine as well. Like it’s just a bunch of women and fems, and like this is healthy; this is exactly what I need,” they say.

“There’s so many voices coming together and the whole crux of the show is really authentic expression and what each individual person can contribute to this common theme that I think we all experience,” Werhun adds.

Sat., Jul. 21 (3 pm and 7:30 pm) for the arms that have held me Westbury Theatre Tickets $25 at tickets.fringetheatre.ca for the arms that have held me celebrates not only the women who have supported Werhun, but also women in and outside of Edmonton.

Proceeds from the show will be donated to SACE, and any costumes bought specifically for the show are being purchased from organizations whose proceeds are donated to charities that support women.

For instance, in the final number, the performers on stage will be wearing the creator shirt—a

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

t-shirt with “woman” written in different languages including Arabic, Mandarin, Hebrew and Swahili. The shirt was designed

by L.A.’s Zoila Darton, founder of WORD branding agency, and 25 percent of the proceeds from the shirts are donated to Planned Parenthood.

Both Merhun and Adem encourage people to come out and support the show.

Chelsea Novak chelsea@vueweekly.com arts 11

This movie still makes it look like Let the Sunshine In is going to be fun and happy, but the still is a lie! // Curiosa Films

FRENCH FILM

Let the Sunshine In Is neither Rom, nor Com, nor Watchable

“I

sabelle is a divorced Parisian painter searching for another shot at love, but refusing to settle for the parade of all-too-flawed men who drift in and out of her life.” The description of Let the Sunshine In—

the latest from French director Claire Denis—makes it sound like a rom-com, but the movie offers neither romance, nor comedy, nor much of anything.

Isabelle (Juliette Binoche) stumbles from one emotionally-

FRI, JUL 20 – THUR, JUL 26

THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

FRI & MON TO THURS: 6:45 & 9:00PM SAT: 1:00, 3:15, 6:45 & 9:00PM SUN: 1:00, 3:15, 6:00 & 8:00PM RATED: PG

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

FRI & MON TO THURS: 7:00PM SAT: 1:15, 345 & 7:00PM SUN: 1:15, 3:45 & 6:15PM RATED: PG

BOUNDARIES BOUN

FRI, SAT & MON TO THURS: 9:15PM SUN: 8:15PM RATED: 4A, CL, SA

12 film

unavailable man to the next in a series of romances—and the term romance should be used loosely—that are obviously doomed to fail, without much of a plot—unless you count her recurring teary breakdowns about just wanting to find love. Basically the plot is secondary to the film, except that there’s nothing for it to be secondary to. Maybe Binoche’s performance, but her acting chops only offer so much entertainment, especially given the glaring absence of any character development.

It’s not just that Isabelle reaches the end of the film unchanged; it’s that there was never any chance that she might not. Like a moment where she thinks, “Maybe I should start dating men who aren’t married, or at least not burst into tears every time a relationship predictably goes bust.”

(Fun language fact: the movie is in French and throughout characters only refer to sex as “faire l’amour” or “making love”—a linguistic tick that might account for Isabelle’s apparent inability to tell the difference between love and sex.) But Isabelle never shows any self awareness at all and so her failure to grow isn’t a disappointment, but an inevitable conclusion not worth the journey.

During one scene, Isabelle’s fellow artist (Bruno Podalydès) asks her, “When not in love, what do you do?” and she replies, “I do nothing.”

From what we see in the film, that would appear to be very accurate.

There’s almost no scene in the film not centred on Isabelle’s love life, to the point the audience is given very little context for the scenes we do see. We know Isabelle is a single mom, but it’s not until two-thirds of the way through the film we even see her daughter and then it’s only briefly as she drives off in a car with her dad. She and Isabelle are never even in the same room.

Isabelle is also an artist, but her existence in the art world seems almost purely for setting. Early in the film there is a moment where, post relationship gone bust, we actually see Isabelle in her studio painting.

She secures a canvas on the floor and we watch her paint from above.

The frustration that comes through in her brush strokes is tangible and it would have been nice to see Isabelle’s art used to explore her emotions throughout the film, but it’s the only time we see her touch a brush.

The film has two other visually interesting moments, both during a scene at an art gallery. In the second, Isabelle’s rejected lover, an adulterous banker, comes to the gallery and stalks her around the show

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

Fri., Jul. 20; Sun., Jul. 22; Tue., Jul. 24 (7 pm) Mon., Jul. 23; Thu., Jul. 26 (9:30 pm) Let the Sunshine In Metro Cinema Directed by Claire Denis  until she’s forced to leave. Cut to a painting of a fox snarling at a little girl. The first reads as one of the film’s moments of self-awareness: an artist is explaining that for her installation she painted one moment in the sky each day. Sometimes she had 20 minutes to work, sometimes 40, depending on how fast the sky changed. The result is not unlike the film: a series of moments related only by subject, placed side by side to form a whole.

The film’s other moment of selfawareness comes in its finale, when one of French cinema’s stars shows up for a cameo as Isabelle’s psychic and acknowledges the disjointed nature of the film: “At some point, you may be fed up with the disjointedness,” he says. And if you aren’t by that point, the film’s boring, meandering dialogue—which reaches its crescendo in the final scene— should finish you off.

Chelsea Novak chelsea@vueweekly.com

Who doesn’t like winning stuff? AMIRITE?!

We want you to win sweet stuff! This week, Lori Hampton has won a $25 gift card to Tutti Frutti Breakfast & Lunch, and a $25 gift card to Table Top Cafe— Congratulations, Lori!

Check back next week when we will announce the third and final winner, who will win $25 gift cards from Tutti Frutti Breakfast & Lunch, Northern Chicken and Table Top Cafe, and a family pass to the University of Alberta Botanic Garden.

If you haven’t entered yet, do so at vueweekly.com/contests!

GET YOUR BOARD GAME ON $5 GETS YOU ALL DAY PLAY

Something beautiful is growing here.

We’re open for the season - come see what’s new!

Experience 240 acres of tranquil beauty in our cultivated gardens, indoor showhouses and the beautiful new Aga Khan Garden, Alberta.

botanicgarden.ualberta.ca

Formerly the Devonian Botanic Garden

Located in Parkland County, 5 km north of Devon on Hwy 60

NASHVILLE

HOT

CHICKEN northchickenyeg.com 780.756.2239 | 10704 124 street VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

Edmonton North 780-705-9757

Edmonton Downtown 780-758-1705 Edmonton South 780-433-4500

Sherwood Park 780-467-1581 Spruce Grove 587-286-2500 Calgary Willow Park Village 403-455-8180

Edmonton Windermere 780-438-0930

contest 13

DYSTOPIAN HORROR

THE FIRST PURGE FAILS TO SATISFY The Purge Prequel Adds Backstory, But Not Much Else

P

olitically speaking, “purge” tends to have bloody Stalinist associations. But James DeMonaco’s state-sanctioned-bloodbath franchise The Purge has been trying to make it a particularly American word for today’s troubled times.

After the first flick—a ho-hum home-invasion chiller that broke doors but no new ground—came a decent follow-up, offering a socialwarfare parable. Next, The Purge: Election Year—set in Washington, D.C.—deepened the political relevance. Now, the franchise’s origin tale, The First Purge, proffers some sociological horror and Black Lives Matter resonance.

