Vue Weekly Issue 757 Apr 23 - 28 2010

2 // UP FRONT

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

INSIDE

COVER

#757 • Apr 22 – Apr 28, 2010

UP FRONT // 4/ 4 7 11 11

Vuepoint Dyer Straight ZeitGeist Bob the Angry Flower

DISH // 13/ 16 Veni, Vidi, Vino

ARTS // 18/ 22 Hopscotch

FILM // 52 52 DVD Detective

MUSIC // 57/ 60 Enter Sandor 66 New Sounds 67 Old Sounds 67 Quickspins

BACK // 68

23

The Great Outdoors: Spring has sprung and it's time for you to get up and get outside

FILM

MUSIC

18

23

68 Free Will Astrology 70 Queermonton 71 Alt.Sex.Column

EVENTS LISTINGS 51 Arts 55 Film 58 Music 69 Events

Antichrist a powerful shocker

Two of a kind: Rob Zombie & Alice Cooper

VUEWEEKLY.COM VUETUBE // Eamon McGrath

MUSIC //

• Vuetube: Colleen Brown and Trevor Tchir at the Vue Weekly studio • The Classical Score: a look at what happens comedianmusicians have their way with classical music. Plus highlights of the week's classical performances.

FILM // SIDEVUE

• Pro or Con Trier?: Brian Gibson debates the merits of Lars von Trier's cinema of shock Eamon McGrath live at the Vue Weekly studio

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

UP FRONT // 3

EDITORIAL

Vuepoint Eye on the prize samantha power

// samantha@vueweekly.com

D

espite the confidence with which Daryl Katz speaks, a new arena is not a done deal. Headlines blare his proposed 2014 opening date, and his bold PR strategy has done everything from rename vast sections of our city on the Edmonton Arena District website to appropriate numerous mandate terms from Edmonton's nearly completed downtown strategy, and the Katz Group would like us to believe all that's left to do is cut the ribbon. But there are some serious questions that Edmontonians need to ask first. To start, do we even want this thing? Developed and managed poorly, the proposed arena district could become nothing more than another concrete mall complex with little assistance to local development. Developed sustainably, and for Edmonton's purposes, it could fulfil numerous goals—walkability, sustainability, encouraging downtown retail and residential space—that Edmonton City Council has set for downtown.

Although, if you look at all the buzzwords, the majority of the goals set forward in Katz's strategy for downtown can

ZeitGeist

11

Bob the Angry Flower

GRASDAL'S VUE

Letters

t: 780.426.1996 F: 780.426.2889 E: office@vueweekly.com w: vueweekly.com RON GARTH // ron@vueweekly.com EDEN MUNRO // eden@vueweekly.com BRYAN BIRTLES // bryan@vueweekly.com SAMANTHA POWER // samantha@vueweekly.com PAUL BLINOV // paul@vueweekly.com EDEN MUNRO // eden@vueweekly.com BRYAN BIRTLES // bryan@vueweekly.com JEREMY DERKSEN // snowzone@vueweekly.com DavID Berry // david@vueweekly.com MICHAEL SIEK // mike@vueweekly.com CHELSEA BOOS // che@vueweekly.com PETE NGUYEN // pete@vueweekly.com LYLE BELL // lyle@vueweekly.com ROB BUTZ // butz@vueweekly.com GLENYS SWITZER // glenys@vueweekly.com KAREN KIDDINE // karen@vueweekly.com JON DAY // jon@vueweekly.com ROB LIGHTFOOT // rob@vueweekly.com 780.426.1996 // advertising@vueweekly.com 780.426.1996 // classifieds@vueweekly.com DPS MEDIA // 416.413.9291 MIKE GARTH // michael@vueweekly.com AARON GETZ // aaron@vueweekly.com CLAYTON DIDIER Ricardo Acuña, Mike Angus, Bobbi Barbarich, Josef Braun, Rob Breszny, Jonathan Busch, Laura Collison, Lucas Crawford, Kristina De Guzman, Andrew Derksen, Gwynne Dyer, Amy Fung, Michael Geist, Brian Gibson, Jan Hostyn, Not Whitey Houston, Lewis Kelly, Maria Kotovych, Fawnda Mithrush, Omar Mouallem, Andrea Nemerson, Carolyn Nikodym, Roland Pemberton, Melissa Priestley, Sheena Rossiter, Steven Sandor, LS Vors, Karla Walli, Mimi Williams, Kirk Zembal Todd Broughton, Alan Ching, Barret DeLaBarre, Mike Garth, Aaron Getz, Raul Gurdian, Justin Shaw, Dale Steinke, Wally Yanish

Vue Weekly is available free of charge at well over 1400 locations throughout Edmonton. We are funded solely through the support of our advertisers. Vue Weekly is a division of 783783 Alberta Ltd. and is published every Thursday. Vue Weekly is available free of charge throughout Greater Edmonton and Northern Alberta, limited to one copy per reader. Vue Weekly may be distributed only by Vue Weekly's authorized independent contractors and employees. No person may, without prior written permission of Vue Weekly, take more than one copy of each Vue Weekly issue. Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 40022989. If undeliverable, return to: Vue Weekly 10303 - 108 Street Edm, AB T5J 1L7

4 // UP FRONT

11

What we need to remember is that this isn't the only proposal. It's one proposal for our downtown and for our city. Elements of this proposal may fit our purposes, and elements of it may not. Katz and his group need to stop treating this like the project is ready to take contractors.

Edmonton does need a new downtown—a revitalized downtown—but on our terms. And Edmonton's citizens just did some fabulous organizing and advocating for the removal of a vast waste of space in the downtown airport, in favour of high-density, sustainable living. As activists we can accomplish a lot, so let's keep our activist sensibilities and keep up our good work as citizens. V

10303 - 108 street, edmonton, AB T5J 1L7

COVER PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS

Distribution

Dyer Straight

be attained without the costly purchase and maintenance of a new arena.

And there is an argument to be made that renovating the current arena, developing local business and encouraging transit usage could encourage the goals of north-end communities by developing it as another centre of walkable, high-density living. What happens to the north end when the arena is yanked?

IssuE no. 757 // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010 // Available at over 1400 locations

Editor / Publisher

MANAGING Editor

associate mANAGING editor

NEWS Editor

Arts / Film Editor

Music Editor

Dish Editor

Outdoor Adventure Editor

Staff writer

creative services manager production

ART DIRECTOR

Senior graphic designer

WEB/MULTIMEDIA MANAGER

LISTINGS

Interns

SALES AND MARKETING MANAGER

LOCAL ADVERTISING CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

NATIONAL ADVERTISING

ADMINISTRATION/DISTRIBUTION

ADMINISTRATION/PROMOTIONS

INSIDE // FRONT

UP FRONT

7

MR ZAMBONI MAN

I

t has been brought to our attention recently that in an edition of Vue Weekly, ("Backlash Blues: Protest too much," Feb 25-Mar 3, 2010) there was an article stating " ... the malfunctioning Zamboni ... ".

We note the prominent mention of our trademark "Zamboni" and its proper capitalization. However, we would like to point out that the machine referred to in the article is not a Zamboni ice resurfacer, but was made by another manufacturer. Zamboni is a registered trademark of Frank J. Zamboni & Co, Inc, for the ice resurfacing machines and other products that it manufactures and distributes.

We appreciate the opportunity to explain the proper usage of our trademark.

FRank J. Zamboni Executive Vice-president zamboni

THE RAW FACTS

T

here were two incorrect facts in your article ("Eating Raw", April 8-14, 2010). Misinformation #1. Quote: "Re-

Vue Weekly welcomes reader response, whether critical or complimentary. Send your opinion by mail (Vue Weekly, 10303 - 108 Street, Edmonton AB T5J 1L7), by fax (780.426.2889) or by email (letters@vueweekly.com). Preference is given to feedback about articles in Vue Weekly. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.

fresh is a small shop on Whyte Avenue selling health foods and natural products in addition to housing a café ... " The correct information is the following: Organic Roots started to share space with Refresh Bistro from May, 2009. Both are independent businesses. Organic Roots does not sell health food but rather high quality health supplements, vitamins, organic skin care, sport supplements and homeopathic remedies.

Refresh is purely an organic bistro serving/selling menu items.

Misinformation #2. Quote from article: "We took a walk around the store, still open to customers ... The only downside to this experience, I think, is that you are eating this great food in a grocery store, so the atmosphere isn't as relaxing as one might hope. It might be nice to start the event after the store is closed, so at least the lights could be dimmed and music could be played ... " The correct information is: this store is not a grocery store, but, as I explained above, Organic Roots is a health supplement outlet that decided to open its space to Refresh Bistro as a complement to the business in promoting healthy lifestyle and eating habits.

And last but not least, the photograph

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

taken and used is projecting biased information too. It shows both windows of the premises but only the Refresh banner is visible and readable. If both windows are shown both banners should be presented clearly and equally visible and readable.

I am writing this in a hope that a correction will be done in a proper magnitude as we certainly don't want to see our hard work of creating a right image distorted by carelessly gathered and presented information.

Irene Csotonyi Organic Roots

NEWS // LAND RIGHTS

Home on native land

Environmental consultation is an aboriginal right, but current process is not working David Berry // david@vueweekly.com

T

wo Alberta First Nations are looking to a court case that originated in BC in the hopes of ensuring their treaty rights are fulfilled. The Duncan's and Horse Lake First Nations have been granted intervener status in the Supreme Court case Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. v the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, which has the potential to drastically alter how First Nations address concerns with government consultations across the country.

Intervener status is essentially a special dispensation to present arguments in Supreme Court cases where groups may not be directly affected by the rulings. In this case, both the Duncan's and Horse Lake nations are interested because the case has the potential to alter the role of utility boards in ensuring First Nations' constitutional right to be consulted on projects that may impact their traditional rights as granted under treaty conditions.

"The treaties that were signed between the Dominion government and the First Nations guarantee them the ongoing right to exercise their rights,

but in terms of the people who actually own the land, they've been saying that these rights are no longer meaningful in any way, because it's pretty hard to find a healthy moose in some of these oilfields, let alone a caribou or a fish," explains Matthew General, a consultant with Duncan's First Nation. "That historical impact has brought a lot of First Nations to this place where they feel like they need to do something about it."

Under current Canadian law—in light of earlier Supreme Court cases involving both the Haida in BC and Alberta's Mikisew Cree—First Nations have a right to be consulted by the government when potential developments may affect the rights guaranteed to them in signed treaties, outlined in Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. Essentially, this means that before the government can go ahead with any project that could affect treaty lands, from dams and oil and gas development to roads and pipelines, they must consult and take into consideration First Nations' concerns regarding issues such as land management and environmental or economic impacts.

While that's the law, however, in prac-

tice the process rarely adequately addresses First Nations' concerns, according to General.

"They have to meaningfully consult, which means a hell of a lot more than just sitting down and letting people blow off steam and then going off and doing what you wanted to do in the first place," he states simply, pointing to a recent experience Duncan's First Nation had regarding a proposed Shell development near their land.

"What we're finding in these cases ... is that we've gone to the government and the government says 'Yes, we consult, but we're telling Shell to do it.' We go to Shell and Shell says, 'Yes, we are kind of consulting but it's not really our mandate, so you should go back and deal with the government,'" General explains in exasperation. "Everyone is saying that they're doing it to cover their ass, to do due diligence, but they're not really doing it. It's like watching this kind of crazy dance of passing the hot potato around, and no one wants to take it."

Which is where the Supreme Court case comes in. It is an appeal of an earlier decision in a BC Court, which found that regulatory boards—in BC's case, the British Columbia Utilities Com-

mission (BCUC)—have an obligation to ensure that First Nations' consultation rights have been adequately met under the part of their mandate that ensures the public interest is being served in any proposed development. At present, such boards—including the Alberta equivalent, the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB)—have avoided taking such issues into consideration when deciding whether or not to approve proposed developments.

"Generally speaking ... these are decision-makers that have wide powers under their statutes, and the lay of the law is, at the moment they have the power to consider whether the Crown has met its fiduciary obligations to Aboriginal people, but the Supreme Court has never ruled that they have the obligation to do that," explains Shaun Fluker, an environmental law professor at the University of Calgary. "The board right now in Alberta would simply say that they don't think it's relevant to their deliberations, and that's the way it's been for quite a while."

A spokesperson for the ERCB confirmed the board's position, though also stated that the ERCB would change

its practice if it was given a specific mandate from government to do so. In the meantime, that leaves First Nations who are unhappy with consultations or the lack thereof only one option: legal proceedings. Which, according to Duncan's and Horse Lake First Nations lawyer Jay Nelson, is an unrealistic way to ensure that their rights are respected.

"The response that the First Nations typically get is that if they don't like the degree of consultation you've received, go to court—it's the court's job to make that determination," Nelson explains. "The problem for nations like Duncan's and Horse Lake and many others is that, even when your consultation rights have been trampled, just because of a lack of resources, it's not always realistic to be able to go to court and actually affirm your right. So a right without a remedy is not really much of a right at all."

Their hope is that, with a successful ruling, regulatory boards would have an obligation to ensure that proper consultation has taken place, and any disputes could be handled at their tribunals.

Though Nelson is confident that the CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 >>

News Roundup THE PEOPLE'S CLIMATE

I

n the wake of the failure to take real action on climate change at Copenhagen last December, representatives from more than 70 countries and many more NGOs have gathered in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba this week for an alternative climate conference that organizers and participants hope will set an agenda for the future.

Billed as the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth and organized by Bolivian president Evo Morales, the conference hopes to spotlight the needs of developing nations, who felt their needs were largely The UN states there are more climate refugees today than there are refugees from war. There are 25 million climate refugees today, and the UN estimates that number will double in the next five years. There is not a single international law that gives asylum or assistance to climate refugees.

• 75 percent of greenhouse gas emissions have been produced by the so-called “developed” countries in which only 20 percent of the world’s population resides.

ignored by the talks at Copenhagen.

Representatives from the governments of France, Spain and Russia will all be in attendance, but Canada's delegation will be limited to NGO participation, including the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition.

Nevertheless, the conference has a broad agenda, and will address issues from the necessity for the biggest climate-change culprits to aid developing nations' transition to greener alternatives to drafting a charter of rights for the planet to organizing a worldwide referendum on what should be done about climate change. V

david berry

A QUEER MINUTE

A

pril 25 marks the 17th anniversary of the largest march for gay rights in the US. Known formally as the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation, the one million march on Washington was the first time a direct link between the civil rights movement and the gay rights movement was made when the NAACP fully endorsed the march. 1993 also marks the first win for same sex marriage when the state of Hawaii was successfully sued for discrimination when it would not allow Nina Baehr and her partner to marry.

It takes until 2002 for same sex marriage to be recognized in Canada when the Ontario superior court rules prohibiting gay couples from marriage is unconstitutional. Canada allowed same-sex marriage in 2005 with the Civil Marriage Act. The vote in Parliament passed 158-133. By 2003, eight out of 10 provinces, and one territory, amounting to 90 percent of Canada's population had legalized same sex marriage.

samantha power

// david@vueweekly.com

// samantha@vueweekly.com

• The US and the EU allocated $4.1 trillion to bail out the banking industry, while climate change initiatives received $13 billion, or 313 times less.

• Number of people flooded per year is expected to increase by between 10 and 25 million per year by the 2050's • Crop yields in central and south Asia could fall by 30 percent by the middle of the 21stcentury.

• Per person emissions continues to exceed those of developing countries by a factor of four.

• Yields from rainfed agriculture could fall by up to 50 percent by 2020

• The richest 20 percent of the world consume 30 percent more of the resources than the earth manages to regenerate each year.

• The proportion of land in constant drought expected to increase from two percent to 10 percent by 2050

Demands for the 1993 March on Washington We demand passage of a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender civil rights bill and an end to discrimination by state and federal governments including the military; repeal of all sodomy laws and other laws that criminalize private sexual expression between consenting adults.

We demand a massive increase in funding for AIDS education, research, and patient care; universal access to health care including alternative therapies; and an end to sexism in medical research and health care.

We demand legislation to prevent discrimination against Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgendered people in the areas of family diversity, custody, adoption and foster care and that the definition of family includes the full diversity of all family structures.

We demand the right to reproductive freedom and choice, to control our own bodies and an end to sexist discrimination.

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

UP FRONT // 5

6 // UP FRONT

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

COMMENT >> EUROPEAN DIPLOMACY

Katyn means opportunity Russia's historic moment to mend with Poland

First, a tragedy that almost sinks beneath the ceremony there, but President Lech Kaczynski weight of a huge historical coincidence. A plane was not invited. Tusk would settle for a vague carrying the political and military elite of to- expression of regret, whereas Kaczynski was an day's Polish society crashes, killing everybody old-fashioned nationalist who wanted the Rusaboard, while bringing them to Katyn forest to sians to apologize on their knees. commemorate the murder of a previous generaTusk came, and Putin duly expressed his sortion of the same elite by Stalin's secret police row for the "victims of Stalinist terror," but he in 1940. didn't even mention the word "Poles." Great Then the Russian prime minister, Vladistates never really apologize, you know. mir Putin, whose early career was spent Kaczynski, enraged, basically invited in a later, tamer version of that same himself to another ceremony three secret police force, does something days later, and brought half of Poremarkable: he tells one of the main om land's political, military and journal.c ly k e we e@vue Russian TV channels to show Polish istic elite with him. gwynn e y director Andrzej Wajda’s 2007 film Putin realized something more was Gw nn Katyn in prime time. It's more than an required, and showed up at Katyn Dyer apology. It's a national act of penance. again to meet him. When the news came And after that, the speculation starts about through that Kaczynski's plane had crashed, whether this tragedy might be the way that the he looked utterly stricken. Finally, the grim retwo great Slavic nations, Russians and Poles, ality of the place and the occasion got through are finally reconciled. to him.

