1181: Combo Chasers

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Pot As Harm Reduction 3

#1181 / JUN 14, 2018 – JUN 20, 2018 VUEWEEKLY.COM

Dylan Moran 8

ISSUE: 1181 • JUN 14 – JUN 20, 2018

HOT SAUCE 5

THE WORKS 7

WIN FESTIVAL PASS! HEREDITARY 11

MICHAEL RAULT 13 RAVE BAN 14

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ARTS // 10

ARTS // 7 FILM // 11 MUSIC // 13

MUSIC // 16 EVENTS // 18 CLASSIFIED // 19 ADULT // 20

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HARM REDUCTION

POT COULD WEAN HARD DRUG USERS: BOYLE STREET S

Homeless agency and Albertan doctors eye medicinal cannabis as a potential tool to reduce withdrawal symptoms

hanell Twan compares withdrawal from hard drugs to a “big, roaring lion,” which a prescription to medicinal cannabis downgrades to a “little purring kitten.”

Over the last few years, Twan— now an outreach worker with Boyle Street Community Service’s Street Works program—has used doctor-prescribed cannabis to wean herself off hard drug use, including morphine injections. The strategy is, maybe, an odd method of rehabilitation, but it works for some, and it is seeing increased interest among healthcare professionals in Canada.

“As someone who used substances, I realize I do have a bit of an addictive personality. Maybe I have just used one thing to replace another [in this case], but obviously to my benefit,” she says. “I’m able to be a parent, and fully employed, and give back to my community.”

The inner-city homeless agency has seen success amongst its members using cannabis to tran-

sition off of harder drugs. Boyle Street, and other community partners—including some medical practitioners—are eyeing the strategy as a potential harm reduction tool in the hopes it will help some of the agency’s community members.

“The symptoms are still there, but it alleviates a lot of the nausea and the pain,” says another Street Works member Arthur Sherren.

“I think it’s something that’s always been known. It just wasn’t talked about enough.”

However, according to Twan, Canada’s impending legalization of recreational pot has seen an increased interest in this somewhat unorthodox method of rehabilitation. Additionally, according to Elliott Tanti, media spokesperson with Boyle Street, physicians may have shied away from prescribing marijuana for withdrawal in the past, thinking it—“taboo,” or “unprofessional”— but discourse around legalization has changed this.

The number of community members interested in trying this stratagem has already increased, Twan says. The tactic has also helped members of Boyle Streets HER pregnancy program get off hard drugs and keep their babies, Tanti says.

Cannabis can be used as a replacement for more traditional detox methods, like using methadone or suboxone in the case of opioid withdrawal, Twan says.

However, she adds, some people may prefer the older methods.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) does not specifically regulate this usage of medicinal cannabis, as it stands, says its spokesperson Steve Buick. So far, the evidence supporting this method is anecdotal, he adds.

Generally, cannabis is not prescribed as a tool to fight withdrawal.

“In general, the evidence in this

area is limited right now. There is just no documented evidence in Canada to guide medical practice in this area,” Buick says. “If physicians are prescribing it for patients who have other drug dependencies—we don’t either approve or deny that. Physicians are free to use medical product according to their own judgement ... with due attention to the risks.”

However, last week the University of British Columbia announced a team of researchers will spend two years studying cannabis’ efficacy as a tool to wean people from other drugs, including alcohol.

“That’s potentially a very important study, and we’re very interested in the results from it,” Buick says.

In the meantime, the CPSA wants to outline two main points, Buick says. The first is that the government body must “regulate [cannabis] appropriately as part of medical practice,” Buick says,

C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER

adding that doctors cannot give pot freely to patients simply because they want it.

“You never want doctors giving something out as a consumer product. That’s never what doctors are for,” he says.

The CPSA also warns that doctors should be wary about prescribing cannabis in this regard, in case it just ends up being another recreational substance for the patient, rather than a medicine.

“We don’t want patients using cannabis in addition to other drugs they have an ongoing dependency on. That just complicates things more.”

The second point is that the CPSA is not generally against cannabis.

The organization is aware that some patients can benefit from it in a variety of ways, and more than 300 doctors in the province have registered to authorize medicinal cannabis use for medicinal purposes.

Doug Johnson doug@vueweekly.com

It’s game on at Edmonton’s fighting game community / Chris Penwell

‘THIS ISN’T A CLOSET HOBBY ANYMORE’

Edmonton’s fighting game community increases in prestige as its players hit bigger and bigger tournaments

T

he frantic tapping of buttons echo throughout the hive mind of OverKlocked Gaming, Edmonton’s fighting game community (FGC). Wires hang from the ceiling of dimly-lit gaming area. Many screens blast light and sound onto the faces and into the ears of the gamers. It’s like a science fiction movie.

Within the group, many passionate gamers compete and train to be the best in the latest fighting games. It is an unconventional and tight-knit community that is both combative and collaborative.

Many may not know that Edmonton has some world-class talent in this field. Local gamers are making names for themselves on the world stage at tournaments like Canada Cup, and the highly renowned EVO championship that garner attention from all over the world.

Beeball—the handle of local player Bee Hem—known for being the first Canadian to win the Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 tournament at Canada Cup in 2015, compares the scene to a family.

“They’re going to bust your balls, but they’re going to bust your balls for the better,” Beeball says.

However, he is competitive towards this family of gamers.

“If you’re going to talk trash to me, I’m coming. It’s like bait. If you want to bait me, just tell me I suck. Tell me I suck and give me a reason to beat you and I’ll come.

I’ll show up, for sure.”

Beeball briefly had a bitter rivalry with the Toronto community after Edmontonian players boasted about his abilities online. FCGs in the West and the East of Canada clash heads, and it became so heated between Beeball and Toronto that they called him dyslexic.

“It was like a hornet’s nest,” Beeball says.

The beef eventually saw attention worldwide and both communities put up $15,000 for high stakes ‘money-matches.’ Edmonton won it all.

This beef with Toronto, however, has passed.

“I took almost five grand from this

guy in his house. When I go there now, I stay at his house,” Beeball says. “He’s like, ‘Yo, if you come to Toronto, you have to stay here.

You’re not allowed to stay anywhere else.’ Everybody there is very catering to me.”

Like Rocky in the eponymous movies, Beeball had to gain respect, by proving himself to a more competitive and proud scene.

Despite a seemingly vitriolic appearance, the FGC is a welcoming community to be a part of.

Scotty Molyneaux (EFGC Scotty or scottbox64) is the community organizer of the EFGC (The FCG of Edmonton), who is trying to bring new players into the local scene. “If you ask for help, people will come and teach you,” Molyneaux says.

“Everybody’s really welcoming.”

As I spent a night with the local FGC, another player—who goes

by FakeSteve—showed me the ropes, and patiently told me how to do the correct combination of attacks in Dragon Ball FighterZ. It was a friendly environment as they called each other by their handles and shared stacks of pizza.

“At Alberta Beat Down last year, we had one of our newer players get into (the) top eight for Street Fighter V,” Molyneaux says.

“When he won, the player broke down and cried.”

Alberta Beat Down is a yearly event in August that attracts attention from Albertans and some Canadians. The community comes together to make cash pools to encourage players to be competitive and come to events. Prior events

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

have had sponsors like Red Bull to help support the local scene.

Marvin Mauricio (Marvtronic), another player who has been competitive on the world stage, ranked seventh at Canada Cup in Dragon Ball FighterZ, and he’s played top players from around the globe.

“I always tell these guys a joke that I learned how to throw a fire ball before I could read,” Mauricio says. Truly, Mauricio grew up with the arcade scene before it dwindled, but he still enjoys fighting games to this day.

“Seeing yourself develop as a player is fun to me. I couldn’t hit that combo yesterday, now I can hit it today,” Mauricio says. “This isn’t a closet hobby anymore. This is the real deal.”

Chris Penwell front 3

POLITICAL INTERFERENCE

PIPELINES FOR PUBLIC SERVICES? The NDP’s sudden pro-pipeline shift ignores some harsh realities

I

ncreasingly over the past few weeks, Premier Rachel Notley and her government have been working hard to draw a connection between the funding of public services in Alberta and the construction of the TransMountain pipeline—from press releases, to tweets, to Health Minister Sarah Hoffmann’s assertion at the Western Premiers’ Conference last month that “pharmacare doesn’t grow on trees.”

This type of messaging from the NDP is a significant reversal of its previous standpoint that neither our economy nor our government revenues should be as dependent on oil and gas as they currently are, and its opinion that the province’s level of natural resource revenue should never be the determining factor in how we fund our public services and infrastructure.

In fact, the NDP has often argued, in the past, that we should be saving as much of our natural resource revenue as

possible and primarily relying on a fair and progressive system of taxes to fund our public services and infrastructure.

All of that, however, appears to have been tossed out the proverbial window as part of the government’s quest for popular support in this all-consuming effort to get the pipeline built.

More concerning than the NDP’s recent about-face on how we fund public services, however, is what their new positioning will actually mean for the funding of those services over the next few years.

The path to fiscal balance identified in Budget 2018, which presumes that the pipeline will be built, shows overall spending growth in Alberta not keeping up with population growth and inflation in order to balance the books by 2023. What this means for things like health care and education in the province is a virtual funding cut of between 15 and 20 percent over the next

five years. In other words, it appears from the government’s own projections that even with the TransMountain pipeline we will not have the revenues we need to adequately fund our public services.

Unfortunately, despite what it says in Budget 2018, the real scope of the problem will be much worse than that, considering the government based its numbers on some fairly inflated projections for the fiscal, and economic benefits that would result from the completion of the pipeline.

The government’s job numbers, for example, are based on modelling conducted by the Conference Board of Canada that economists of all stripes have now repeatedly, and soundly, discredited. The only enduring numbers are those provided by Kinder Morgan with their initial pipeline application: 2,500 construction jobs per year for two years, and 50

permanent operations jobs in Alberta and 40 in British Columbia. Given Alberta’s ridiculously low tax rates, there is no way the pipeline expansion alone will generate the growth in tax revenues projected by the government.

This is also true for the projected growth in jobs from increased bitumen production.

The industry has changed significantly in the last five years making bitumen extraction much less labour intensive than it used to be.

This is also the case with the government’s estimates for increased royalties as a result of higher prices. The future price and royalty projections are based almost entirely on a price differential that was inflated because of a shutdown and subsequent reduced capacity in the Keystone Pipeline. As that pipeline comes back to full capacity, the tidewater price differential will come back down to historical averages meaning the price

obtained per barrel will not be significantly higher, if at all.

In the end, it does seem that the NDP had it right historically—it is absolute insanity to tie funding for public services to the price and well-being of the oil industry. However, a two percent sales tax in Alberta would generate over $3 billion a year in government revenues.

And adopting the tax structure and regime of B.C., the nextlowest-taxed province, would generate an extra $11.2 billion per year.

Perhaps if the government had gone back to its roots, and put as much energy and political capital into fixing our tax system as they have into building this pipeline, they really would have found a way to fund health care and education sustainably over the long term. In the meantime, I guess we just brace for the cuts that will come regardless of what happens with the pipeline.

Ricardo Acuña

DYER STRAIGHT

ETHIOPIA’S NEW SAVIOUR?

Short term, Abiy Ahmed’s regime will get results for a country plagued by war, but the long-term is a different story

N

obody outside the ruling party really knows much about Abiy Ahmed beyond his official party biography, but Ethiopia’s new prime minister looks a lot like a magic man at the moment. Three years of mounting protests have suddenly stopped, the state of emergency has been lifted, and with a single dramatic

announcement he has ended 20 years of hot-and-cold war with neighbouring Eritrea.

He did that on Tuesday by declaring (as only the leader of a tough authoritarian regime can) that Ethiopia now accepts the 2002 ruling of an international border commission, and will pull its troops out of Badme,

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the market town at the centre of the quarrel with Eritrea.

At least 80,000 soldiers and civilians died in the hot war with Eritrea (1998 to 2000), and several million soldiers wasted years of their lives on the border during the long cold war that followed (which briefly went hot again as recently as 2016). But Abiy Ahmed has ended all that with a wave of his hand.

So something has clearly changed in Ethiopia, and Abiy Ahmed himself is a new phenomenon. He belongs to the Oromo ethnic group, the biggest in the country, but he is the first Oromo in all of Ethiopia’s history to lead the government.

The growing protests of the past three years were strongest in Oromia, because the people there felt marginalized politically, culturally, and economically. Hundreds of people have been killed in the demonstrations and the situation was getting out of hand, so the ruling party’s solution was to put an Oromo in charge—but one who has spent his whole adult life serving the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

Abiy is such a man. He joined the army straight out of school, worked his way up to colonel, then shifted to a senior position in the intelligence and security apparatus

of what is, after all, a police state— finally, he moved into politics.

He has been given power to deal with some of the biggest grievances of the population precisely because he is trusted not to let power slip away from the EPRDF. Maybe his appointment as prime minister will calm things down, but don’t mistake any future calms for the start of a transition towards democracy.

Ethiopia is the only one of subSaharan Africa’s three economic giants that is not democratic.

Unlike South Africa and Nigeria, it has a single ruling party that dominates everything. The EPRDF is a permanent coalition of four parties representing the four biggest ethnic groups— Oromo, Amhara, Tigrinya, and Somali—but all are part of a highly disciplined whole that has an almost Soviet style of rule. It is not encumbered by specifically communist or even socialist ideological obsessions, but elections are no more meaningful than the old Soviet ones were.

Over the past decade, this hard-line approach has delivered an annual average of 10 percent economic growth to Ethiopia, far higher than in South Africa or Nigeria. And while there is clearly serious friction between

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

the various Ethiopian ethnic groups that make up the EPRDF, it is not significantly worse than the ethnic rivalries that plague the politics of the two big democracies.

It’s hardly surprising, therefore, that some people have been wondering aloud whether Ethiopia’s model is better for African countries. People do end up in jail or in exile for opposing the regime—or simply disappear—but not all that many, and the system is delivering the goods economically.

Maybe it’s worth a try.

Maybe, but don’t count on it. In the short run, authoritarian politics often produce better results than democracy. Orders are given and obeyed, and things get done. But over the long run, the opposition builds up, and there is no democratic safety valve to let off the steam.

When the dam finally bursts, you can lose a lot.

Consider the quarter-century of lost growth in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The EPRDF will not last forever, because no system of that sort ever does, and when it goes it could be with an almighty crash.

That may not happen for quite a long time, but Abiy Ahmed is probably not a permanent fixture in the country.

Gwynne Dyer

Buok Fresh Korean Kitchen will open later this summer / Supplied

KOREAN

A LOVE LETTER TO HIS MOM

Son honours mom’s cooking with opening of Buok Fresh Korean Kitchen

H

enry Song wants to bring something simple—yet difficult to come by—to those searching for Korean cuisine: fresh, straight-out-of-the-kitchen food, made with proper ingredients, inspired traditional Korean cooking, the kind of cooking he learned from his mom.

“It’s very casual,” Song says.

“That’s what I really love about Korean food. There’s no orchestration for it. There’s so much of Korean cuisine that people don’t know about.”

Buok Fresh Korean Kitchen will open later this month with bibimbap rice, or noodle, bowls, handmade kimchi, and street foodesque sandwiches. The restaurant

aims to offer everyday Korean food and make it approachable like many of the restaurants in Seoul, in which customers order, eat their meals quickly, and then go about their days.

Song is delivering a casual environment with his new restaurant.

At the front counter, there will be a selection of different toppings, proteins, and sauces to choose from. Customers pick a base (rice or noodles), choose whatever five toppings they would like to put on top from shiitake mushrooms to kimchi, to daikon—all for $8.99.

For an additional $3, customers can add their favourite protein, such as bulgogi beef, doenjang pulled pork, and ginseng chicken.

“I’m welcoming you to what my fridge looks like on an average basis,” Song says. “We’ll just pull stuff out, and I’ll say ‘Whatever, here’s some rice, go and make your food.’ It is just that casual.”

Buok may be midnight snackstyle casual, but it will have a menu. The bulgogi sandwich will have beef slices sauteed in his mom’s Bulgogi sauce (which has a sweet, sesame profile), kimchi paste—hot, and vinegary—and coleslaw with sesame sauce that gives a crunch and a mellowness that balances out the flavours.

In addition, the doenjang pulled pork—pork shoulder braised in fermented Korean soy bean, which is meatier than its Japanese

counterpart—has been mixed with soju, a Korean liquor. The leftover juices are strained and are used in the barbecue sauce.

Song’s mother inspired the recipes, and the chef credits her with his passion for food. In the 1970s, the Song family moved from Korea to Canada. Despite not knowing English and having a language barrier with her kids, Song’s mother and her children had a common love of cooking.

Henry was the main taster and lends his experiences with his mom and palette to Buok. His mom only brought home ingredients that lived up to her high standards, and she tried to import

food, like chili spices, from Korea.

On the table, the Song family had a variety of different meals to pick from, as Song’s mom learned how to cook in other culinary traditions—like Italian and Eastern European—from her neighbours.

Cabbage lasagna, and kimchi all shared space on the table.

Song is grateful to his mother— besides being a phenomenal cook, she was able to see all four of her children get through university, credit free, in an unfamiliar country.

“My mom has always shown her love to her children through her food,” Song says. “I would love to show even a wrinkle or an inkling of that to every customer.”

Chris Penwell

HOT SAUCE

CONDIMENT COMPANY’S POPULARITY HEATS UP T

Local chef hopes to scale up operations and expand line of fermented hot sauces

he inspiration of Original Redhead Condiments came from a strange, but ultimately common source.

“I was bored. It’s where most things start, right?” says Stuart Whyte, a long-time chef, and relatively recent convert to the field of fermented sauces, salsa and condiments.

Early in his career, Whyte worked at a Korean restaurant, which imbued in him an early interest in less-common ways of preserving food. In particular, the restaurant’s heavily preserved sausage drove him to research fermenting meat, but, as fate would have it, the first thing in a cursory Google search showed a recipe for fermented hot sauces.

“I started dabbling with that, and I realized that it would make the hot sauces sour, and I really like acids,” Whyte says. “It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started understanding the benefits of fermenting food, probiotics and prebiotoics, and all the beneficial microbiomes found in fermented food.”