It all begins, disturbingly, with a close-up on a crazed black man.

From there, this 97-minute backstory reveals that, once the New Founding Fathers of America (supported by the NRA) got President Bracken into the White House, they

Lex Scott Davis and Joivan Wade in The First Purge. / Universal Pictures

rigged a scientific test case—Staten Islanders paid $5,000 to stay and be monitored one night, when any and all violence is allowed—to justify annual purges. But when gang boss Dmitri (Y’lan Noel) realizes how brutally his neighbourhood’s being used by the NFFA, he’s determined to fight back and save his old flame Nya (Lex Scott Davis).

For a sense of this race-dystopia’s initial flavour, imagine a blend of the Milgram experiment, Battle Royale, The Wire, and Black Mirror. After its intriguingly tasty first course, though, the overwritten dialogue, undercooked characters, and overdone camerawork reveal themselves.

The second-rate action kicks in more and more, with its hollow echoes of The Warriors and Escape from New York. And the political subtext is often more of a gungho supertext: take one guess as to

SUPERHERO SEQUEL

The First Purge Directed by Gerard McMurray Now playing  which U.S. president is the true target of Nya’s parting shot—“Pussygrabbin’ muthafucka!”—after she fends off an assaulter reaching up from a sewer-hole.

By the time you reach TFP’s finale moments, the movie is basely urging our bloodlusty support for these armed neighbourhood-watchers: power to the oppressed by killing those roving mercenaries and white supremacists any way possible.

A Twilight Zone tale of a race-warzone, where America becomes another predictable elongation of that militia-fatigued cliché making the bullet-rounds in the U.S. since the 1970s: don’t trust your government.

Brian Gibson

Evangeline Lilly totally owns this movie as The Wasp. / Marvel Studios

BLAND-MAN AND THE FLOP Marvel’s Ant-Man Sequel Is Fun, But Not Fun Enough in a Crowded Summer

A PRESENTS

JUL 19 - JUL 25

JAPANESE MASTERS / AKIRA KUROSAWA

ISLE OF DOGS SAT @ 7:00

JAPANESE WITH SUBTITLES

CINEMA OF PSYCHEDELIA KUSO SAT @ 9:30 WITH A LIVE MUSIC PERFORMANCE BY BOOSH! AT 9:00 RESTRICTED – NO MINORS

IKIRU THUR @ 6:45

DISOBEDIENCE THUR @ 9:30

JAPANESE MASTERS / AKIRA KUROSAWA

THE HIDDEN FORTRESS SUN @ 1:00 JAPANESE WITH SUBTITLES PRACTICALLY AWESOME

LET THE SUNSHINE IN FRI @ 7:00, SUN @ 7:00, MON @ 9:30, TUES @ 7:00 FRENCH WITH SUBTITLES PRACTICALLY AWESOME

THE THING FRI @ 9:15

JAWS SUN @ 4:00 VAMPIRE CLAY SUN @ 9:00, TUES @ 9:00

REEL FAMILY CINEMA

JAPANESE WITH SUBTITLES

FREE ADMISSION FOR KIDS 12 & UNDER

HEREDITARY MON @ 7:00, WED @ 9:30

SPY KIDS SAT @ 1:00

THIS IS PARKDALE + THE HAND THAT FEEDS SAT @ 3:30 ADMISSION BY DONATION

fter the bleak, hard-hitting and esoteric gut punch that Avengers: Infinity War delivered back in April, it’s high time that we had a concentrated dose of what Marvel does best—goofy superhero shenanigans.

Ant-Man and the Wasp, the sequel to 2015’s Ant-Man, does exactly that, yet with more than a few shortcomings.

Taking place after the events of 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, the film puts the titular Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) under house arrest after being branded a criminal by the American government. What follows is a by-the-book race against

time narrative—with all of the old faces from the previous installment returning. Michael Douglas reprises his role as the fallen hero/ curmudgeon Hank Pym (the original Ant-Man) and the film finally allows Evangeline Lilly to spread her wings as Hope Van Dyne— a.k.a. The Wasp—and she steals the entire show.

What this installment in the franchise gives us is a story that doesn’t take itself too seriously, which allows these characters to breathe and play off of one another. The action is fast-paced, creatively using shrinking technology in its highoctane scenes.

14A - VIOLENCE, FRIGHTENING SCENES

JAPANESE MASTERS / AKIRA KUROSAWA

YOJIMBO WED @ 7:00

JAPANESE WITH SUBTITLES

Metro Cinema at the Garneau: 8712-109 Street WWW.METROCINEMA.ORG

14 film

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

Ant-Man and the Wasp Directed by Peyton Reed Now Playing  Sadly, the movie has a hard time picking a villain to stick with, and doesn’t give Michelle Pfeiffer’s Janet Van Dyne (the original Wasp) nearly enough screen time. That coupled with a flat ending—excluding the post-credits scene— results in Ant-Man and the Wasp just barely making it past passable, without earning itself a spot in the ranks of summer romp.

Jake Pesaruk

Courtney Barnett is either sitting and thinking or just sitting. / Pooneh Ghana

AUSSIE INDIE ROCK

Her Latest Release Tell Me How You Really Feel Has Her Feeling More Vulnerable Than Ever

I

t’s very rare for an artist to sum up the ambition behind an album in one sentence, but with her newest album Tell Me How You Really Feel Australia’s witty indie rock wordsmith Courtney Barnett does just that.

The line is: “Take your broken heart and turn it into art.” It’s a quote from the late and great Carrie Fisher, and is found in “Hopefulessness,” the muscular, overcast, opening track to Tell Me How You Really Feel.

“Yeah I really love that line,” Barnett says.

“I think it’s really beautiful and really powerful. I remember reading it somewhere and realizing it would be really perfect for that song y’know?”

It’s also perfect for the central theme of her latest release. In songs like “Charity,” “Nameless, Faceless,” and “Help Your Self,” Barnett wrestles with her own confidence and takes many moments of self-examination. Some of the lyrics come off a bit self-deprecating—like the line: “So subservient I make myself sick” in “Charity”—but Barnett’s dry wit and genuine honesty still leave splashes of optimism.

And while the lyrics in Tell Me How You Really Feel still contain Barnett’s ingenious bits of wordplay—she became well-known for 2015’s Sometimes I Sit And Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit—they are used sparsely and switched out for more authentic moments of vulnerability.

“I definitely pushed myself to get out of that space and really connect with the songs on a real level,” Barnett says. “I’ve got a really good process now, but I didn’t try to hide behind certain writing tools and sarcasm as much on this one.”

So while there might not be songs about having an asthma attack while gardening or an elevator operator who loves Vegemite and Coca-Cola politely asking a dumb little boy to not jump off a roof, Barnett is still able to bring up relatable and interesting diatribes that focus on characters in our sometimes bleak and weird world.

Take the song “Nameless, Faceless,” a fidgety, guitar-driven number that starts off about Barnett’s dispirited relationship with internet trolls.