Poland's historic tragedy was to be located between Germany and Russia. Twice the country Now the apology was real and specific. Now vanished entirely, partitioned between its more Wajda's harrowing film on Katyn, previously powerful neighbours—and the enduring sym- only seen on a specialty channel, got a primebol of the latter partition is the Katyn massacre time broadcast on Russian TV. Now Russians fiof 1940. nally get why the Poles don't trust them—and When Hitler and Stalin invaded Poland in most of them have responded with regret, not 1939, dividing Poland between them, 22 000 denial.

Polish officers fell into the hands of the Soviet The wave of sympathy in Russia for Poles past Union. Some were professional soldiers, but and present is genuine, and they can even feel most were reserve officers who in civilian life it (with some astonishment) in Poland. These had been lawyers, doctors and university pro- moments are rare, and they don't last long. If fessors: the country's intellectual elite. Stalin you want to make the future different from the had them all murdered in 1940, one at a time, past, you have to act fast. by a bullet in the back of the head. That's what The Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, has happened in Katyn forest. announced that he is going to Poland for PresiStalin's aim was to "decapitate" the Polish in- dent Kaczynski's funeral. Before he goes, he telligentsia and make the absorption of eastern should look at one photograph.

R DYEIG HT

STRA

Only in 1990 did Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, finally admit that the murders were done by the Soviet secret police, but the Russian public never really had their noses rubbed in the truth.

Poland into the Soviet Union easier, but Hitler betrayed and attacked his ally in 1941. When the invading German troops reached Katyn, they found the mass graves of the Polish officers and invited international observers to examine the site. That was when the "Great Lie" was launched.

Moscow insisted that it was the Germans, not the Russians, who had massacred the Polish officers. The US and British governments backed the Soviet story (though they suspected it was a lie), because Stalin was now their ally in the war against Hitler. Only after 1945 did they question it.

In the Soviet Union and Communist-ruled Poland, "The Lie" was the only permitted version of the story until 1989. Only in 1990 did Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, finally admit that the murders were done by the Soviet secret police, but the Russian public never really had their noses rubbed in the truth.

So the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre this month was a fraught event. Prime Minister Putin invited his Polish equivalent, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, to attend a memorial

It was taken in 1984 on the First World War battlefield of Verdun, where a quarter-million French and German soldiers died in 1916. By 1984 France and Germany were in the European Union and NATO together, but after three wars in a hundred years they were still not really friends.

Then President Francois Mitterand of France and Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany went there to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the First World War. Looking out over the killing fields torn up by 40 million artillery shells, they did the only thing they could. They held hands—and Franco-German relations were changed for good.

If Medvedev can find a way to do something as simple but as powerful as that, he could turn the page and start a new chapter in RussianPolish history. Right now, people are ready for that. V Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries. His column appears each week in Vue Weekly.

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

UP FRONT // 7

COMMENT >> Party Politics

Issues

Issues is a forum for individuals and organizations to comment on current events and broader issues of importance to the community. Their commentary is not necessarily the opinion of the organizations they represent or of Vue Weekly.

Rock the boat

Taylor's abandoning ship symptomatic of Alberta's democratic deficit Ricardo Acuña // UALBERTA.CA/PARKLAND

Last week Calgary Currie MLA Dave Taylor made the surprise announcement that he was resigning from the Alberta Liberal caucus to sit in the Alberta legislature as an independent.

Citing his reasons for leaving, Taylor labelled the Liberal Party as out of touch with Albertans, and said that he had lost confidence in party leader David Swann's ability to lead. The language he used in explaining his resignation to the media

was colorfully reminiscent of his prelegislature days as a Calgary talk-radio host calling the party "irrelevant" and "basically invisible," adding that Swann seemed to be "on a different planet" and should resign.

Although Swann told the media that he has been aware of Taylor's discontent for some time, it was clear that the announcement came as a surprise to party insiders and political commentators alike.

Despite his lost bid for leadership in December 2008, Taylor's position and influence within the party and caucus did not seem to suffer at all. In fact, quite the opposite appeared to be true.

Taylor, as the furthest right of the party's MLAs, was largely credited by media and pundits alike for having moved the party's position in the legislature further to the right over the last year.

The party's rhetoric around government spending and taxation around budget time, for example, is a clear case of how closely Liberal positions in the legislature have come to mirror Taylor's own fiscally conservative beliefs. The biggest example of this, however, was the position the Liberals adopted in response to the government's recently announced changes in the royalty regime, where the critiques being put forth by the Liberals in the legislature were almost indistinguishable from those of the Wildrose Alliance. As the party's energy critic, Taylor was given a fairly free hand in developing the party's royalty policies, and he was the one Swann himself had entrusted with the task of building a "better, stronger, more productive relationship" with the energy industry. Both of those speak volumes about his level of power and influence within the party.

Why would someone with that kind of positioning within the Official Opposition quit to sit as an independent? Sour grapes about the leadership race simply isn't a convincing explanation—Taylor is politically savvy enough to get over that. Likewise, given the degree to which they mirrored his own, dissatisfaction with the party's policies is no better an explanation.

Perhaps what is at play here is Taylor's perception of what is happening politically in the province. Taylor has never struck me as a fierce partisan loyalist of any stripe. He has always come across as someone who can read what is happening politically around him, and use the situation to maximize his own political power and positioning.

And what he's seeing today is a certain degree of uncertainty. The governing party and its unpopular leader are both

8 // UP FRONT

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

losing ground in the polls, the Wild Rose Alliance is picking up steam in his home city and the Alberta Party is trying to organize and gather momentum before the next election as well.

The media has become fond of referring to Alberta's changing political landscape.

In the midst of all this change Dave Taylor has clearly decided two things. First, he is betting that the Alberta Liberal Party has little to no prospects of forming government or even growing in the next election, so he has abandoned that ship.

Second, he has decided that his best bet for success is to wait and see which way the political winds are blowing, and then join whichever party appears poised to come out on top. He has already been approached, reportedly, by the Conservatives, the Wild Rose Alliance and the Alberta Party. Some have even mused that Taylor and the other independent MLA, Guy Boutilier, should consider forming yet another new party.

Many have suggested that Taylor's resignation from the Liberals is yet one more example of the change and dynamism in Alberta politics today. A more cynical view would suggest, however, that it is quit the opposite.

The fact that Dave Taylor's political beliefs and ideals would fit just as comfortably with the PCs, the WAP or the Alberta Party as they did with the Liberals is really symptomatic of the fact that the only change happening in Alberta's political landscape is that a majority of the parties are becoming more alike.

The new parties, the firings and resignations from legislative caucuses and the discussions among wonks about how to move forward appear not to be doing anything to open up new spaces or broaden the spectrum of politics in Alberta. It just appears to be a case of rearranging the chairs on the sinking ship of democracy and engagement in Alberta.

The majority of Alberta's population does not live in wealthy suburban Calgary and is not a senior executive in the oil industry. The move to represent those views politically means that more and more Albertans will not see their views, values and beliefs in Alberta politics and will continue to opt out of the system in growing numbers. This is what comes when our system devolves into outright political opportunism.

Change in Alberta politics needs to begin with a re-engagement of a majority of Albertans with the political system.

What's passing for change today will ultimately have the opposite effect.

It's time for a new approach—one that abandons the political opportunism and focuses instead on values, beliefs, ideas and the public interest. V

NEWS // SCHOOL CLOSURES

Cautionary tales

Twenty-year-old school closures prove a lesson in urban development MIMI WILLIAMS // MIMI@VUEWEEKLY.COM

Y

ou are forgiven if you don't know who HA Gray is given that the school built in 1913 as a legacy to the first Anglican Bishop of Edmonton was closed by the Edmonton Public School Board back in 1984. Situated on a six-acre site in the heart of the central Westwood community, the school holds the dubious distinction of being among the first city schools closed due to dwindling enrolments.

With five more schools approved for closure this year, we know it won't be the last.

A number of factors influence school boards when they consider closing a school. Decreasing enrolments and provincial funding shortfalls have long been identified as driving forces; increasingly, people are focusing on the role of urban sprawl. With the city spending millions on efforts to revitalize core neighbourhoods, people are also starting to question if school board administrators and city planners ever talk to each other.

"Once a school is closed it will wreak significant damage on the surrounding community and will hamstring

our revitalization efforts for decades to come." wrote David Gibbens, president of the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, in an open letter to Education Minister Dave Hancock last month. He is not alone in his concern.

Edmonton Strathcona MLA Rachel Notley also urged caution: "Once these schools are closed there is little chance they will reopen or be replaced.

Decisions made today will affect these communities for decades."

Notley's counterpart in EdmontonGoldbar, Hugh MacDonald, suggests school boards are being short-sighted.

"If the city of Edmonton increases population density in the central neighbourhoods as planned, we will need the student spaces now being considered for closure," he told the Legislature.

School administrators lament that they've got parents in outlying areas demanding schools for their children.

Such demands, reinforced by City Council each time it approves new development on the outskirts, place an incredible strain on our school boards.

Meanwhile, residents in existing mature neighbourhoods, many of whom settled there because of the proximity

to school and services, feel ignored and efforts at revitalization are starting to appear futile.

"We're trying to revitalize the core of our city and it's very hard to do that when you're closing schools in the core," said Michael Janz, a municipal activist who is considering running for the public school board in this fall's municipal elections. "How do you attract young families into the core without schools?" he asks.

In the case of Westwood, you don't.

The year after the school board closed the school, NAIT moved in as a tenant, offering its tailoring and secretarial programs. The arrangement worked well for over fifteen years. In 2002, NAIT vacated, and a new tenant, Northwest Bible College (now called Vanguard Christian College), took its place. The building was sold to the College after the City of Edmonton waived its first right to purchase in 2005. Almost immediately, the College submitted a rezoning application; it wanted to construct an apartment building on the site to provide dormitory housing for its students. Vehemently opposed by the community, the application was subsequently withdrawn. It became apparent, however, that the school

was not going to abandon its plans for student housing, regardless of the wishes of the community.

Last year, the College entered into an arrangement with Shepherd's Care, a non-profit organization that provides assisted living facilities for seniors.

Together, they would build a five-story complex that would accommodate an assisted living facility, along with a student dormitory. The community again opposed the application. After some minor modifications to the proposed development, the community's appeal was denied earlier this year.

Construction has commenced on a four-story facility on top of what used to be the community's soccer pitch.

While closed schools have not seen rapid development in the past, this is likely to change going forward. A 2008 amendment to the Municipal Government Act broadens the permitted uses for surplus reserve school sites to include police stations, fire stations, emergency medical stations, and libraries, municipal facilities providing direct service to the public, affordable housing, non-profit day cares, non-profit senior citizens' facilities, and non-profit special-needs facilities. It allows municipalities the opportunity to designate lands for community service uses once the sites have been declared surplus by school boards and approved by the minister of education. What this means for res-

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

idents of affected communities is that the ability to keep schools available in case revitalization efforts succeed will be greatly diminished.

Frances Tallon has lived in Westwood for 31 years. She is not unsympathetic to the challenges facing the school board, having worked as a teacher for 33 years before retirement. Discussing the city's revitalization efforts in light of this new round of school closures, Tallon is blunt.

"They've killed it. You cannot revitalize a community without providing access to education for its children. Young families who can afford to move into our community will look elsewhere if there are no schools available for them to send their children."

Changing demographics and limited funding pose significant challenges for our school boards. These problems have been made worse by poor urban planning. The city can help break this cycle by establishing better planning and more incentives to encourage infill and alternative housing in established neighborhoods. Denser student populations would encourage the school board to maintain, renew or rebuild older schools, instead of deeming them surplus.

Frances Tallon would like to see the legislation amended so that no development can take place on former school lands without the approval of the community. As schools close, expect that sentiment to grow. V

UP FRONT // 9

LAND RIGHTS

<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

Supreme Court will uphold the lower court's decision, Fluker does point out that this could mean a greatly increased workload for regulatory boards, which some more "pragmatically-minded" justices could see as harmful to their role as efficient arbiters.

"If the court rules that they have to consider this, they have to hear a whole bunch of evidence on what the Crown did or didn't do in relation to consulting with First Nations. That's just going to really stretch some of these hearings into long, protracted processes," he explains. "It's rare for courts to find that tribunals have obligations to consider certain things when the legislation doesn't expressly require it. But what makes this case unique is that we're talking about a constitutional right, as opposed to some other interest."

However, as both Nelson and General explain, the real hope here is that an easier process for challenging the consultation process will lead to a better consultation process in the first place.

"They feel there is a systemic disregard for their basic consulatation rights," says Nelson. "If you have a readily accessible body that's going to decide these complaints as a matter of course, it just keeps everybody honest and accountable. And you would hope that over time there would be less need to resolve these issues, that the process would start to recognize the need for appropriate consultation that would be built in."

A spokesman for the Alberta government's Department of Aboriginal Affairs declined to speculate on any outcome of the case nor what it could mean for future consultations, but did state that the consultation process was undergoing a routine review that would consider concerns with the process from various stakeholders, including industry and aboriginal groups.

In the meantime, though, both Duncan's and Horse Lake First Nations are hoping that this case will serve as a wake-up call to the government that their rights need to be respected, for the good of all Albertans.

"I think most First Nations would like to deal with these things in a different kind of way, but the Alberta government and its agencies and all the various parties have been pretty intransigent to date. That basically leaves the First Nations feeling like they have no other option but to appeal to the courts on these matters," says General. "But I think what most First Nations are saying is that we're not into stopping development, we believe it should be sustainable, we believe there should be something left for generations to come, we think that's an interest of not only First Nations people, but all people that there is a lot of clean water, fish in the rivers and happy moose running around the bush and everyone is benefitting from the territory we agreed to share when we signed the treaty." V

10 // UP FRONT

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; APR 28, 2010

COMMENT >> INTERNET LAW

BOB THE ANGRY FLOWER

Open government

Citizen-led websites create access to information Suzanne Legault, Canada's interim Inthe public can make use of it. The results formation Commissioner, and Michael are discouraging, since with the notable Mulley, a Montreal-based software proexception of the Ministry of Natural grammer, may occupy different worlds, Resources, most federal departments but last week both placed an important do not make their data openly availspotlight on open and transparable—127 data sets from Natural ent government.

Resources, 12 from the rest of Legault is responsible for adthe government. ministering the Access to InThe two sites are part of formation Act and last week a growing trend of citizenm o .c ekly vuewe her office warned that inadbacked initiatives that promgeist@ el a equate resources and lengthy vide Canadians with the tools Mich delays were causing enormous to learn more about their Geist damage to access to information elected representatives and govrights in Canada. Legault released a ernment policies. Alongside sites like 154-page report that gave below average howdtheyvote.ca (which tracks MP votor failing grades to the majority of the 24 ing records) and government expenses. government departments she reviewed. ca (which makes sense of government The implication of a broken access to travel and hospitality expenses), an ininformation system extends to virtually novative generation of programmers and every policy area. For example, Canadian digital activists are creating a new form Heritage and Industry Canada typically of access to information. lead on policies involving broadcasting and new media. While Industry Canada These two tracks of open government— received a solid "B" grade, handling a 93 access to information and open data— percent increase in requests relatively run in parallel, but there is the potential smoothly, the first review for Canadian for intersection. As open government Heritage Minister James Moore's depart- advocates call for the release of open ment yielded an "F" grade. data sets, access to information data According to Legault, Canadians lookshould be an obvious target. ing for information from Canadian HeriFor example, the public release of the tage (which could involve issues such as CAIRS database, which tracks access culture spending priorities, the digital requests across all government departtelevision transition or copyright policyments, would allow for the creation of a making) are likely to find their requests fully searchable online archive of thoudelayed by months. The department has sands of access to information requests. a deemed refusal rate of 40.8 percent, Such a site would allow Canadians to third worst in the government, the prodquickly identify prior requests thereby uct of short staffing and multiple layers reducing taxpayer expenditures on dupliof review with senior bureaucrats examcative investigations. ining access documents on two occasions Alternately, each department could before formal release. post a list of all requests on its site in Legault's official open government an open format. At present, only the track may face systemic issues, but Department of National Defence comes Mulley is working to create a parallel, close, as it discloses all completed reunofficial track to make government inquests and invites the public to ask for a formation more accessible. Last week, copy at no additional cost.

Mulley launched OpenParliament.ca, a Given the problems associated with marked improvement from the official access to information, it may be a tall Parliamentary website. The volunteer order to add open government to the site captured thousands of pages of tranmix. Yet as Canadians demonstrate a scripts from the House of Commons and growing interest in government data, it made them fully searchable, enabling may be time to place the two issues on anyone to easily review what any Mem- the same track. V ber of Parliament has said on virtually any topic.

Michael Geist holds the Canada Research Two days later, Datadotgc.ca launched, Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at another open government site that the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law. highlights which government ministries He can reached at mgeist@uottawa.ca or share their data in open formats so that online at michaelgeist.ca.

ZEIT

GEIST

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

UP FRONT // 11

12 // DISH

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

INSIDE // DISH

DISH

Online at vueweekly.com >>DISH

16

Restaurant Reviews

Veni, Vidi, Vino

Check out our comprehensive online database of Vue Weekly’s restaurant reviews, searchable by location, price and type.

PROFILE // DA CAPO CAFFÈ

Quality control Da Capo Caffè makes sure that your order is perfect, everytime

QUALITY CONTROL >> From the milk to the fixtures, everything is obsessed over Jan Hostyn // jan@vueweekly.com

D

a Capo Caffè isn't exactly a quiet place. Step inside and you'll find all the sounds typical of café life: the hum of lively conversation, the background drone of music and the assorted clinks and clanks that go along with the preparation and consumption of food. What you won't hear, however, is that noisy bubbling sound that is often associated with steamed milk.