To keep these healthy, tiny organisms, Whyte’s condiments can’t be pasteurized. The downside to this being that they need to be kept cold. There are some money issues with that, and it makes shipping harder. The sauces are acidic enough to kill many harmful strains

of bacteria, but, if left out too long, they start losing flavour, and start to look kind of janky.

Whyte has been making fermented hot sauces for more than seven years, starting off in Vancouver at The Pourhouse on Water Street. He moved to Edmonton around three years ago and began working at Culina in Millcreek, which has since closed its doors.

According to the chef, Brad Lazarenko (who runs Culina, and some other well-known local restaurants) likes to foster new businesses among the people he works with.

“He really pushed me into starting Original Redhead. He didn’t know what the name was and neither did I, but he wanted to use my products at his restaurants,” Whyte says, adding that his condiments have since spread to other operations Lazarenko has founded. (Whyte also has red hair, for those wondering).

Despite this kind of low-key popularity, Whyte has been somewhat reluctant to make the condiment company his full-time job. He’s not quite sure why, but some of it had to do with his friends, who were all embarking on small businesses at the time.

Plus, after Culina closed, he start-

ed managing the restaurant in Riverside Golf Course, which took over most of his life last year.

“I was still very much in the kitchen,” he says. “When Millcreek [Culina] closed, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to just jump onboard with a business ... I just didn’t want to follow everyone else’s lead, and I wasn’t quite sure if it was going to be fiscally viable.”

Also: the admittedly small market for hot sauce makers in Edmonton is somewhat tricky to break into. Most of the produce involved comes from imports out of Mexico and other Canadian provinces. No one in Edmonton grows large quantities of tomatillos, necessary for a good salsa verde, for example. Sometimes, he’s resorted to using canned tomatillos, which taste great, but yield a weird texture.

“Even local produce can be quite finicky and unreliable,” he says.

“But, after Riverside closed, I just decided to jump at it, and see what happens.”

Whyte has an ATB Boostr campaign to raise $15,000 in the hopes of improving his operations. His equipment, as it stands, is pretty old, and the boost would allow him to scale up, by degrees, maybe one day selling the sauces around the world, and retiring somewhere nice.

Before then, however, he wants to start a kind of growler program (like some places do with beer) for hot sauce, and get some more green packaging, biodegradable labels and eco-friendly glue: that kind of thing.

“Then I’ll sell it and go live in a

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shack somewhere on a beach,” Whyte says with a laugh. “I want to live in a hut in Cuba and sell ceviche all day. People laugh at me, but then they really start thinking about it.”

Doug Johnson doug@vueweekly.com

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INDIAN BUFFET

Narayanni’s Indian buffet offerings / J Procktor

BEYOND THE BASIC BUFFET

Nearly a decade old, Narayanni’s continues to stand out among Edmonton’s lineup of standard Indian buffets

I

recently tried to find an Indian buffet to tell you about, but the place I picked didn’t really pan out. It was so typical of an Indian buffet—Edmonton is rich with typical Indian buffets— that I genuinely couldn’t think of anything to say about its chickens of the butter variety, tandoori and curry, saag paneer, something lentily, fish or maybe goat, and—naturally—a big tureen of hyper-sweet gulab jamun swimming in syrup. It was all present and accounted for and indistinguishable from dozens of similar chafing dishes in dozens of restaurants dotting our landscape.

And so I went back to an old fave after a long period of estrangement. I actually wrote about Narayanni’s when it first opened eight years ago—with some excitement, I might add. Clearly I’d had enough of typical Indian buffets.

Narayanni’s struck me as anything but, given its orientation toward organic, seasonal ingredients, and its rejection of ersatz crowd pleasers. You can’t order a la carte at Narayanni’s, but rather share in a selection of what almost tastes like Indian (by way of South Africa) home cooking. No heavy sauces or oily naan bread here, but plenty of aromatic spiciness as complement to virtues of quality local produce.

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For that reason, Narayanni’s has always been a bit more dear to my heart than the average buffet at $30/person. But this past weekend saw them celebrate eight years in their soon-to-be gentrified industrial area just south of Roots on Whyte, so they were letting their not-at-all-typical buffet go for a mere $20 a crack. It was time to go see how they were weathering the relentless evaporation of time.

The answer is quite well, it turns out, if you go by how little changed it all seemed. The surprisingly elegant interior of saffron and navy, the discreet Buddhas, and a big central bar ringed

AT 5:00pm

by the aforementioned chafing dishes was just as I remembered it. The owners, the Naidoo family, still looked no less hale and cheerful as they presided over things, greeting, seating, and delivering water and wine with cheerful efficiency.

While Narayanni’s differs from most Indian buffets in a lot of ways that matter, it is exactly the same in that it’s totally easy to overeat to the point of discomfort. Everything tastes so good, and if you try to sample it all you end up with a squalling food baby trying to kick its way out of your abdomen. In the past, this was exacerbated

by Narayanni’s tendency to offer a metric tonne of selection on any given night. Our anniversary visit saw this tendency confined to a few appetizers, seven hot dishes, a delicious and palatecleansing vegetable slaw in tangy vinaigrette, and—still— way too many desserts.

We started with an anomalous, but very tasty, hummus spiked with hot chilies and a rather more expected bhajia—a deep-fried fritter made of onions and spinach dredged in chickpea flour—with two kinds of chutney. Co-diner took seconds of the hummus and the crunchy papadums also on offer.

I gave co-diner my pro tip as we summited the buffet: put the basmati rice in the middle of the plate and ladle the various comestibles around the perimeter.

To be honest, the colour palette of this particular Narayanni’s buffet was pretty narrow. Round my basmati mound was mushrooms cooked with chickpeas, curried paneer, potato curry, butternut squash and chicken curry, all in

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

Narayanni’s 10131 – 81 Ave. (780)756-7112 narayannis.com varying shades of ochre. But the flavours and textures of each were distinct as they accentuated the central component: the earthy sponginess of mushrooms, honey-sweet squash spiked with fennel, ginger, mustard, cayenne, creamy paneer and peas in a glaze of turmeric-tinged ghee. Co-diner remarked on how satisfying even their simple potato curry was.

They were no less adept at the non-veg portion of the buffet from tender cubes of chicken in rich curry gravy to the succulent roasted masala-rubbed chicken thighs. The fried masala-rubbed whitefish was also tasty, but fared less well sitting in a chafing dish over time.

After a plate and a half, we were both stuffed, which curtailed our ability to sample all five desserts that awaited us at the end of the buffet. I love rice pudding too much to ever pass it up, and the warm, milky, cinnamon-imbued kheer at Narayanni’s filled my sinuses with cardamom aroma and my spirit with joy. Co-diner and I split a wonderful homemade butter tart, then begrudgingly admitted we really shouldn’t eat any more, leaving peach trifle, chocolate torte, and almond tarts untested.

It’s obvious to me how Narayanni’s has stuck around Edmonton’s fickle food scene for most of a decade without kowtowing to middlebrow tastes. If you’re still not sure, you have some homework to do.

Scott Lingley

A piece from Kasie Campbell’s Matrilineal Threads / Supplied

ARTS FESTIVAL

This year The Works Art & Design Festival offers a ‘Visual Vortex’

I

n many ways The Works has turned the modern gallery inside out, says Amber Rooke, executive artistic director of the festival.

It shifts art consumption from the intentional, to the coincidental.

“When you come to see a piece of work, it is a ‘give what you get’ experience,” she says.

This year, the festival spans 23 locations, centered around Capital Plaza, and offers 13 days of visual art and music.

Having art open and free to the public is one of many benefits of the festival, Rooke says. “This is real and important cultural work that’s pushing forward how we see the world … Art is what makes life better.”

Indeed, this is a part of The Works’ efforts to bring art to everyone, and make it an enjoyable experience for all.

For instance, The festival has added cultural programming to align with four important Canadian holidays—National Indigenous Peoples Day, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, Canadian Multiculturalism Day, and Canada Day—to help promote inclusivity within its broad grounds. “[The Works] believes that accessibility and inclusivity is a key factor in growing society,” Rooke says.

Providing both English and French entertainment on the main stage, the festival will host a variety of workshops, walking tours, an art market, and several local food vendors, ensuring nearly endless activities.

The inclusion of Francophone content in the festival has increased significantly from last year, says Magalie Bergeron, director of ACFA regional d’Edmonton.

“Edmonton has a vibrant French community,” Bergeron says. “We

are excited for the rest of Edmonton to be apart of it.”

Francophone entertainment will be introduced with the sounds of drumming referred to as Les Tam-tams, drawing its significance from a popular Montreal outdoor festival.

That said, the festival offers a wealth of experiences from myriad voices across the city.

Artist Kasie Campbell, who designed and constructed her sculptural installation Matrilineal Threads with her mother, Ginette Lund, invites us to look at the complicated relationship women have with their bodies, and how that affects the female psyche.

“There is an interesting dialogue happening between the beautiful and the grotesque,” Campbell says. “Visceral materials like pantyhose, for example, are meant to mimic the nature of skin, and are meant to hide imperfections in our legs. However, they are also uncomfortable and they leave imprints on our skin long after we have taken them off.”

One of the pieces Campbell created is a highly-detailed crocheted body suit, designed by Campbell and crocheted by her mother. It “is quite bulbous and grotesque, but also beautiful in its micro moments,” she adds.

Campbell will give approximately five performances at Capital Plaza while wearing the suit, and will be displayed in an exhibition tent between performances with the rest of the exhibit.

“This body suit was also very fun to make with my mom. I did a rather provocative sketch and my mom just made it. She was so talented. She would try it on and get my dad to take pictures.”

Tuned in, Spaced out is a fourpiece multimedia installation utilizing different techniques to personify the effects of digital processes to abstract macro and micro-imaging.

Gabriel Molina intentionally obscures his images beyond recognition, forcing the viewers to “create meaning from the meaningless.”

He does this by magnifying “in the extreme” the human tendency of apophenia, which Molina describes as the natural function of the human mind to attribute meaning to things that appear random.

“Sometimes becoming so unrecognizable as to become recognizable as something different,” Molina adds.

Molina exploits naturally occurring phenomena, such as interference patterns, in his work to reveal underlying connections between the technological and biological world.

Using mainly nature-based images, Molina’s abstractions give unintended impressions of biological and cosmological structures.

He demonstrates this by capitalizing on the interference patterns within some of his works.

“This whole world we live in that governs our lives, that was built by us and then there is all this other stuff, even within the stuff that we build that we didn’t intend for. It feels like the universe breaking through to remind us that this isn’t all there is.”

There is no one-way to attribute meaning to Molina’s work. Viewers will have to experience the installation for themselves at FAVA Exhibition Suite to discover how their minds process unprocessed information, he says.

Hiding in plain sight, Agata Gabrowaska’s three-piece series, A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, demands to be deciphered while inconspicuously hanging on the walls of the Downtown YMCA. “I am hoping that the paintings are compelling, so the viewer reads the statement and asks themselves some of the questions I pose.” Gabrowaska says the “series is an attempt to present the unseen costs of consumer culture.”

Cluttered rooms exploding with unused household objects overwhelm the canvas. Gabrowaska shows that even the beautiful oil colours can’t conceal the hollowness that inanimate objects have while not being used.

“I’ve decided to embrace my tendencies toward ‘more is more’ and use them to my advantage,” she says.

The over abundance of items such as houseplants, hangers, and modern furniture reflect how relatable the slide into consumer culture is.

Gabrowaska says posing questions about responsibly interacting with ecological spaces is a privilege of her work, but acknowledges the difficulty to solve the issues are left to the mind of viewers.

In Search of Eden is one of The Works’ largest outdoor installations in this year’s festival and a first for its creator Emmanuel Osahor.

From the outside, the installation, located in Capital Plaza, looks like generic construction scaffolding, but as viewers walk through, they will find the structure holds within it a variety of plants and photographs.

“I want people to think it doesn’t belong, and maybe brush it off as

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

Thu., Jun. 21 – Tue., Jul. 3 The Works Art & Design Festival Various locations theworks.ab.ca just another piece of construction,” Osahor says, “but as they go in, I hope they have a pretty transformative experience.”

Having spent a year documenting temporary shelters throughout Edmonton, Osahor highlights the realities of chronic homelessness in an effort to support those who are on the fringes of society.

Osahor’s piece deals with complex issues that many cities, including Edmonton, are faced with, however, viewers will have to engage with the art to understand what the structure represents.

“There is some discomfort, but not overtly, and that is what is intentional,” Osahor says. “I want the installation to be beautiful and draw people in based on its beauty, but as a viewer spends time and gets past the allure of light coming from a light box, they begin to realize that the photographs are more complicated than they had initially realized, and maybe they don’t want to look anymore.”

Despite the hardship presented in the piece, Osahor still finds it reflects the beauty people build out of adversity.

“I have become really interested in the ways individuals and communities, although not existing in a perfect society, still carve out spaces that reflect some of what we aspire to. I think this speaks a lot to the tenacity of human character and the persistence of hope.”

Jazmin Tremblay arts 7

COMEDY

GRUMBLING WHILE LOST IN THE COSMOS Dylan Moran’s comedy will make you forget about your tethered reality as a human being

Thu., Jun. 14 (7 pm) Dylan Moran: Grumbling Mustard Myer Horowitz Theatre $42 via ticketfly.com

Dylan Moran / Supplied

T

wo minutes into my conversation with Irish comedian, actor, writer, and filmmaker Dylan Moran, he asks why I’m asking analytical questions. I quickly realize there’s no point in asking questions like “how has your comedic style changed since you started” or “how does your newest show Grumbling Mustard compare to your previous stand-up?”

No, the droll, (and at times), mumbling Black Books star and co-creator enjoys taking the opportunity to not think about his career and chosen profession.

“You can’t think like that when you’re doing it,” he says. “If I’m 100 percent aware, I’m too selfconscious and I can’t do the thing. Like, if you go out with some friends and you’re looking forward to a night at the pub with a couple of drinks to shoot the shit, you’re not thinking ‘I must be 100 percent aware of myself so I can tell my story well.’ No, you want to forget yourself. So, partly what I’m there to do is to make everybody forget themselves. When we forget ourselves, we recreate.”

He’s right. The whole point of going to a comedy show is to forget your own life and listen to somebody else riff about their own observations of our absurd world. In Moran’s eyes, the worst is when comedians don’t understand this concept and choose only to talk about themselves.

8 arts

“Everyone has learned to joke about themselves from say, Trump. He loves to hear about himself and that’s what people give him,” Moran says. “When someone is talking about themselves, especially a young man talking about their girlfriend or whatever, it can be kind of boring. As you get older, I feel like you talk about everybody instead of the one guy and his adventures with his dick.”

excitable stand-up demeanor and more than 25 years of experience, some of Moran’s material is like Mad Libs on speed and it’s exceptionally enjoyable.

“You try to use the constrictions of life, like the fact that we have to get up to go to work every day,” Moran says. “The ordinary things that bind us as a species: knife, fork, spoon, cancer. That’s how it goes. Eggs on toast, marriage, dinner time, and then something

is trying to be more responsible and figure out if we’re going to stop stabbing each other and take responsibility for our action as a species on a planet. So, people tend to laugh at the same things, because we’re all banded by the same elemental forces: love, age, desire, or wanting another nacho.”

Perhaps Moran’s rationale is the reason that he’s reached such a large audience through comedy,

“As you get older, I feel like you talk about everybody instead of the one guy and his adventures with his dick.” – Dylan Moran That’s what Moran does with his stand-up. He talks about other people and the relatable everyday things that each audience member has faced in some way shape or form. He will talk about what it’s like to be alive, what’s bothering you, or the chat you had with your spouse or mom an hour ago.

He’s not the kind of comedian to write a joke with a punch line that yearns for a good response.

Instead, he will usually write a line and leave out details that he makes up live. And based on his

awful happens like, oh, the oven explodes—these are all ordinary things that happen every day in people’s lives.”

Moran also doesn’t believe in the comedic myth that an audience’s sense of humour changes based on where you are in the world.

“Human beings are human beings. Look at us, we’re post nations now. Who gives a shit about borders anymore?” he says.

“We’re a species on a planet moving to the point where everyone

TV, and film. The comedy in his surreal British cult sitcom Black Books (2000-2004)—where he starred as Bernard Black, a cynical, anti-social, booze-hounding, small bookshop owner in London—is still hard to rival. And once again, it’s because it’s relatable. Bernard Black, along with his friends Manny and Fran portray that shut-in ‘I hate everyone, just let me drink’ mentality we have all thought about.

“It came from being in a world that they really resented and they have to make a living and

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

they really resent that as well,” Moran says. “Take it as a museum display of their lives because they are people who would rather be reading a book quietly in a dusty room. And we turned that into a show. They can’t be happy. Something about them won’t let them be happy. Bernard is tortured and everyone seems to like that about him.”

On top of touring Grumbling Mustard, Moran is working on a pilot of a show called Dr. Cosmos.

It’s also the name of his upcoming stand-up show he will take across the U.K. later this year.

“It’s partly about mental health, society, what we think of the sane, how we treat each other, and what we think of a cure,” he says. It’s not a live-action thing like Black Books was, but it will be funny—dramatic and funny and all kinds of things.”

The title for his Grumbling Mustard show came from a joke between Moran and his American producer.

“It’s the idea of somebody sitting up late at night with a drink, losing their mind and trying to figure out what is happening in the world with the American election, Brexit, and the endless war,” he says.

“Just the general feeling of ‘We lost the plot.’ Just like your house after a party with all the crap just lying around everywhere.”

Stephan Boissonneault stephan@vueweekly.com

CONTENT CREATION

ARTIFACTS

MerrickEats, uh, eating / Supplied

AN INSIDER PERSPECTIVE ON THE EDMONTON YOUTUBE SCENE YouTube from the viewpoints of two Edmonton content creators

S

tephen Robinson, A.K.A, 52 Skillz, spent the last day of May fighting for balance on a slackline between two trees, a yo-yo in one hand and a thumbs up in the other. In late June or early July, he plans to take it from three feet above the ground to 300 feet in the air, and perform yo-yo tricks on a slackline between two cliffs for his YouTube show, How to Learn Anything.