“A lot of the verses and words are my experiences … borrowed from just forgiving them saying they hate you or they don’t like my style in the world. So it’s one big story I guess,” she says.

Barnett has always been the kind of artist to pick up inspiration from other art so it makes sense that the chorus of “Nameless, Faceless” is actually reinterpreting a famous Margaret Atwood quote. It leaves Barnett calling out misogyny, the patriarchy, and feminine frailty as she sings, “I wanna walk through the park in the dark,” and then paraphrases the line: “Men are scared that women will laugh at them. Women are scared that men will kill them.”

“I read it in a newspaper article, that quote,” she says. “I’ve never actually read any of her [Atwood’s] stuff, but I’ve been meaning to since I added that bit in. It wasn’t quoted as her when I first wrote it. So it was a bit of a backward discovery. I wrote it down cause I thought it was really strong and much later I was watching The Handmaid’s Tale and made the connection. I just thought it was a powerful line that said so much and got really to the point y’know?”

While she’s not touring with her own project, Barnett also enjoys collaborating with other artists like her partner Jen Cloher, and most recently Kurt Vile as they were working on their duo project Lotta Sea Lice.

“Jen is a very inspiring person and in a way, I think his [Vile’s] writing style kind of crept in a bit too. It’s a funny thing ’cause I don’t really, completely understand songwriting.

It’s kinda forever a mystery to me and I like that. There’s plenty of room to kind of be surprised and amazed every day. Well, most days,” Barnett laughs.

Tell Me How You Really Feel is an excellent sophomore record for Barnett. She’s grown as an artist, yes, but at the end of the day, she’s still the same shy Courtney. And yes, she and Jen still buy organic vegetables and she still struggles with smoking bongs.

“Yeah I do, but not as bad as then. But I still do whenever it comes up,” she laughs.

Stephan Boissonneault stephan@vueweekly.com

Sun., Jul. 22 (8:45 pm) Courtney Barnett (Interstellar Rodeo Set) Hawrelak Park Amphitheatre Tickets at interstellarodeo.com

thanks you for upporting us during this year' FunDDive campaign.

OUR THEME THIS YEAR WAS WE'RE THE FUTURE, AND THANKS TO YOU, WE'LL BE AROUND LONG ENOUGH TO EXPERIENCE FLYING CARS AND FRIDGES WITH BUILT-IN RADIOS. YOU'RE THE BEST! CJSR.COM VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

EDMONTON’S LISTENER SUPPORTED VOLUNTEER POWERED CAMPUS COMMUNITY R A D I O S TAT I O N

780.492.2577 CJSR.COM FM88 music 15

POT FESTIVAL

Kyla Leblance, a.k.a. Kytami, is ready to blaze the Grey Area Music Festival stage. / Cassie O’neil

10442 whyte ave 439.1273 10442 whyte ave 439.1273 CD / LP

COWBOY JUNKIES

All That Reckoning

blackbyrd

M

Y

O

O

Z

I

K

w w w. b l a c k b y r d . c a SEE MAG: Jan 3, 1c x 2”/ 28 AG RB: BLACKBYRD MYOOZIK SALES:Samantha H S01367

GREY AREA MUSIC FESTIVAL KEEPS IT ON LOCK An Alberta Cannabis Event Is Keeping Its Location Secret Leading up to Legalization in Canada

O

n October 17, 2018 cannabis will be legalized recreationally across Canada. Edmonton’s proposed bylaws around cannabis consumption could be among the most liberal in the world and will allow users the freedom to smoke in public parks, on walking trails, or in designated smoking areas at public festivals.

While some restrictions will be in place, Edmonton’s pot laws are shaping up to be far more tolerant than Calgary’s. Our southern neighbour plans to ban almost all public consumption.

But even with legalisation imminent, the Grey Area Music Fetival and Market—located 45 minutes west of Edmonton—will only reveal its exact location to active ticket holders.

“It’s for both security and safety reasons,” Carolyn Cushing, media coordinator of Area 710 Productions, explains. “Since cannabis has not been legalized yet the location has to remain private. We want our guests to feel secure while they enjoy the festival.”

While the event caters to people who smoke weed and enjoy cannabis culture, the Grey Area Cannabis Music Festival & Market is 16 music

first and foremost all about the music—with heavyweights from across Canada like the rising hip hop artist Merkules, and EDM giant and ‘violinistextremist’ Kytami rounding off the three-day bill.

“Music is vital to the Grey Area but we also host Alberta’s largest cannabis cup competition,” Cushing says.

A booming craft industry has vendors like Elephant Extracts, and Euphoria Potions & Edibles sponsoring the Grey Area Festival. Testing tents where patrons can also win prizes will be setup along the festival grounds ensuring products are tried and sampled amidst the smell of food trucks and the haze of cannabis smoke. Comedian’s Sterling Scott and Kris Labelle provide the laughs and host the curated festival Friday and Saturday respectively. 420 friendly games will be taking place festival-wide at 4:20 pm daily, and 420 Yoga will be offered from 12 to 1 pm.

“Cannabis illegality is akin to alcohol prohibition,” Kytami (Kyla Leblanc) says. “We’ve come so far as a country. I don’t smoke much myself but I think the loosening

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

Fri., Jul. 20–Sun., Jul. 22 The Grey Area Music Festival Location on ticket $30 (day), $125 (weekend), $200 (VIP) of cannabis laws is a good thing.

Weed has a place in our society.

Simple things like blazing at the end of the day when you have time to just chill, we take that for granted, you know—a lot of people around the world don’t have that luxury.”

Cushing also echoes Leblanc.

“Weed is no longer a taboo subject [in the west], it’s a booming industry. The world is watching Canada and wondering what happens next. The discourse on marijuana use has largely changed in recent years, the medical marijuana industry is thriving, and there has always been a general excitement around legalization,“ she says. “While there will be no sales of cannabis at this event, companies can use this opportunity to network, promote their products, give away prizes, and provide education about cannabis.”

Levi Gogerla

VUEPICKS

UPCOMING

EVENTS

Courtney Barnett will close this year’s Interstellar Rodeo. / Pooneh Ghana

SOUTH EDMONTON COMMON JUL 20

HOODED FANG

JUL 22

LANGSTON FRANCIS W/ GUEST

JUL 24

PETUNIA & THE VIPERS

WEST EDMONTON MALL JUL 19

THROWBACK THURSDAY W/ THE SISSY FITS

JUL 20

SAM SPADES LIVE

JUL 21

DJ JON VIRATA

Tickets and full listings TheRecRoom.com The Rec Room® is owned by Cineplex Entertainment L. P.

M A O R P S T H G I N R E M SUM

Interstellar Rodeo // Fri., July 20 (4:30 pm) – Sun., July 22 (10 pm) In its seventh year, Six Shooter Records’ Interstellar Rodeo is bringing one of the most unique festival lineups yet. Friday will be an eclectic mix of blues, dark folk, and power pop from artists like Reuben and the Dark, Celeigh Cardinal, and the one and only, Feist. Saturday will mark the return of the Tex-Mex rockabilly gods The Mavericks, the saucy songstress Margaret Glaspy, and local mailman-turned rock star Jay Gilday. It keeps getting better on Sunday with bluegrass dynamos The Dead South, Nunavut’s multi-talented Riit, and to close the whole festival, Australia’s deadpan song poet Courtney Barnett.