"If you walk into a café and you hear lots of noise and lots of bubbling, that's your cue to turn around and walk right out," laughs Antonio Bilotta, owner of Da Capo. "Bubbling results in foam, and you don't want foam. You want a thick, velvety, bubble-less froth. It makes a huge difference in your drink."

Da Capo is known for its great coffee, and for its very particular preparation of that coffee. Bilotta uses a fair-trade, organic Arabica blend exclusive to Da Capo, one he describes as having "a very rich, chocolaty profile." The beans are ground as they need them, and all the drinks are "the proper temperature," not piping hot like at some of the other coffee establishments around town. At Da Capo, he explains, "We make it so you can drink it right away."

Cups are a certain size and shape, and

// Bryan Birtles

the milk is whole. Skim milk is not an option. "You can never achieve the same consistency and denseness with skim milk—you have to use whole. We do have soy and almond milk for people with allergies, though."

And then there's the brewing technique itself. Bilotta trains prospective baristas in his own home first. Once the baristas move to Da Capo, they make coffee exclusively for Bilotta. Only when he's satisfied can they graduate to serving customers. Even then, they only serve regular customers at first.

"The regulars all know the barista is new. If their coffee isn't right, they'll ask to have another one made."

Although Da Capo is known for its coffee, Bilotta stresses that the café is much more than that. "We have food for breakfast, lunch or dinner—really great food.

A lot of people don't know that. Instead of coming to Da Capo after dinner for coffee, why not just come in for dinner?"

Since Da Capo is modelled after a traditional Italian café—"I wanted to give people the opportunity to eat and drink in Italy without having to leave Edmonton," comments Bilotta—it shouldn't come as a surprise that the food itself is traditional Italian. For breakfast, that means cappuccino and a cornetti (Italian croissant), or perhaps a pastry like

the ricotta-filled cannoli. "In Italy, that's what breakfast is. They don't do bacon and eggs, and they definitely don't worry about healthy."

For lunch, dinner and in-between, you'll find antipasti, soup, salads, paninis and, of course, traditional, artisan, thin-crust pizzas. Bilotta has been in the kitchen for the last year, creating and tweaking the menu, and he's added 14 pizzas in the last two months alone. "Pizza Bianca is our most interesting pizza. It's a combination of thinly sliced potato, fresh mozza, sopressatta (a spicy salami), gorgonzola and fresh rosemary, all topped with a drizzle of olive oil."

Da Capo's pizzas are like the ones you'll find in Italy. The main ingredient is the crust, and the toppings—including cheese—are applied moderately.

Bilotta has put a lot of time and effort into creating that all-important crust.

It's made in-house and has evolved over time and through a lot of experimenting. "When I got a pat on the back from my dad and my uncle, I knew I had it right."

That's not to say shortcuts are taken with the other ingredients, though.

"We want to make everything the best.

To be the best, you have to use the best ingredients. I won't compromise quality to make an extra four cents." Fresh mozza is always used, not the block-

style bricks Bilotta likens to processed cheese. And every pizza is finished with a sprinkling of sea salt and a drizzle of top-quality olive oil.

Aside from the pizzas, there's the premium gelato that Bilotta makes at least twice a week—and that's just during the winter. Then there are the muffins and biscotti that his mom makes from recipes he grew up on. And the in-housemade bread. And the 50 different types of European beers. And the eight different red wines by the glass.

Bilotta says you won't find any muffins in Italy, but customers wanted muffins and so there are muffins, too. The same goes for bacon and eggs; it's definitely not part of the Italian breakfast scene,

but Canadians adore it.

Da Capo is a little slice of Italy in our very own city, a "lifestyle" café that emphasizes the importance of food and conversation. It has evolved to include touches of Edmonton, though. "When we first opened, we were kind of like the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld. Everything was our way. Now we're more flexible.

We explain and offer suggestions, but ultimately we give the customers what they want." V Antonio Bilotta Da Capo CaFfè 8738 - 109 St, 780.433.5382

RECIPE

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

Insalata di tonno Siciliano (from Antonio Bilotta, Da Capo Caffè) Insalata di tonno Siciliano is a beautiful Sicilian salad offering a well-balanced and filling meal.

Salad: Mesclun greens 1 artichoke heart 3 grape tomatoes, quartered 15 g of red onions

50 g of Italian tuna preserved in olive oil 3 tbsp of drained, sweetened canned corn 1 large ball of fior di latte, torn into smaller pieces Vinaigrette: 2 parts extra virgin olive oil 1 part white balsamic vinegar 1 part lemon juice Salt and pepper to taste Toss well and buon appetito!

DISH // 13

14 // DISH

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

REVUE // LOUISIANA PURCHASE

The South rising Creole and Cajun cooking are on the menu at Louisiana Purchase

PASS THE HOT SAUCE >> Louisiana Purchase keeps it traditional // Bryan Birtles LS VORS // VORS@vueweekly.com

T

he terms "Creole" and "Cajun" are not interchangeable. Even though both culinary traditions arose in southern Louisiana, they draw on a different range of ingredients and techniques.

A multitude of cultures contributed to Creole cuisine, including African, Native American, Spanish, French and South American. It makes extensive use of rice, tomatoes, peppers (both sweet and hot) and red beans. Cajun cuisine, in comparison, is a direct descendent from rustic French cooking traditions that migrated to the southern United States in a mass exodus of Acadian settlers from Eastern Canada. Similar to Creole cooking, Cajun cuisine often centres on rice, peppers and tomatoes. The Cajun tradition makes greater use of smoked meats, however, such as Andouille sausage. The base of many Cajun dishes is a "roux," which is a paste of fat—typically bacon—and flour, browned in a pan over low heat and used to thicken gumbo. Here, far removed from the humidity and bright colours of New Orleans, one may find both of these traditions keeping company at Louisiana Purchase.

Classic jazz and the scent of red peppers linger in the narrow entranceway, which opens on to a brick-walled dining room adorned with paintings of jazz musicians, an oversized Mardi Gras mask and a clever collection of hot sauce bottles.

The room is buzzing with energy, and yet the acoustics are such that the numerous conversations blend easily with growling intonations of Gary US Bonds and Louis Armstrong. A plate of soft white bread appears at the table before I've opened

the menu which is a who's who of Cajun and Creole trademarks: red beans and rice, jambalaya, shrimp etouffee, blackened catfish and others.

JASPER'S SPRING FEVER FOOD FESTIVAL Beginning Saturday, May 2nd, the town of Jasper will have caught Spring Fever. It’s not anything dangerous, thankfully, but it is something you might want to catch as well. The 10-day festival will feature special dishes and carefully selected beer and wine pairings from some of the mountain town’s top independent restaurants.

Go to vueweekly.com for a list of participating restaurants.

Alligator appears on the list of appetizers.

I am intrigued but reconsider after my codiner relates that gator has a propensity to taste like the illicit love child of Oscar Meyer and a chicken. Instead, we order the salmon, shrimp and crawfish boudin ($8). Boudin is a classic Cajun dish, a sausage traditionally stuffed with pork but appearing here with a filling of rice and seafood. The boudin duo appears, resplendent in a peppercorn cream sauce.

The sausages themselves are moist, the rice inside tender and the seafood abundant. Even though the cream sauce is liberally studded with whole peppercorns, their fire is muted and adds pleasant complexity. Waiting for the main course, we nibble on hush puppies ($3). These deepfried spheres of corn meal are served with viscous golden syrup, each bite an explosion of savoury crunch.

Steamboat Jambalaya ($22), my chosen main, is a hefty mixture of rice, spicy sausage and shrimp. A crab leg perches precariously on this hillock; a deft crack reveals delicate, white meat. Throughout the jambalaya are long, green beans and wedges of parsnip. The latter is an especially pleasant discovery, for parsnips tend to make few public appearances—a pity, considering the vegetable's innate earthy sweetness. The entire dish is a veritable party of flavours competing for attention but ultimately succeeding in complementing one another.

My fellow gourmand tucks into the CONTINUED ON PAGE 17 >>

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

DISH // 15

WINE

Cock-a-doodle-doo BC's Red Rooster Winery is worth crowing about

RISE AND WINE >> Red Rooster wines are ideal for the patio // Supplied For the past month, I've been back and while in Vancouver for "spring training," forth between Vancouver and Edmonton I re-discovered Red Rooster Winery, one of my first loves and BC favourites. several times, trying to put my finger on Located on the Naramata Bench, Prujust what exactly makes BC so exciting dence and Beat Mahrer founded this time of year.

Red Rooster on a charmingly As one of my friends put it mildI D I rural stretch of patchwork ly, "It's the weather, stupid."

V , I VEN orchards perched on the Bluntness aside, she's spot eastern shores of Lake Okaon. While Vacouverites have nagan. Thanks to growing been enjoying patio weather ly.com k e e w vue jenn@ demand for its product, the for the last month, Edmone k Mi winery has now relocated tonians are only starting to Angus and added a beautiful tasting emerge from our frustrating, late room and cafĂŠ with a breathtakwinter hibernation. I ran into my neighbour just this morning, and we had a ing view of what was formerly known laugh over how we hadn't seen each other as Kettle Valley. since last fall!

So, in honour of spring and the upcoming To the point: we need patio weather, and we need it now. Coincidentally, patio season, here are a few Red Rooster

VINO

16 // DISH

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; APR 28, 2010

wines to help get you in the mood.

The 2007 Bantam is a fresh and fruity white blend, and in the founders' own words, "Our favourite patio sipper." The 2008 Pinot Blanc is textbook Okanagan, and the Pinot Gris pairs wonderfully with grilled salmon and buttered asparagus.

Of their many award-winning reds, the 2006 Meritage is still a great find, while the 2008 Cabernet Merlot is a well-structured, suitable lip smacker to compliment spicy dishes or barbequed meat. Of course, for a few dollars more you can enjoy the reserve line Merlot and Pinot Gris, and you can even try one of Canada's first Malbecs and Syrahs.

Like its website boasts, Red Rooster will give you a whole new reason to strut this Spring. V

LOUISIANA PURCHASE

<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

"Satisfaction" plate ($15). This includes a different version of jambalaya, one which features cubes of ham and sausage with a generous smattering of cayenne pepper. It is a different but equally tasty interpretation of this Deep South standby. Nestled against the jambalaya are Creole shrimp. These chubby crustaceans loll in a chunky tomato sauce replete with bell peppers and a significant afterbite. Finally, a brick-hued puddle of red beans holds a length of pork sausage—a refined and filling version of pork and beans.

The volume of food is significant but does not outweigh the temptation of dessert. It's a toss-up between two Southern standards: pecan pie and bread pudding. I am swayed by the promise of rum sauce, and thus select the pudding ($8.50). It's a lofty, tawny cube flecked with plump raisins and surrounded by an amber pool of fragrant rum sauce. Each bite is reminiscent of dense, boozy French toast. The bread pudding is deceptively rich, but gently cleanses any residual notes of spice. Though they are a great distance from their natal bayou, the Creole and Cajun traditions are clearly thriving. V Mon – Thu (11:30 am – 9:30 pm); Fri (11:30 am – 10 pm); Sat (5:30 pm – 10 pm); Sun (4:30 pm – 9 pm) Louisiana Purchase 10320 - 111 St, 780.420.6779

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

DISH // 17

INSIDE // ARTS

ARTS

The Drowning Girls

21 21

Otello

22

Hopscotch

Online at vueweekly.com >>ARTS

Arts Reviews Find reviews of past theatre, dance and visual arts shows on our website.

PREVUE // LADIES WHO LYNCH

Smile for the apocalypse Ladies Who Lynch maintain appearances in the face of the impending end Fringe, we have the biggest Fringe, and a lot of people in the community see it as a natural progression of their work to do it themselves. It's not like other centres, where you train as an actor and then do the cattlecalls.

"The fact that I'm doing what I'm doing, a couple of years out of school, and I have a group of the best female performers in town, and I have company members that want to work with me—I don't know where else that would happen."

David Berry // david@vueweekly.com

P

arked into a patio corner, sipping a wheat-coloured beer and occasionally dabbing bread into a bit of olive oil— his only dinner—Garret Spelliscy looks fashionably bedraggled: he sports a few days' scruff, a loose and unseasonable sweatshirt and eyes that belie a certain lack of sleep, though his manner, cheerful and personable, suits the unrelenting afternoon sun. He is fresh from rehearsals in the decidedly less summery Living Room Play House, but any fatigue feels prideful, a well-earned tired.

A director always looks a little ragged the week before a show goes up, and it's never easier when you're an independent company, fulfilling multiple roles while trying to get your play up.

Spelliscy and his Serial Collective, though, have had it a bit easier then most, thanks to the helpful folks at

IN THE END >> They really might lynch // Supplied Azimuth, which has been helping bear the burden of their latest, Ladies Who Lynch. The help seems to have made him a bit reflective on what it means to be an independent theatre company in Edmonton, a position that has as

many pitfalls as pros.

"As an independent theatre group, we kind of have a chip on our shoulder about the lack of audience outside the Fringe," Spelliscy admits, leaning in for emphasis. "But the thing is, we have a

It's easy to feel good about Edmonton when Spring finally hits, but Spelliscy's optimistic view is warranted regardless of the sun. After a handful of Fringe slots—including last year's scalding The Lavender Lady—Serial, which is mostly Spelliscy and playwright/partner Jason Chinn, is jumping into the regular season fray with Ladies, a sharp, dark story about a lunch meeting at the end of the

PREVUE // DRY THE RAIN

Dry The Rain avoids elderly stereotypes // fawnda@vueweekly.com

W

hile in preparation for his newest play's premiere, local playwright Mark Stubbings got news that his very first play, called The Beaver Effect, was picked up by a directing student at the University of Fraser Valley.

"It's like my newest play and my first play are going up in the same week. Some student read my first crappy play in the Walterdale anthology and decided he wanted to produce it," Stubbings laughs.

A lot has changed since he wrote The Beaver Effect in 2002—the 35-year-old playwright has been racking up awards and accolades in the arts community, including a Sterling for his Fringe hit Redemption Thong.

Workshop West's production of Dry the Rain marks a departure for Stubbings— not from the coarse brand of humour he's come to be known for, but from the age of character he's used to writing. The play features a moody old git named Clayton (John Wright) and his doting wife (Patricia Casey), who have moved into a retirement

18 // ARTS

THU, Apr 22 – Sun, Apr 25; Thu, Apr 30 – Sun, May 2; Thu, May 7 – Sun, May 9 (8 pm) Ladies Who Lynch Directed by Garett Spelliscy Written by Jason Chinn Starring Candace Berlinguette, Nadien Chu, Molly Flood, Amy Keating Living Room Play House (11315 - 106 ave), Pay What You Can

BOOKS // THE COLLECTED WORKS OF PAT LOWTHER

Ol' foul mouth Fawnda Mithrush

world, where the absence of a waitress seems nearly as important as the apocalypse. True to the group's reputation, it is a kind of Pinter-esque skewering of the polite classes' social veneers with a taste of the absurd thrown in for good measure: there is, as Spelliscy points out, something kind of delicious about people trying to keep up appearances even as the world literally falls down around them.

"There's a theme of being too far gone ... how we in the leisured classes are aware of the rest of the world, but there's this bliss in total ignorance," he explains. "It's the sense of how we spend all this time keeping up appearances, it would be a crime to stop now, on this day of all days, even in this horrible moment." V

home after Clayton breaks his hip.

"He's very, very unhappy there, so he takes it upon himself to find a way to escape from the retirement home. His wife is really trying to make the best of it, so she's not all that interested in going along with him."

Sure, that might sound like a normal premise for a play about elderly people, but Stubbings' goal was to present the characters as anything but ordinary.

"A friend of mine referred to this play as my rock 'n' roll seniors play," he says. "I was really getting sick of seeing steroetypes of seniors being portrayed in general in films and media, so my attempt was to write older characters that don't fall into certain sterotypes, like Grandpa handing out the Werthers and stuff like that."

As Clayton's character began to develop during the writing process, Stubbings wondered if people would buy a grandfather-type figure with such a nasty case of potty mouth.

"Clayton kind of swears a lot, and that's nothing new for the stuff that I write, but at first I was a little concerned about

it," Stubbings says. "But when I was getting dramaturgical feedback about it, the majority of people would say, 'Well, you should heave heard my grandfather.'"

"It's not an issue play, but it does deal with some issues," says Stubbing. "There's obviously a foul language warning, but it's got a little bit of everything. It's kind of like Cocoon meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

As for his inspiration for the play, Stubbings fondly recalls the colourful conversations he had with his own grandmother.

"She had a great sense of humour—she wasn't at all what you would categorize as grandmotherly. She had a lot of energy.

Some of my favourite times with her were when we would just talk about what was going on in the news that day. She would talk alot with me about music. I remember she hated Garth Brooks. She said, 'He's a pussy cowboy, give me Johnny Cash any day.'"

Now that's our kind of Grandma. V Thu, Apr 22 – Sun, May 2 (7:30 pm) Dry The Rain Written by Mark Stubbings Directed by Michael Clark Starring John Wright, Patricia Casey, Frank Zotter La Cité Francophone, (8627 - 91 St) $15 – $25

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

Saved from the grave Pat Lowther finally gets a definitive release Melissa Priestley // mel@vueweekly.com

I

t may seem strange that one of the iconic figures of the Canadian poetry canon didn't even have a definitive text of her work in print until 35 years after her death, but such was exactly the case with Pat Lowther—until local author and University of Alberta professor Christine Wiesenthal took it upon herself to change this. Wiesenthal carefully selected and edited The Collected Works of Pat Lowther, an authoritative and muchneeded collection of Lowther's work.

Wiesenthal first encountered Lowther's poetry when she was asked to review a posthumous edition of Lowther's poetry, Time Capsule, for a magazine. "It just stayed with me," Wiesenthal notes.

"I kept talking about it, and I finally decided to do a biography on her—a biography that tried to address the writing that kind of got overshadowed by her death." This biography, entitled The Half-Lives of Pat Lowther, was shortlisted for the 2006 Governor General's Award for non-fiction.