If you live in Edmonton and have never heard of 52 Skillz (Robinson’s username) or MerrickEats (another local channel), it might be time to start spreading the word. Many local artists can be supported by attending craft fairs or live performances.

But when a creator’s content is almost strictly posted online, in the vast, rolling sea of videos that is YouTube, it becomes more difficult to find, identify and support them.

MerrickEats, or Merrick, as he prefers to be called, and Stephen Robinson are both content creators from Edmonton. Although their niches differ, they both offer insight on being YouTubers in Alberta’s capital city.

“I’m guessing most people wouldn’t just search up ‘Edmonton YouTubers’ and start watching them just to support them,” Merrick says. The 24-year-old started his YouTube career as a men’s fashion guide, but later shifted his focus to mukbang, a practice where a broadcaster consumes a large amount of food then posts the video on the internet for their viewers. Mukbang first became popular in South Korea, but Merrick says that support is growing in the west as well, among those that despise eating alone, or those on a strict diet and want to live vicariously through someone else.

As far as local support from Edmonton, Merrick says he thinks most people discover a YouTuber is from their home city after they have already become engaged with their content.

There is a conception among many YouTubers that in order to succeed as a YouTube star, it’s almost necessary to pick up and move to Los Angeles. There are definitely a lot of good reasons to do so, such as finding other aspiring YouTubers to collaborate or cross-promote their channels with.

Merrick says that you can start a YouTube channel in the middle of Nebraska if your content is good, but, “Generally speaking, no matter what niche you’re in, there’s more creators in [L.A.].”

Robinson agrees that there are more and bigger opportunities for content creators in places like L.A., Toronto, and Vancouver, but also says starting out here in Edmonton has its benefits too.

“If you want to explode and get huge, Edmonton would be a challenging city to do that in… but I don’t think that means that you can’t succeed in places like Edmonton,” he says.

Robinson, 24, started his YouTube channel in 2013 to document a personal challenge: learn a new skill every week for 52 weeks. After the year was up, he decided to keep going with his channel, mastering skills such as opening beers with anything, solving a Rubik’s cube while skydiving, and how to flip a car while doing the splits.

His channel got the attention of Telus, and Robinson got to launch the show How to Learn Anything, which is available on YouTube and currently filming for a second season. One of the planned episodes will feature Robinson’s slack-lining yo-yo stunt.

“I’ll be strapped to a harness so I don’t die,” Robinson laughs.

“It’s going to be great.”

Despite having his show renewed for a second season, Robinson says that he doesn’t see himself doing YouTube in 10 years.

“It’s been incredible. The experiences I’ve gotten out of it, the people I’ve met, and how much I’ve grown as an individual has been extremely beneficial to my life,” he says.

In order to make a living doing nothing but YouTube, Merrick says that he would need about two or three million views per month.

“That’s going by the assumption that my income would be, say, a little bit above minimum wage, 40 hours a week,” Merrick says.

Consequently, YouTube is not Merrick’s primary source of income. Robinson attributes about 80 percent of his income to his YouTube channel and the opportunities that he has had which arose from it, but, like Merrick, agrees that the numbers could be better.

“It’s easy to get caught up in comparisons and numbers and not feel great about it. But as far as what I’ve been able to accomplish and the opportunities I’ve gotten out of it, I would say it’s a success.”

Eventually, Merrick says that he hopes to be able to make his channel a full-time job. Given that Edmonton is not the creative cultural haven that L.A. is, it might be harder to be successful as a YouTuber, but definitely achievable. So is his channel a success?

“Yes, I’d like to think so,” Merrick says. “I hope it is in other people’s eyes as well.”

Trevor Robson

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

E.J. Hughes Paints Vancouver Island / By Robert Amos His early paintings command six-figure prices at auction, some of which even surpass the million-dollar mark. For Canadian painter E.J. Hughes it all began at home, in the deep, thick forests and wide open bays of Vancouver Island.

Prints of his strongly-coloured impressionist landscape paintings fill the pages of the newly-released coffee table book, wellseasoned with insights from Canadian writer and painter Robert Amos. The sketches and paintings of the book are arranged from south to north of the island. Amos was a fan of Hughes’ singular style of skewed perspective, geometric shapes, and bold colour from first sight in 1983; 30 years later he was given the role of undertaking the artist’s biography.

Sierra Bilton arts@vueweekly.com

Being somewhat of an introvert coping with anxiety all his life, Hughes was drawn to the secluded places on Vancouver Island, making him and his art scarcely known by his fellow residents for some time. Naturally, Amos saw this as a funny injustice, given that much of the painter’s work depicted the island’s landscapes.

Eventually, in the 1980s, exhibitions of his paintings began cropping up, in Surrey, Victoria, and Nanaimo—places that stood amongst the soul of his practice.

Hughes was a particular artist with little interest in publicity and interviews. Most of his interest lay in keeping the world at bay in order to get on with his work at home, in the studio, which is what makes this book so rare and captivating—an insight into a mysterious talent that shaped Canadian art quietly, yet dramatically.

celebrating years

Promoting Contemporary Visual Arts since 1988

26th Annual Harcourt House Naked Show + ART SALE:

FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING + NUDE POETRY by Dani Zyp

OPENING RECEPTION: Thursday, June 21, @ 7 - 10 pm Poetry reading by Dani Zyp & Ronal Kurt @ 7:30pm Exhibition: June 21 - July 3, 2018

Harcourt House’s Annex Building, 10211 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB www.harcourthouse.ab.ca I 780 426 4180

arts 9

ARTS WEEKLY EMAIL YOUR FREE LISTINGS TO: LISTINGS@VUEWEEKLY.COM DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 12PM

COMEDY 11 O'CLOCK NUMBER • The Grindstone, 10019-81 Ave • grindstonetheatre.ca • This completely improvised musical comedy is based on the suggestions from the audience who will get to experience a brand new story unfold in front of them, complete with impromptu songs, dance breaks and show stopping numbers • Every Fri

BIG ROCK PRESENTS: DEVANEY’S COMEDY NIGHT • Devaney's, 11113-87 Ave • 780.433.6364 • stephen.f.mcgovern@gmail. com • Weekly open-mic hosted by Stephen McGovern • Sep 6-Apr 25, Every Wed, 8:30pm • Free

BIG ROCK PRESENTS: URBAN TAVERN COMEDY NIGHT HOSTED BY LARS CALLIEOU • Urban Tavern, 11606 Jasper Ave • Every Sun, 8pm

BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE • 10425-82 Ave • Underdog Comedy Show • Every Thu

COMEDY FACTORY • Gateway Entertainment Centre, 34 Ave, Calgary Tr • Sean Baptiste; Jun 15-16

COMIC STRIP • Bourbon St, WEM • 780.483.5999 • Ian Bagg; Jun 14-17

EMPRESS ALE HOUSE • 9912-82 Ave • Empress Comedy Night: Highlighting the best stand-up Edmonton has to offer. New headliner every week • Every Sun, 9pm • Free

FOUR BANGER FRIDAYS • Grindstone Theatre, 10019-81 Ave • grindstonetheatre.ca • Edmonton’s premiere independent stand-up comedy show. Host Simon Gorsak curates a staggering four comic showcase and plays host to the funniest people he knows from across Canada, and you • Every Fri, 9pm • $12

IMPROVAGANZA INTERNATIONAL IMPROV FESTIVAL • Citadel Theatre, 9828-101 A Ave •

HOUSE OF HUSH PRESENTS: SWING, SWING, SWING! • Crash Hotel Lobby, 10266-103 St • hellothere@violettecoquette. com • houseofhushjune22.eventbrite.com • houseofhushburlesque.com • Get ready for House of Hush's highest-energy, swingin' acts, 1940s glamour, and film noir • Jun 22, 7pm (door), 8-9:30pm (show) • $30 (include a complimentary feature cocktail) • 18+ only

FILM DOMINION (2018) SCREENING •

BUGERA MATHESON GALLERY • 10345124 St • bugeramathesongallery.com • Close Encounters: artwork by Ian Rawlinson; Jun 2-16

CAVA GALLERY • 9103-95 Ave • 780.461.3427 • galeriecava.com • BIVOUAC: artwork by Isabelle Demers, Anouk Desloges, Emilie Proulx; Jun 29-Aug 3

DC3 ART PROJECTS • 10567-111 St • 780.686.4211 • dc3artprojects.com • Arrivals: curated by Ociciwan Contemporary Art Collective; Jun 29-Aug 4 FAB GALLERY • Fine Arts Building Gallery,1-1

780.443.6044 • rapidfiretheatre.com • Ten days of improvised comedy, music, and much more • Jun 13-23 • From $15

Central Lions Recreation Centre, 11113 113 St • 780.994.0999 • amaraczi@gmail.com • A film about sustainability and animal agriculture • Jun 29, 7-10pm • Admission by donation (via Eventbrite)

HOUSE OF HUSH PRESENTS: LET'S MISBEHAVE • Crash Hotel Lobby, 10266-

GOOD BURGER: PJ PARTY IN THE IMAX THEATRE • TELUS World of Science,

thefrontgallery.com • Women Artists: Aug 8, 7-9pm

103 St • hellothere@violettecoquette. com • houseofhushjuly13.eventbrite.com • houseofhushburlesque.com • House of Hush brings you a summer-lovin' lineup of performers • Jul 13, 7pm (door), 8-9:30pm (show) • $30 (include a complimentary feature cocktail) • 18+ only

11211-142 St • telusworldofscienceedmonton.ca • Nothing better than watching a beloved film, curled up in your coziest PJ's with family and friends. Hot breakfast and special activities beginning at 8am and film starts at 9am • Jun 16, 8-11am • $9.95

METRO • Metro at the Garneau Theatre, 8712-

LAUGH STEADY • Nook Cafe, 10153-97 St • Live stand-up comedy hosted by Kevin Cianciolo • Last Fri of the month, 7:30-9:30pm • $5 (door)

DANCE ALBERTA DANCE ALLIANCE PRESENTS: FEATS FESTIVAL OF DANCE: FOOT PRINTS • Alberta Dance Alliance, 11759 Groat Rd • abdancealliance.ab.ca • Enjoy a wide variety of dance style during this festival • Jun 27-Jul 7

A NIGHT OF DANCE • Mill Woods Senior and Multicultural Centre, #201-2610 Hewes Way • info. millwoodsseniors@gmail.com • Participants can enjoy live performances and learn to dance • Jun 15, 6-10pm • Tickets can be purchased at the front desk of the Mill Woods Senior and Multicultural Centre

109 St • 780.425.9212 • metrocinema.org • Visit metrocinema.org for daily listings • • HOMO-CIDAL MOVIE AND A DRAG SHOW: To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything (Jun 14) • JAPANESE MASTERS: Ugetsu (1953) (Jun 14); Tokyo Olympiad (1965) (Jun 17) • METRO RETRO: Super Fly (1972) (Jun 17, Jun 19) • NIGHT GALLERY: Boys Beware...Cat Fight (Jun 16) • NIGHT G: Love and Bananas (Jun 16); Willow (Jun 23) • REEL FAMILY CINEMA: Free Willy (Jun 16); Willow (Jun 23) • SUNDAY CLASSICS: Lawrence of Arabia (Jun 24)

GALLERIES + MUSEUMS ALBERTA CRAFT COUNCIL GALLERY • 10186-106 St • 780.488.6611 • albertacraft. ab.ca •Home: artwork by various artists; May 5-Aug 18; Artist talk and reception: Jun 23, 2-4pm • The Surface of Things: Chasing Light: artwork by Brenda Malkinson; Jun 2-Jul 14

SNAP Gallery Home and Garden: artwork by Micheline Durocher Jun 15-Jul 21

ALBERTA RAILWAY MUSEUM • 24215-34 St • 780.472.6229 • AlbertaRailwayMuseum. com • Open weekends May 19-Sep 3 • $7 (adult), $6 (senior/student), $3.50 (child 3-12)/ child under 3 free; $5 (train rides), $3 (motor car rides)

ALLIED ARTS COUNCIL OF SPRUCE GROVE • Melcor Cultural Centre, 355th Ave, Spruce Grove • 780.962.0664 • alliedartscouncil.com • Open Seniors Show; May 28-Jun 22

ART GALLERY OF ALBERTA (AGA) • 2 Sir Winston Churchill Sq • 780.422.6223 • youraga.ca • Manning Hall: The Pre-History of M.N. Hutchinson: Site 24; until Dec 31 • BMO World of Creativity: Wild Wood; until Dec 31 • RBC Work Room: Metamorphosis: artwork by Gloria Mok; until Jul 1 • Painting Alberta, Details of Canada: artwork by William Townsend; until Jul 1 • WEEKLY DROP-IN ACTIVITIES: Tours for Tots, Every Wed, 10-11am • Youth Workshops, ages 13-17, Every Thu, 4-6pm • Kids’ Open Studio, Every Sat, 1-3pm • Exhibition Tours; Every Sat-Sun, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm • Art for Lunch; 3rd Thu of the month, 12-1pm • VIBE; 3rd Fri of the month, 5-9pm

ART GALLERY OF ST ALBERT (AGSA) • 19 Perron St, St Albert • 780.460.4310 • artgalleryofstalbert.ca • Birds, Bees, and Ambergris: artwork by Gerri Harden; Jun 7-Jul 28

ARTWALK • Person District, St. Albert • artwalkstalbert.com • The art hits the streets again! Discover a place to enjoy, view and buy art to suit all tastes and budgets. Featuring returning artists and new ones • May-Sep, 1st Thu of every month, 6-8:30pm (exhibits run all month) BEAR CLAW GALLERY • 10403-124 St • 780.482.1204 • info@bearclawgallery.com • bearclawgallery.com • Summer Exhibition: rotating exhibit by gallery artists; Throughout the summer BLEEDING HEART ART SPACE • 9132-118

EDMONTON STORY SLAM • 9910, 9910B-109 St • edmontonstoryslam.com • facebook.com/mercuryroomyeg • Great stories, interesting company, fabulous atmosphere • 3rd Wed each month, 7pm (sign-up); 7:30pm • $5 donation

ROUGE POETRY SLAM HOSTED BY BREATH IN POETRY COLLECTIVE • BLVD Supper x Club, 10765 Jasper Ave • Every Tue

SCRIPT SALON • Holy Trinity Anglican Church,

GALLERY@501 • 501 Festival Ave, Sherwood Park • 780.410.8585 • strathcona.ca/artgallery • Strathcona Salon Series: artwork by various artists; May 15-Jun 23

HARCOURT HOUSE GALLERY • 3 Fl, 10215112 St • 780.426.4180 • harcourthouse.ab.ca • Human Essence: Humankind at the Beginning of the 21st Century: 30th Annual Harcourt House Members’ Exhibition and Art Sale; Jun 2-Jul 14

LANDO GALLERY • 103, 10310-124 St • 780.990.1161 • landogallery.com •

LATITUDE 53 • Latitude 53, 10242-106 St NW • latitude53.org • TBA; Jun 8-Jul 21

LOFT GALLERY & GIFT SHOP • A.J. Ottewell Arts Centre, 590 Broadmoor Blvd, Sherwood Park • Sat-Sun, 12-4pm (excluding long weekends) • Artwork by Desserrie Plewis, Lynda McAmmond, Lynn Sinfield, Joyce Boyer, Kay McCormick, and Terrie Shaw; Mar 3-Jul 8 MCMULLEN GALLERY • U of A Hospital, 8440-112 St • 780.407.7152 • friendsofuah. org/mcmullen-gallery • Aura of the Land: Blake Chorley and Ben Globerman; May 5-Jun 24 MUSÉE HÉRITAGE MUSEUM • St Albert Place, 5 St Anne Street, St Albert • MuseeHeritage.ca • 780.459.1528 • museum@ artsandheritage.ca • Birds, Bees and Ambergris: artwork by Gerri Harden; Jun 7-Jul 28 • Take Your Best Shot: youth digital photo exhibition; Jun 12-Aug 12 PETER ROBERTSON GALLERY • 12323104 Ave • 780.455.7479 • probertsongallery. com • Arrangement: artwork by Monica Tap; Jun 14-30; Opening reception: Jun 14, 7-9pm; Artist talk: Jun 16, 1pm An Unruly History: artwork by Tim Merrett; Jun 23–Jul 7; Opening reception: Jun 23, 2–4pm, artist in attendance

PICTURE THIS! FRAMING & GALLERY • 959 Ordze Rd, Sherwood Park • 780.467.3038 • info@picturethisgallery.com • picturethisgallery. com • Spring It On! Art Show; Apr 14-Jun 30 PROVINCIAL ARCHIVES OF ALBERTA • 8555 Roper Road • PAA@gov.ab.ca • 780.427.1750 • culture.alberta.ca/paa/ eventsandexhibits/default.aspx • Open TueSat, 9am • 150 Firsts: How Alberta Changed Canada…Forever; Until Aug 1

10037-84 Ave • Every 2nd Sun of the month, 7:30pm • Free (donations accepted at the door)

THEATRE THE ARCTIC FLUTE • Festival Place, 100 Festival Way Sherwood Park • operanuova. ca • Part of Opera NUOVA's Mainstage series.

Re-imagined in the far north, the darkness of an arctic winter gives way to glorious spring in this sparkling, fun-filled adaptation of Mozart’s beloved fantasy • Jun 23, Jun 26, Jun 28, Jun 30 • $20-$40

BUT HARK, A VOICE! • Heritage Amphitheatre, William Hawrelak Park • thouartheretheatre.com • A roving rehearsal of repertory rejects! Shakespeare's Mechanicals from A Midsummer Night's Dream are rehearsing their new play premiering at this year's Shakespeare festival. Unfortunately, they have no idea what they're doing • Jun 19-Jul 15

CITY WORKERS IN LOVE • L’Unithéâtre at La Cité Fancophone, 8627-91 St • operanuova. ca • Part of Opera NUOVA's Mainstage series.