This isn’t the festival’s first rodeo and you can be sure they’ve got something for everyone. (Hawrelak Park Amphitheatre, $115 single ticket, $259 weekend pass) // SB

An evening of comedy featuring amateur and professional comedians!

The Melvins // Tue., July 24 (7 pm) Those looking to hear the grandfathers of contemporary sludge and heavy alt-metal don’t have to look further than The Melvins. The dynasty band is returning to Edmonton on July 24 and if you’ve have wanted a chance to see them live, now would be the time. The group has been dynamically blasting eardrums since the 1980s and has no plans on slowing down. For the uninitiated, The Melvins are modern mad scientists of the experimental, taking direct inspiration from the evolution of punk and metal.

What makes The Melvins a household name in the rock community is their sheer ability to never lose their way in their songwriting and performances, a feat that is impressive for a group that thrives on rampant experimentation. If you have a free night and are OK with losing some of your hearing for a couple days, this is the show to see. (Starlite Room, $25) // JP

Rare Candy 003 // Fri., July 20 (9 pm–2 am) A curation of Edmonton’s finest and rarest club culture acts is back after a two-year hiatus with a lineup of some of Edmonton’s freshest and most underrated artists and DJs. Bringing vibes of all kinds from juke to jersey, hip-hop to grime, ballroom to dancehall, with visuals provided by Lukas Zapata and banging tracks throughout the night from Quirkle, Hype Phyllis, Remy Flex, and AY FTZ, Rare Candy is a night not worth missing. (The Sewing Machine Factory, $5) // LG

Open-Mic Night // Saturdays (6 pm) It’s a regular fixture in Edmonton, but one that doesn’t get enough love. The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse is one of the most prominent cultural institutions on 118th Avenue, and every Saturday at 6 p.m. it hosts a bevy of talent from the region at its open mic night. The volunteer-operated café welcomes musicians of all talent levels to attend. It’s located off the path most often beaten by the arts community, which means fewer veterans skewing the talent level, thus creating a more inviting space for newcomers or people whose skills are a little rusty. Also: it’s nearly impossible to beat The Carrot’s environment, a cozy refuge for those who care deeply about arts on Alberta Avenue. Plus, open-mic nights are where many local musicians start, so seeing unheard of talent isnt unheard of.

(9351 118 Ave., Free) // DG

Ask about our

2 for 1 student deal!

5 NIGHT 3 NIGHTS ONLY!

$

White Cowbell Oklahoma // Thu., July 19 (8 pm) White Cowbell Oklahoma kind of sound like a freaky hybrid child of KISS and Lynard Skynyrd. Their sound catches you off guard. At first they intentionally fool you into thinking their a classic alt-rock group, but then boom ... a fiery bluegrass-clad solo bursts of of nowhere into a glam rock jam. Each member has an adept knowledge of their instrument, making this group a perfect headliner or opener on any type of rock bill. The cheeky lyrics in a song like “Flapjack Flytrap” also help push the band’s drunken, Southern charm. Having just released Seven Years of Sleave this Toronto Southern shock squadron is ready to tear the building off its axis. (Temple (Starlite Room), $10) // SB

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

5 Admission 5 Domestic Draught (20 oz) $ 5 8” Cheese Pizza (+76¢ per topping) $ $

June 21, July 26, August 23 Doors @ 8:00pm, Show @ 8:30pm Call 780.481.YUKS or visit yukyuks.com for tickets!

Some conditions may apply. Promotion subject to change without notice and AGLC approval.

cnty.com/edmonton

music 17

INDIE ROCK

Hooded Fang will show you how to love. / Supplied

HOODED FANG WILL FEED YOUR MUSICAL CRAVING Toronto Indie Quartet Brings a Sonic Dynasty to Sink Your Teeth Into

Fri., Jul. 20 (8 pm) Hooded Fang The Rec Room South $12 (adv.), $15 (door)

H

ooded Fang is a post-punk and garage dissonance group made of an eclectic bunch of driven Toronto artists. They are a culturally diverse kaleidoscope of distortion, driving basslines, eerie synthesizer, surf-rock jangle, catchy pop and poetic storytelling with a serious science fiction flair.

“A Hooded Fang is whatever you’re craving in that exact moment, smothered in cheese,“ Daniel Lee, singer, vocalist and founding member, says.

For over 10 years, Hooded Fang has continued to explore songwriting, experimentation, and sonic diversity, setting the band apart from other Canadian acts and earning it international acclaim.

“It’s been interesting, seeing what changes or doesn’t change in the world of bands and touring,” Lee says. “It’s quite homogeneous, which we are aware of, and that seems to take a really long time to change ... It’s weird and absurd ... We focus on playing the music and highlighting issues that we find important.”

That includes addressing racial and gender diversity, promoting youth, and highlighting people who are doing good work in their communities.

18 music

“Honestly, after so long we feel like it’s good to make space for other people ... and to learn from them,” Lee says.

Hooded Fang is constantly adapting and adding new elements to its sound—from the earlier pop material, to elements of doo wop on pieces like “Den of Love,” to the low fi and more experimental instrumentation of Venus On Edge.

Their newest album, Dynasty House, at a brisk 30 minutes, shares six heroic stories highlighting the struggle and resilience of its founders’ (Lee and April Aliermo) family members, and their multicultural upbringing.

“Aside from Indigenous people, everyone in Canada is an immigrant. The same goes for the U.S. Amongst the four of us, only Lane’s parents were born here, but it’s not like his family is originally from here either … It’s 2018, we all know that this land belongs to the Inuit, Métis and First Nations peoples, and if you don’t know, you should. So, whenever people talk about immigration being a problem ... you know, check your history,” Lee says.

Written and recorded on the sacred land and territory of the Huron-Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Seneca, the Métis Nation, the Anishinabek and, most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River, Dynasty House shows Hooded Fang con-

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

tinuing to demonstrate a mature and polished band beneath wailing synth, instrumental avantgarde flair, literary chops and sonic distortion.

The lyrics throughout Dynasty House are reflective, sometimes cryptic, and often introspective.

Family is a subtle, yet important topic throughout. Lines like, “When she was a little girl growing up in the time of a world war—her family always had many guests, she cared for her cousin until his final breath,” and the record’s dedication to “the immigrants of the world and all they go through to keep themselves and their loved ones alive and well” act as both political statements and a retrospective rear view glance of Canadian history and family heritage.

“Whenever humans feel that they have more of a right to life and basic freedoms than other humans, that is a problem,” Lee says. “Our new Conservative government in Ontario for example, withdrawing the planned update of the Indigenous aspect of the education curriculum—and now going back on its updated sex education curriculum, negating trans awareness, same-sex marriages, updated info on consent.

It’s all totally backwards. In addition to territorial acknowledgements, Indigenizing the way we think and operate as a country is crucial for moving forward.”