"In many cases people will do the edition first and then the biography," Wiesenthal notes. "I didn't go about it that way just because I didn't realize the extent to which she needed a new edition until I started working on the biography."

After Lowther's premature death in 1975, several posthumous editions of her work were published. However, these editions were all notoriously compromised in terms of chronology and textual provenance—one, Final Instructions, included several poems that didn't even belong to Lowther. Time Capsule included extra poems in the titular section that did not belong to that project.

"It dawned on me over those years that I was working [on Half-Lives] that I felt kind of a sense of responsibility," states Wiesenthal. "She's a really fine writer; she deserves to have her work carefully presented in as comprehensive a way as possible. I thought it was a logical next step."

In keeping with this goal, The Collected Works of Pat Lowther includes the best CONTINUED ON PAGE 19 >>

PREVUE // AS YOU LIKE IT

Back to the bard As You Like It reveals one of Shakespeare's smartest ladies David Berry // david@vueweekly.com

R

achel V Johnston has carved out some distinctive roles on Edmonton stages—you'll probably recognize her from her turns as Yitzak in Hedwig and the Angry Inch and particularly her Sterling-nominated turn as Katchen in The Black Rider—but taking on one of Shakespeare's smartest ladies is a tall order for any actress. And it's only made more difficult by the fact that Johnston's turn as Rosalind in the Citadel's production of As You Like It will be the first time in nearly a decade she's been counted on to recite the Bard's English.

"Shakespearean text is a whole different challenge from modern text," Johnston admits, understating it a little. "There are all those great textual elements, of course, but it's finding the things beyond those textual elements—filling it with truth and energy and the kind of emotion you need to make these people and these situations breathe and live and be real is a tremendous challenge. No one wants to watch people on stage speak Shakespeare if they're not actually real people up there living and breathing a full story."

Fortunately, Johnston has had some extra help getting into character. For starters, As You Like It is the second production to participate in the Citadel and Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program, a kind of professional development workshop that saw Johnston and the rest of the cast head to the Rocky Mountain town to dive into everything from Shakespearean text refreshers to classes on movement and speech.

If that wasn't enough, though, Johnston also has a particular affinity for Rosalind, the cross-dressing woman— this is Shakespearean comedy—at the heart of As You Like It, which the Citadel has updated to Second World War-era France for this production. Rosalind is a

THE COLLECTED WORKS OF PAT LOWTHER << CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

of Lowther's early, unpublished works and everything in the first editions of Lowther's major published works: This Difficult Flowring, The Age of the Bird, Milk Stone and A Stone Diary. Wiesenthal also chose to include the textual portion of Lowther's Infinite Mirror Trip, "A multimedia production she did that was really experimental and innovative for its time." Infinite Mirror Trip was performed at Vancouver's MacMillan Planetarium in 1974.

Wiesenthal's edition is a valuable resource to students, scholars and poetry lovers alike, as Wiesenthal purposefully created a text that was accessible to everyone. "I wanted it to be a book that you could just enjoy reading, but would also offer some kind of apparatus that would

remarkably quick-witted young woman of means who follows her banished love, Orlando (Ryland Alexander), out into the woods. Rather than jumping straight into the romance, she dresses herself up and schools him on the proper way to treat a woman—a resourceful move that sets her apart from some of the Bard's more demure heroines.

"What I like about this role is that it's all choices that she makes," Johnston explains. "She loves this man, and she wants to test him out and make sure he's the kind of man she wants him to be. It's not just about mooning over this man, it's about going, 'All right, I'm pretty sure that I'm madly in love with you, that you're the man for me, but let's make sure.'"

But, of course, it's not just the choices she makes but the panache with which she goes about her business. Even in a play that has a character reciting one of Shakespeare's most famous speeches—"All the world's a stage"—Rosalind stands out for her quick tongue and sharp mind. Which, for Johnston, brings a little curse with the blessing.

"The challenge for me is to be as quick a thinker as she is, to find that forward energy and that quick thinking and that forward momentum in her thinking," Johnston says. "But really, it's way too much fun: I'm up there getting to be quick and cheeky and quite mischievous and full of life and full of fun. So it's a great challenge." V Thu, Apr 22 – Sun, May 9 As You Like It Directed by James MacDonald Written by William Shakespeare Starring Rachel V Johnston, Ryland Alexander, John Kirkpatrick, Michael Spencer-Davis, Kevin Dennis Citadel Theatre (9828 - 101A Ave) $50 – $75

help scholars or researchers who need more detailed information," informs Wiesenthal.

The upcoming launch of The Collected Works of Pat Lowther will feature a reading of Lowther's poems by Wiesenthal, Alice Major and Theresa Shea. "It will be a kind of polyphonic approach," notes Wiesenthal.

The choice of readers is also quite fitting—Alice Major won the 2009 Pat Lowther Memorial Award for her book The Office Tower Tales, and Theresa Shea was the person who introduced Wiesenthal to Lowther by having her review that copy of Time Capsule. V Wed, Apr 28 (7:30 pm) The Collected Works of Pat Lowther book launch edited by Christine Wiesenthal Audreys Books (10702 - Jasper Ave)

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

ARTS // 19

20 // ARTS

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

REVUE // THE DROWNING GIRLS

Wed, bath and beyond Three waterlogged brides tell their tale in The Drowning Girls Paul Blinov // paul@vueweekly.com

W

e're introduced to The Drowning Girls' namesake trio by way of soaking gasps. Pulling themselves up from three large clawfoot bathtubs, they emerge sputtering, soggy and shocked.

They're dead, but the wet post-mortem distress quickly dries, replaced by something a little more darkly humorous.

It's a production, workshopped and remounted over the years, that remains fluid as a curious show about love and desperation, exploring how the need to find your one and only was a little more desperate in a time when women didn't have much in the way of public rights, and it's to its credit that the show doesn't dwell in melancholy darkness.

In and around the tubs, they tell us of the fate they all shared: drowned in the bath by George Joseph Smith, a turn-of-the-century gentleman of "private means" who'd marry, murder and make off with the life insurance policy his blushing brides had paid for themselves, blissfully unaware of the watery fate that awaited them.

The rise-and-watery-demise of each woman's relationship with Smith are

BATHTUB BRIDES >> There's no shortage of water in The Drowning Girls // Supplied fascinating to watch, each with different reasons to fall for a tall, dark and handsome man. Each played with life and emotion by the trio of actresses, who also play each other's supporting roles: Beth Graham's devil-may-care reckless youth, Alice, complements Natascha Girgis's restrained-but-aching older woman Margaret—who, in particular, marks a valuable addition of skill to ground the production—as well as the true love (from her end, anyways), broken-hearted tragedy of Daniela Vlaska-

keeps the production bubbling nicely through its efficient run time, though sometimes the moments of comedy and tragedy dovetail a little too closely for either the laugh or the drama to dig as deep as it could.

Bretta Gerecke's black tile/white trim set, focused and intensified with Narda McCarroll's lighting, is striking. The showerheads rain down on occasion, highlighting moments of heartbreak or framing a heartbreaking disconnect between blushing bride's expectations and the stormy times to come. There's props aplenty hidden around too, the emergence of which are little comic gems sprinkled throughout the show.

And it comes with hidden drains, a very good feature, given how the onstage trio splash around and flick wet hair: this is the only show in town that should probably label the first few rows as a "splash zone." V Until Sun, May 2 (7:30 pm) The Drowning Girls Written by Beth Graham, Daniela Vlaskalic, Charlie Tomlinson Directed by Tomlinson Starring Natascha Girgis, Graham, Vlaskalic Citadel Theatre (9828 - 101 A Ave) $35 – $55

lic's middle-stage bride Bessie, whom Smith temporarily abandons before making his fatal, final move.

Though rooted in real historical tragedy—we get through his capture, trial and more—it's far from a glib night out with three soggy sirens. The sense of melancholy certainly traces the story's edges and takes firmer, front-and-centre root here and there, but The Drowning Girls finds a comfortable back and forth between comedy and tragedy that

OPERA // OTELLO

When the bard came a-knocking Even miserly old Verdi answered the call with Otello Paul Blinov // paul@vueweekly.com

G

iuseppe Verdi's lasting legacy in opera, of being one its master composers, remains unblemished more than a century after his death.

So does his more personal legacy of being a crusty old curmudgeon. Especially in his later years.

"By all accounts, he was a crotchety guy," laughs Edmonton Opera's artistic director Brian Deedrick. "He [had] one wife, then dumped one and headed in with another, and retired to his estate.

People had a hard time getting ahold of him."

When Verdi put down his quill and stopped composing in 1871, his reasoning was fittingly blunt: he felt it was time to retire, so he did. But even then he was one of opera's most famous and popular composers, and Giulio Ricordi, his publisher, saw his departure as a terrible waste of talent (and profit).

He knew Verdi loved the works of Shakespeare—he'd previously spun Macbeth into a four-act opera, to mixed reviews—and knew the chance to develop another Shakespeare might hold sway over the composer. He was right;

after some careful prodding Verdi relented, returned to writing and, 16 years after his self-imposed retirement brought forth Otello (Italian doesn't have a 'th' sound, hence the slight name shift)—now seeing an Edmonton stage for the first time in 30 years, much to Deedrick's pleasure.

"We were sure lucky he did this one more phase, 'cause for me, his greatest works are the ones right at the end," he says, audibly gleeful at the chance to put on such a rare opera. With good reason: the central role calls for an uncommon breed of singer, the kind of talent not always eager to venture up to Northern Alberta, even for the chance to perform a Verdi masterpiece.

"We all have to face reality that we're out here in Edmonton. We're not Paris, France, Rome," Deedrick says. "A Verdi tenor is a really rare animal because they have to sing with the hugeness of voice like the German, Wagnerian tenors, but they have to have the agility and flexibility of Italian opera. So this is a tough one. And of course, it's a huge opera."

Deedrick eventually wooed fellow Canuck and opera star John MacMaster to tackle the central role, after Mac-

Master heard what pair of opera talents, Sally Dibblee and Gregory Dahl, were ready to fill the shoes of Desdemona and Iago. And with an operatic power-trio at his directorial doorstep, Deedrick found himself afforded the luxury of doing far more text study and scenework than the average opera has time to delve into, which seems particularly pertinent for Otello: though cantankerous, Verdi was careful to stay true to Shakespeare's tale of misinformation and jealously. Other composers have not been so faithful.

"One of the French composers wrote a Romeo and Juliet and gave it a happy ending," Deedrick says. "You're not going to find that with Verdi. When he tackles Shakespeare, he does everything possible to bring all of Shakespeare's original power and beauty and strength to the stage." V Sat, Apr 24, Tue, Apr 27, Thu, Apr 29 (7:30 pm) Otello Adapted by Giuseppe Verdi Directed by Brian Deedrick Starring John MacMaster, Sally Dibblee, Gregory Dahl Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium (11455 - 87 Ave), $32 – $155

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

ARTS // 21

HOPSCOTCH >> SPANISH BOOKS

VISUAL ARTS // HUMAN / NATURE

Skip the translation

It's all Human / Nature Amy Fung

// amy@vueweekly.com

A

cquiring works from fine art to ethnographic artifacts since 1908, the University of Alberta is not only one of the oldest collecting university institutions in Canada, but also one of the largest. As one of the institution's 35 different collections that range from print to earth sciences, the art and artifacts collection has put together a two-part exhibition inspired from donations and additions acquired over the past seven years.

Jim Corrigan, curator of the University of Alberta Art and Artifact Collection, has gathered 46 art works and artifacts made by 34 artists and craftspeople from around the globe spanning centuries. The first half of the series, Human / Nature: Portraits, contrasts historical prints by William Hogarth and Francisco Goya to contemporary prints and drawings by Helen Kalvak and Pitseolak Ashoona. Culling from over 2500 works collected since 2003, Corrigan notes that he began to see a pattern on human nature, particularly on portraits and landscape, which will be the second part of the exhibition series.

It is arguable that most works of art address the theme of human nature in some manner, as art in its essence is a continual dedication to shed light on the intangibles of existence. From Edo-era hairpins to beaded moccasins to a contemporary self-portrait by local painter Julian Forrest, the exhibition certainly appears discombobulated in what it is trying to say, but the show does celebrate the Friends of the Museum's 25th anniversary by exemplifying the depth and global reach of the U of A and its friends and associates.

Aware of the ethics of collecting and exhibiting works from other cultures and turning them into art objects rather than contextualizing them in their history, Corrigan shares, "Everyone that looks has a

22 // ARTS

On my shelves back home are numerous persistence—you need to find this stuff books that remain unread. None are more in Spanish, and Mexico is one book-loving conspicuous—none loom over me with country, a place where you can find people greater shame—than the ones written in selling Borges, or Gabriel García Márquez, Spanish. I grew up hearing Spanish or Julio Cortázar or at least Isabel Alin my home, became a cinephile lende, outside of every subway partly through watching Spanstation. If only Canadian bookish movies, have spent months sellers were so discerning! of my life in Spanish-speaking m o .c weekly countries, fallen in love with a In any case, I found myself h@vue pscotc Mexican, helped to translate ho on the hunt for writers who osef J Spanish literature into English haven't been translated into Braun English at all, as far as I know. I and over the years have finally learned to speak Spanish with a flupicked up Sergio González Rodríguez's ency that continues to surprise me given Huesos en el desierto (Bones in the Desert), my tremendous laziness. So it's become a highly caustic work of investigative jourkind of embarrassing that I can barely read nalism of enormous importance, concernit. Spanish or Latin-American friends with ing the infernal epidemic of female slayings whom I regularly converse in Spanish—or in Ciudad Juarez—González Rodríguez was at least in Spanglish—offer to lend me a friend and advisor to Bolaño, who by his books in Spanish by authors they know I own admission couldn't have written 2666 adore, and, unable to concoct fresh exwithout González Rodríguez's assistance. cuses for declining their offers, I'm forced It's a book I'm both desperate and kind to confess there's just no way I can read of dreading to read but, fairly dense in its the stuff. prose, I'll need to save for later. I picked up I'm writing this in Mexico City, 100 years a volume of Francisco Tario's stories enafter the Revolution. I'm taking this annititled Algunas Noches, Algunos Fantasmas versary as a perfectly arbitrary excuse to (Certain Nights, Certain Phantoms), which stop feeling like a moron and assert myself, seemed promising in its concision and once and for all. But I need an approach. simplicity, yet nonetheless frustrated me Canadians being a proudly, if not univerwith its allusive turns of phrase and occasally, bilingual people, I've had plenty of sional use of antiquated terms. Strangely, French-reading Anglos and English-reading the book's biographical introduction was Frenchies offer advice. People tell me to a breeze. This struck me as an interesting read the news, but I find it too brimming development. Could it be that non-fiction, or at least non-fiction of a more digestible with references and acronyms that mean sort than Huesos en el desierto, was the nothing to me. People tell me to read children's books—learning a new language way to go for this impatient novice?

In an art gallery I found, purely by chance, renders us all children, so why not accept this humble status and read what children a book of essays by Juan Villoro, a long read? Well, here's one reason: because it's established and Herralde Prize-winning novelist who's also a big rock 'n' roll fan totally boring. If I'm going to go through the trouble of working through a text I and once hosted a radio show here called can barely understand, having to start and El lado obscura de la luna (that's right, The stop so as to wrestle with the most basic Dark Side of the Moon). I'd never heard challenges, I need it to be something with a of him. But Efectos Personales (Personal more satisfying result. Having said that, the Effects) seemed almost written for me first book I ever bought in Spanish, on a trip personally. Its brief yet fascinating essays concern, among other subjects, Italo Calvito Mexico back in 1998, was a collection of no, Pedro Páramo, the controversial last Borges stories. If you've ever read Borges in any language, you're probably laughing. will and testament of incendiary Austrian To gain any sort of footing, I'd need some- author Thomas Bernhard and William Burroughs' years in Mexico City. The context thing between Borges and Barney.

Part of my motivation for reading in provided by my knowledge of the subject Spanish, besides not wanting to feel like a matter became a skeleton key. Somehow, moron, stems from my interest in authors I dove into these essays with a confidence whose works haven't been translated into and relish I hadn't previously experienced.

English. Books in English translation are The blind spots, those pieces of sentences that elude comprehension, weren't so pathetically rare these days, with only a handful of Spanish-language authors win- much a burden to my forward movement ning the literary sweepstakes that allows as a challenge. A page of text became like them to have their work reach an English a mural that I simply needed to peruse and readership. It seems just more salt in the piece together bit by bit. Most satisfyingly, wound that the latest author to be re- it seems to me that gaining knowledge garded as a hot property in English-reading through reading in one's second (or third, countries is a dead guy. Roberto Bolaño or fourth) language offers its own rewards. has been receiving generous and totally Villoro's musings on Calvino's childhood in justified attention by English-readers, Cuba, or Calvino's work as a journalist in thanks in large part to New Directions and Fascist Italy, imprinted themselves upon the recommendations of certain mem- my brain with greater force through my bers of the cross-cultural literati, such as having to work through them with different sorts of reading tools.

Francisco Goldman. But he's still only one In short, I suddenly feel slightly less great writer among many, and it will take a long time to get all of his work into Eng- dumb. I've finally embarked on that reading lish. If you're impatient and really want to adventure that so many people enjoy, that delve into Bolaño—or Horacio Castellanos of renewing the sensation of understanding a text, and savouring those things that Moya, or Cesar Aira, to name but the most recent benefactors of New Directions' only come in the original version. V

HOP H C SCOT

MORE PORTRAITS >> Human / Nature pulls artwork from the U of A's huge collection bias and a point of view, and it's important to understand that you have one and that you have a consensus on what you're trying to say.