Sung in English. Tells the story of a street repair crew on a typical summer’s day as they strive to help their city and themselves • Jun 15-17 • $20-$28 EMMA, THE MUSICAL • Horowitz Theatre, University of Alberta, 8900-114 St • Focused on the character of an elementary school teacher, Emma, who must make difficult choices between the peaceful life she struggles to live and the war that rages around her • Jul 7

FINEST OF STRANGERS • Varscona Theatre, 10329-83 Ave • teatroq.com • A well-known television personality returns to the house where he spent part of his childhood, only to find himself utterly unable to leave it. This creates havoc for the current owner and occupants, many of whom are not entirely what they at first seem to be • May 31-Jun 16, 7:30pm (2pm matinee on Jun 16) • Tickets start at $25 FOREVER PLAID • Mayfield Dinner Theatre, 16615-109 Ave • This nostalgic revue centres on four eager male singers who are killed in a car crash on the way to their first big concert. They are miraculously revived from the afterlife for a chance to fulfill their dreams and perform the show that never was • Jun 15-Jul 29, showtimes vary (TueSun) • $80 and up

FREEWILL SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL • Herit-

SNAP GALLERY • Society of Northern Alberta

age Ampitheatre, Hawerlak Park, 9330 Groat Rd • freewillshakespeare.com • The festival returns for its 30th season with the two classic plays: Comedy of Errors and Hamlet • Jun 19-Jul 15 (no shows on Mon)

Print-Artists, 10123-121 St • 780.423.1492 • snapartists.com • Home and Garden: artwork

by Micheline Durocher; Jun 15-Jul 21; Opening reception: Jun 15, 7-9pm • Copy Tropic: artwork

by Megan Gnanasihamany; Jun 15-Jul 21; Opening reception: Jun 15, 7-9pm

INTO THE WOODS • Festival Place, 100 Festival Way Sherwood Park • operanuova.ca • Part of Opera NUOVA's Mainstage series. Mind the wolf, heed the witch, and honor the giant in the sky • Jun 24, Jun 27, Jun 29-30 • $20-$45

SCOTT GALLERY • 10411-124 St • scottgallery.com •

STRATHCONA COUNTY MUSEUM & ARCHIVES • 913 Ash St, Sherwood Park • strathconacountymuseum.ca • Wedding Dresses through Time; until Aug 31

TELUS WORLD OF SCIENCE • 11211-142 St • telusworldofscienceedmonton.com • Daily activities, demonstrations and experiments • Terry Fox–Running to the Heart of Canada; Feb 16-Sep 16 • Dinosaurs Unearthed: Down to the Bone; Opens Jun 1

BOREALIS GALLERY • 9820-107 St • assembly.ab.ca/visitorcentre/borealis.html • Fur: The Fabric of Our Nation; Apr 25-Jul 3

VASA GALLERY • 25 Sir Winston Churchill

780.488.4445 • udellxhibitions.com • UX MB; Jun 22-23 • MINBID; Jun 22-23 Ave, St Albert • 780.460.5990 • vasa-art.com • Panel Discussion: artwork by Goop of 7; Jun 5-30

WEST END GALLERY • 10337-124 St • 780.488.4892 • westendgalleryltd.com • Exhibition of New Work: artwork by Claudette Castonguay; Jun 2-14

/ Supplied

10 arts

• Darusha Wehm's Edmonton Launch, with Jennifer Quist; Jun 14, 7-10pm • Ian Marks "Adventures of a 70's Rock Photographer" Book Launch; Jun 16, 2-3:30pm

FRONT GALLERY • 10402-124 St •

UDELL XHIBITIONS • 10332-124 St NW •

BRUCE PEEL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

AUDREYS BOOKS • 10702 Jasper Ave

FAB (University of Alberta) • ualberta.ca/ artshows • Czecho-Slovak Fine Art Exhibition; Jun 12-Jul 6

Ave • dave@bleedingheartartspace.com • Liminal Space || awasitipahaskan: artwork by Marina Hulzenga; Jun 2-30

• Lower level, Rutherford South, University of Alberta • bpsc.library.ualberta.ca • Experiment: Printing the Canadian Imagination; Apr 27Aug 24 • Experiment: Printing the Canadian Imagination; May 4-Aug 24

LITERARY

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

MASTER CLASS • L’Unithéâtre at La Cité Fancophone, 8627-91 St • operanuova.ca • Part of Opera NUOVA's Mainstage series. Maria Callas arrives on stage at Julliard to give a Master Class. As she works with three talented singers she triggers her own life's journey to awaken the appetite for perfection in these budding performers • Jun 14-17 • $20-$28 PUPPET SHOWS: HAMLET & THE COMEDY OF ERRORS • Heritage Amphitheatre, William Hawrelak Park • thouartheretheatre.com • Heading down to the Freewill Shakespeare Festival this summer? Looking for something fun to do before the show begins? Grab some refreshments and let Thou Art Here Theatre introduce you to the play through a fun and interactive puppet adaptation • Jun 19-Jul 15

ROCK & ROLL HEAVEN • Jubilations Dinner Theatre, WEM Phase 1, 8882-170 St • Imagines Heaven’s greatest concert with Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Michael Jackson, Prince and many more • Jun 15-Aug 19

Toni Collette as Annie in Hereditary / Supplied

ART HOUSE HORROR

Hereditary trades in cheap scares for a skin-crawling domestic drama

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sycho? The Exorcist? The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

Whatever title’s on your list of best horror (or fright flicks to avoid, if you’re cine-spectrophobic), make sure to add the terrifyingly good Hereditary now.

It’s actually not terrifying, but floats in from the eerie-freaky realm—no cheap scares-in-thedark here—but what floating eerie-freakiness that is.

For all its rewiring of horrorgenre fixtures (a child’s drawings; the séance; doll-like figures; a mysterious cult), this is mainly an arthouse psychological-thriller.

It gothic-serif-bolds the “house” in arthouse from its opening shot, mouse-burrowing us into the isolated, mountainside family home of miniaturist-artist Annie Graham (Toni Collette), working on an exhibit of her small-scale, carefully detailed scenes. Other haunting spaces: a treehouse; a classroom; an attic only accessible by pull-down stairs. Most scenes are like set-pieces or, suspiciously, like tableaux that Annie might craft.

In what’s also a skin-crawling domestic drama, Ari Aster’s debut italicizes the her in heredi-

tary—like another recent film, Australian chiller The Babadook, this is a portrait of motherhood as emotionally feral and psychically savage.

As Annie—a creator and recreator shadowed by her family’s history of mental illness and addled by her difficult mother’s recent death—the Australianborn Collette is magnificent, her glares and stares and stricken looks drawing us deeper into this mother’s self-immolating guilt and anger. As her husband Steve, (Gabriel Byrne) channels an extremely subdued, restrained version of his psychia-

trist-character Dr. Paul Weston in HBO’s In Treatment. And the barely repressed hang-ups and resentments keep rattling away just beneath the floorboards of this house, though Aster nestles away some moments of (strained) humour, too.

There’s a tantalizing tangle of visual echoes and allusions. Annie’s miniatures more than suggest Frances Glassner Lee’s dollhouse crime-scenes; the finale’s a grotesque take on Ascension.

The odd-kid trope, personified by daughter Charlie (Milly Shapiro), is bulldozed early; the story twists out, then hammers home,

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a staple of dramatic-foreshadowing—call it Chekhov’s EpiPen. But the neatest trick that Hereditary manages is the feeling, especially in that beginning and with its ending, that there’s some strange force beyond us, perhaps even beyond this film, just waiting and beholding us—malleable, model-like creatures—in its gaze.

Brian Gibson

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film 11

DRAMA

FILMSTAR FLIES IN CLASSIC THEATRE

The Seagull soars, courtesy of Saoirse Ronan on her way to an illustrious titular role this winter

The Seagull Directed by Michael Mayer  Princess Theatre $11 adults, $8 students

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he’s one of the more dynamic actors of our time. She first broke out in her role as Susie Salmon in Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones (2009), winning a Critic’s Choice Award for Best Young Performer, and then came the disputed Hanna in 2011.

She may appear on the surface as another run-of-the-mill, pretty and lovey girl, but if you give her films the time of day and see them through, she’ll prove you wrong every time. In Stephen Karam’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, Saoirse Ronan digs into a classic theatre role with her character Nina, who is free-spirited and full of dreams, though slightly naïve about the world around her.

But after some time, Ronan’s portrayal of the 18-year-old begins to carry weight, world-weariness, and sadness, which you can see in her eyes, her shoulders, and even

Saoirse Ronan as Nina / Sony Classics

the actor’s steps near the end—a vast juxtaposition from the skippy girl from the beginning of the film. Ronan portrays a depth of character that shows her skill as an actor, much like we have seen in past films like Brooklyn (2015) and the multiple award-winning Lady Bird (2017).

The true value of Michael Mayer’s The Seagull is a chance to confirm the grit of Ronan as an actor amongst an all-star cast as well as her potential to soar in the upcoming, much-anticipated 2018 film Mary Queen of Scots, which will see her in the forceful titular role.

Ronan plays a wonderfully humourous dynamic with Billy Howle in The Seagull after their debut together in 2017’s On Chesil Beach. In this film though, their love is a more one-way affair as Howle plays Konstantin, an angsty symbolist playwright and Nina’s love-struck admirer who holds a troubled heart overflowing with mad jealousy thanks to Corey Stoll’s Boris Trigorin, Chekhov’s famous fictional Russian novelist.

The film follows the Russian dra-

matist’s original script (1895), in which the characters make mountains out of molehills when it comes to love and its unrequited versions, especially when it comes to artists. Set predominantly on the beautiful lake estate of Konstantin’s aging actress mother (Annette Bening, playing Irina Arkadina), the characters in the quasi-satirical world speak around issues, with their sights set most often on only themselves and their own sorrows, complete with all the selfishness one can take.

Though, Bening deserves accolade for her outstanding performance of extravagance, superfluity, and excessivity as the vain Irina.

While Chekhov’s melodramatic storyline tells a more involved subtext of human folly, the plot has always pulled equal amount humour and heartbreak from audiences— which offers a backbone to most renditions. But when it comes down to it, Mayer’s version falls into the trap of film trying to be theatre, albeit, with a cast that’s the only reason the film lifts off from ground.

Sierra Bilton sierra@vueweekly.com

HEISTS

A DULL CON-ARTIST ROMP

Ocean’s 8 relies on celebrity charm and hardly lives up to its predecessors partners in crime; the big theft revolves around fashion-design, jewelry, and one vain prima donna of an actress (Anne Hathaway, playing a caricature of a gossip-mag version of herself); our favourite female felons parade away from their grandiose larceny in super-swank dresses (#HotCoutureNYC!).

Ocean’s 8 Directed by Gary Ross Now playing 

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eventeen years is a lifetime ago in Hollywood (there’s been five Spider-Man films in that span). In 2001, Steven Soderbergh’s remake of Ocean’s Eleven put the swagger back in the heist-flick, spawning two sequels, but it was a staunchly macho affair, with Julia Roberts reduced to a moll

12 film

Still from Ocean’s 8 / Supplied

stolen back by ex-hubby Danny Ocean along with $163-million in casino-vault money. And so, now—fair enough—struts in Ocean’s 8, an all-female remake. But where Soderbergh’s flawed flick had visual panache and a snappy rhythm, what of its 2018 sister? More sedate than stately.

The set-up: the recently-ebbed Ocean’s sister Deborah (Sandra Bullock) is fresh out of D Block, where she did five years for fraud and hatched a NYC heist-to-end-all-heists, for which she’s recruiting six associates (the eighth red-skirted Robin Hood is revealed later). So far, much like its 2001 predeces-

sor, with Elliott Gould’s Reuben and the most flexible member of the original Ocean’s Eleven crew even popping up. But the gender-flipping’s eye-rollingly done: Deborah’s first post-prison scam has her steal perfumes and cosmetics; there’s a timid intimation that Deborah and Lou (Cate Blanchett) were more than just

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

There’s little visual pop, dramatic verve, or delicious suspense to the heist, and the movie stretches out from either side of it like two interminable red carpets. Ocean’s Eleven briefly spun around a Lennox Lewis bout, but this sororal pseudosequel indulges in ‘spot the celebrity’ at Manhattan’s famous March museum-gala, especially of tennis players, for some reason (ooh, there’s Sharapova! look, it’s Serena!). The entire affair’s so spiritless that all the product-placement and branding stand out even more—much of this just comes off as a promo for Bergdorf Goodman, Cartier, Vogue, and The Met, its artwork seeming like bling here. What’s worse, a dull con-artist movie like Ocean’s 8 makes its audience feel like suckers.

Brian Gibson

VUEWEEKLY.com/MUSIC

INTERVIEWS W/ PROPAGANDHI, ZULU PANDA, AND THE SWORD

FLOWER ROCK Tue., Jun. 19 (8:30 pm) Michael Rault w/ Guests Rec Room South $15 at doors

Michael Rault // Mat Dunlap

Michael Rault talks becoming part of the Daptone family and his sleepy It’s A New Day Tonight

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hile Michael Rault’s second full-length album It’s A New Day Tonight conceptually deals with sleep and the unconscious world, the Edmonton-born songwriter never intended it to be that way.

“The theme sort of presented itself slowly,” Rault says from his tour van. “The whole concept around sleeping just kind of came. I’d written a handful of other songs about sleeping, dreaming, or just nocturnal things and eventually I decided to just consciously write about that and decided to run with it.”

The first track Rault wrote was “Sleep With Me,” a warm relief from tense anxiety led by laid-back piano chords, sensitive strings, mellow guitar lines, and Rault’s halcyon vocals that leave you feeling nostalgic for better days.

“I was going through a period where I was like, ‘I’m a real songwriter’ and I would get up every morning and try to pick up my guitar or play some notes on the piano and try to come up with something with no real idea,” Rault says of his process. “Mainly, it was very frustrating. On that one, I pretty much just sang and played with the chords in one quick final run through where I came up with the verse and the chorus.”

After releasing Living Daylight in 2015 and touring it for about a year, Rault had a plan to release a couple

singles that would eventually lead up to another album. However, Rault didn’t really have a homebase he could properly record demos from as he was jumping back between Toronto, Montreal, and New York so, the process took longer than he’d anticipated.

“I think I’d be a lot more productive if I had a really awesome home studio,” he says. “Finding a place to live all the time was a big theme between the last record and this one. So, a lot of the demos are really stripped down.

I had a snare and a kick with two pillows inside them when I was recording the drums and it was really, really dead so I wouldn’t bother my neighbours by making too much noise.”

This all changed after Rault got in contact with Wayne Gordon of Daptone Records. Rault first got introduced to the Daptone scene early in his career while he was still living in Edmonton, after opening for Charles Bradley. More of a path developed after he toured with garage psych generators King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard.

“They were recording Nonagon Infinity at Daptone and the tour ended in New York and they invited us to come down. We got there and caught the very end of their recording and met Wayne Gordon, the studio head. Just being in there was

really cool, but I didn’t have any major designs or thoughts that I would be recording there,” Rault says.

But Rault wasn’t satisfied with the results he was getting from hopping studios so he eventually reached out to Gordon about renting some time at Daptone.

“At the end of the first week, Wayne pitched that I should put it [the record] out on Wick [a rock-focused spinoff of Daptone] and we finished the whole record at the studio. They’re just really good music people who are a lot better at music than I am.”

The end result was It’s A New Day Tonight, a polished album that both harkens back to and reimagines the 1960s sound made famous by bands like The Beatles, The Kinks, and The Hollies.

Rault is a guy who wears his inspirations on his sleeve and because of this, he has been lumped into the retro-rock category, but it doesn’t really bother him.

“To my mind, I’m trying to make modern music. I like what is considered an older sound, but I really do think it’s all ridiculous to try and classify certain amounts of sound into modern and old,” he says. “I’ve always been confused. I am a guitar player first and foremost, which is not really the instrument of ‘now,’ so right there, I’m already ‘retro.’”

Stephan Boissonneault stephan@vueweekly.com

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

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music 13

BOOZIN’ ALT-COUNTRY

MODERNIZING TRADITIONAL COUNTRY SOUNDS The Denim Daddies keep the classic country instrumentation, but look at current day topics

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hey may wear cowboy hats and sing country music, but don’t expect to hear a song about daisy dukes and lifted trucks from The Denim Daddies.

The five-piece alt-country band, based in Edmonton, are trying to throw back to the days of outlaw country. The band draws heavily, both in sound and lifestyle, from the hard-partying Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings era.

“We really try to push our sound as much as we can and not try to fall into the tropes of what country has become,” guitar player and vocalist, Rudiger Metsin says.

“We’re big believers in thinking that modern day country is the shittiest it can get—it’s awful.”

The Denim Daddies consider themselves part of a new movement of country music—along with people like Sturgill Simpson and Margo Price—who are following the classic guidelines of country music and keeping with the traditional instrumentation, but modernizing it and looking at current issues.

“We don’t sound like a white guy rapping about girls in their truck and spitting chew. That’s not us,” Metsin says with a laugh. “We’re not singing about the daisy dukes, we’re wearing the daisy dukes on

stage,” says vocalist and steel guitarist Bo Winchester.

The Denim Daddies also cite rapper Kendrick Lamar as one of their influences.

“I think there are a lot of parallels between hip-hop music and country music with how commercialized and watered down the top artists are,” bass player Rick Visser says. “[Then] there’s the more fringe artists that are definitely more in tune with the world.”

The band originally started two years ago as three musicians who lived together. During that time, they played a number of live shows, but when they went into the studio they were looking for a fuller sound. They brought in Winchester on steel guitar and Shooter Mac on keys, and loved the sound so much that the two became full members of the band.

“The five piece definitely brings the party,” Visser says.

Their band—in true outlaw fashion—is named for a drink that used to be served at the now defunct Wunderbar.

The Denim Daddies isn’t the only band the members play in either.

Between the five of them, they are members of around 10 different

Thu., Jun. 14 (8 pm) and Wed., Jun 20 (9 pm) Show w/ B.A. Johnston at The Buckingham and show w/ Shaela Miller at The Aviary tickets at yeglive.ca

The Denim Daddies / Kiefer Hagen

bands, including Mariel Buckley, Tropic Harbor, and Nothing New. The original three members of The Denim Daddies were also in a hardcore band called Zang!

“We’re not picky when it comes to genre,” Metsin says.