Levi Gogerla

ALBERTA-WIDECLASSIFIEDS

NEWSOUNDS

•• AUCTIONS ••

Gorillaz The Now Now Parlophone After the politically-charged 2017 album, Humanz blasted radio waves last summer it comes as a surprise that Gorillaz has another new album ready to invade our ears. The Now Now is the sixth studio album released by the digital band and like most of the group’s work, it separates itself entirely from the band’s previous installments. Where some critiques of Humanz were the absence of lead singer Damon Albarn’s (2-D) vocals, this album responds with Albarn dominating almost every track, giving us a familiar vocal consistency that harkens back to the band’s older work. Functioning in tandem with a mood that feels like a California daydream, the album utilizes coastal lyrics, funky synth breaks and mobile melodies, as opposed to the house party approach that 2017’s Humanz supplied. Collaboration is key in any Gorillaz album as some of the group’s

UNRESERVED SHOP DISPERSAL AUCTION for C.L.L. Holdings, Saturday, July 21st Lloydminster, AB. Starts 10AM. Well-maintained Shop Tools, Equipment, SideXSide, SeaCan & More! 780-8425666; www.scribnernet.com.

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY Redwater, AB. Ritchie Bros.

Auctioneers Unreserved Auction, September 5 in Edmonton. 3.52+/- Title Acres, 9600 +/- sq ft shop and office building, 9000 +/- sq ft and 2000 +/- sq ft fabrication shops. Jerry Hodge: 780-7066652; Brokerage: Ritchie Bros.

Real Estate Services Ltd.; rbauction.com/realestate.

•• BUSINESS •• OPPORTUNITIES stripped down we’ve ever seen the group. This may almost be to their detriment as some songs lack punch. However, songs like “Lake Zurich,” “Tranz,” and “Souk Eye” remind us of this band’s legacy and musical capability and that we buy a Gorillaz album for them and not who is featured.

Jake Pesaruk

best tracks have been the result of multiple musical minds. However this album only boasts a couple collaborative tracks, the stand out being “Hollywood” which features Snoop Dogg and Jaime Principle. What makes The Now Now stay on its own two feet is the fact that this is bare bones Gorillaz, perhaps the most

THURSDAY, JULY 19

SATURDAY, JULY 21

DJs

BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: Rock N’ Roll, Funk & Soul with DJ Modest Mike; Every Thu • Wooftop Lounge: Dear Hip Hop with Freshlan

HAIR OF THE DOG: CONFUSIONAIRES • Black Dog Freehouse • 10425 Whyte Avenue • 780 439 1082 • blackdog.ca • July 21, 4 6pm • Free

BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: DJ Late Fee; Every Sun

THROWBACK THURSDAY WITH THE SISSY FITS • The Rec Room WEM • 8882 170 Street NW • 780 900 8714 • therecroom.com • The Sissy Fits guarantee to rock your world and be the most memorable girl band you’ve ever seen • July 19, 9pm • Free

DJs

HOODED FANG • The Rec Room SEC • 1725 99th Street NW • 780 702 1332 • therecroom.com • With their most recent release, Dynasty House (2017) Hooded Fang continues to demonstrate a strong sense of song writing, sonic breadth, and experimentation • July 20, 9pm • $12 Advance / $15 Door SAM SPADES LIVE • The Rec Room WEM • 8882 170 Street NW • 780 900 8714 • therecroom.com • The band takes a new twist on songs steeped in rockabilly tradition and just released its first EP, Wolf • July 20, 9:30pm • Free

DJs BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: DJ Late Fee; Every Fri • Wooftop: Selection Fridays with Remo, Noosh, Fingertips & guests • Underdog: Rap, House, Hip-Hop with DJ Teddy Plenti; Every Fri

•• EMPLOYMENT •• OPPORTUNITIES JOURNALISTS, Graphic Artists, Marketing and more.

Alberta’s weekly newspapers are looking for people like you. Post your resume online.

Free. Visit: www.awna.com/ resumes_add.php.

MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION! In-demand career! Employers

VUELISTINGS

FRIDAY, JULY 20

TROUBLE WALKING? Hip or knee replacement, or conditions causing restrictions in daily activities? $2,500 tax credit. $40,000 refund cheque/ rebates. Disability Tax Credit.

1-844-453-5372.

BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: DJ Chris Bruce spins Britpop/punk/garage/indie; Every Sat • Wooftop: Sound It Up! with DJ Instigate spinning classic hip-hop and reggae • Underdog: hip-hop open mic followed by DJ Marack DJ JON VIRATA • The Rec Room WEM • 8882 170 Street NW • 780 900 8714 • therecroom.com • Takin’ requests and mixin’ it right! DJ Jon Virata is in the house keeping the dance floor goin’ until last call • July 21, 9pm • Free

SUNDAY, JULY 22 LANGSTON FRANCIS • The Rec Room SEC • 1725 99th Street NW • 780 702 1332 • therecroom.com • Langston’s unique aural footprint infuses his debut single “FCKD IT UP” • July 22, 8:30pm • $10 Advance / $15 Door

have work-at-home positions available. Get online training you need from an employertrusted program. Visit: CareerStep.ca/MT or 1-855-768-3362 to start training for your workat-home career today!

•• FOR SALE •• METAL ROOFING & SIDING. 37+ colours available at over 55 Distributors. 40 year warranty. 48 hour Express Service available at select supporting Distributors. Call 1-888-263-8254.

SAWMILLS FROM ONLY $4,397. Make Money and Save Money with your own bandmill - Cut lumber any dimension. In stock, ready to ship. Free Info & DVD: www.NorwoodSawmills. com/400OT; 1-800-567-0404 Ext: 400OT. STEEL BUILDING CLEARANCE ... “Summer Overstock Sale - Blazing Hot Deals!”

20X21 $5,845. 25X27 $6,588. 30X31 $9,564. 33X35 $9,833. 35X35 $11,955. End Wall Included. Pioneer Steel 1-855-212-7036.

LOOKING FOR a shop?

Post Frame Buildings. AFAB Industries has experience, expertise, reliability and great construction practices. For a free quote, contact Ryan Smith 403-818-0797 or email: ryan.afab@gmail.com.

•• MANUFACTURED •• HOMES

WE ARE “Your Total Rural Housing Solution” - It’s time to let go & clear out our Inventory. Save on your Modular/ Manufactured Home. Visit: www.Grandviewmodular.com or www.Unitedhomescanada. com.

•• REAL ESTATE •• BLANKET THE PROVINCE with a classified ad. Only $269 (based on 25 words or less).

Reach over 110 weekly newspapers. Call NOW for details 1-800-282-6903 ext 228; www. awna.com.

3000 acres of complete high end cattle & grain operation for sale in Saskatchewan.

Manages 2k to 3k cow/calf operation with complete solid infrastructure. 200k acres cultivated. Contact Doug @ 306-716-2671 or saskfarms@ shaw.ca.

•• SERVICES •• CRIMINAL RECORD? Why suffer employment/licensing loss? Travel/business opportunities? Be embarrassed?

Think: Criminal Pardon. US entry waiver. Record purge.

File destruction. Free consultation 1-800-347-2540; www. accesslegalmjf.com.

GET BACK ON TRACK! Bad credit? Bills? Unemployed?

Need money? We lend! If you own your own home - you qualify. Pioneer Acceptance Corp. Member BBB. 1-877987-1420. www.pioneerwest. com.