"I wanted to make people think about objects in a different way, by placing things together like traditional adornments to figurative representations," continues Corrigan, who notes that the limitations of space also inhibited the amount of works to be included.

With some gems like the large prints by Seishi Ozaku, who combined woodblock prints and transferred them to lithography plates, it is the first work the print-focused U of A has acquired that uses this particular technique.

Emphasizing most strongly the importance for the collections to reach a larger public, he says, "Taking a line from the President's message: we need to be connected to the community. It's important for people to know that we have these

// Supplied

collections and that they are not just for people on campus."

The second part of the series opening in June will focus on landscapes, and it appears similar in scope. Featuring a newly acquired Lawrence Harris that the Group of Seven artist gave as a gift to Emily Carr, a 1530 woodblock by Albrecht Altdorfer, one of the earliest western artists to use landscape as more than a backdrop, and a gift of a 1930s etching of the U of A as seen from the north side of the river, the broad Human / Nature series may not fulfil a clear vision of an educational exhibition, but it does satisfy the eclectic archivist and historian side in most of us. V Until Sat, May 8 Human / Nature: Portraits Painted and Created u of a Museums gallery a Main Floor, Telus Centre (87 Ave - 111 St)

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

WALKING THE EDGE /24 STING OF DEATH /31 OFFROAD TESTED /45

PHOTOGRAPHY Clayton Didier | MAKEUP Nicola Gavins | MODELS Chelsey Smith, Kris Olafson | SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE Ellerslie Medicentre RIDING GEAR FROM REVOLUTION CYCLE: Shirt - TLD FP Jersey, Pants - TLD headline, Shoes - 5ten, Goggles - Crowbar MX

PRESENTS

ADVENTURE // TRAUMA

Walking the edge

A painful look at the consequences of adventure sport CAROLYN NIKODYM // carolyn@vueweekly.com

'I

remember picking James up, putting his bike on the rack, getting to the ski hill, going up the chair and I remember getting the bike from the attendant, getting down off the platform ... and the next thing I knew I was in the hospital," Rory Hines says.

"I don’t actually remember getting on the bike; I don’t remember where we were, where we went. I don’t remember the actual impact. I just remember waking up in the hospital, being in the bed, crying with lots of people around me."

What began as a quick rip for Hines and James Gittens, downhill biking at the local ski hill to blow off some steam, turned into more of a journey: a couple of 100-km ambulance rides, a couple CT scans and multiple visits to the doctor.

In many ways, Hines was lucky.

Although halfway up the mountain at Fernie Alpine Resort with a broken hand, a badly damaged face and

Mountain biking, for instance, is quite a bit different than hiking in the way that a person interacts with nature. When hiking, a person has time to take in surroundings and listen for birds and animals. Mountain biking has much more stealth. The biker is going faster, quieter and paying more attention to the trail itself than anything behind the foliage.

As first responders, SAR find the injured and then get them ready for transport—splinting breaks, bandaging cuts—and see them through to paramedics or the hospital.

While doctors in many of the places we like to recreate are used to seeing hiking, climbing or biking injuries, the hospitals themselves are still small-town hospitals. Injuries requiring slightly more sophisticated tests (like Hines' CT scan) need to be shipped out, as do other more serious injuries and breaks. Banff has an orthopedic surgeon, for instance, but Jasper and Fernie do not.

"We had a woman here who had a dislocated hip ... and dislocated hips

This whole thing about, 'They died doing what they love,' I don’t really believe that, I’d rather do what I love safely so that I can live another 30 years to do what I love for another 30 years. a concussion, he and Gittens were able to get down to the parking lot on their own steam. And once in the parking lot, Gittens had only a 10-minute drive to get Hines to the hospital. Even still, it was a couple of hours from accident to aid.

What happens when you're a little further out? What happens when you get lost or trapped somewhere with an injury? After the police are contacted—either by those in trouble or by concerned friends and family— the police contact the local searchand-rescue team to initiate the rescue. In the national parks, search and rescue (SAR) is conducted by the Warden Service. In other areas, the dangerous work is conducted by trained volunteers.

In many mountain towns, because of ease of access and avalanche hazards, SAR has a much higher profile in the winter. But summer activities can be just as dangerous, and places like Banff, Jasper and Yoho National Parks have many more summer visitors than winter ones. People get lost overnight or scramble to places they can't get down from; they break limbs or get blisters; they slip while trying to cross rivers or get tossed about by a higher grade of rapids than they're able to kayak down.

And the way we encroach on wildlife habitat changes the probability of conflict with animals.

24 // GREAT OUTDOORS

are—they’re not the easiest to put back in. It’s not like a shoulder," says Paul Michal, a doctor who practises in Fernie, BC. "The doctor who was on call called me up and asked me if I could help him put it in. And I said, sure, but I wanted to do it in the OR, because she had a full stomach and stuff. So we called the OR nurses in and we gave it a shot.

"The thing is, if we hadn’t been able to do it, she would have had to go to Cranbrook to have it—which probably would have meant at least two hours of waiting: waiting for the ambulance, then waiting for the hour drive and then getting in Cranbrook and getting settled and all of that stuff," Michal adds. "And it’s not good for the bone to be out of joint for that long."

That said, the way a patient is cared for isn't different. Doctors still have the same Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) protocol: airway, breathing, circulation. And as Michal points out, if someone comes into the emergency room with a head injury, chances are the emergency room doctor wouldn't be managing the patient from start to finish, regardless of where the patient is.

When Hines was at the hospital in Fernie, it was determined that he was missing about an hour from his memory. But memory is a funny thing, and

// Clayton Didier

Planning for disaster Heading out into the great outdoors?

It might be obvious to say things like, "Make sure you have enough water," or "Make sure you are prepared to spend the night," but there are plenty of other things to consider during preparations.

Bring extra everything: food, water, first-aid equipment, bear repellents, clothing. Plan to come back with food.

Bring warm clothing in the event you have to spend the night. If you're using a GPS, bring extra batteries.

Know your equipment. Don't get all excited about a new bike or a new backpack and head out without testing it out.

Make sure your boots don't rub you the wrong way. Make sure you check out that pesky squeak your bike is making.

Know your limits. Turning back when you're exhausted is too late. Make sure you have enough steam to make it home.

Doing something that makes you uncomfortable because others are doing it can get you into trouble. Conversely, listen

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

to the folks you are with. They might be up to the same challenges you are. Reassess your plans and goals throughout the day.

Tell your friends your plans. Be sure to tell someone at home what you are up to and when you expect to be back.

Don't head out alone.

Stay calm. If you become lost and are prepared to spend the night, there is no reason to panic. Those who can keep a level head are usually able to find their way back. V

for Hines at that point it was still in pieces. He knew that it was summer, but initially thought it was 2008 (actually 2009). He knew he had a big camera, but not what he did for a living (a filmmaker). So after stitching up a gash in his lip and casting his hand, Hines was off to Cranbrook for his CT scan.

"I wasn’t surprised [that I had to go to Cranbrook]. I knew that a CT scanner is a big device, and I am in a small town. Luckily I went to Cranbook, as opposed to Calgary," Hines says. "I was really amazed at the quality of service compared to the UK. I was living in London, so if I was to go to the hospital, I would have waited for about eight hours to see someone. So it was really nice to be seen straight away."

Nine months later and Hines still suffers from repercussions of his fall.

His broken hand doesn't have quite the same range of motion and he still doesn't remember much about the accident or getting to the hospital.

That, and he says that he won't be doing any resort-style downhill riding.

"It’s that percentage thing. When you’re doing the trails around town, you spend that hour getting up, and it’s a really intensive workout and then you come down, you’re so tired, but you’re in that mind set where you’re a little more cautious because you are tired. But you’re still having fun and once you get to the end, you’re, like, 'Yeah!' Because I actually got myself up there," he says. "Where on the ski hill, you’re up there because you get transported, and then you’re at this point where it’s danger from there on, because you’re going high speed, you’re going down to get the chairlift again. You’re just putting yourself more in that bracket of danger, where if you’re out on the trails, you’re in the danger spot, but because you’ve done the climb, you’re less in a zone where you’re going to kill yourself. On the hill, you’re kind of, 'Kill! Kill! Kill!'"

Every person has his or her own acceptable level of risk. Realistically, a person is more likely to get injured while driving to and from the site of recreation—whatever and wherever it is. But when it comes to challenging ourselves in the great outdoors, all kinds of things factor into a decision to go for it, from fitness level to thoughts of family.

An athlete who goes out into the backcountry on a very regular basis will likely engage in activities that many folks would call a "death wish."

But heading out without enough water or in brand new hiking boots can be just as dangerous. An untreated blister can become a seriously infected blister, which can lead to IV antibiotics.

"This whole thing about, 'They died doing what they love,' I don’t really believe that," says Bernie Palmer, a member of Fernie's search-and-rescue. "I’d rather do what I love safely so that I can live another 30 years to do what I love for another 30 years."

Palmer is no scaredy cat, either. In her teens and 20s, she was heavily into skydiving and basejumping. She was among the first to basejump off

El Capitan in Yosemite.

"People take risks with everything that they do ... If you’re a musician, you push your limits—you see if you can get more out of that violin string than anybody else has ever gotten.

The differences are that the consequences aren’t as great if you fail.

Whereas in sport, the consequences can be heavy sometimes," she says.

"But I don’t think that people who push the limits in sport are any different than anyone else—it’s just that that’s what they’re good at. They might not be a good guitar player, or whatever. They’re really good at ice climbing or rock climbing or skydiving and paragliding, and when they’re out there, they’re pushing those limits. The consequences can be great.

"So people go, 'Do they have a death wish?' Well, no, I don’t think that anyone has a death wish that is out there doing that. They are aware that anything can happen and that CONTINUED ON PAGE 28 >>

RESCUE ME When Gilles Blackburn launched lawsuits against the RCMP, Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and Golden & District Search and Rescue for negligence leading to the death of his wife last winter, it shed light on a longstanding concern held by various volunteer search-and-rescue organizations: was there enough insurance to guard them against lawsuits?

"We kind of fall through the cracks," Bernie Palmer of Fernie & District Search and Rescue says. "We don’t fall under the Good Samaritan Act, because we’re regulated by the government. Therefore there is a set of standards that we have to adhere to. So we’re not a Good Samaritan, but we’re not a paid professional. We can still be sued, and the government regulates us and says you have to take these courses, you have to adhere to this standard, and we have certain procedures that we have to follow, which the government sets out. But we’re still volunteers—we’re not paid.

So where do we fit?"

It was found that while searchers had some liability insurance, the actual organizations (and their board members) were on their own. After the lawsuit was launched, several teams in Alberta and BC suspended operations in fear of being sued. In other SAR organizations, individual board members stepped down— they weren't willing to put their homes and families financially on the line.

If provincial governments had to pay for the services that SAR teams do for free, however, the cost would be mindboggling. While the teams do get training grants, operational costs and equipment are paid for by fundraising and individual volunteers.

Just recently, the Alberta government agreed to cover the liability insurance for the province's 40 search-and-rescue groups with the passing of Bill 6.

While the BC government has verbally followed suit, vowing to continue its funding past its previously scheduled conclusion at the end of the summer, it has not yet been made a binding agreement by putting it into law. V

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

GREAT OUTDOORS // 25

KANANASKIS // HIGH ROPES

High-strung adventure Overcoming fear, obstacles, gravity at 15 metres KIRK ZEMBAL // KIRK@vueweekly.com

'I

'm not afraid of heights: I'm just afraid of falling from them." So goes one of George Carlin's oldest jokes and one that immediately comes to mind as I climb the rope ladder to a platform built around the trunk of a sturdy conifer where Yuri Lortscher, our climbing guide, stands belaying me up to the start of the Rocky Mountain Ropes Course.

I believe I'm in the firm majority in having a healthy, um, appreciation of heights. High-ropes courses are, obviously, designed to capitalize on that fear.

This appeals to organizations looking for an activity to foster team building, but where the RMRC differs and excels from other ropes courses is in opening it to the general public.

The combination obstacle course/ jungle gym through the treetops quickly banishes any lingering apprehension.

I quickly come to the realization that now that I'm up here I have to find a way between the platforms using the ropes and cables and logs in front of me. The fact that I am between 10 and 15 meters above the ground doesn't factor into my mind except on some of the more diabol-

26 // GREAT OUTDOORS

ically designed features, which include commando crawling hand over hand along a one-rope bridge, the aptly named "rake walk" and a balance-beam log— suspended with cables instead of rigidly fixed—with all the grace of a gorilla.

The designers of the course and the source of my light scorn as I attempt a manoeuvre in a fashion decidedly unCirque de Soleil are Paul Vidalin and Christjan Ladurner, local heli-ski and climbing guides. It is modeled on a course Ladurner built in the Southern Tyrolean Mountains in northern Italy.

They built the course here in the spring of 2007 on land leased from the historic Rafter Six Guest Ranch. It took their utmost care to ensure the continued health of the mature trees, including a 500-year old Douglas Fir. These details are the furthest thing from my mind as I proceed along the remaining sections of a total 18 obstacles. Knowing that the cables and ropes are padded around the trunks of these trees is hardly a consideration when I can see the same trunks arcing towards each other in response to the strain on the cables. The rebound as someone steps off a feature and onto a platform definitely adds to

the challenge as I catch myself just short of making use of my attached safety leash and sit-harness. This one will require a do-over as I shimmy back to the beginning of the obstacle to feed my inner pride-monster.

Some course veterans have run through the same features so often that the unofficial course record is four and a half minutes, putting the close to two hours it took our group to finish to certain shame.

As the two hours come to an end, I cross a Burma Bridge and spot the final obstacle—the obligatory zip-line. It would have been a shame to climb down a ladder out of the trees, and a zip-line adds that last bit of adrenal stimulation to an already packed couple of hours. As I clip in and get a quick intro to the use of the squeeze rappel device, I take a look down, then across to the pole at end of the line and feel that old familiar clenching low in my guts. And isn't that what high-ropes courses are all about? V

ON THE WEB rockymountainropescourse.com

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

NOTHING TO SNEEZE AT >> Crossing a suspended balance beam requires agility and concentration // Kirk Zembal

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

GREAT OUTDOORS // 27

TRAUMA

<< CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

the consequences can be bad if they do. It’s like anything—you’re doing it thinking that everything’s going to turn out. You’re not thinking that this is going to go really, really wrong.

You’re hoping for the best."

While Palmer agrees that sometimes the "stupid factor" comes into play when people get lost or hurt in the outdoors, SAR is just as likely to get called out for situations where a person knew exactly what they were doing, but accidents happen.

Part of assessing risk is knowing your limits, but it's also knowing where your limits are in relation to the people you are out with. Are they more or less daring? Are they more or less prepared? If it came to it, do you trust them with your life? Do they trust you with theirs? And while

you should try to avoid heading out on your own, there isn't necessarily safety in numbers.

"There’s kind of a herd mentality," Dr Michal says. "If you have 12 people, chances are eight of them aren’t really thinking about what’s going on. They’re just following the other four. And there’s three or four people making decisions for the group."

Michal's wife Heather Kerr, a physiotherapist, also mentions the importance of how you set out your goals for a day out. Instead of saying things like, "We'll turn around when we get to that peak," you should set a firm time to turn around.

"We have a friend who is a single guy who lives alone, and he’s always quite good at letting us know, even if we’re not doing any sort of trip or thing with him, where he’s going and how long he’s going to be out," she adds. "And he’s also a guy that, no matter what, even if it’s supposed

to be a five-hour hike, he always has some sort of preparedness to spend the night if he has to—in the event of a sprained ankle or whatever— he’s always got stuff where he could spend the night."

How do you define "acceptable"?

When Hines and Gittens went for a quick ride up at Fernie Alpine Resort, they had bikes that were in good repair, but Hines hadn't yet sprung for a full-face helmet—which could have saved him stitches in his lip. They had cellphones in the car, but didn't bring them onto the hill—in case of wrecking them in a spill. The phones could have been used to get help.

They didn't have the kinds of things with them they would have if they'd been riding trails because there was a sense that they weren't too far from help. No extra food. No extra clothes.

They weren't very far from help, but it still took a couple of hours from fall to hospital. V

TIPS >> SPRING

outdoorsINSIDER JEREMY DERKSEN / JEREMY@VUEWEEKLY.COM

Lace up, grease up, warm up.

Whatever it takes. Just don't get left behind as spring in Edmonton takes off.

Happy trails The first trail race in the 5 Peaks Northern Alberta series charges out of the gate on May 15, but if you want to join the action this season you 'd better move fast: due to parking issues, environmental considerations and organizational capacity, says race director Kamren Farr, this year's races are capped at 400 runners (with the exception of the final race in Devon).

"We want to continue to meet people's expectations," says Farr. "Our biggest race last year was about 360 people, and that was manageable, but I want to make sure that it continues to be a good quality experience."

Parking at venues is a primary issue, he explains. One way the local series can grow is if more people carpool, something Farr has encouraged the last few seasons with incentives like $25 Husky gas certificates for vehicles that bring the most passengers to an event.

The May 15 race at Terwillegar offers a beautiful setting and some great challenging terrain, including several steep climbs. Like the 5 Peaks slogan says, time to "get off the road."

Pedal, swine Hog fat and cross-country mountainbike racing isn't the most common pairing, but the boys at Alberta MTB Racing—Evan Sherman and Mike Sarnecki—are bringing it back again this season with the "All You Can Eat Buffet of Bacon, Pain and Suffering" on May 23. The two-hour race also runs back-to-back with the second annual Trans Stony Challenge, a sixhour enduro race held on the same terrain the following day, May 24.

28 // GREAT OUTDOORS

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

While the "Bacon Race" may have earned the group infamy, Alberta MTB Racing is made up of the same guys who successfully brought a Canada Cup cross-country race to the Edmonton river valley last June 13. The Canada Cup returns this year on July 11 for a second annual visit.