So far, the band has released one single, titled “Road Runner,” which was written with Mariel Buckley

and North Of Here as part of a songwriting camp. On July 5, they will be releasing The Drinking EP, which consists of three songs all about drinking beer. They are also planning a follow up EP in the fall titled The Thinking EP, which will focus more on social issues—like older generations adapting to the new age, and the downhill nature of

modern country.

One thing that The Denim Daddies are always down for is a good oldfashioned house party.

“That’s a bit of the charm we have, we’re really approachable and if anyone wants to throw a party and just have fun, we’re almost always into it,” Metsin says.

Alexander Sorochan

FESTIVAL

NORTH COUNTRY FAIR IS HOME TO MANY North Country Fair to celebrate its 40th anniversary and extend its family of characters

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unglasses and sunburns, late nights and one-night stands, love at first sight and the oncoming heartbroken plight: just some of the staples of summer livin.’

These are the summer days that roll into autumn hangovers, and for a lot of Albertans the beginning of that starts with a road trip up to the North Country Fair (NCF).

The festival is celebrating its 40th anniversary, a feat incomparable many festivals in Alberta and Canada.

There’s an aroma in the air with this festival, and regardless of where it goes, the people and spirit go with. NCF habitants, The McGowan Family Band, have been coming for 20 years. For them it’s a homecoming.

“When you go there, you become part of the family, you meet the characters and become a player in the game,” Mark McGowan says.

With folks from far and wide playing folk music older than many, the NCF is home to anyone willing to welcome it. Whether it’s late nights spilling over to early mornings or a chance at a wholesome, family getaway, there is always a wealth of opportunities to engage in old and new, search within and without, and pass this on to the next generation of “fair-goers.”

Whether it’s the eccentric uncle, the Christian mom, or the fringetheorist cousin, they’re all waiting for you at the NCF, and it’s this distinction that keeps bands coming back—it’s ubiquitous.

It’s an extended family of characters.

Five Alarm Funk is one of these characters. Tayo Branston, lead singer and drummer, says “The experience we had the first time was immeasurable—it seemed like it was going to be a great family orientated show,” he says, “but after the first note, people were coming from all sorts of walks of life.”

And that’s a philosophy the NCF has maintained for 40 years, whether a different background or social view, the festival is there for you, whoever you may be.

So how did this festival get started and how has this family grown?

The first North Country Fair was in 1979 and about 1,500 people attended. With humble beginnings

by giving chances to educate on alternative energy sources, host lectures and workshops, and promote organic gardening, forest awareness and conservation, and responsible, sustainable agriculture, the North Country Fair soon became a hub for bringing and creating one’s own “fair family.”

Beyond the unforgettable 1983 “Mud City” debacle, that left 800 stranded on a sandbank, towards greener, and hopefully drier, pastures in Spruce Point Park—then Joussard’s Mission Park—and now to it’s permanent home in Driftpile Valley, the spirit of North Country Fair has persisted.

The sun, which only sets for a few hours, creates a culture for creativity that goes well past the last notes

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Fri., Jun 22 – Sun., Jun 24 North Country Fair Driftpile, AB Tickets online at lslncca.ca or Earth’s General Store, Myhre’s Music, and Blackbyrd Myoozik on the stage, and goes into those foggy mornings that don’t cloud, but rather give silence to settle into a journey of one’s own.

Now hosting upwards to 5,000 people each year with 600 volunteers helping to keep everyone and everything safe, clean, and happy, North Country Fair has created an emblem of remarkability, a pillar for expression, and a place called home.

Ryan Hook

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

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RAVES

HARM REDUCTION AT LOCAL RAVES How the EPS’s proposed rave ban brought a problem out from the shadows

A local rave / Brenden Dervin

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ecent spikes of drug abuse and crime at “raves,” this past week saw Edmonton Police Service (EPS) propose a prohibition on what they call “concerts with ‘fast-paced’ electronic music.”

EPS says, “These gatherings have created an enormous strain on resources for EMS, our hospitals and EPS, not to mention the communities surrounding the venues where raves are being held. The fallout, including drug abuse, disorder and increased crime that extends beyond these venues and after the raves is tangible.”

it underground; this was a ‘one-sizefits-all’ policy.”

The bid to put a moratorium on raves presented by EPS has once again brought the conversation of narcotics and electronic music to the forefront of the conversation.

While the philosophy was meant to hone in on the problem, Williams believes it was a misguided approach, taken from a place of misunderstanding, rather than awareness. And since the city denied the moratorium, it’s actually opened the conversation into harm reduction much further.

hiding it, harm reduction strategies, like drug-testing facilities and safe spaces, will have them engage with their curiosity in a safe way. Young says, “Indigo will be serving festivals and the nightlife community.

If we’re at a festival we will offer harm reduction tents and first-aid.

We will have support from the provincial government, and these policies will be getting out at the end of June. There are steps being taken towards collaboration with the provincial government.”

As more shed light on the shadowy drug scene that inhabits music

“Drugs are not located to one genre, it’s a city-wide problem. It’s incorrect to paint it all as ‘rave’ music, otherwise it just drives it underground; this was a ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy.” – Andrew Williams While drug abuse, disorder, and increased crime are warranted concerns that need to be addressed, the question becomes whether those vices are exclusive to “rave” music.

There’s a stigma around rave culture, as much as there was with rock ‘n roll culture in the 1960’s.

The rave scene is often synonymous with drugs, purple dreadlocks, and lengthy conversations with a white dude with a Polynesian-style tattooed sleeve talking about the decline of the oil industry. Clearly drugs are not a music problem; it’s a people problem.

Andrew Williams, founder of Night Vision and co-founder and director of the Alberta Electronic Music Committee, believes this too.

“Drugs are not located to one genre, it’s a city-wide problem,” he says. “It’s incorrect to paint it all as ‘rave’ music, otherwise it just drives

“It’s important the decision comes from a collaborative approach,” Williams says. “That it comes from the community, the harm reduction professionals, the promoters, and the artists. The long term solution is a plan devised by all parties at the table.”

Globally, music festivals have awakened and know the importance of being conscious about drug use at festivals. But how long does it take for an ugly thing to rear its head?

Shelby Young is a licensed practical nurse and founder of Indigo Harm Reduction Services, who “deliver access to scientifically based harm reduction strategies and services to promote health education.”

The philosophy behind harm reduction is an acknowledgment that, yes, people will be experimenting with drugs, but rather than them

festivals, it’s also important to realize the problem is not tethered to one genre. Folk festivals, metal festivals, rock festivals, or pop festivals, alike, also have this culture of drug use too; it’s not exclusive.

While the proposed moratorium created a stir, which eventually had city council deny the moratorium last week, sometimes it takes a bang to make a buck.

Now, city council, EPS, and the electronic dance music community all have a seat at the table to discuss what can be done, rather than what won’t.

So as you venture into this summer season with wide eyes and a curious brain, know that there are safe options out there for you and that it’s important not to shy away from vulnerability. Resist the urge to be the next Jim Morrison, because we need you around.

Ryan Hook

with The Standstills

June 22nd Tickets $49.95 plus gst

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

cnty.com/edmonton

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

music 15

MUSIC WEEKLY EMAIL YOUR FREE LISTINGS TO: LISTINGS@VUEWEEKLY.COM DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 12PM

SEWING MACHINE FACTORY Swayze

BOHEMIA Wolfheart with Arctos; 8pm;

with Yo Bear, Stalagmites, Sun Up Sun Down; 5-8pm; $10; No minors

$12 (adv) Every Thu-Sat, 9pm

Jammers Thursday Night Wail; Every Thu, 7:30-11pm

CAFE BLACKBIRD Helena Magerowski

SQUARE 1 COFFEE Singer/Songwriter Open Mic Hosted by Tommy Barker; Every Thu, 7-9:30pm

THU JUN 14 ARIA'S BISTRO Open mic with Garrett

STARLITE ROOM Mother Mother "O My

James; 6-10pm; All ages

BORDERLINE SPORTS PUB Karaoke/DJ;

SHAKERS ROADHOUSE The Katz N

Quartet; 8pm; $15 CAFFREY'S IN THE PARK Live music;

9pm CARROT COFFEEHOUSE Live music every

Fri; all ages; 7pm; $5 (door)

Heart 10th Anniversary"; 7pm (doors), 8pm (show); $40; 18+ only

CASINO EDMONTON Blackboard Jungle;

TAVERN ON WHYTE Open stage with

9pm

BLUES ON WHYTE Carvin Jones; 9pm

Michael Gress (fr Self Evolution); every Thu; 9pm-2am

CENTURY CASINO–ST. ALBERT The

Whiskey Boyz; 9pm; Free

BLVD SUPPER X CLUB B**ch A Little, Wine

WOODRACK CAFÉ Birdie on a Branch;

CHVRCH OF JOHN Pendulum; 9pm;

AVIARY Ecila with The Co-Kaynes and

Birds Bear Arms; 7:30pm; $10 (adv), $12 (door)

Alot (house, hip-hop and reggae music); Every Thu; No cover

2nd Thu of every month, 7-8:30pm; No cover (donations welcome)

BORDERLINE SPORTS PUB Karaoke/DJ;

Every Thu-Sat, 9pm BRICK & WHISKEY PUBLIC HOUSE Big Rockin'

Thursday Jam & Open Mic; Every Thu, 8pm CAFE BLACKBIRD YEG Music Presents:

Francessia, Bonnie Cooke, The Folk Disease, and Shae Brant; 7pm; $10

Every Fri-Sat

WINSPEAR CENTRE Edmonton Symphony Orchestra presents: The Lord of the Rings Symphony Conducted By Alexander Prior; 7:30pm; $24-$79

THE FORGE ON WHYTE The Order Of Chaos, Juliet Ruin, Call Of The Siren, Spruce Moose; 8pm; $10-$15; 18+ only

BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Thu Main Fl: Rock

7:30-11:30pm Niven & The Alibi and friends; Every Thu, 8:30pm; No cover

N' Roll, Funk & Soul with DJ Modest Mike; Every Thu; Wooftop Lounge: Dear Hip Hop with Freshlan; Underdog: Underdog Comedy Show

LB'S PUB Open Jam hosted by Russell

THE COMMON The Common Uncommon

HAVE MERCY Thigh Thursdays with El

Johnston

Thursday: Rotating guests each week

LEAF BAR AND GRILL Karoake at the

ON THE ROCKS Salsa Rocks: every Thu;

Leaf; Every Thu, 9pm; Free NAKED CYBERCAFÉ Thu open stage; 7pm NORTH GLENORA HALL Jam by Wild

Rose Old Tyme Fiddlers every Thu; 7pm REC ROOM–SOUTH EDMONTON COMMON Karaoke with live band, The

Nervous Flirts; Every other Thu, 7pm REC ROOM–WEST EDMONTON MALL

Cream Vs The Jimi Hendrix Experience; 9pm; Free OLD STRATHCONA PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE 100 Mile House Concert in support of Sombrilla; 9 PM; $25

dance lessons at 8pm; Cuban Salsa DJ to follow

FOUR SEASONS PARK Beaumont Blues &

Roots Festival; Free (12 and under), $60 (day pass), $95 (weekend pass)

BLUES ON WHYTE Carvin Jones; 9pm

ON THE ROCKS Live music; 9pm

BOHEMIA Lutra Lutra with Bedside and

RICHARD'S PUB DJ Brad House Party;

UNION HALL Social Distortion; 7pm; $50 and up; 18+ only

Feral Fires; 8pm; $10 (door)

Every Fri-Sat, 9pm

BORDERLINE SPORTS PUB Karaoke/DJ;

SHAKERS ROADHOUSE Mark Ammar’s

Every Thu-Sat, 9pm

Saturday Sessions Jam; Every Sat, 4-8pm

UPTOWN FOLK CLUB Open Stage; 3rd Fri of every month, 6:30 pm (sign-up), 7pm (show)' $5 (non-members), free (members)

Classical WINSPEAR CENTRE Edmonton

Symphony Orchestra presents: The Lord of the Rings Symphony Conducted By Alexander Prior; 7:30pm; $24-$79

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 THE COMMON Quality Control Fridays

with DJ Echo & Freshlan EL CORTEZ MEXICAN KITCHEN + TEQUILA

Experience; 8pm; Free ONLY THE GOOD STUFF OGS Open Mic/

Jam/Karaoke; Every Fri; Free; 18+ only ON THE ROCKS Live music; 9pm REC ROOM–SOUTH EDMONTON COMMON

THE PROVINCIAL PUB Video Music DJ;

9pm-2am Y AFTERHOURS Live DJs; Every Fri-Sat

Boomshack; 8:30pm; Free

SAT JUN 16

REC ROOM–WEST EDMONTON MALL

ALIBI PUB & EATERY Rising Star

Chronic Rock; 9:30pm; Free

Showcase of Cooper Studios; Every Sat, 12-3pm

entertainment, Every Fri, 9pm SHERLOCK HOLMES–DOWNTOWN Mark

B-STREET BAR Karaoke; Every Fri-Sat,

9pm

BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Hair of the Dog:

SIDELINER’S PUB Friday Night Bands: live music; Every Fri

BLIND PIG PUB Saturday afternoon live

Evrey Fri-Sat, 9pm

Mcgarrigle; 9pm SHERLOCK HOLMES–WEM Joanne Janzen;

STARLIGHT CASINO Shane Young; 8pm STARLITE ROOM Mother Mother "O My

AVIARY 'It's Time To Make A Little Mess' CD Release Party featuring The Confusionaires with Forbidden Dimension, Robin Woywitka and the Super 92; 8pm; $10 (adv), $15 (door) B-STREET BAR Karaoke; Every Fri-Sat,

9:30pm The James Band; 4-6pm; No cover music showcase; Every Sat, 3-7pm BLUE CHAIR CAFÉ Miss Rae and the

Midnight Ramblers; 8:30-10:30pm; $20

PRESENTED BY EDMONTON CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY

JUNE 18–22

Stephanie Chase, Violin Sara Davis Buechner, Piano Monday, June 18, 7:30pm

St. Lawrence String Quartet Wednesday, June 20, 7:30p

Summer Passion

Friday, June 22, 7:30pm Ewald Cheung Lidia Khaner violin oboe Juan-Miguel Patricia Tao Hernandez, viola piano Rafael Hoekman Robert Uchida violin cello

Edmonton ChamberMusic.org

Tickets & Passes Tix on the Square & The Gramophone 16 music

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

Mcgarrigle; 9pm SHERLOCK HOLMES–WEM Joanne Janzen;

9pm STARLIGHT CASINO Shane Young; 8pm STARLITE ROOM Mother Mother "O My

CASK AND BARREL Garage Band

Heart 10th Anniversary"; 7pm (doors), 8pm (show); $40; 18+ only

Saturdays; 4-6pm; No cover CENTURY CASINO–EDMONTON Killer Dwarfs & Kick Axe; 7pm (doors); $39.95 plus GST, available through Century Casino and Ticketmaster; No minors CENTURY CASINO–ST. ALBERT The

Whiskey Boyz; 9pm; Free DENIZEN HALL Champ City Soundtrack;

Every Fri-Sat

THE FORGE ON WHYTE Nicolas Rage,

Daylin Jorgensen and Adam Renard; 8pm; $10 (adv), $20 (with CD in adv), $15 (door)

MUSIC FESTIVAL

CASINO EDMONTON Blackboard Jungle;

SHERLOCK HOLMES–DOWNTOWN Mark

9pm

GAS PUMP Live DJ; 10pm

AVIARY SRVENT with Shay Esposito,

SUMMER SOLSTICE

6-10pm; Free

NEWCASTLE PUB The Richard Blais

SANDS INN & SUITES Karaoke with

BLUES ON WHYTE Carvin Jones; 9pm

CARROT COFFEEHOUSE Sat Open mic;

LB'S PUB Bridge Motel; 9pm; No minors

9910 Cartel Madras; 9pm; $10 (door)

7-10pm; Donations accepted

Erin Kay; 8pm; $15 CAFFREY'S IN THE PARK Live music; 9pm

EMPRESS ALE HOUSE Bands at the

FRI JUN 15

9:30pm

CAFE BLACKBIRD Zulu Panda, Lindsey Walker,

BAR Resident DJs playing the best in hip-hop, dance and classics; Every FriSat, 9pm; No cover

RICHARD'S PUB DJ Brad House Party;

BLUE CHAIR CAFÉ Brad Bucknell;

SANDS INN & SUITES Karaoke Thursdays with JR; Every Thu, 9pm-1am

DENIZEN HALL Champ City Soundtrack;

Classical

DJs

FIDDLER'S ROOST Acoustic Circle Jam;

18+ only

Heart 10th Anniversary"; 7pm (doors), 8pm (show); $40; 18+ only

Empress; Every Sat, 4-6pm; Free; 18+ only Withered Days, Chase Your Words, On The Frontline; 8pm; $10; 18+ only FOUR SEASONS PARK Beaumont Blues &

Roots Festival; Free (12 and under), $60 (day pass), $95 (weekend pass) GERMAN CANADIAN CULTURAL CENTRE

Edmonton Blues Society presents: Dangerous Guise; 7pm (doors), 7:3011:30pm (music); $10 (members), $20 (guests); Tickets online or at the door HILLTOP PUB Open stage hosted by Simon, Dan and Pascal; Every Sat, 4-7pm; Free LB'S PUB Head Over Heels; 9pm; No

minors LEAF BAR AND GRILL Homemade Jam; 3-7pm; Free • Traveling Pillsbury's; 8pm MKT FRESH FOOD AND BEER MARKET

UNION HALL The Sword; 8pm; $25;

18+ only

Classical WINSPEAR CENTRE Edmonton Symphony Orchestra presents: The Lord of the Rings Symphony Conducted By Alexander Prior; 2pm & 7:30pm; $24-$79

DJs BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: DJ Chris Bruce spins britpop/punk/garage/ indie; Every Sat; Wooftop: Sound It Up! with DJ Instigate spinning classic hiphop and reggae; Underdog: hip-hop open Mic followed by DJ Marack THE COMMON Get Down It's Saturday