MONDAY, JULY 23 BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Wooftop: Mod Mondays with DJ Modest Mike

TUESDAY, JULY 24 BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Wooftop: Tempation Tuesdays with DJ Teddy Plenti; Every Tue

DJs BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: Chris Bruce spins britpop/ punk/garage/indie; Every Tue

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25 BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Wooftop: The Fix with DJ Kusch; Every Wed

DJs BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: DJ Late Fee; Every Wed

WANT YOUR EVENT LISTED IN VUE WEEKLY? To have your listings appear free online, enter your details here: www.vueweekly.com/add-event-listing/

k-days pancake breakfast & chalk it up ON 118

Saturday, July 21, 2018 GRASSy SPACE (92 Street & 118 Avenue)

FREE K-dAYS Pancake Breakfast 9am – noon!

Performances, Workshops Music, and 4 Amazing YEG Chalk Artists

BIRTHDAY CAKE CUTTING AT noon BBQ from Noon to 5 pm

Listings in our print edition are $25 per week plus GST. Email Carly Gordon at listings@vueweekly.com or call 780 426 1996 and book your listing before Friday at noon for the following week.

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

music 19

ADULTCLASSIFIEDS

To Book Your Adult Classifieds, Contact James at 780.426.1996 or at adultclassifieds@vueweekly.com 9450.

Adult Massage

Looking for some TLC??

Call sexy, busty Portia.

Outcall available. Travel to Sherwood Park, Fort Saskatchewan, Nisku, Leduc, and surrounding areas.

780.604.5739 Lic #068956959-001

Appointments available Walk-ins always welcome 3372 99 St. (Parsons Rd) Open 7 days a week 7am - 11pm New girls rotate weekly maxumspa.com

VUE WEEKLY.COM

780.989.2055

GET IT GIRL!

LIC# 124559758-001

The truly Japanese Sensual Massage in Edmonton Beside liquor store at front

9547-76 Ave. Free parking at back From 9am=11pm

#1 IN CUSTOMER SERVICE

Booking 587.523.6566 or 780.246.3007 | LIC#132648203-001

Saturday - Sunday • Noon - 7pm Book an appointment or walk in today

NOW HIRING LIC#74125963-001

16628-109 Ave • 780.444.4974 • dejavumassage.ca

BOOK YOUR CLASSIFIED AD FOR AS LITTLE AS $60 / WEEK

Kingsway Tokyo Spa

CALL JAMES AT

780.426.1996

OR EMAIL: ADULTCLASSIFIEDS @VUEWEEKLY.COM

Mention This Ad For Special Gift

Highly Skilled Massage OPEN 8AM - 11PM

7 days a week

Lic. 118832868-001

Monday - Friday • 10am - 11pm

Top notch down-to-earth Asian Girls in E-town!

200 -10408 118 Ave 780.885.1092

LIC #124200605-001

Lic #130237495-001

When you need to escape to paradise

Beyond Paradise Massage D ISCREET BACK E NTRANCE 6510 118 AVENUE • 780.761.2468 B EYONDPARADISE M ASSAGE . COM 20 at the back

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

Experience A Unique Classy Oriental Experience - Always New Ladies 11135 156 Street (Beside Saint Pete’s) 780.451.9000 • newasiancloud9.com

SAVAGELOVE EUROPEAN KINK DADDY

I’m a 20-year-old submissive woman. I’m currently in a confusing affair with a 50-year-old dominant married man. He lives in Europe and has two kids close to my age. We met online when I was 17 and starting to explore my BDSM desires—out of the reach of my overbearing, sex-shaming, disastrously religious parents— and we’ve been texting daily ever since. We’ve since met in different countries and spent a total of three weeks together. Those weeks were amazing, both sexually and emotionally, and he says he loves me. (Some will assume, because of the age difference, that he “groomed” me. He did not.) I date vanilla boys my age, with his full support, while we continue to text daily. I don’t know what to do.

I don’t want to blow up his family if (or when) our affair is discovered. But at the same time, our relationship has really helped me navigate my kinks and my sexuality. Expecting him to leave his wife for me is a highly unrealistic cliché, I am aware. Yet I fear I’ve become dependent on his conversation and advice. I’m graduating soon and have a big job lined up in a big city. I’ll finally be financially independent, and I’d like to start making the right choices. Any perspective you have would be much appreciated.

THINGS MUST IMPROVE He is not going to leave his wife for you, and you shouldn’t assume his wife is going to leave him if (or when) this affair is discovered (or exposed). Divorce may be the default setting in the United States in the wake of an affair, TMI, but Europeans take a much more, well, European attitude toward infidelity. Definitely not cricket, not necessarily fatal.

And you don’t need him to leave his wife for you, TMI. Okay, okay—you’re in love, and the

Dan Savage

three weeks you’ve managed to spend together were amazing.

But don’t fall into the trap of believing a romantic relationship requires a tidy ending; film, television, and literature beat it into our heads that romantic relationships end either happily at the altar (à la Pride and Prejudice) or tragically at the morgue (à la Forensic Files). But romantic relationships take many forms, TMI, as does romantic success. And this relationship, such as it is, this relationship as-is, sounds like an ongoing success.

In other words, TMI, I think you’re confused about this relationship because there won’t be a resolution that fits into a familiar mold.

But you don’t need a resolution: You can continue to text with him, and he can continue to provide you with his advice and support while you continue to date single, available, and kinky men (no more vanilla boys!) closer to your own age and/or on your own continent. Eventually you’ll meet a new guy you’re crazy about—someone you can see for more than one week a year—and you’ll feel less dependent on and connected to your old flame.

ACCIDENTAL HAPPY ENDING

While on vacation, I went for a full body massage. The first half of the massage—me on my stomach—was great. When the masseuse asked me to flip on my back, things took a turn. She uncovered one of my legs and began massaging my thigh. As she worked on my inner thigh, her finger grazed my scrotum. Then it happened again. And again.

She was working on my thigh, but it felt like I was getting my balls caressed. I began to worry I was getting a visible erection.

Then I started to panic when I felt like I might actually come. (I have always had issues with pre-

mature ejaculation.) I tried hard to clamp down and think about baseball and senior citizens, but I wound up having an orgasm. She eventually moved to my arms, shoulders, etc., but meanwhile I’m lying there with jizz cooling on myself. Am I guilty of #metoo bad behaviour? Should I have said something or asked her to stop?

Is it possible she didn’t have any clue? (My penis was never uncovered and I didn’t create an obvious wet spot on the sheet.)

I tipped her extra, just in case she was mortified, though I didn’t get the sense she was because nothing changed after I came in terms of her massaging me. (She didn’t hurry away from my legs or rush to finish my massage.) I still feel really weird about the whole thing. I get massages frequently, this has never happened before, and I certainly didn’t go into it looking for this result.

LOST OPPORTUNITY AT DE-ESCALATION If it all went down as you described, LOAD, you aren’t guilty of “#metoo bad behaviour.” It’s not uncommon for people to become unintentionally aroused during a nonerotic massage; it’s more noticeable when it happens to men, of course, but it happens to women, too. “Erections do happen,” a masseuse told me when I ran your letter past her. “So long as guys don’t suddenly ask for a ‘happy ending,’ expose themselves, or— God help me—attempt to take my hand and place it on their erection, they haven’t done anything wrong.”