In just a few short years, it seems, these guys have made a big mark on the local bike scene. But Sherman says they never really had a master plan. "We've never really set goals," he confesses." We were all racers ourselves and [we] just wanted to improve the scene."

Sherman says they may bid to host the Canadian Cycling Association nationals sometime down the road, but for now organizing races is keeping the duo busy. "All the racing is based on volunteer work. There's certainly no money in it and no reward other than giving back," Sherman admits.

"I raced for a long time and so did my friends. We thought we should return the favour."

Stay tuned later in the season for the Perogy Race, a spinoff event.

More, more, more There is always more to do. The hard thing is to find the time or, failing that, choose. All year round, the Waskahegan Trail Association (waskahegantrail.ca) guides excellent 10-kilometre hikes every Sunday through Edmonton trails and beyond. On May 15 they're serving up the Saturday Challenge Ministik Berg, a 19 km trek. Hardcore Bike's popular Fat Tire Tuesdays race series, an informal event for all abilities, returns (hardcorebikes.ca).

And, just for fun, why not celebrate Earth Day with an environmentally friendly Segway ride (segwayedmonton.com) in the river valley, with specials starting at $50 per person on a four-person booking.

All this just begs the question: what are you waiting for? GO! V

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

GREAT OUTDOORS // 29

30 // GREAT OUTDOORS

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

ADVENTURE // TRAUMA

Sting of death

Simple oversights can have fatal consequences in the bush Bobbi Barbarich // Bobbi@vueweekly.com

P

acking our car for a quick camping trip in Washington's North Cascades National Park, I peruse the safety kit. I pass over the Benadryl I had bought when I was uncharacteristically stuffy this spring. I grab a few bandages for my accident-prone partner, Jay Hannley, and check my checklist. I have everything.

As we climb the 2100-metre summit on Highway 20, I realize I've forgotten to get medical insurance. I look at my phone and consider the roaming charges and wait-time. Since our time in the park would be limited to one hike, I forego the call.

At Colonial Creek campground, we unpack our gear. Our site is 100 metres into quietly towering Douglas firs.

No one is near us. I usually tell my parents when we go on an adventure, but since the hike was meant as a break in our drive to Seattle for a music festival rather than the reason for our trip, I pick up my phone to send mom a text.

There's no service. No one actually knows we're here, I think.

A third of a kilometre down Thunderhead Trail, along turquoise Diablo Lake, a sign points to an interpretive loop climbing steeply into the woods.

We pass by impressive mushrooms, fallen trees as wide as I am tall, and fresh purple and orange flowers sprouting from moss. I bend over to zero in on a particularly large mushroom with my camera when I hear Hannley yelp, then scream.

I spin around to see Hannley's legs covered in black insects. He's slapping and stomping and yelling at me to run.

Then I'm stung. In quick succession, dozens of stingers sear my calves, ankles and arms. Hannley pushes me forward and we sprint down the path, the yellow jacket wasps buzzing in our ears, stinging our necks, ribs, and inner thighs. We run until the buzzing, and our howls, abate.

"Are you OK?" Hannley asks, yanking on my hair to kill a wasp burrowing into my ponytail.

"I think so," I sniffle, breathless and bewildered.

"I still like this park," he jokes.

We limp toward our campsite, wary of every fly within arm's reach. I stop

in the bathroom to press cold water on my face and arms. What I thought would be red sting marks are blotchy white, inflamed patches on my forearms and triceps. I show Hannley my skin and he rubs it sympathetically.

"Let's go pack up our stuff and get out of here."

There's a small incline toward our parked car. With each step, my breathing accelerates uncomfortably. My ears begin to plug and I grab Hannley's hand to steady myself. I try to take deep breaths, but compression on my chest makes me panic. "You need to take me to the ranger station. Now." We get to the car. Hannley throws it in reverse and squeals backward.

"Hold on, Bobbi. Keep breathing."

Trees race past my vision, turning from green to purple. I can make out two bleary body shapes, two rangers that direct us to the hut. I fumble for the door and lurch down the path, now blown out like an overexposed photo. I can barely see the path's edge, a faint pencil sketch on the ground as I struggle to put one foot in front of the other: "Jay, I can't see!"

Hannley grabs my hand and lays me down on a bench in the shade. Water is dripping down my ribs and shins. My clothes are soaked with sweat. They're asking me questions: I answer so as not to panic them, my voice a muffled echo in my ears, but I don't know what I've said. They want me to breathe. I keep breathing, squinting in the white light before me.

"Is your throat closing off ?" asks a grayish figure. His words sound like cotton balls in molasses.

"I can breathe," I gasp. I want to breathe, I think. This can't be happening. I have no medical insurance.

"Do you have a Benadryl?" I need a Benadryl. Why didn't I bring them with me?

A pink and white blob is before me.

"Bite this and swallow." Bitter powder on my dry tongue. Wet drips down my chin. My mouth is numb.

"Can you breathe?" asks the grey body through a tunnel.

"I can breathe," I respond, my throat clutching desperately to air. I want to close my eyes. I don't want to answer any more questions.

"You have to stay with me, ma'am,"

// Pete Nguyen

says the ranger, Ian Harper. I can see the edge of his frame. The trees are purple again.

"I've got the Epi-pen here," he waves something yellow before me. "Tell me if your throat closes off and I'll poke you. It'll make you feel worse than you already do, so I'll only use it if you can't breathe. Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" Another pink and white capsule, another swallow.

There's something on my arm.

"What're you doing?" I mumble.

"I already told you, ma'am. I'm taking your blood pressure." He looks at Hannley, who's sitting at my feet, holding them down as my legs spasm.

"I'm feeling better now," I say, telling half the truth. I'm mostly out of the woods. I had thought for a while there

that I was dying. The leaves are green now. I ask Jay to pack up the site. He reluctantly leaves.

I spend the next 45 minutes on the bench. I start shaking and Harper puts a sleeping bag over my damp body, still prone on the hard bench. The thought of moving brings the water and Benadryl out of my stomach. I retch.

Harper takes my pulse and blood pressure again. He says it's still at 100/50.

My heart rate has risen to 40. He looks at me with furrowed brow and hands me another pill. "You're looking a lot better," he says. "You were white when you got here. But I think you should go to the hospital."

Considering I can now see Harper's face, I can hear Hannley's footsteps on

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

the gravel coming toward me and the trees no longer resemble a 15-hit acid trip, I deliberate. He may be right—but I'm in the US without insurance and since I'm not dead, Hannley and Harper take my arms, lead me to the car and tuck me into the backseat.

Three hours later, I've puked up most of the water I've struggled to get down.

We check into our hotel in Seattle and I have a hot shower. We compare sting marks—Hannley has nearly 50 and I can only find 14.

My skin is covered in a network of mired red webs. My body is hollow.

But there's a nagging intuition left unacknowledged. I pick up my phone and call my insurance company, then my mom. I don't tell either of them what happened. V

GREAT OUTDOORS // 31

AUSTRIA // ICE CAVES

Land of ice and salt In the heart of the Alps, the ice endures

INTO THE DEPTHS >> Descending into Dachstein's giant ice cave Maria Kotovych // maria@vueweekly.com

Kristina de Guzman // kristina@vueweekly.com

T

he Austrian Alps stare down at us, daring us to come closer. We are about to explore some ice caves in a region where love for sport defines the residents. In the winter, visitors come here to free ski; hiking and mountain biking are popular activities in the summer.

In fact, above the two neighbouring Austrian towns of Obertraun and Hallstatt is where the country's largest mountain bike marathon, the Salzkammergut Trophy, takes place.

Breathtaking scenery, including Hallstatt Lake and the towering Dachstein massif, embraces these communities.

Pretty? Yes. Sleepy? Absolutely not.

The Dachstein massif is home to three ice caves in which visitors can take guided hikes. The Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape, which includes the ice caves, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

"Very often they say that [Obertraun and Hallstatt residents] are born with skis and running shoes," laughs Stefanie Stimitzer, who works in marketing for the Dachstein site.

Every year, 150 000 visitors from around the world enter the caves. Most are visiting an ice cave for the first time, and we are no different. "[The Dachstein] cave system is one of the largest in Europe," explains Caroline Loidl of the Tourist Office of Dachstein-

32 // GREAT OUTDOORS

// Kristina DeGuzman

Salzkammergut. "It's the most eastern glacier of the Alps."

Stimitzer notes that the caves are difficult to explain to first-timers, so she often shows pictures to help orient people.

Furthermore, she must remind people to bring good clothes and shoes. "In the summer, people come with flip-flops, for example, or high heels," she laughs.

One of us didn't bring a jacket, leading to worried looks from both Loidl and Stimitzer. "It gets really cold in the ice cave," They warn. It must be true, because Stimitzer lends a jacket.

Properly attired, we are set to take a 50minute guided tour through the Giant Ice Cave (Rieseneishöhle), one of Dachstein Cave World's show caves. Visitors who want to reach the peak of Mount Krippenstein (2100 metres) can take another

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

cable car from here.

Another way to get reach Mount Krippenstein is to take the Heilbronner Circular Trail, a three-hour trek that is suitable for families with children and baby buggies. This trail begins with a cable-car ride up to the top station where the chamois, a goat-like antelope, roams amidst karst patterns formed from water-eroded limestone.

From the top station, there is a plateau trail to the Heilbronner Cross (1959 metres), a memorial to 13 victims of a 1954 mountain accident. The path to the "cattle footprints," which contain fossils, shows that the Dachstein massif was once the ocean floor of the prehistoric Tethys Sea. The trail also provides an opportunity to see a multitude of diverse flora and fauna as it returns to the path's starting

SALT OF THE EARTH Humans have been living and mining salt in the Hallstatt region for 7000 years. The relationship between the salt mines and settlement in the region continues to this day.

The salt-rich region proved lucrative for its earliest inhabitants; indeed, Hallstatt is home to the world's oldest salt mine (Salzwelten Hallstatt), where salt continues to be mined today. About 300 000 tonnes of salt are mined each year.

Until recently, salt mining was Hallstatt's primary industry. Tourism has

since replaced it. Salzwelten Hallstatt, with its miners' slides and mine train, has become a tourist attraction.

Hallstatt's name comes from the Old Celtic word for "salt."

Former Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife, Elisabeth, had their summer residence about 10 km from Hallstatt. Aware of the wealth that the salt mines brought to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Joseph granted the region's residents rights and privileges to which other Austrians were not entitled. V

point at Gjaidalm (1740 metres), before hikers hop onto a cable car to ascend to Mount Krippenstein.

To get to the Giant Ice Cave, however, we only need to travel 1650 metres by cable car from Obertraun valley station to Schönbergalm terminal.

Compared to the four-passenger Banff gondola, this cable car is extremely spacious—it can transport up to 60 passengers. As it rises, we can see the two tiny towns, each with fewer than 1000 people.

As we walk up the nature path from Schönbergalm terminal to the caves, Stimitzer explains that Hallstatt Lake formed from melted glaciers. We also see the occasional thick block of snow.

Near the entrance of the cave is a large net stretched out to catch falling rocks.

Our tour guide, Michael Schreder, is waiting at the entrance. The tour will take us through one kilometre out of the entire three-kilometre path, weaving through a labyrinth of dark rooms connected by passageways. Lights have been installed in the rooms, only lit when a tour group is inside.

The caves are ancient. The action of water created them about 200 million years ago; over time, they grew. The rocks inside are limestone, while stalactites and stalagmites hang like icicles at our first stop in the Hall of Stalactites. With a temperature of 3 C all year, this is the warmest room in the caves.

Next, we are taken to a large room called King Arthur's Cathedral. The name came from Richard Wagner's Parsifal, and was given by the first explorers to enter the cave in 1910. Georg Lahner and his fellow explorers made a 28-metre descent using a 30-metre knitted wire into what must have appeared to be an abyss surrounded by ice.

This abyss was actually a bergschrund ("mountain crack") formed by the separation of moving glacier and stagnant ice on the head of a cirque, a bowl-shaped valley. Glacier erosion causes a cirque to form on a mountain.

The crevasse of the Giant Ice Cave would later become known as the Ice Chapel. Lahner reported that finding this "dangerous access" was met by "full enthusiasm over this discovery of such a fairy tale world." The explorers turned

MIND THE SPIKES >> Stalactites grow from the ceiling of a cave

IN THE SHADOW OF DACHSTEIN >> A not-so-sleepy Austrian town back, but this was only the beginning of subsequent explorations of the cave.

We are now 30 metres below the entrance in the deepest part of the cave.

The bones of cave bears, which became extinct many thousands of years ago, reside here.

In the far corner of King Arthur's Cathedral, Schreder points to a crevice where daylight appears to be shining through. "Daylight," it turns out, is actually an ice crystal. As we continue to walk through the cave, the temperatures start to dip. In King Arthur's Cathedral, it's 1 C. Admittedly, it feels a bit chilly.

We proceed to the Queen Kondwiramur Ice Palace where it's 0 C, evident by the dripping stalagmites. Here we learn how the ice forms. In the spring, when snow above ground melts, it flows down and freezes after seeping into the cold cave. For this reason, the ice in the cave is still growing.

At a relatively youthful age of 500 or 600 years, the ice is much younger compared to the 200-million-year-old caves. In the summer, rainwater entering into the cracks of the cave melts the ice; however, more ice accumulates in the spring than

// Maria Kotovych

melts in the summer.

With climate change being a current hotbutton topic, we ask if it's affecting the ice inside the caves. "Not yet," says Schreder.

In fact, he thinks that tourists are more likely to cause damage to the ice.

"A few years ago, [people were] not allowed to take photographs inside the caves," Stimitzer adds. "The old cameras were a big problem, because the flash was very hot, but the new digital ones are no problem."

Phew. We've been taking many pictures. And while glaciers and ice caps are melting in many parts of the world, we're happy to hear that this ice is actually growing.

Up more stairs to the Parsifal Cathedral, the cave's largest room, where the ice is approximately eight metres thick.

On our right is Ice Mountain, a massive iceberg which looks undeniably like a phallic symbol.

In 1910, Ice Mountain was three-and-ahalf metres long. Today, it reaches up nine metres and continues to grow. Surrounding us are spectacular 10-metre-long icicles. Before we leave, Schreder turns off the lights and illuminates Ice Mountain, making the room appear as though it's twinkling with a giant glow stick.

Our group climbs more stairs, and we see structures resembling ice castles. By this time, we have climbed so many stairs that we are starting to understand the phrase "uphill both ways." Then, another set of stairs actually takes us down; here, the low ceiling hangs a ruler-length over our heads. Now, we enter the Grail Castle where icicles drip and ponds glisten.

Schreder dims the lights to illuminate the small waterfall, the large waterfall, and the Grail Castle in succession. A thin sheet of rain splashes near us. This comes from 20-centimetre-long ice crystals above the Grail Castle that melt when temperatures rise. Inside, the 1 C mark holds steady.

Just beyond the Tristan Cathedral, where the thickest ice—25 metres—lies, is the exit, which Schreder notes is also the entrance to the cave. He gestures towards the roof—this is where Georg Lahner entered when he first started exploring the cave in 1910. Two years later, the ice caves were open to tourists, and in 1913 Höhlen im Dachstein (Caves in Dachstein) by Lahner, Hermann Bock and Gustav Gaunersdorfer gave a detailed report of their findings.

These days, music lovers can attend concerts inside the Giant Ice Cave. Every Friday in August, visitors can have dinner inside one of the rooms; the Ice Sound Concert Series, with different musicians performing each week, follows.

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

// Kristina DeGuzman

The Giant Ice Cave is full of steep, narrow and occasionally slippery staircases and walkways, so transporting a large instrument like a piano inside would no doubt be difficult. In fact, it takes six to seven people several hours to get the job done.

"It's a big production," laughs Loidl.

But, for the residents of Obertraun and Hallstat, born with skis, running shoes and the cultural inheritance of Lahner and his fellow explorers, it's no surprise they get it done. V

ON THE WEB Dachstein Ice Caves: dachsteinwelterbe.at/ Salzkammergut Trophy (Austria's biggest mountain biking marathon) salzkammergut-trophy.at Hallstatt Salt Mine (Salzwelten Hallstatt) salzwelten.at/ Tourist Office of the DachsteinSalzkammergut: dachstein-salzkammergut.at Accommodations: Grüner Anger Gasthof Pension oberoesterreich.at/gruener.anger

GREAT OUTDOORS // 33

GRANDE CACHE // DEATH RACE

Death in a small town Ten years of Death Racing in Grande Cache

SIDEBAR Myths In Greek myth, dead souls had to pay Charon to ferry them across the River Styx. In keeping with this theme, Death Race relay-team members must carry a single golden coin the entire length of the race in order to reach the finish line. The coin is used to pay the ferryman for passage across Smoky River.

Legends John Patrick Culhane, 2000 solo race winner Jack Cook, three-time solo race winner and local Edmonton favourite Dag Aabye, age 69, mountain man Runners who have raced every single year from 2000 on: Steve Baker, Patrick Raines Stats Distance: 125 kilometres Duration: 24 hours Terrain: three mountain peaks (Flood Mountain, Grande Mountain and Mount Hamel) Elevation change: 17Â 000 ft

DON'T FEAR THE REAPER >> Dale Tuck, race founder, in his customary Dr Death costume Jeremy Derksen // jeremy@vueweekly.com

I

t came from the black depths of the earth. Coal, source of life and death for the town of Grande Cache. Brought into being by this single commodity in the late 1960s, Grande Cache was in a downward spiral by 1999.

"The town was in the poorest of shape," recalls Dale Tuck. "The mine had closed, most of the houses were in foreclosure."

Ringed by 21 imposing mountain peaks, the little blue-collar town in northwestern Alberta was remote, isolated and depressed. Grande Cache is 146 kilometres from the nearest town (Hinton) and over 400 km from the closest major urban centre, Edmonton.