Night: House and disco and everything in between with Wright & Wong, Dane EL CORTEZ MEXICAN KITCHEN + TEQUILA BAR Resident DJs playing the best in

hip-hop, dance and classics; Every FriSat, 9pm; No cover ENVY NIGHT CLUB Resolution Saturdays: top 40, throwbacks and club anthems MERCER TAVERN DJ Mikey Wong every

Sat THE PROVINCIAL PUB Saturday Nights:

Indie rock and dance with DJ Maurice; 9pm-2am TAVERN ON WHYTE Soul, motown,

Live Local Bands every Sat

funk, R&B and more with DJs Ben and Mitch; every Sat; 9pm-2am

NEWCASTLE PUB The Richard Blais Experience; 8pm; Free

Y AFTERHOURS Live DJs; Every Fri-Sat

SUN JUN 17

BLUES ON WHYTE Murray Kinsley and

THE PROVINCIAL PUB Karaoke

Wicked Grin; 9pm

Wednesday

DUGGAN'S BOUNDARY Wed open mic with host Duff Robison; 8pm

SHAKERS ROADHOUSE Lady Lynne and The Grinders; Every Wed, 7:30-11pm

KNOX EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH

GAS PUMP Karaoke; 9:30pm

TAVERN ON WHYTE Karaoke; 9pm

Summer Solstice Music Festival; Runs until Jun 22

HAVE MERCY Piano Karaoke featuring

Classical

BLIND PIG PUB Blind Pig Pub Ham Jam;

DJs

Every Sun, 4-8pm; No cover

BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor:

LEAF BAR & GRILL Wang Dang Wednesdays; Every Wed, 7-11pm; Free

BLUE CHAIR CAFÉ Sunday Brunch with

Substance with Eddie Lunchpail

Hawaiian Dreamers; 9am-2pm; Music by donations

TAVERN ON WHYTE Classic hip-hop with

ALIBI PUB AND EATERY Open mic night;

Every Sun, 6-9pm AVIARY Girls of Salzburg Album Release

& Ashleigh's Good-Bye Party! featuring Local Singles with Girls of Salzburg, Lovelet and special guests; 6:30pm; $10 (adv), $12 (door)

BLUES ON WHYTE Carvin Jones; 9pm FOUR SEASONS PARK Beaumont Blues &

Monday Night Open Stage; Hosted by Celeigh Cardinal; Every Mon (except long weekends), 8:30pm

Classical

DJ Creeazn every Mon; 9pm-2am

TUE JUN 19

Roots Festival; Free (12 and under), $60 (day pass), $95 (weekend pass)

AVIARY Pierce Brothers and guests; 7pm; $16 (adv), $20 (door)

HAVE MERCY Bring Your Own Vinyl

BLUES ON WHYTE Troy Turner Band; 9pm

ONLY THE GOOD STUFF OGS Industry Nights; Every Sun, ; Free; 18+ only

7:30-11:30pm

ON THE ROCKS Live music; 9pm

GAS PUMP Karaoke; 9:30pm

RICHARD’S PUB Live musician jam with live karaoke, hosted by the Ralph Pretz Band; Every Sun, 4-8pm

HAVE MERCY Outlaw Country Vinyl

SANDS INN & SUITES Open Jam; Every

FIDDLER'S ROOST Fiddle Jam Circle;

Night with Sheriff Taylor; Every 3rd Tue of the month • To-Do Tuesday: open mic night hosted by Justin Perkins

Sun, 7-11pm

LB'S PUB Tuesday Night Open Jam

STARLITE ROOM Propagandhi, La

Hosted by Darrell Barr; 7-11pm; No charge

Armarda, Mobina Galore; 8pm; $25; 18+ only

DJs BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: DJ

Zyppy with DJ Late Fee; Every Sun GAS PUMP Kizomba-DJ; 8pm

SEWING MACHINE FACTORY Party On

High Street; 8pm SHAKERS ROADHOUSE Rusty Reed Band;

Every Tue, 7:30-11pm

Classical KNOX EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH Summer

MON JUN 18

Solstice Music Festival; Runs until Jun 22

BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Wooftop: Metal

DJs

Mondays with Metal Phil from CJSR's Heavy Metal Lunchbox BLUES ON WHYTE Troy Turner Band; 9pm DEVANEY'S IRISH PUB Karaoke night;

Every Mon, 9pm; Free FIDDLER'S ROOST Open Stage; 7-11pm PLEASANTVIEW COMMUNITY HALL Wild

Rose Old Tyme Fiddlers Acoustic Music Jam & Dancing; 7-10pm SIDELINER’S PUB Singer/Songwriter

BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: Chris Bruce spins britpop/punk/garage/indie; Every Tue EL CORTEZ MEXICAN KITCHEN + TEQUILA BAR Taco Tuesday with resident DJs

WED JUN 20 THE ALMANAC Rage Radtke with The Prototype and Zulu Panda; 7:30pm; $10 (door)

CKU

with Tiff Hall; Every Wed, 8:30pm

ON THE ROCKS Karaoke Wednesdays hosted by ED; Every Wed, 9pm

KNOX EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH

Summer Solstice Music Festival; Runs until Jun 22

DJs BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: DJ

PLEASANTVIEW COMMUNITY HALL

Late Fee; Every Wed

Acoustic Bluegrass jam presented by the Northern Bluegrass Circle Music Society; Guests and newcomers always welcome; every Wed, 7pm; $2 (donation, per person), free coffee available

/ Supplied

The Order of Chaos The Forge Jun 15, 8pm $10 (adv), $15 (door)

VENUEGUIDE 9910 9910B-109 St NW, 780.709.4734, 99ten.ca ACCENT LOUNGE 8223-104 St ALIBI PUB & EATERY 17328 Stony Plain Rd THE ALMANAC 10351-82 Ave, 780.760.4567, almanaconwhyte. com ARCADIA BAR 10988-124 St, 780.916.1842, arcadiayeg.com ARDEN THEATRE 5 St Anne St, St Albert, 780.459.1542, stalbert.ca/ experience/arden-theatre ARIA'S BISTRO 10332-81 Ave, 780.972.4842, ariasbistro.com AVIARY 9314-111 Ave B-STREET BAR 11818-111 Ave BAILEY THEATRE 5041-50 St, Camrose, 780. 672.5510, baileytheatre.com BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE 1042582 Ave, 780.439.1082 BLIND PIG PUB 32 St Anne Street St. Albert BLUE CHAIR CAFÉ 9624-76 Ave, 780.989.2861 BLUES ON WHYTE 10329-82 Ave, 780.439.3981 BLVD SUPPER X CLUB 10765 Jasper Ave BOHEMIA 10217-97 St BORDERLINE SPORTS PUB 3226-82 St, 780.462.1888

M A.CO

BRICK & WHISKEY PUBLIC HOUSE 8937-82 Ave THE BUCKINGHAM 10439 82 Ave, 780.761.1002, thebuckingham.ca CAFE BLACKBIRD 9640-142 St NW, 780.451.8890, cafeblackbird.ca CAFFREY'S IN THE PARK 99, 23349 Wye Rd, Sherwood Park CARROT COFFEEHOUSE 9351-118 Ave, 780.471.1580 CASINO EDMONTON 7055 Argylll Rd, 780.463.9467 CASINO YELLOWHEAD 12464-153 St, 780.424 9467 CASK AND BARREL 10041-104 St; 780.498.1224, thecaskandbarrel.ca CENTURY CASINO–EDMONTON 13103 Fort Rd, 780.643.4000 CENTURY CASINO–ST. ALBERT 24 Boudreau Rd, St. Albert, 780.460.8092 CHVRCH OF JOHN 10260-103 St, 780.884.8994, thechvrchofjohn.com COMMON 9910-109 St CONVOCATION HALL Old Arts Building, University of Alberta, music. ualberta.ca DENIZEN HALL 10311-103 Ave, 780.424.8215, thedenizenhall.com DEVANEY'S IRISH PUB 11113-87 Ave NW, devaneyspub.com DUGGAN'S BOUNDARY 9013-88 Ave, 780.465.4834

EL CORTEZ MEXICAN KITCHEN + TEQUILA BAR 8230 Gateway Blvd, elcortezcantina.com EMPRESS ALE HOUSE 9912-82 Ave NW ENVY NIGHT CLUB West Edmonton Mall, 8882 170 St FESTIVAL PLACE 100 Festival Way, Sherwood Park, 780.449.3378 FIDDLER'S ROOST 7308-76 Ave, 780.439.9788, fiddlersroost.ca THE FORGE ON WHYTE 10549-82 Ave (Whyte Ave) GAS PUMP NIGHT CLUB & BAR 10166-114 St HAVE MERCY SOUTHERN TABLE + BAR 8232 Gateway Blvd, havemercy.ca HILLTOP PUB 8220-106 Ave NW HORIZON STAGE 1001 Calahoo Rd, Spruce Grove, 780.962.8995, horizonstage.com JUBILEE AUDITORIUM 11455-87 Ave NW, 780.427.2760, jubileeauditorium.com L.B.’S PUB 23 Akins Dr, St Albert, 780.460.9100 LEAF BAR & GRILL 9016-132 Ave MCDOUGALL UNITED CHURCH 10086 MacDonald Dr NW, mcdougallunited.com

@

CK UA

RAD

MKT FRESH FOOD AND BEER MARKET 8101 Gateway Blvd, 780.439.2337 MERCER TAVERN 10363 104 St, 587.521.1911 MUTTART HALL 10050 Macdonald Dr, 780.633.3725 NAKED CYBERCAFÉ 10303-108 St, 780.425.9730 NORTH GLENORA HALL 13535109A Ave ONLY THE GOOD STUFF 15135 Stony Plain Road ON THE ROCKS 11730 Jasper Ave, 780.482.4767 PLEASANTVIEW COMMUNITY HALL 10860-57 Ave THE PROVINCIAL PUB 160, 4211-106 St REC ROOM–SOUTH EDMONTON COMMON 1725-99 St NW REC ROOM–WEST EDMONTON MALL 8882-170 St NW RENDEZVOUS 10108-149 St RICHARD’S PUB 12150-161 Ave, 780.457.3117 RIVER CREE–THE VENUE 300 E Lapotac Blvd ROSE AND CROWN 10235-101 St SANDS INN & SUITES 12340 Fort Rd, sandshoteledmonton.com SEWING MACHINE FACTORY 9562-82 Ave

SHAKERS ROADHOUSE Yellowhead Inn, 15004 Yellowhead Trail SHERLOCK HOLMES–DOWNTOWN 10012-101 A Ave, 780.426.7784, sherlockshospitality.com SHERLOCK HOLMES–WEM 8882-170 St, 780.444.1752, sherlockshospitality.com SIDELINERS PUB 11018-127 St SQUARE 1 COFFEE 15 Fairway Drive ST. BASIL'S CULTURAL CENTRE 10819-71 Ave NW, 780.434.4288, stbasilschurch.com STARLIGHT CASINO 8882-170 St STARLITE ROOM 10030-102 St, 780.428.1099 TAVERN ON WHYTE 10507-82 Ave, 780.521.4404 TEMPLE–STARLITE ROOM 10030-102 St UNION HALL 6240-99 St NW, 780.702-2582, unionhall.ca UPTOWN FOLK CLUB 11150-82 St, 780.436.1554 WINSPEAR CENTRE 4 Sir Winston Churchill Square; 780.428.1414 WOODRACK CAFE 7603-109 St, 780. 757.0380, thewoodrackcafe.com Y AFTERHOURS 10028-102 St, 780.994.3256, yafterhours.com YARDBIRD SUITE 11 Tommy Banks Way, 780.432.0428

IO

an i g r di c o a o r VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

music 17

EVENTS

HIP-HOP

WEEKLY

SRVENT GRASPS HIS HIP-HOP IDENTITY

EMAIL YOUR FREE LISTINGS TO: LISTINGS@VUEWEEKLY.COM DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 12PM

GROUPS/CLUBS/MEETINGS ADULT DANCE CLASSES • Quantum Leap Dance, 11232-163 St • 780.974.0309 • MON: Adult Tap, 7-8pm; Stretch & Strength with Jazz, 8-9:15pm • Wed: Floor Barre 6:45-7:45, Adult Ballet 7:45-9:15pm • Drop in Rate $15.75 (inc.

GST); 5, 10, 15 Class passes available

Under the name SRVENT, Edson hip-hop artist Spencer Richard is all set to release his debut album

AIKIKAI AIKIDO CLUB • 10139-87 Ave, Old Strathcona Community League • Japanese Martial Art of Aikido • Every Tue, Thu; 7-9pm AMITABHA KADAMPA BUDDHIST CENTRE • 9550-87 St • 780.235.8257 • info@ meditationedmonton.org • meditationedmonton. org • Weekly meditation classes and events. All welcome • Every Sun, Tue, Thu

Spencer Richards a.k.a SRVENT / Amy Skrocki

L

ocal hip-hop artist SRVENT, a.k.a. Spencer Richard, is gearing up for the release of his debut album Identity, which comes out Friday.

Richard, who currently lives in Edson, says he’s been interested in hip-hop and rap music since he was young.

“My brother introduced it to me inadvertently when I was a kid. He would blare Eminem from his room so loud, that I couldn’t not hear it,” Richard says. “I started to like it, and listened to other artists. It was kind of like a secret love of mine.

My parents weren’t very fond of very vulgar music, so I kind of hid it from them.”

As he got older and started to create his own rhymes, the influence that Eminem had on him during his youth made its way into his songs, many of which have a similarity in flow and feel to those of Eminem’s.

“I think I’d have to say that Eminem was influential, and I fell in love with his music quite a bit when I was young,” Richard says.

“It gave me courage to aspire to be a rap artist, even though I didn’t think it was an option for a long time.”

While Eminem no doubt had an impact on Richard, one of his biggest inspirations is a rather surprising artist who hails from an entirely different genre.

“This is an odd one, but Regina Spektor. What I really like about her is her approach to music, she’s so wildly creative, but not so wildly creative that you can’t connect with things,” he says. “She has such strong narrative. I’d love to take the spirit of that, and have that in my music somewhat.”

Identity was recorded and produced over a stretch of three years, with Richard being the main songwriter and producer.

The songs vary from themes of family (he is married with two young daughters), to struggles that he’s faced during his life.

He says that honesty and authenticity is what he hopes listeners take away when they listen to the project.

“It’s about me navigating from adolescence into adulthood, and the kind of bare honesty and frustrations that come along with that. A lot of it is coming to grips with being a father, a husband, and a man,” Richard says.

Fri., Jun. 15 (8 pm) SRVENT Identity Album Launch The Aviary $15 at the doors He has plans to continue producing new material after the release and giving fans something to look forward to. Music videos, he says, are his main focus after the album is out.

“My goal is to focus on music videos and work on my second album while I do that. I almost have a second album altogether,” he says.

Fans will be able to purchase Identity and see Richard live as well as some other local performers, including Daylin Jorgensen and Shay Esposito.

Richard has plans to bring some of the opening singers on stage for a few songs during an acoustic portion, but for his main set he will be taking on the task of performing his entire 15-track album.

“I feel that Identity is a launch pad,” Richard says. “I hope that it invites people to follow along as I explore into new territory, which I’m super excited about.”

Heather Gunn

I

t’s as if Randy Newman did speed.

I guess that’s how you could sum up Father John Misty’s new album God’s Favorite Customer. The album looks at “Mr. Tillman” from Father John Misty’s persona. It’s like his initial solo effort, J.Tillman, 18 music

(South side), 9708-45 Ave • 780.438.3207 • virenzi@shaw.ca • Argentine Tango with Tango Divino: beginners: 7-8pm; intermediate: 8-9pm; Tango Social Dance (Milonga): 9pm-12 • Every Fri, 7pm-midnight • $15

BALLROOM, LATIN, COUNTRY DANCE SOCIAL • Central Lions Recreation Centre, 11113-113 St • 780.893.6828 • ebda.ca • An evening of ballroom, latin, country dancing • 1st Sat of every month, 8pm (doors)

CARROT COFFEE FRIENDSHIP CLUB • Carrot Coffeehouse, 9351-118 Ave • Have a cup of coffee with 55+ individuals single, divorced, or widowed who are looking to make new friends with neighbours in our local communities of: Delton, Eastwood, Parkdale – Cromdale, Westwood, Spruce Ave, and Alberta Avenue • Every Wed, 1-2pm DANCE CLASSES WITH GOOD WOMEN DANCE COLLECTIVE • Muriel Taylor Studio at Ruth Carse Centre for Dance, 11205-107 Ave • info@goodwomen. ca • goodwomen.ca/classes • Every Tue, Thu, Fri; 10-11:30am • $15 (drop-in), $65 (5 class pack), $100 (10 class pack)

DEEPSOUL.CA • 780.217.2464; call or text for Sunday jam locations • Most Sun: Sunday Jams with no Stan (CCR to Metallica), starring Chuck Prins and Les Paul Standard; Pink Floyd-ish originals plus great covers of classics: some free; Twilight Zone Lively Up Yourself Tour (with DJ Cool Breeze); all ages DROP-IN D&D • Hexagon Board Game Café, 10750-82 Ave • 780.757.3105 • info@thehexcafe. com • thehexcafe.com • Each night will be a single campaign that fits in a larger story arc. For all levels of gamers and those brand new or experienced to D&D • Every Tue & Wed, 7pm • $5 (with drink purchase)

DROP-IN LARP • Jackie Parker Park • westernwinds.summerfrost.ca • Battle games and fighter practice using provided safe weapon boffer.

An exciting way to get exercise while meeting new people with similar passions • Every Sat, 1:15pm • Free

NEWSOUNDS

Father John Misty God’s Favorite Customer Sub Pop

ARGENTINE TANGO DANCE AT FOOT NOTES STUDIO • Foot Notes Dance Studio

but from an objective, dizzy, mystic point of view.

The album has a sound beyond the seemingly jaunty, sarcasm we are so used to hearing from Father John Misty. Its underlying macabre tone is the setting for Josh Tillman’s most honest look at himself. In the recognition of his darkness is a sense of empathy. Songs like “Please Don’t Die,” or the title track, give Father John Misty an undying chance at personal retribution.