Since this hasn’t happened to you before, LOAD, I don’t think you should waste too much time worrying about it happening again. But if you’re concerned this one massage created a powerful erotic association and you’re likely to blow a load the

next time a masseuse so much as looks at one of your thighs, go ahead and have a quick wank before your appointment.

STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM

Living my truth permits others in my fairly conservative circles— Christian family struggling to accept a gay son, colleagues in a traditionally masculine field—to accept gay/other/different folks.

I identify as a bottom, and until recently I thought I had erectile dysfunction because I would literally go soft at the thought of topping another man. I should mention that I’m black in the Pacific Northwest, so there is this odd “BBC” fixation and an expectation from many guys that I will top. However, I am usually very submissive and drawn to hypermasculine, dominant guys. But I recently noticed an attraction to married guys—specifically, submissive bottom masculine/ muscular married guys who like to wear lingerie. I met a few and became this dominant guy who fit the stereotype most guys expect when they see me online or in person. Now I’m very confused. I tried topping recently, because a married guy begged me to. He said, “You’ll never know if you like it until you try it!” Which is the same thing my traditional uncles have said to me about women. My life would be so much easier if I just married a woman! So this sudden turn from bottom to top is troubling me. I don’t think it is possible to turn straight, but I didn’t think I was a top until a few weeks ago. So am I capable of turning straight? That would validate everything my homophobic family members have said. I’m repulsed by vaginas but fascinated by boobs. Have you seen/heard of things like this?

PRAYING THE STRAIGHT AWAY

VUECLASSIFIEDS 1600.

Volunteers Wanted

Can You Read This?

Help Someone Who Can’t!

Volunteer 2 hours a week and help someone improve their Reading, Writing, Math or English Speaking Skills.

Call Della at P.A.L.S. 780-424-5514 or email volunteers@palsedmonton.ca Edmonton Heritage Festival.

Looking for volunteers - Food Ticket Sellers, Green Team, and Hospitality positions needed! For more information or to sign-up, please go to www.heritagefest.ca/volunteer

1600.

Volunteers needed at Brightwood Ranch. Current needs are: 5 male counsellors (Brightwood), 5 male counsellors (Camp Hope), 3 female counsellors (Brightwood), 2 kitchen staff (Brightwood) hopemission.com/summercamp

Artist to Artist

Artists wanted for artists housing co-op (move-in Sept.1, apply by July 25). $885/mo.

artshab.com/spaces/artshub-118

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

On the Lovecast, it’s hard to date when you’re a sexuality professor: savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter ITMFA.org

To Book Your Classifieds, Call 780.426.1996 or email classifieds@vueweekly.com

Volunteers Wanted

2005.

If you’re a regular reader, PTSA, you’ve seen letters in this space from straight-identified guys into cock. Many of these guys have described themselves as being fascinated by cock but repulsed by men; some of these guys seek out sex with trans women who’ve kept their dicks. Your thing for hot guys in lingerie and your thing for boobs might be the gay flip of this erotic script—boobs fascinate you, but you’re not into the genitalia most women have. Muscular guys in lingerie turn you on—big pecs can fill out a lacy bra just as alluringly as big boobs—and it’s possible you might enjoy being with a trans woman who got boobs but kept her dick.

All that said, PTSA, discovering after years of bottoming that you enjoy topping certain types of men—masculine/muscular married guys who beg for your dick while wearing lingerie—doesn’t mean you’re “capable” of turning straight. Going from bottom to versatile isn’t the same thing as going from men to women. And being fascinated by a body part that typically comes attached to people, i.e., women, who fall outside your usual “erotic target interest,” as the sex researchers say, isn’t a sign that your uncles were right all along.

In short, PTSA, you aren’t potentially straight—you’re gay and a little more complicated, interesting, and expansive than you realized at first.

P.S. On behalf of all the dudes who have objectified you with this “BBC” stuff and made you feel anything other than proud to be primarily a bottom, please accept my apology.

2005.

Artist to Artist

ART CLASSES FOR ADULTS, YOUTH, AND CHILDREN Check The Paint Spot’s website, paintspot.ca/events/workshops for up-to-date information on art classes for all ages, beginner and intermediate.

Register in person, by phone or online.

Contact: 780.432.0240 email: accounts@paintspot.ca

2005.

Artist to Artist

ENJOY ART ALWAYZ www.bdcdrawz.com Check the site every two weeks for new work!

3100. Appliances/Furniture 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

at the back 21

JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

FREEWILLASTROLOGY

Matt Jones

“Urban Sprawl”-- this town needs more room!

Across

1 Childhood illness with swollen glands 6 Goes on and on 11 Some NFL All-Pros 14 Actor Ulrich 15 Tibet’s neighbor 16 Questionable Twitter poster, perhaps 17 They read a lot of stories out loud 19 Historical division 20 French vineyard classification 21 Feeling not-so-great 22 Be blustery 23 Ruler who lost her head in 1793 28 St. crosser 29 Cone or Cat preceder 30 Ripken of the Orioles 31 Stamp for an incoming pkg.

33 Football broadcaster Collinsworth 36 Purplish flower 40 Food and wine publication that went completely online in 2009 43 Cosmetician Lauder 44 Orange-roofed chain, familiarly 45 Nefarious 46 Genesis craft 48 “You’ve Got Mail” company 50 Addams Family cousin 51 Phrase often seen after a married or professional name 57 Passable 58 Battery option 59 Nest egg, initially 60 Cleveland player, for short 61 Got out, or followed the same path as the theme answers?

66 Gibbon, for one 67 Tooth type 68 Spine-tingling 69 Pot top 70 Goes after flies 71 Bottom-of-the-bottle stuff

Down

1 Web portal with a butterfly logo 2 Plucked instrument 3 “Give me some kitten food” 4 Joe of “Home Alone” 5 Long looks 6 Party org. gathering last held in 2016 in Philadelphia 7 Take another swing at

22 at the back

8 Speed skater ___ Anton Ohno 9 Flavor for some knots?

10 Mercedes roadsters 11 Orange character from the ‘80s who appears in “Wreck-It Ralph” 12 Sacha Baron Cohen character 13 Music festival area 18 Subtle meaning 22 English-speaking country of Central America 23 Selma’s sister 24 Some Chevy hatchbacks 25 Director’s option 26 Part of WNW 27 “The Lion King” heroine 32 Fanciful 34 “As I see it,” in a text 35 He cohosts “America’s Game” 37 Bon Jovi’s “___ on a Prayer” 38 Novelist Loos 39 Boston team, briefly 41 Paltry 42 Any of the kids searching for One-Eyed Willy in a 1985 flick 47 Onetime capital of Poland 49 Domineered, with “over” 51 Like the main point 52 Giraffe relative with striped legs 53 Was delirious 54 Undefeated boxer Ali 55 Pester with barks 56 Word after smart or mineral 61 Text type 62 7, on a rotary phone 63 Cinnabar, e.g.