Tuck had a vision against this backdrop. The idea, to host an extreme long-distance trail race (commonly called an ultramarathon), had the potential to help resurrect the town's flailing spirits, boost the economy

34 // GREAT OUTDOORS

and generate new opportunities for the region.

"Interestingly enough, it was not supported by council at the time," Tuck recalls. "It was just too radical for them."

Perhaps, in a community fighting for its life, some people weren't amused by his choice of names. Perhaps it just seemed too crazy: a 125-kilometre, 24hour race over three mountain peaks.

Tuck remembers getting strange reactions in the mid-1990s when he went out for runs. "People used to stop me because they thought I was late for something and offer me a lift," he says.

"The notion of running for the sake of just running seemed rather foreign."

Still, Tuck persevered. He launched the race in 2000, attracting an impressive 193 participants in that first year. The Canadian Death Race was born. Ten years later, the race draws over 1000 racers annually from across Canada and the US, and as far away as Germany, Australia and Singapore.

// Supplied

The impact at home may be even more significant. Kandis Woodward, a sevenyear volunteer and Death Racer, remembers witnessing the first ever race in 2000: "During a time of economic disparity ... I saw the essence of energy appear during one August long weekend in my town. A time when we really needed something with potential for life and energy," she writes on the Race HQ Facebook page. Watching the race inspired her. "I decided to volunteer over the next three years for this race meant clearly for the insane."

Soon Woodward was considering racing herself. "I had so much fun being a part of the race as a volunteer, I thought to myself, 'Could it be possible?' Despite surgical interventions twice for my knee and not returning to the sport for six years, I chose to take on training for the Death Race. And I did it." She came first in the first leg of the 2004 race.

This year will be Woodward's seventh as a racer. Tuck adds that Woodward, her husband and two "awesome" kids still volunteer year-round. "Chances

are that the goodies in your race kits were put there by little Woodward hands," he enthuses. "And they all race on race day."

The Woodward family is just one example of a ripple effect that has passed through the town, causing a shift in thinking and lifestyles, according to Tuck. "After the race started, running, fitness, et cetera became a hallmark of the town and I often see people out training. How cool. It certainly started the fitness revolution in GC." Though council was originally tentative, it eventually got on board. Four years ago they launched Deathfest, a festival coinciding with the race. Essentially, it's a big party with live music, activities and family entertainment.

Deathfest's Killer Concert Series has brought in big names including Corb Lund, Default and the Trews. This year features Great Big Sea. Generally, natural resources remain a big part of the local economy, but the town no longer lives and dies on one commodity alone. Adventure

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; APR 28, 2010

tourism is an expanding part of the local portfolio.

Ten years since Tuck introduced his radical idea, the Canadian Death Race is part of the bedrock of the community.

Racers, remembering their favourite moments on the Race HQ facebook page, often dwell on the significance of that name. "It's named the Death Race ... but so far nothing has ever made me feel so alive," writes Steve Blake.

Lynne Chisholm, part of the local group Runners With Attitude, tells how she went in for a routine fitness assessment to ensure she was in good health to train for the race. Doctors found an undiagnosed blood clot just below her heart. "The Death Race saved my life!" She claims.

Another poster, Rose, reflecting on the darkest moments of her race experience, the physical anguish, mental defeat and near withdrawal from the race, tells how she draws strength from the experience. "I've hung onto this up to now. When I don't want to train and I feel it's bigger than I can handle, I think back to this."

In a small town, death touches everybody. In Grande Cache, it has a way of transforming those that pass through its spectral embrace. After all, sometimes the greatest lessons of life are learned in the shadow of death. V Join outdoors editor Jeremy Derksen at vueweekly.com/tothedeath2010 as he prepares to solo run the 2010 North Face Canadian Death Race in its 10th anniversary year.

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

GREAT OUTDOORS // 35

36 // GREAT OUTDOORS

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

GREAT OUTDOORS // 37

38 // GREAT OUTDOORS

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

CUBA // SELF-GUIDED TOURING

Shaking off the rust

Bartering, bikes and the self-guided Cuban adventure

SELF-GUIDED SECRETS >> Some of the best swimming holes are saved for those who venture beyond resort swim-up bars Sheena Rossiter // sheena@vueweekly.com

T

he nearly toothless Cuban cab driver is a seasoned pro at the art of negotiation. He knows I'm a typical Canadian.

My $10 offer is quickly waved aside: the price is $14 and not a cent lower if we want to ride in the back of his well-kept 1952 Chevrolet Skyline to the beach.

Time is ticking. The sun that was high in the Cuban sky is starting to set and our perfect beach conditions are starting to fade just as fast as our chances of getting a cab.

Self-guided touring in Cuba is a constant tug-of-war price battle and, no matter how good your negotiating skills and Spanish, there's no avoiding getting ripped off. Our attempt to get a cab to the beach in Trinidad proves we're part of the rule and not the exception.

But if there is one thing people in Cuba are good at, it's sidestepping rules.

Loath to spend more on a taxi than a night's accommodation, we ask around for another way to get to Trinidad's only sand beach, Ancon.

We're in luck—one woman on the block is the proud owner of two rusty, single-gear bikes. Through her dimly lit kitchen, bypassing her 80-something-

year-old mother eating rice and black beans, we arrive at her office—or what would usually be the laundry room. The bikes look like they haven't moved in a while, but she only wants three dollars to take them for the day. Deal.

Soon we're leaving the UNESCO-site town centre, which dates back to the 1500s, and heading towards the water on the horizon.

Pumping away on the stiff peddles, I notice a yellowish-orange colour beginning to develop on the inside of my calves and thighs. It's not a tan from the 40-degree heat and the sun pounding down on us. It's rust from the bike frame rubbing off on my legs, from a combination of humidity and being drenched in sweat from peddling so hard. But this is the price we've paid for a cheaper way to the beach.

Slowly but surely truckloads of Cubans and other cyclists whose bikes are in the same poor conditions as ours pass us by.

We're on a pseudo-leisurely tour while they're going home or to work, but we all blend together.

Despite sitting in the middle of the mountainous province of Sancti Spiritus, Trinidad's roads and bike paths leading to the beach are relatively flat,

// Sheena Rossiter

GOING IT ALONE

CARPOOL LANE >> Sharing the road with Cuban commuters but poorly kept. The real challenge proves to be the poor quality of the bike rather than the terrain itself.

After a few too many wrong left turns, passing through several scenes of reggaeton music and dirty dancing, we finally hit Playa Ancon. One of the first resorts to be built for tourists after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, Playa Ancon's scenery looks like paradise—a sharp contrast to the bike ride. The crystal blue waters and white sand are definitely worth the detour.

Only 12 kilometres from our cultural immersion in Trinidad, we've stepped

// Sheena Rossiter

out of the Cuba for Cubans and into the Cuba for tourists. Ancon is a different world. Guides relentlessly harass us to go snorkelling or horseback riding.

Brushing off their advances, we soak up the sun's waning rays, swim in the ocean and try to wash the rust from our legs. But the nice weather doesn't last.

Dark clouds begin to close in overhead.

We're in for one of Cuba's famous tropical thunder storms.

Back on the bikes, we get our legs pumping and hope for some quick cover, realizing a little too late why the bikes are so rusted. V

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

Self-guided tours in Cuba can be rewarding experiences, though they don't come without risks; for those people who aren't well versed in Spanish or good hagglers, going with a tour is a better way to keep a set price. Jineteros (Cuban slang for street hustlers) are exceptionally friendly and come up to even faircomplexioned Cubans on the street to try and sell them something.

For those who don't want to run the risk of getting ripped off, it's best to stick with guides despite the extra cost. But in a country that has a police force in place strictly to protect tourists, the only major scars most people will get from self-guiding is the pain of a plummeted bank balance. V

TOURS ON THE WEB cuba-excursions.com/by_destination/ trinidad.htm wordtravels.com/Cities/Cuba/Trinidad/ Tour+Operators cuba-junky.com/

GREAT OUTDOORS // 39

40 // GREAT OUTDOORS

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

COSTA RICA // ADVENTURE

Jungle freefall

Cave for a bed, waterfall for curtains and adventure beyond Andrew Derksen // andrew@vueweekly.com

T

he reinforced cables supporting our weight can hold 10 900 kg of weight, and are anchored to two different natural anchors (trees). Our guides have also assured us that with two separate ropes and friction devices controlling each of our descents, even if we freaked out and let go of the rope in our control, they would be able to catch us and lower us safely to the ground.

Nice to know, but it still doesn't make it easy to lean backwards over the edge of a wet, slippery cliff 30 metres above a jagged, rocky landing. Knowing that you can "trust the rope" and actually trusting the rope are two very different things.

I have climbed before, but I have never tried to work backwards over a slick, mossy rock face beside a surging waterfall in the middle of the Costa Rican jungle. After a bumpy 4x4 ride and a solid uphill hike we are miles from civilization. In this protected watershed, howler monkeys battle for survival and human beings merely pass through. If anything does go wrong, medical assistance beyond first aid is a long ways away.

My wife doesn't have any climbing experience, so I can only imagine what her mind and heart are telling her as she slowly lets the rope through her figure eight and comes to rappel position just above me and to the right.

I give her what encouragement I can, but I'm not sure if she hears a word I say. We shuffle our way down the rock face. As I become more comfortable, I begin to look around me and appreciate my surroundings.

Crystal cascades of water rush past me, close enough to reach out and touch. All around is the jungle, so wild and green; you can hear its pervasive presence through the roar of the waterfall. The sky above is ominously grey with a few patches of clarity; below is our landing area, a few stone steps wet with the mist of the falls; and in front of me, the mossy rock face that supports my feet has just reached an end, cutting back into the earth under the falls. The next step is free suspension.

I let my feet off the rock, and begin to spin. The scenery shifts from jungle to rock to waterfall and back again. From here, there is only the drop. I loose the rope and drop about five metres at a time—not exactly a free fall, but a good rush. My wife reaches the landing zone a few moments after me. As I help her untie her rope, she yells, "I think that was the scariest thing I have ever done in my entire life!"

Fresh tea made with lemongrass, basil, cinnamon and cloves—ingredients chosen from Tenasi Rama's medicinal garden during the hike to the falls— calms our nerves, washing down our throats and warming us as we relax

TRUSTING THE ROPE >> Rappelling a waterfall in the Diamante Verde watershed, Costa Rica // Supplied with the help of the negative ions released by the water falling over the opening of the Casa de Piedra (house of stone), a cavern beneath the falls that is equipped with sleeping quarters, showers and flush toilets, beside the kitchen.

After the tea and some cookies, we walk the short path that takes us to the top of Diamante Verde (green diamond), the tallest waterfall in Costa Rica at 184 m. From here, we are able to see to the Pacific Coast, stretching north to Manuel Antonio National Park and south to Osa. Some of the water above the fall forms natural infinity pools, where we swim suspended over the precipice. Clouds roll in as we look out at the ocean and the valley below, masking the view but enveloping us in a mystic cloud forest.

A couple howler monkeys on the ridge pierce the tranquility with their cries as we return. We imitate the monkeys as we go, holding forth with them until they become more threatening and territorial.

At the Casa de Piedra, we are welcomed with steaming hot pasta and tomato sauce, garlic toast and fresh vegetables from the garden. There is more food than we can possibly eat, and more tea, too. The tea helps us digest as we watch the sky change colours through the frame created by the top of the cavern, the water falling around us, and the jungle falling away before us.

After dark, we strap on headlamps and make our way along the slick path behind the waterfall back to the landing zone. When we turn off our lights, hundreds of green phosphorescent dots come magically into view. The glowworms and the full moon provide enough light for us to re-explore this enchanted area before we take our rest on stone "sleepers" (sleeping mattresses lifted off the ground on enormous stone slabs).

Sometime in the night, I wake to see the full moon filtering through the curtain of the waterfall before drifting

back to sleep. We both sleep for at least 10 hours.

The next morning—fuelled by a breakfast of coffee, tea, toast, eggs, oatmeal and natural sugar-cane honey—we head up Tinamasate ridge. The Casa de Piedra is a little more than halfway up the ridge, formed by the subduction of

the Cocos plate by the Caribbean.

Because of the collision of the two plates, plants and animals native to the Caribbean inhabit the eastern slope and Pacific species inhabit the western side. The Diamante Verde watershed tumbles over the ridge and down 641 m to the San Salvador valley.

The land is owned by John Chapman, who operates Tree of Life Tours/Pacific Journeys, the company that is guiding us on our adventure. John protects the watershed, one of the cleanest in the country, providing the San Salvador valley with much of the water it needs to continue leading the world in sustainable and organic agriculture. The watershed is composed of 12 falls, the tallest of which we sat atop yesterday, one of which we rappelled and slept beneath, and another which we are about to jump off.

The free fall is about seven metres, enough to make your stomach jump into your throat and give you enough time on the way down to realize that it's a lot higher than it looks from the top.

It takes a bit of convincing—she spends more time contemplating the jump today than she did the rappel yesterday—but my wife hurls herself over the edge, too. The jump is exhilarating.

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

So is the cold, clear water. It gives us enough adrenaline to make the journey down to the base camp, where Chapman picks us up in his 4WD and asks how our trip was.

This personal touch from the owner is typical. Chapman makes contact with all his clients, as the business is truly a mom-and-pop shop—his wife takes care of anything and everything, including most of the food and catering arrangements, his daughter, Melissa, looks after the books and his son, Jesse, is the operations manager.

John drives us a bit further down the road to see Diamante Verde from below. The tallest of the falls tumbles majestically through the downy green jungle on the ridge, impassive at our departure—a curtain concealing the adventure within. V

ON THE WEB Tree of Life tours treeoflifetours.com Tenasi Rama's garden (yoga and cleansing retreats) artofunion.com

GREAT OUTDOORS // 41

PRIMER // NAVIGATION

Lost or found?

Weighing tech, trad and intuition on the trail

// Pete Nguyen

BOBBI BARBARICH // BOBBI@vueweekly.com

I

've come a long way. That much I know. Where exactly I've ended up is another story, one I hope to figure out before dark.

I had tried to keep aware of features, noting kinks in tree branches and rocks that look like profiles. I was ahead of those when I came, now they're behind me and they're unrecognizable from the other side. But I didn't think I'd be considering turning around before reaching the summit. In Wilderness Way, a survival magazine, outdoor expert Dude McLean writes, "You're not aware of what you're not aware of."

It's late afternoon now and my shadow has been behind me for the past hour or so. I must be heading west. I thought following this animal trail would get me to the summit faster, but it seems I went far off track when I got to that fork, which was several forks ago.

This nagging sense that I'm lost— when I thought it would be impossible to get lost with my map, compass and global positioning system—makes me nauseous. I sit on a fallen tree, damp in the shadows to work out where I may have gone wrong and, hopefully, figure out where I need to go to be right. I'm not in real trouble. Yet.

My route was this: I left my tent at 9 am and travelled south on the marked trail.

I have a rudimentary map noting significant spots on the trail and expected times on the route. I cross-referenced my location on my topographic map to confirm. I passed over a rough bridge about 30 minutes later and noted it on both maps to inventory my speed. I came to a fork in the path and chose the middle one. I passed through a small meadow where the slope increased, just as I expected. I started hiking upward, where the contour rings on my map run close together.

My confusion starts here, but I mark where I think I am on both maps. And this may be my problem. The trail map is a bit more advanced from what Babylonians, the first cartographers, worked with on clay tablets—but error's an issue. Without scales or latitudes, it's a relative rendition of the area.

So I turn to the topo map. Topo maps immensely changed exploration— charted territory means more access for everybody. Anyone, like me, can go into a strange area and have a pretty good idea of where he or she might be.

Yet a map is only as good as its reader.

I shake out the map in frustration, drop rocks on it to keep it from fluttering and kneel before it. I look back and forth from the topo to the landmark map. They don't seem to jive. I reach

for my compass to confirm my direction. I had hoped the map would be all I needed, but I guess the advent of the compass happened for a reason: maps don't work if you don't know the direction you're facing.

First, I find north. Vikings used to do this with lodestones in bowls of water, wanting to find which way the wind was blowing. The origins of those winds became eight points on a compass. I feel a bit more confident in the compass than waiting till nightfall to use the North Star at the end of the Big Dipper. Reality taps me on the shoulder. "You can't see a map at night," it says. "And you didn't bring a source of light."

Panic clouds my perception. I must decide now, before the sun slips down the other side of the mountain, whether I will spend the night or find my way. Making a shelter would almost relax me, giving me time tomorrow to get home in daylight. But I don't have provisions for the night, and other than the last four or five kilometres I've just hiked, the terrain is walkable in the dark. I decide to go for it.

I consult my GPS. It immediately gives me my coordinates, I quickly find them on the map and shudder. The tree shadows must have obscured my own shadow. I'm much farther northwest than I thought. I orient the true and magnetic

GETTING BACK SAFELY: THE ESSENTIALS Prepare for the worst, and it won't happen.

Never leave home without: 1. Travel plans. Leave your travel plan with someone, detailing where you're going and when you'll be back.

2. Taking out the garbage. A garbage bag can be a raincoat, shelter or a blanket when packed with leaves or grass.

3. A whistle. It hurts less than yelling.

Three blows is a stress signal.

42 // GREAT OUTDOORS

4. A multi-use knife.

5. Headwear. A toque helps prevent hypothermia and a bandana can be anything: strainer, sling, signaler. Get one with animal tracks or constellations printed on it.

6. Water bottle and a portable purification system.

7. Two or three forms of fire: matches, lighter, emergency fire starters. One hundred percent cotton balls smeared with

Vaseline ignite quickly. Store a bunch in a film canister. Sap smeared on tissue or twigs works even when wet.