Inspired by a two-month stint at a hotel where Tillman felt his lowest, the album doesn’t masquerade itself as a chicken soup for the tortured soul, but instead projects an honest portrayal of a man who’s coming face-to-face with his demons. While the classic Father John Misty sarcasm is

on display, it’s a more subdued with a self-deprecating wit this time around. God’s Favorite Customer is self-aware enough to use that advantageously; so while you might laugh, you also think.

Like the artist’s previous albums, there is a plethora of instruments featured, including some damnfine tambourine playing. The album is sonically unique—as in every song matches, but feels completely its own; maybe it’s the effervescent falsettos, the pianobased ballads, or the hollowed and ominous self-prescribed catharsis.

With barely any press for God’s Favorite Customer and a week where Kanye West’s Ye came out, Father John Misty has eclipsed his own fame to come out with one of the best albums of 2018 so far.

Ryan Hook

EDMONTON OUTDOOR CLUB (EOC) • edmontonoutdoorclub.com • Offering a variety of fun activities in and around Edmonton • Free to join; info at info@edmontonoutdoorclub.com EDMONTON PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORIAL SOCIETY • Highlands Library • 780.436.3878 • edm_photographic_hist_society_2@yahoo.ca • All interested in sharing the joys of film photography, such as experiences or favourite equipment • 3rd Wed of the month, 7:30pm (no meetings in Jul & Aug)

FLAMENCO DANCE CLASSES (BEGINNER OR ADVANCED) • Dance Code Studio, 10575115 St NW • 780.349.4843 • judithgarcia07@ gmail.com • flamencoenvivo.com • Every Sun until Jun 10, 11:30am-12:30pm

FOOD ADDICTS • Alano Club (& Simply Done Cafe), 10728-124 St • 780.718.7133 (or 403.506.4695 after 7pm) • Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA), free 12-Step recovery program for anyone suffering from food obsession, overeating, under-eating, and bulimia • Meetings every Thu, 7pm

FORT SASKATCHEWAN 45+ SINGLES COFFEE GROUP • A&W, 10101-88 Ave, Fort Saskatchewan • 780.907.0201 (Brenda) • A mixed

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

group offering conversation and friendship • Every Sun, 2pm

MILE ZERO DANCE DROP-IN DANCE & MOVEMENT CLASSES • Spazio Performativo, 10816-95 St • 780.424.1573 • mzdsociety@gmail.com • milezerodance.com/classes • Mile Zero Dance holds a number of drop-in dance & movement classes for people of all experience levels & ages; Mon: Contact Improv (7-9pm); Tue: House/Hip Hop with Sekou (6-7pm), Butoh with Sonja Myllymaki (7-9pm); Wed: Noguchi Taiso (10-11:30am), Beginner Modern with Kathleen Hughes (6-7pm); Thu: Authentic Movement with Isabelle Rousseau (*Must pre-register*) (10am12pm), Kids’ Dance with Jeannie Vandekerkhove (ages 3–5) (1-1:45pm) • $15 (regular drop-in), $12 (members drop-in), $15 (annual memberships), $100 (10-Class Card, which can be used for various classes.

Purchase it at Eventbrite)

MONDAY MEET-UP • Hexagon Board Game Cafe, 10750-82 Ave • 780.757.3105 • info@ thehexcafe.com • thehexcafe.com • Meet new gamers. Go to the event solo or with a group • Every Mon, 5-11pm • $5 (one drink per person)

NORTHERN ALBERTA WOOD CARVERS ASSOCIATION • Duggan Community Hall, 3728-106 St • nawca.ca • Meet every Wed, 6:30pm

OPEN DOOR COMIC CREATOR MEETINGS • Happy Harbor Comics, 10729-104 Ave • 780.452.8211 • happyharborcomics.com • Open to any skill level. Meet other artists and writers, glean tricks of the trade and gain tips to help your own work, or share what you've already done • 2nd and 4th Thu of every month, 7pm

ORGANIZATION FOR BIPOLAR AFFECTIVE DISORDER (OBAD) • Grey Nuns Hospital, Rm 0651, obad@shaw.ca; Group meets every Thu, 7-9pm • Free

PAINTING FOR PLEASURE • McDougall United Church, 10086 Macdonald Drive (south entrance) • 780.428.1818 • karenbishopartist@gmail.com • mcdougallunited.com • A weekly group for those who like to paint, draw or otherwise be creative on paper • Every Thu, 10am-noon SACRED CIRCLE DANCE • Riverdale Community Hall, 9231-100 Ave • edmontonsacredcircledance@gmail.com • Dances are taught to a variety of songs and music. No partner required • 2nd Wed of the month (beginners), 4th Wed of the month (experienced), 7-9pm • $10 SCHIZOPHRENIA SOCIETY FAMILY SUPPORT DROP-IN GROUP • Schizophrenia Society of Alberta, 5215-87 St • 780.452.4661 • schizophrenia.ab.ca • The Schizophrenia Society of Alberta offers a variety of services and support programs for those who are living with the illness, family members, caregivers, and friends • 1st and 3rd Thu each month, 7-9pm • Free

SUGAR FOOT STOMP! • Sugar Swing Ballroom, 10019-80 Ave NW • 587.786.6554 • dance@ sugarswing.com • sugarswing.com • Swing dance social • Every Fri-Sat, 8pm (beginner lesson begins) • $12, $2 (lesson with entry) • All ages

TAKE OFF POUNDS SENSIBLY (TOPS) • Grace United Church annex, 6215-104 Ave • 780.479-8667 (Bob) • bobmurra@telus.net • Low-cost, fun and friendly weight loss group • Every Mon, 6:30pm

TOASTMASTERS • Club Bilingue Toastmasters Meetings: Campus St. Jean: Pavillion McMahon; 780.667.6105 (Willard); clubbilingue.toastmastersclubs.org; Meet every Tue, 7pm • Fabulous Facilitators Toastmasters Club: 9888 Jasper Ave. 10th floor; fabulousfacilitators. toastmastersclubs.org; Meet every Tue, 12:05-1pm • Foresters Toastmaster Club: SEESA, 9350-82 St; 587.596.5277; Every Tue, 7-8:30pm • N'Orators Toastmasters Club: Lower Level, McClure United Church, 13708-74 St: norators.com; meet every Thu, 7pm • Norwood Toastmasters: Norwood Legion, 11150-82 St NW; norwoodtoastmasters.ca; Every Thu, 7:30-9:30pm • Y Toastmasters Club: Queen Alexandra Community League, 10425 University Ave (N door, stairs to the left); yclubtoastmasters@gmail.com; Meet every Tue, 7-9pm

WILD ROSE ANTIQUE COLLECTORS SOCIETY • Delwood Community Hall, 7515 Delwood Rd • wildroseantiquecollectors.ca • Collecting and researching items from various periods in the history of Edmonton. Presentations after club business. Visitors welcome • Meets the 4th Mon of every month (except Jul & Dec), 7:30pm

WOMEN'S CRICKET • Coronation Park Cricket pitch (north part of park) • incogswomens@gmail. com • Learn the game of cricket. The group plays for fun and no experience is necessary. Kids and

men welcome • Every Sat, 6pm • $5 (drop-in fee, adult), free (kids)

SPECIAL EVENTS

QUEER

BEAUMONT TOWN & COUNTRY DAZE •

EDMONTON SENIORS CENTRE GLBTQ • Edmonton General Hospital - Edmonton Seniors Centre, 11111 Jasper Ave • office@edmontonseniorscentre.ca • edmontonseniorscentre.ca/ lgbtq-support.html • A safe environment to share: education, stories, and activities • 1st and 3rd Mon of the month, 10:30am-12pm (in the boardroom) • Free G.L.B.T.Q SENIORS GROUP • S.A.G.E Bldg, main floor Cafe, 15 Sir Winston Churchill Square • 780.4235510 (Sage) • tuff69@telus.net • Meeting for gay seniors, and for any seniors who have gay family members and would like some guidance • Every Tue, 1-4pm PRIDE CENTRE OF EDMONTON • Pride Centre of Edmonton, 2nd Floor, 10618-105 Ave • Wheelchair-accessible elevator at 10610 105 Avenue • (780) 488-3234 • pridecentreofedmonton.org/calendar.html • OFFICE & DROP IN HOURS: Mon-Fri 12-7pm; Closed Sat-Sun and holidays • YOGA: (all ages), 2nd and 4th Mon of every month • TTIQ: (18+ Trans Group) 2nd Mon of every month, 7-9pm • TRANS YOUTH GROUP & PARENTS/ CAREGIVERS SUPPORT: (24 and under) 3rd Mon of every month, 7-9pm • FIERCE FUN: (24 and under) Biweekly Tue, 7-9pm, games and activities for youth • JAMOUT: (12-24) Biweekly Tue, 7-8:30pm, music mentorship and instruction for youth • TWO SPIRIT GATHERING: 4th Wed of every month, 6-8pm, gathering for First Nations Two Spirit people • MEN’S SOCIAL CIRCLE: (18+) 1st and 3rd Thu, 7-9pm, for anyone masculine-identified • WOMEN’S SOCIAL CIRCLE: (18+) 2nd and 4th Thu, 7-9pm, for anyone feminine-identified • MOVIES & GAMES NIGHT: Biweekly Fri, 6-8:30pm • ARTS & IDENTITY: Biweekly Fri, 6-8:30pm • CREATING SAFER SPACES TRAINING: Interactive professional development workshops, with full or half-day options • QUEER YOUTH MENTORING: (Youth: 12–24) (Adults 26+)

PRIDE POP UP SHOP • Happy Harbor Comics, 10729-104 Ave NW • happyharborcomics.com • Featuring LGBTQ+ creators, artists and LGBTQ+ and Pride-themed wares • Jun 17, 11am-5pm

STRAWBERRY DESSERT AND TEA • SAGE Cafè, 15 Sir Winston Churchill Square • 780.423.5510 • Join GLBTQ Seniors celebrating Pride Week with live performances, strawberry dessert and tea. Hosted by SAGES Over the Rainbow Group • Jun 14, 1-3:30pm

TEAM EDMONTON • Locations vary • teamedmonton.ca • LGBTQ2+ inclusive. Various sports and recreation activities. Events include: "Gayming", archery, swimming, floor hockey, volleyball, yoga, and more • Events are seasonal and can change, visit website for more details

YOGA WITH JENNIFER • 780.439.6950 • ThreeBattles.com • A traditional approach with lots of individual attention. Free introductory classes • Tue evenings & Sat mornings

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 Valerie at P.A.L.S. 780-424-5514 or email palsvol@shaw.ca

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

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

2005.

JUST A LITTLE NIGHT MARKET •

Various venues in Beaumont • beaumont.ab.ca • Activities include a parade, entertainment stage, trade show, petting zoo, horse competitions and more • Jun 15-17 • Most events are free (cost for the midway)

Alberta Aviation Museum, 11410 Kingsway Ave • 780.934.1568 • nightmarketedmonton.com • Shop local vendors, try some delicious food and drink, and enjoy some live performances throughout the day • Jun 15-16

EDMONTON FILIPINO FIESTA • Borden Park, 7507 Borden Park Rd • edmontonfilipinofiesta.com • Enjoy joyful events at the heart of Filipino culture.

Held in almost every town and province across the country, fiestas celebrate patron saints, ethnic traditions and important milestones for the local people • Jun 23-24

NATIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY • Victoria Park, 12030 River Valley Rd • A day for all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures, and outstanding achievements and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples • Jun 21

EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL STREET PERFORMERS FESTIVAL • Dr. Wilbert McIntyre

NUOVA OPERA & MUSIC THEATRE FESTIVAL • Various locations • operanuova.ca/festival •

Park (Gazebo Park), 8331-104 St • 780.425.5162 • info@edmontonstreetfest.com • edmontonstreetfest.com • For 6 days, StreetFest will feature the best of the best jugglers, magicians, circus performers, comedians, dancers and hula hoopers from around the world • Jul 10-15 • By donation

Six weeks of classic music • May 19-Jun 30

SAND ON WHYTE • Whyte Ave and Gateway Blvd

EDMONTON NIGHT MARKET • Alberta Aviation Museum, 11410 Kingsway Ave • jlsnightmarket. com • Whether you're looking to buy unique products, listen to live music, or eat great food you'll find a bustling space full of neighbours, families and friends browsing a variety of vendors • Jun 15-16

FESTIVAL EDMONTON CHANTE • La Cité Francophone, Mill Creek Cafe, Gabrielle Roy Public School, Alberta Legislature Grounds • A festival that gives francophone artists the opportunity to share their talent with others • Jun 15-17, Jun 22-24 • Prices vary • All ages

FOUND FESTIVAL • Various locations around Whyte Ave and downtown • commongroundarts.ca/ found • Edmonton’s only found space arts festival, is back for its seventh year. It brings the arts out of galleries and concert halls and into the community, allowing audiences to experience performances and installations in ways they have never before • Jun 22-25

HASKIN CANOE SUNSET TOUR • Laurier to Capilano Park • 780.922.4324 • info@haskincanoe.ca • View the orange and red glow of the sun

• Professional sand carving artists will be unveiling their creations for viewers to enjoy • Jun 29-Jul 8

ST ALBERT PRIDE • Lions Park, St Albert • stalbertpride.ca • Food, entertainment, and a welcoming community in the heart of St Albert • Jun 16, 3pm UKRAINIAN VINTAGE FAIR • Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts, 9534-87 St • 780.488.8558 • info@acuarts.ca • acuarts.ca • Featuring unique items for sale including artifacts, pottery, ceramics, dolls, art work, wood carvings, pysanky and more • Jun 23, 4-9pm • Free

VINTAGE DAY AND THE FRIENDS UKRAINIAN MUSIC FEST • Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, 25 minutes east of Edmonton on Hwy #16 • 780.662.3640 • ukrainianvillage.ca • Step on the gas, drive back in time and enjoy a spectacular display of vintage cars, tractors and motorcycles • Jun 24, 10am-5pm

FASHION FEST • Edmonton Expo Centre, 7515118 Ave • An annual trade an fashion show event that brings two great days of shopping and fashion shows under one roof • Jun 22, 11am • Free

WHISKY BELLES 2ND ANNUAL CHARITY WHISKY TASTING EVENT • Happy Harbor Comics, 10729-104 Ave • whiskybelles@gmail. com • Whisky is best enjoyed with a group of friends–and strangers we've not yet met. There are stories to be told, drams to drink, and silent auction prizes galore. Happy Harbor has been exploring a range of new whiskies lately and hope guests will enjoy the selection curated for this tasting • Jun 16, 6:30-9pm • $52.88 ($50 donation to e4c Alberta and $2.88 Eventbrite fee)

THE WORKS ART & DESIGN FESTIVAL • Federal Building Plaza, 9820-107 St • theworks. ab.ca • This festival features some of the best in contemporary and traditional visual art and design • Jun 21-Jul 3

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

Call for Artists - The Paint Spot is seeking artists to create portraits of their pets for the Big, Big Pet Portrait Show!

Your art work will be displayed in the art store during the Whyte Avenue Art Walk.

Exhibition runs until August 16, 2018. It is simple to participate.

Paint on a 12x12” gallery profile canvas (on sale sponsored by The Paint Spot).

Then bring it to our shop at 10032 81 Avenue before June 30. Contact info@paintspot.ca or call 780 432 0240.

Call for Volunteers The Whyte Avenue Art Walk July 6-8, 2018 is looking for art-lovers who want to get out there and meet artists. Shifts are 4 hours long between 7AM and 5PM. Duties include orientation of the public, watching artists wares during breaks and oh yeah walk, talk to everyone, and see a lot of art. Our Art Walk volunteer aprons and tote bags are coveted souvenirs.

The orientation is Monday June 25, 6:30PM - 8:30PM. Contact yeg.artwalk@gmail.com or visit www.art-walk.ca.

2005.

“Triple 8”-- fittingly for the 888th Jonesin’ Crossword.

PRIDE WEEK • Various locations throughout

• edmontonjazz.com • A variety of jazz music with the divine jazz fusion group Snarky Puppy headlining. Lineup also features LSD Trio, Doug Organ Trio, BassDrumBone, and many more • Jun 22-Jul 1 Freemason’s Hall of Edmonton, 10318-100 Ave • A market that celebrates the metaphysical population aspect of the city. From unique and specialized vendors providing art, clothing, crystals, hand created crafts, jewelry, books and more • Jun 23-24 • Free

Matt Jones

Park, 7515-118 Ave • porkapalooza.ca • Celebrating the culinary art of BBQ • Jun 16-17 • Free Edmonton • edmontonpride.ca • Celebrating LGBTQ2S+ communities • Jun 8-17

EDMONTON METAPHYSICAL MARKET •

JONESIN’ CROSSWORD

PORKAPALOOZA BBQ FESTIVAL • Northlands

EDMONTON INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL • Various venues through out Edmonton

VUECLASSIFIEDS 1600.

setting as you paddle on the still waters of the North Saskatchewan • Jun 15, Jun 20, Jun 22 • $50 (per person plus GST), $25 (youth 17 and under)

Artist to Artist

Artists wanted for artists housing co-op. $885/mo. http://artshab.com/spaces/arts hub-118 Call for Soon-to-be-Artists Artelier Studios offers workshops and services for anyone serious (or curious) about art. Explore different art mediums and methods, refresh your creative spark, make new discoveries, and maybe make some new friends too! Visit paintspot.ca/events/workshops or email info@paintspot.ca.

Summer Camps for Kids (and kids at heart!) Artelier Studios, Edmonton newest art hub, is running art classes for kids all summer to provide young artists with some mad skills they can expand as they grow as artists. The camps start July 3 and run until August 24. Two of the eight camps provide the opportunity for a parent or grandparent to take part with their child.

Visit www.paintspot.ca, contact info@paintspot.ca, or call 780 432 0240.

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

5615.

Space for Rent

Affordable Artist Studios at Harcourt House Artist Run Centre Looking for an affordable and sustainable art studio for your visual arts practice?

Harcourt House Artist Run Centre offers affordable art studio spaces to the artists for a solo or shared occupancy.

For detailed information or to arrange a viewing, please contact Ms. Hadeel Othman, Harcourt’s Gallery Services Administrator, Monday to Friday from 10 am to 5 pm, tel.

780-426-4180; email: harcourtinfo@shaw.ca.