64 Costume shop purchase 65 “Castlevania” platform ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic.” Whenever that quote appears on the Internet, it’s falsely attributed to painter Frida Kahlo. In fact, it was originally composed by poet Marty McConnell. In any case, I’ll recommend that you heed it in the coming weeks. You really do need to focus on associating with allies who see the mysterious and lyrical best in you. I will also suggest that you get inspired by a line that Frida Kahlo actually wrote: “Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are a bourbon biscuit.” (If you don’t know what a bourbon biscuit is, I’ll tell you: chocolate buttercream stuffed between two thin rectangular chocolate biscuits.)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Here’s what author Franz Kafka wrote in his diary on August 2, 1914: “Germany has declared war on Russia. I went swimming in the afternoon.” We could possibly interpret his nonchalance about world events to be a sign of callous self-absorption. But I recommend that you cultivate a similar attitude in the coming weeks.

In accordance with astrological omens, you have the right and the need to shelter yourself from the vulgar insanity of politics and the pathological mediocrity of mainstream culture. So feel free to spend extra time focusing on your own well-being. (P.S.: Kafka’s biographer says swimming served this role for him. It enabled him to access deep unconscious reserves of pleasurable power that renewed his spirit.)

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Am I delusional to advise a perky, talkative Gemini like yourself to enhance your communication skills? How dare I even hint that you’re not quite perfect at a skill you were obviously born to excel at? But that’s exactly what I’m here to convey. The coming weeks will be a favourable time to take inventory of how you could more fully develop your natural ability to exchange information. You’ll be in robust alignment with cosmic rhythms if you take action to refine the way you express your own messages and receive and respond to other people’s messages.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Selfdescribed skeptics sometimes say to me, “How can any intelligent person believe in astrology? You must be suffering from a brain dysfunction if you imagine that the movements of planets can reveal any useful clues about our lives.” If the “skeptic” is truly open-minded, as an authentic skeptic should be, I offer a minilecture to correct his misunderstandings. If he’s not (which is the usual case), I say that I don’t need to “believe” in astrology; I use astrology because it works. For instance, I have a working hypoth-

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

Rob Brezsny

esis that Cancerians like myself enjoy better-than-average insight and luck with money every year from late July through the month of August. It’s irrelevant whether there’s a “scientific” theory to explain why this might be. I simply undertake efforts to improve my financial situation at this time, and I’m often successful.

wise to boost the intensity of your hopes for yourself, and get closer to knowing the ultimate form of what you want, and be daring enough to imagine the most sublime possible outcomes for your future. If you do all that with the proper chutzpah, some people may indeed laugh at your audacity. That’s OK!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Here are some of the fine gifts you’re eligible for and even likely to receive during the next four weeks: a more constructive and fluid relationship with obsession; a panoramic look at what lies below the tip of the metaphorical iceberg; a tear-jerking joyride that cracks open your sleeping sense of wonder; erasure of at least 20 percent of your self-doubt; vivid demonstrations of the excitement available from slowing down and taking your sweet time; and a surprising and useful truth delivered to your soul by your body.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): This mini-chapter in your epic life story is symbolically ruled by the fluttering flights of butterflies, the whirring hum of hummingbird wings, the soft cool light of fireflies, and the dawn dances of seahorses. To take maximum advantage of the blessings life will tease you with in the coming weeks, I suggest you align yourself with phenomena like those.

You will tend to be alert and receptive in just the right ways if you cultivate a love of fragile marvels, subtle beauty, and amazing grace.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): During the last three months of 2018, I suspect you will dismantle or outgrow a foundation. Why? So as to prepare the way for building or finding a new foundation in 2019. From next January onward, I predict you will re-imagine the meaning of home. You’ll grow fresh roots and come to novel conclusions about the influences that enable you to feel secure and stable. The reason I’m revealing these clues ahead of time is because now is a good time to get a foreshadowing of how to proceed. You can glean insights on where to begin your work.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I swear the astrological omens are telling me to tell you that you have license to make the following requests: 1. People from your past who say they’d like to be part of your future have to prove their earnestness by forgiving your debts to them and asking your forgiveness for their debts to you.

2. People who are pushing for you to be influenced by them must agree to be influenced by you. 3.

People who want to deepen their collaborations with you must promise to deepen their commitment to wrestling with their own darkness. 4. People who say they care for you must prove their love in a small but meaningful way.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): A reader asked Libran blogger Ana-Sofia Cardelle, “How does one become more sensual?” I’ll ask you to meditate on the same question.

Why? Because it’s a good time to enrich and deepen your sensuality. For inspiration, here are some ideas that blend my words with Cardelle’s: “Laugh easily and freely. Tune in to the rhythm of your holy animal body as you walk. Sing songs that remind you why you’re here on earth. Give yourself the luxury of reading books that thrill your imagination and fill you with fresh questions. Eat food with your fingers.

Allow sweet melancholy to snake through you. Listen innocently to people, being warm-hearted and slyly wild. Soak up colours with your eager eyes. Whisper grateful prayers to the sun as you exult in its gifts.”

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “If people aren’t laughing at your goals, your goals are too small.”

So says bodybuilder Kai Greene.

I don’t know if I would personally make such a brazen declaration, but I do think it’s worth considering—especially for you right now.

You’re entering into the Big Bold Vision time of your astrological cycle. It’s a phase when you’ll be

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): You will never find an advertisement for Nike or Apple within the sacred vessel of this horoscope column. But you may come across plugs for soul-nourishing commodities like creative freedom, psychosexual bliss, and playful generosity. Like everyone else, I’m a salesperson—although I believe that the wares I peddle are unambiguously good for you.

In this spirit, I invite you to hone your own sales pitch. It’s an excellent time to interest people in the fine products and ideas and services that you have to offer.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Would you do me a favour, please? Would you do your friends and loved ones and the whole world a favour? Don’t pretend you’re less powerful and beautiful than you are. Don’t downplay or neglect the magic you have at your disposal. Don’t act as if your unique genius is nothing special. OK? Are you willing to grant us these small indulgences? Your specific talents, perspectives, and gifts are indispensable right now. The rest of us need you to be bold and brazen about expressing them.

CURTIS HAUSER

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018

at the back 23

july 18 - 29, 2018

experience

dinners that go above

and beyond presented by

presented by

dinner 20 feet above the crowd

long table 4 course dinner

The best seats in the house at a great concert venue

4 course meal with beverage pairings and live entertainment

Scissor lifts, raising you and three friends 20 feet above it all to enjoy some of Taste’s best and the evening’s entertainment!

This new dinner series will be a night 2 remember with unique culinary creations crafted by select group of local chefs each night.

Choose your evening, your time and experience the dinner with a view. Each package includes 2 beverage tickets and a buffet dinner.

Whether you’re planning a corporate event, or just want to join us for an evening with friends, everyone can enjoy a taste2remember.

BUY YOUR TICKETS FOR THESE DINNER EXPERIENCES ONLINE NOW NEW LOCATION CAPITAL PLAZA 99 AVE. & 108 ST. 24 Tell Me How You Really Feel

TAST EOFEDM.CA

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUL 19 - JUL 25, 2018