Across

1 Came up 6 Minor argument 10 Die spots 14 Cholesterol drug with the generic version Simvastatin 15 Animal in two constellations 16 Mental concoction 17 One-eighty 18 Boxing Day baby, astrologically 20 Defunct newspaper from North Carolina’s state capital 22 Pencil end 23 ___ el hanout (North African spice mix) 24 Distorted 27 Leb. neighbor 28 Greek column style 31 You, to Shakespeare 32 Crankcase component for engine fluids 34 Get a little froggy?

35 Certain Winter Olympics squad, as spelled in some countries 38 City with a Witch Museum 39 The great outdoors 40 “Toy Story” kid 41 Try to buy 42 Work at a grocery store, perhaps 45 Music collection often stored in a tower 46 Directional suffix 47 Place to change before swimming 50 Compare pros and cons 53 Easy swimming target, slangily 56 Word before paper or metal 57 Charismatic glow 58 Reverberation 59 City between Jacksonville and Tampa 60 Seasonal employee 61 Put a halt to 62 Pied ___ (“Silicon Valley” company)

at 123 Sesame Street 6 “No ___ luck!”

7 Backside before a fall?

8 Having as a goal 9 Airport runway 10 “___ or it didn’t happen!”

11 Altar-ed statement?

12 Part of MPG 13 ___ Jacinto 19 -y, pluralized 21 Bobby Flay’s milieu 24 Exclamation often misspelled with the second letter at the end 25 Be nomadic 26 ___ it up 29 Show starter 30 Water nymph, in mythology 31 Yew, for example 32 Mind 33 Philosopher’s suffix 34 Midpoint, for short 35 Group in the pit 36 Carmaker Ransom 37 Intuition 38 Alveolus, e.g.

41 Pays off 42 Undeserved reputation 43 “Hurry up!,” in Spanish 44 He brought the frankincense 46 Startled sound 48 Storyteller with morals 49 Italian lawn bowling 50 Make a present presentable?

51 “___! Cherry-O” (kids’ board game) 52 Corvette roof option 53 Took a load off 54 Shade 55 Robotic factory piece ©2018 Jonesin’ Crosswords

Down

1 Sky-blue shades 2 Hub traffic circle 3 Eye-related 4 Tender spots 5 Basement apartment resident

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SAVAGELOVE RETROACTIVE BLESSING

Without snooping, I came across texts between my wife “Mary” and a guy “Jeremy” of a very sexual nature. While I would be okay if she were doing this and I knew about it, this has been going on since before we met. (We’ve been together 10 years.) She says she has never met him in person (despite communicating with him for more than a decade!) and this was the only thing she was doing that she thought would have been out of bounds. Again, if I had known, it would have been fine.

I’m not okay with her being with other guys, but I know harmless flirting can be a release. Still, I have issues with anxiety and depression, and this is definitely triggering me. I do not want to snoop and I want to trust her, but I am having a hard time with both. Prior to this, it never occurred to me that Mary would do anything that had a whiff of dishonesty about it. But her having kept this from me for as long as I have known her has made me question that. I don’t want to keep bringing this up to her, but I am struggling with it. What do you think I should do?

UPSET IN THE MIDWEST I think you should get over it, UITM. Easier said than done, I realize, particularly with the twin burdens of anxiety and depression. But if you would have been fine with this had you known—if there was no reason for Mary to hide this LTR-of-sorts from you—the best way to prove that to her is by giving it your retroactive blessing. You’re right, UITM: Mary shouldn’t have hidden this from you. But she assumed—incorrectly, as it turned out—you would have a problem with those texts. It was a reasonable assumption on her part, since swapping flirty texts with

Dan Savage

a stranger is regarded as “out of bounds” by most. While this makes Mary’s failure to disclose look a little worse, we live in a culture that defines absolutely everything as cheating—don’t get me started on the idiocy that is “micro-infidelities,” and the idiots pushing that toxic concept— and as a consequence, people not only lack perspective (oh, to live in a world where everyone regarded harmless flirtation as no big deal!) but also the language to honestly discuss our need for a little harmless erotic affirmation from someone who isn’t obligated to find us attractive, i.e., not a spouse or partner.

Put yourself in Mary’s shoes for a moment. When should she have told you about Jeremy?

What would you have done if on the third or fourth date, she looked up from her menu and said, “I’ve been swapping flirty texts with this guy for, oh, the last several years. I have no interest in him in real life, we’ve actually never even met in person, but I enjoy his texts and would like to keep swapping texts with him. I hope that’s not a problem.”

You would have dumped her on the spot, right? She didn’t want to stop, she didn’t know how to talk about it, she hesitated, and … a decade went by.

If there’s nothing else—if no other shoes drop—give this your retroactive blessing.

BOOTY SUMMONS

I have an unusual situation. I met a girl I am crazy about.

She didn’t really have any interest in me except for the occasional drink; she just wanted to be friends. A few months later, I saw her at a bar. We drank a bit more than we could handle and slept together, and I thought we would start dating. A few weeks went by, and she always had an excuse as to

why we couldn’t hang out. Then one night, she texted to say she wanted to see me, but I could tell she was tipsy. We went out for a few more drinks and then slept together again. A week later, the same thing happened.

When I contact her during the day, she never seems interested. But I run over like a starved dog when she calls at night.

(Sadly, due to stress and overwork, I usually can’t get hard when I go over. That’s become a big issue.) She’s very attractive, and I’m surprised she has any interest in me at all, but it’s only when she’s drunk. Besides her looks, I’m attracted by her personality and intelligence. I don’t know what attracts her to me except maybe I’m her booty call, but recently I have been terrible at it. The last time we hooked up, she told me she’s quitting drinking. Maybe she won’t contact me anymore.

My question: Is it worth pursuing this if I get my ED situation fixed? Or should I just move on and if she does contact me one night, I just say, “Sorry, not interested”? It’s obvious she’s using me. But we actually have good conversations despite us both being drunk and it kinda seems like a date of some sort.

What do you think?

SUMMONED WITH A TEXT She’s interested in you for only one thing (sex) and at only one time (when she’s drunk, horny, and out of other options) ... and she can summon you with a single drunken late-night text. It’s actually not an unusual situation, SWAT—millions of people have received similar summonses. So long as the summoned person doesn’t want anything more than sex from the person issuing the summons, Yahtzee!

Everybody gets laid, nobody gets hurt. But if the person be-

ing summoned wants more—if the summonee has unrequited feelings for the summoner— the summoned person is going to get hurt. Because what the summoner is essentially saying is this: “I want sex; I don’t want you.” Even if the sex is good, the rejection that comes bundled in that summons stings and the hurt grows over time.

So, yeah, stop answering that drunk girl’s summonses. Let her know you want more than sex, and if she’s not interested in something more, you’re not interested in her. As for those erectile issues, SWAT, try having sex sober, earlier in the evening, and with someone who doesn’t regard your dick as a consolation prize. I bet they clear right up.

BYE FELICIA

I am a transgender man, and my girlfriend is a transgender woman, and we have hit a plateau. Intimate time is rare, communication is minimal, and although I care for her deeply, I do not like her as a person and no longer want to get married.

I have considered asking if we could open up the relationship, but I doubt that is the solution.

How does one end a long-term relationship?

HELP RELATIONSHIP TRANSITION

Whatever you do, HRT, please— please—don’t ask to open up your relationship when what you really want is out. A lot of people who want out do this, and it’s why so many people believe all requests to open a relationship are a sign the relationship is doomed. People who want out but ask for open inevitably get out in the end.

People who want open and ask for open and get it tend to stay.

But since most couples in open relationships aren’t public about it (most are more comfortable being perceived as monogamous), people hear about the insincere requests that preceded a breakup and conclude all requests are insincere. Anyway, HRT, how does one end a longterm relationship? One uses one’s words. If “I love you” are the three magic words, then “I’m leaving you” are the three tragic words. Seeing as intimacy is rare and communication is minimal, it shouldn’t come as a shock to your soon-to-be-ex fiancée.

On the Lovecast, come hang out with the lesbians of the Lez Hang Out podcast: savagelovecast.com. mail@savagelove.net @fakedansavage on Twitter Read the Savage Love Letter of the Day at thestranger.com/slog

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET,

PORN!

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BLUEREVUE.CA VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

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FREEWILLASTROLOGY

ALBERTA-WIDECLASSIFIEDS •• AUCTIONS •• AUCTION FOR Marty J’s Landscaping & Janitorial Services Plus Retirement sale for both Marty Sagh & Shirley Cartier Sunday June 24, 2018 @ 12:00 p.m. Noon. Directions: 53216 Range Road 11, Stony Plain, Alberta. Cars, Trucks & RV’s. Building Equipment & Tools. Complete Commercial Janitorial Equipment.

Farm Equipment & Related Items. Garden Equipment & Tools. Recreational Items.

Shop Equipment & Tools.

Check www.rainbowauctions. ca for full list. 780-968-1000.

SATURDAY, JUNE 16, @ 10 AM MAS Auction Sales Centre -Blackfalds, AB. 2007 Escalade, 03 Dodge Dakota, 2015 16 Ft Triaxle Dump Trailer, Machine Shop & Electric Motor Repair, Wood Construction, Concrete, Drywall & Paint Equipment, Auto Shop & Hoists, Tools, Pool Tables & More. See www.montgomeryauction.com 1-800-371-6963.

FIREARMS AUCTION June 23rd, 2018 - Three Sessions Live and Online. Bidding starts June 6th-22nd. www. switzersauction.com. Toll-free 1-800-694-2609, email: paul@ switzersauction.com. Estates and Collections Wanted. Switzer’s - Canada’s #1 Firearms Auction.

•• BUSINESS •• OPPORTUNITIES HIP OR KNEE REPLACEMENT? Other medical conditions that lead to restrictions in walking/dressing? $2,500 yearly tax credit. $40,000 refund cheque/rebates. Disability Tax Credit. Expert Help.

Lowest service fee nationwide.

1-844-453-5372.

•• COMING EVENTS •• FIREARMS WANTED for June 23rd, 2018 live and online auction. Rifles, Shotguns, Handguns, Militaria. Auction or

Purchase. Collections, Estates, individual items. Contact Paul, Switzer’s Auction. Toll-free 1-800-694-2609, info@ switzersauction.com or www. switzersauction.com.

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.

•• EMPLOYMENT •• OPPORTUNITIES

BEAUTIFUL SPRUCE TREES. 4-6 feet; $35 each. Machine planting: $10/tree (includes bark mulch and fertilizer). 25 tree minimum order. Delivery fee $100-$140/order. Quality guaranteed. 403-820-0961.

SANDMAN INNS RURAL BC recruiting management couples, both full-time and part-time roles available. Ask us about our great employee perks and accommodation.

Apply on https://sandmanhotels.prevueaps.com.

SEEKING A CAREER in the Community Newspaper business? Post your resume for FREE right where the publishers are looking. Visit: awna. com/for-job-seekers.

MEDICAL TRANSCRIPTION! In-demand career! Employers 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 •• 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.

METAL ROOFING & SIDING. 37+ colours available at over 55 Distributors. 40 year warranty. 48 hour Express Service available at select supporting Distributors. Call 1-888-2638254.

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; 1-800-5670404 Ext: 400OT. LOOKING FOR a shop?

Post Frame Buildings. AFAB

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

Manages 2k to 3k cow/ calf operation with complete solid infrastructure. 220k acres cultivated. Contact Doug @ 306-716-2671 or saskfarms@ shaw.ca.

FOR SALE - EVANSBURG, Alberta - Double lot 120’x100’, 14x66 mobile, second lot serviced, fenced, mature spruce & pine trees. $117,500 OBO. 780-514-6573; 780-514-0049.

•• 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.

•• WANTED •• WANTED HEAVY EQUIPMENT any condition; Excavators, Backhoe’s, Wheel Loaders, Graders, Compactors, Skid Steers, Newer Farm Tractors 4wd with Loaders.

Running or not. 250-2600217, Clay.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): My Aries acquaintance Tatiana decided to eliminate sugar from her diet. She drew up a plan to avoid it completely for 30 days, hoping to permanently break its hold over her. I was surprised to learn that she began the project by making a dessert altar in her bedroom, where she placed a chocolate cake and five kinds of candy. She testified that it compelled her willpower to work even harder and become even stronger than if she had excluded all sweet treats from her sight. Do you think this strenuous trick might work for you as you battle your own personal equivalent of a sugar addiction? If not, devise an equally potent strategy. You’re on the verge of forever escaping a temptation that’s no good for you. Or you’re close to vanquishing an influence that has undermined you—or both.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): You have caressed and finessed the problem. You have tickled and teased and tinkered with it. Now I suggest you let it alone for a while. Give it breathing room. Allow it to evolve under the influence of the tweaks you have instigated. Although you may need to return and do further work in a few weeks, my guess is that the problem’s knots are now destined to metamorphose into seeds. The awkwardness you massaged with your love and care will eventually yield a useful magic.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “Whether you love what you love or live in divided ceaseless revolt against it, what you love is your fate.” Gemini poet Frank Bidart wrote that in his poem “Guilty of Dust,” and now I offer it to you.

Why? Because it’s an excellent time to be honest with yourself as you identify whom and what you love.

It’s also a favourable phase to assess whether you are in any sense at odds with whom and what you love; and if you find you are, to figure out how to be in more harmonic alignment with whom and what you love. Finally, dear Gemini, now is a key moment to vividly register the fact that the story of your life in the coming years will pivot around your relationship with whom and what you love.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Congratulations on the work you’ve done to cleanse the psychic toxins from your soul, Cancerian.

I love how brave you’ve been as you’ve jettisoned outworn shticks, inadequate theories, and irrelevant worries. It makes my heart sing to have seen you summon the self-respect necessary to stick up for your dreams in the face of so many confusing signals. I do feel a tinge of sadness that your heroism hasn’t been better appreciated by those around you. Is there anything you can do to compensate? Like maybe intensify the appreciation you give yourself?

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VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I hope you’re reaching the final stages of your year-long project to make yourself as solid and steady as possible. I trust you have been building a stable foundation that will serve you well for at least the next five years. I pray you have been creating a rich sense of community and establishing vital new traditions and surrounding yourself with environments that bring out the best in you. If there’s any more work to be done in these sacred tasks, intensify your efforts in the coming weeks. If you’re behind schedule, please make up for lost time.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Necessity is the mother of invention,” says an old proverb. In other words, when your need for some correction or improvement becomes overwhelming, you may be driven to get creative. Engineer Allen Dale put a different spin on the issue. He said that “If necessity is the mother of invention, then laziness is the father.”

Sci-fi writer Robert Heinlein agreed, asserting that “Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.” I’m not sure if necessity or laziness will be your motivation, Virgo, but I suspect that the coming weeks could be a golden age of invention for you. What practical innovations might you launch? What useful improvements can you finagle? P.S. Philosopher Alfred North Whitehead attributed the primary drive for innovative ideas and gizmos to “pleasurable intellectual curiosity.”

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Would you have turned out wiser and wealthier if you had dropped out of school in third grade? Would it have been better to apprentice yourself to a family of wolves or coyotes rather than trusting your educational fate to institutions whose job it was to acclimate you to society’s madness?

I’m happy to let you know that you’re entering a phase when you’ll find it easier than usual to unlearn any old conditioning that might be suppressing your ability to fulfill your rich potentials.

I urge you to seek out opportunities to unleash your skills and enhance your intelligence.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): The temptation to overdramatize is strong. Going through with a splashy but messy conclusion may have a perverse appeal. But why not wrap things up with an elegant whisper instead of a garish bang? Rather than impressing everyone with how amazingly complicated your crazy life is, why not quietly lay the foundations for a lowkey resolution that will set the stage for a productive sequel?

Taking the latter route will be much easier on your karma, and in my opinion will make for just as interesting a story.

Rob Brezsny

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Each of us harbours rough, vulnerable, controversial, or unhoned facets of our identity.

And every one of us periodically reaches turning points when it becomes problematic to keep those qualities buried or immature. We need to make them more visible and develop their potential. I suspect you have arrived at such a turning point. So on behalf of the cosmos, I hereby invite you to enjoy a period of ripening and self-revelation.

And I do mean enjoy. Find a way to have fun.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): For the next two-plus weeks, an unusual rule will be in effect: The more you lose, the more you gain. That means you will have an aptitude for eliminating hassles, banishing stress, and shedding defense mechanisms. You’ll be able to purge emotional congestion that has been preventing clarity. You’ll have good intuitions about how to separate yourself from influences that have made you weak or angry. I’m excited for you, Capricorn! A load of old, moldy karma could dissolve and disperse in what seems like a twinkling. If all goes well, you’ll be travelling much lighter by July 1.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): I suggest you avoid starting a flirtatious correspondence with a convict who’ll be in jail for another 28 years. OK? And don’t snack on fugu, the Japanese delicacy that can poison you if the cook isn’t careful about preparing it. Please? And don’t participate in a séance where the medium summons the spirits of psychotic ancestors or diabolical celebrities with whom you imagine it might be interesting to converse. Got that? I understand you might be in the mood for high adventure and out-ofthe-ordinary escapades. And that will be fine and healthy as long as you also exert a modicum of caution and discernment.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I suggest that you pat yourself on the back with both hands as you sing your own praises and admire your own willful beauty in three mirrors simultaneously. You have won stirring victories over not just your own personal version of the devil, but also over your own inertia and sadness. From what I can determine, you have corralled what remains of the forces of darkness into a comfy holding cell, sealing off those forces from your future. They won’t bother you for a very long time, maybe never again. Right now you would benefit from a sabbatical—a vacation from all this high-powered characterbuilding. May I suggest you pay a restorative visit to the land of sweet nonsense?

CURTIS HAUSER

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018

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AT UDELL XHIBITIONS . 10332 124 ST EMERGING LOCAL ARTIST XHIBITION . SALE SILENT + LIVE AUCTION . 9 PM - MIDNIGHT OPEN BAR . DJ’S . FOOD TRUCK . MEMBERS ONLY

$25 TICKETS: udellxhibitions.com + minbid.ca 24 insert coin to continue

VUEWEEKLY.com | JUN 14 - JUN 20, 2018