8. A mirror or CD. Wind-proof glimmer makers to signal far-off searchers.

9. Common sense. Your brain is your most important muscle. Train it the most.

10. Awareness. In addition to navigation aids, know where you are, not just what your positioning system tells you. V

north lines with my compass on the map. The red direction-of-travel arrow aims home. Looking at a distinct point on the map I can associate with home, and an imaginary line leading me there, eases my mind. I head southeast.

I plod down the rocky slope for what must be an hour, switch-backing where it gets too steep. When the contour finally flattens, I recognize this must be where I started to get disoriented. I check my GPS and compass to confirm my direction. I'm still on the right path so I tuck the devices into my pocket.

The thought, "Was I actually lost?" strikes me. I think about Dude McLean again. Information is everywhere— navigation equipment somewhat masks orientation senses. I had committed a cardinal error, having looked at the map rather than my surroundings. I should have been watching both. Had I noted my environment more closely, I may not have needed to rely on these devices. Confident, albeit with technology in my back pocket, I revert to senses—common sense and otherwise—to guide me home.

Looking carefully at a tree stump, the shadow tells me where I am heading.

The sun rises east and travels southwest. In waning light, shadows will be in the northeast. I need to travel roughly 90 degrees from the shadow.

I reach a clearing and examine the exposed trees' branches. Prevailing winds in the Rockies are west/southwest. Branches are sparser on a tree's westerly side, and some of the trees are growing with a northeast bend. I stop and close my eyes. The breeze is on the right side of my body. I'm going the right way.

Before I reach the thickening tree perimeter, I bend and examine an outcropping of rocks. Lichen grows where the sun shines and sun tends to bleach dark rocks where it shines the longest.

Here, the rocks are covered in greygreen micro bushes on the lighter side of the black rock—the southeast to southwest side.

Humming to myself, I walk deeper into the woods. In the thick pine and firs, it's suddenly night. Feeling spongy moss underfoot, I consider what it's telling me. When it's young, moss grows in the shade—the north side of trees. McLean advises looking at the entire picture when you consider the forest's clues.

Shadow obscures the sun's reach, so moss can eventually cover everything on a forested floor and make it hard to figure the direction. But if there's some moss on one side of a tree, that's the north side.

Nearing the tent, the North Star blazing behind me, I review my trek. I'm not a skilled outdoorswoman, but maps can be lost, GPS batteries die and rock ore skews compasses. The sun however, never changes its impact on the earth.

McLean stresses in his survival tips, "Don't trust just the one thing."

I brought two maps, a compass and

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

a GPS with me and I was still unsure where I was. Indeed, the navigation devices pinpointed my location in the universe—but recognizing where I was in relation to my surroundings grounded those abstract arrows and coordinates.

With recognition comes comfort, and I swear not to bypass nature's reminders on my next hike. V

COMMON ERRORS Make a new plan, Stan Plans may not prevent you from getting lost but they do help you to return safely. Not having a plan or, worse, not informing others of your plan is the biggest mistake a backcountry navigator can make. Before leaving the house, write down your expected route, expected return time, and Plans B and C—where you'll be if Plan A fails If you change your path mid-route, leave a marker to show searchers where you diverted.

Weather warning You can't control the weather, but you can track it. Being oblivious to the sky above us is another great backcountry folly. Check the weather for your specific location and altitude for the day(s) of your hike and two to three beyond your planned time. Go online or call the Park Service office nearest to your intended location.

Overestimating ability Weekend warriors often underestimate the difficulty of a hike, and their plans frequently ignore human foibles. Hikers in good shape can move at about four kilometres per hour on moderate terrain. Add a heavy pack, inclement weather, elevation gains, unexpected bathroom breaks or overestimations of your fitness and you may not make your intended destination. Yet summit fever can overtake any hiker of any ability. Before making the final push to reach your goal, remember you can get lost or injured on the way back. Leave ample daylight for your return.

Lost and lost-er When you're lost, you want to be unlost as soon as possible—even before people can find you—and adrenaline often leads hikers toward danger rather than home. If you've misplaced your whereabouts and you're hoping help is on the way, you need to make yourself visible: • Put on your brightest clothing (preferably the extra ones in your pack) • Move into a clearing • Make a signal • Three fires means help • Write "Help" in sand or dirt or with rocks/branches • Use mirrors, glow sticks, flags made from clothes • Make noise with a whistle V

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

GREAT OUTDOORS // 43

44 // GREAT OUTDOORS

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

GEAR >> FOOT COMFORT AND HYDRATION

Simplicity vs space age

Lo-fi solutions sometimes best to boost performance, comfort Equipment for serious hikers has gone to outer space and back. GPS units that provide online progress reports and send distress signals. Ballpoint pen-sized UV-light stir sticks AD that neutralize water con- O F F R O taminants. High-performance om wear and weather protection eekly.c @vuew that weighs mere nanograms. jeremy y Jerem n A far cry from the days of Derkse steel frame packs.

Yet despite all the high-tech gadgetry for the elite adventurer, sometimes the simplest things are the most important—like hydration and foot comfort.

Too often ignored, they are the two biggest factors in trekking as far as I'm concerned. Five days of pain and blisters on the West Coast Trail last season finally hammered the point home for me.

"It doesn't matter how expensive the boot is," says David Harris of Campers VilBLOODY SIMPLE >> Ignore foot discomfort and dehydration at your peril // Jeremy Derksen lage. "They all have cheap insoles." Fixing boots is often just a matter of switching to hilly, smooth to gnarly—I tested four boots and dayhikers alike, this held true out cheap insoles for good ones. In my set-ups: premium boots with Superfeet through bulldogged 20-kilometre treks unofficial survey, Superfeet insoles got and without and middling dayhikers with (loaded down with 20 kilograms or more) the nod from three of Edmonton's most and without. and on into the following day. reliable outdoor retailers.

The concept behind Superfeet is that a Blisters were another matter. While SuWhile hiking the Waskahegan Trail firm insole provides more support, easing perfeet changed the location of pressure (vueweekly.com/waskahegan) last sumpressure on your arches and helping keep points, my feet still blistered and bled. mer—a good sampling of trails from flat feet, knees and back in alignment. In big This, however, points to a larger prob-

the problem.

D TESTE

lem with my footwear. Despite investing in high quality gear, I haven't found the right fit yet. For the close-to-perfect boot, though, Superfeet may be the solution for far cheaper (at about $50) than an orthotic or a new pair of boots; for the imperfect boot, as in my case, testing Superfeet may at least clarify the extent of

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

Taking care of your feet is critical, but if you don't stay hydrated it won't matter much anyway. As you sweat and your body dehydrates, muscles and joints start to fatigue and ache, adding to nascent weariness. Again, science has engineered some incredible supplements, but the health and effectiveness is sometimes questionable.

I'm not your parent or your pusher, but what's cool about Nuun tabs is that it doesn't push caffeine, sugars or other chemicals—just four essential electrolytes in a high concentration to restore the natural balance during strenuous activity. Each tab, dissolved in 500 millilitres of water, contains 350 milligrams of sodium—up to three times as much as traditional sport drinks. Plus, it goes all cool and fizzy when you drop it in your Nalgene.

Sore feet and dehydration will run down even the fittest, most powerful athletes.

With all the new tech on the market, these aren't so much recommendations as an introduction to the types of products you might consider to improve your next adventure. The science is space age but the principle goes back to the dawn of homo erectus. V

GREAT OUTDOORS // 45

46 // GREAT OUTDOORS

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

ALASKA // KAYAK

A pristine paddle

Navigating the untamed labyrinth of Alaska's Tatoosh Islands As we guide our kayaks back to the shore, I take a final visual sweep out to sea, looking expectantly for the tale of a humpback whale rising above the water. But alas, this is a vast, untamed wilderness that is unpredictable and does not cater to tourists. It is difficult to comprehend this fact after spending five days aboard a cruise ship.

Back on shore, our guides help us out of the kayak. Once we shed our waterproof gear, my sister and I wander into the surrounding forest exploring the area close to the beach.

The air is damp in the trees, and the gnarled roots make the trail difficult to traverse. Our fellow kayakers are silent, reflective, as we leave the Tatoosh islands on our motorized zodiac.

Not far from the beach where we had set out to explore, we encounter a water skier and the incessant drone of the motorboat. It is a jarring reminder that the seemingly impenetrable wilderness is not as distant as it seems. V

KARLA WALLI // Karla@vueweekly.com

T

he surface of the water glistens silver in the afternoon sunlight. It is a perfect day: there is no breeze to stir the waves and the crisp, cold air bites the flesh. A light mist dances delicately over the water's surface, bows quickly and withdraws as the kayak slides past.

We cut through the water, swiftly, silently, as we glide along the edge of the land, dipping our paddles and pulling in a continuous rhythm. The air smells of salt and pine.

We stop, quietly, pointing: a raptor sits still as a stone statue on a tree branch overlooking the water. The wildness of the land invades the senses, and with every breath you can feel the pristine serenity of an untouched and remote paradise.

We are sea kayaking in the Tatoosh Islands in Alaska's infamous Tongass National Forest. The Tongass, which is located in southeastern Alaska and covers most of the inside passage, is the largest national forest in North America with almost 17 million acres.

The Tatoosh Islands are a labyrinth of passageways snaking along the Alaskan coast close to Ketchikan. Raptors, seals and whales all frequent this area.

Our guides, Southeastern Exposure Sea Kayaking Adventures, are located 14 kilometers north of Ketchikan. Since 1986, Southeastern has been leading sea kayaking trips into the remote sea surrounding the Tatoosh Islands. On our boat ride out to the secluded beach where our kayaks await, our guides tell us about the three-day expeditions they offer. Our kayaks wait for us in a precise line on the beach, and we're soon suited up and ready.

ALASKA UNTAINTED >> A quiet berth in the Tatoosh Islands A seal's smooth, shiny head pops out of the water only a few feet away from our kayak. My sister tries to quietly pull out her camera without dropping her paddle, but as she tries to snap the picture, he disappears beneath the surface, leaving us with a photo of the still sea.

Neither of us has kayaked before, but our guides are expert teachers and they soon have us sliding gracefully through the water. We paddle our double kayak with ease along the shoreline for several kilometers, searching the forest, looking for bears and other wildlife.

The trees themselves seem alive; some are bent like old men, bearded

// Karla Walli

with a dense green moss, their branches nearly touching the water's surface.

Others are tall, proud, and hold up their head to the sunlight. In places,

the trees seem to grow out of cracks in the rock, clinging with claw-like roots to their surroundings, twisting awkwardly to taste the sunlight.

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; APR 28, 2010

ON THE WEB southeastexposure.com

GREAT OUTDOORS // 47

CALGARY // BIKING

How Stinky gets its groove Canada Olympic Park bike park has a certain logic Jeremy Derksen // jeremy@vueweekly.com

A

mud puddle explodes in my face halfway down Haircut Rabbit, in a depression at the bottom of a steep drop bounded by a berm. My back wheel slips in the soup, gravity pulling me down. Ahead of me, Mark Venier is already gone.

Venier, a bike-park volunteer at Canada Olympic Park, is a North Shore veteran, so he's used to rainforest muck.

He's been sent out to evaluate whether it's safe for the general public.

Perhaps it is, but it's definitely messy.

A rooster tail soaks the back of my

shorts with muddy water as I skid into the berm and maneouver my way out, face pasted in a mud-eating grin.

Downhill biking is a dirty sport. Mudcaked limbs, faces and frames are a ubiquitous part of the culture. Kona's high-end bikes include a line known as the Stinky, after perhaps the single best adjective to describe most riders after a day of lift-accessed mayhem.

But when the COP bike park gets too wet, management closes the trails.

Hardcore riders might complain but in fact it's just smart trail management.

Among other things, that's what Kona's exclusive "groove approved" program is about. It emphasizes qual-

ity terrain, safety and sustainable environmental practices. Only three bike parks in Canada enjoy Kona "groove approved" status. COP is one of them.

The other two, Whistler and Panorama, are mountain parks. By contrast, COP is only minutes from downtown Calgary at the northwest end of the city.

Naturally, it doesn't have quite the same vertical or alpine features as the others.

Yet for a park of its size it generates respectable business and offers a unique experience—two key reasons Kona chose to add it to the company's portfolio of over 20 groove-approved parks worldwide.

"You won't really find us in too many

GETTING OVER THE HUMP >> It's all in the hips small hills," says Dik Cox, Kona's Canadian park rep. "I would say Canada Olympic Park is one of the smaller ones, simply by terrain, but there are no other groove-approved parks in the world that are located in a city. That's probably the coolest thing."

A location within city limits makes it ideal for talent development, attracting young groms en masse. At bigger mountain resorts like Fernie or Panorama, seeing pre-teens or early teens on the trails is rare. At COP, an average of 150 kids per week attend weekly summer bike camps, says camp coordinator Luc Belanger. Impressively, this helps COP generate one of the highest revenues for a bike park in Canada.

And while it may not have huge vertical, it has an exceptional variety of terrain, owing in part to a recent redesign by internationally renowned, Whistler-based park designers Gravity Logic. Along with Kona, the Gravity Logic team was among the first to facilitate the migration of the downhill bike scene into mountain resorts. At COP, tall, North Shore-inspired wood bridges and roller-coaster bumps mingle with technical tree lines, steep drop-ins and hairpin turns.

At the entrance to black diamond Lazer Fade—a local favourite—a group pulls aside with its instructor, allowing me to pass. Sharing the trails with these pint-sized pedal pushers is novel. The smaller kids are likely to be impressed, but the slightly larger ones are general-

48 // GREAT OUTDOORS

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

// Jeremy Derksen

ly more aloof. Of the latter, at least half are likely better riders than I am.

Descending the first white-knuckle line, I lean back and feather the brakes, then shifting my weight into a spiraling bridge feature and up over my pedals to push into three flowing dips. Back, shuffle step. Side to side, up and back.

Get funky with it. As long as my hips are loose the Stinky does the dance all by itself.

This is a groove I could get used to. V

GROOVE-APPROVED PLAYLIST COP has hosted the Virgin Festival the last two years running, adding another element of groove to its repertoire.

Here are some selections for dialing in a great ride, featuring several bands that played at the '09 fest: "Beaten Metal," Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra "Oh, the Boss is Coming," Arkells "Dude You Feel Electrical," Shout Out Out Out Out "Supermassive Black Hole," Muse "Archaeologists," Wintersleep

ON THE WEB winsportcanada.ca konabikeworld.com whistlergravitylogic.com

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

GREAT OUTDOORS // 49

50 // GREAT OUTDOORS

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

ARTS WEEKLY FAX YOUR FREE LISTINGS TO 780.426.2889 OR EMAIL LISTINGS@VUEWEEKLY.COM DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 3 PM

DANCE MILE ZERO DANCE Â&#x153; L`] DYf\af_ HY\$ *()$ )(1*+%

)() Kl Â&#x153; /0(&,*,&)-/+ Â&#x153; ead]r]jg\Yf[]&[ge Â&#x153; INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY Â&#x153; Thu Apr 29

THE NINA HAGGERTY SESSIONS 1**-%))0 9n] Â&#x153;

L`] FafY @Y__]jlq ;]flj] ^gj l`] 9jlk Yf\ Ead] R]jg <Yf[] Yj] l]Yeaf_ mh lg []d]ZjYl] Afl]jfYlagfYd <Yf[] <Yq Â&#x153; Thu Apr 293 )* fggf Â&#x153; ^j]]

GALLERIES + MUSEUMS ACC DISCOVERY GALLERY Â&#x153; )()0.%)(. Kl Â&#x153; PROXIMITY & TOUCH: F]o _dYkk ogjc Zq ;Yd_Yjq Yjlakl FYlYda Jg\ja_m]k Â&#x153; Until May 29

JAKE LEWIS GALLERY Â&#x153; )(,,)%)*+kl Â&#x153; H`glg_jYh`q g^ O]a Ogf_ Â&#x153; Apr 24-Jun 5 Â&#x153; /0(&,*.&,.,1 JEFF ALLEN GALLERY Â&#x153; KljYl`[gfY HdY[] K]fagj

;]flj]$ )(0+) Mfan]jkalq 9n] Â&#x153; Egf%>ja 1Ye%,he Â&#x153; /0(&,++&-0(/ Â&#x153; k]fagj[]flj]&gj_ Â&#x153; HAPPY TRAILS: H`g% lg_jYh`q Zq HYl F]Yjaf_Zmj_ Â&#x153; Until Apr 28

JOHNSON GALLERY Â&#x153; Southside2 //))%0- Kl3 /0(&,.-&.)/)3 Egf % >ja 1%-3 KYl )(%, Â&#x153; Ogjck Zq <gf K`Yjh]$ KgfbY EYjafgkc]$ 9\Y Ogf_ Yf\ ?d]f\Y :]Y% n]j3 Hgll]jq Zq @]d]fY :Ydd Â&#x153; Northside2 ))0)/%0( Kl3 /0(&,/1&0,*,3 Ogjck Zq 9f\j] :]kk]$ <Yf :Y_Yf$ Lgla3 K]ja_jYh`k Zq FgjYd EYjjakk]Yq3 Hgll]jq Zq FYjngm CmZg Â&#x153; ongoing Â&#x153; bg`fkgf_Ydd]jq&[Y LATITUDE 53 Â&#x153; )(*,0%)(. Kl Â&#x153; /0(&,*+&-+-+ Â&#x153; =N=JQ

NA;LAE E9LL=JK2 QGML@ 9JLAKLK =PHJ=KK L@=EK=DN=K2 k`go[Yk] nga[]k g^ qgml` \mjaf_ FYlagfYd Na[laek g^ ;jae] 9oYj]f]kk O]]c Â&#x153; Until Apr 24 Â&#x153; Main Space: OADD L@= J=9D KDAE K@9<Q HD=9K= STAND UP?: Bg\q EY[<gfYd\ Â&#x153; Apr 30-May 29 Â&#x153; 9jlakl LYdc Gh]faf_ J][]hlagf2 Fri Apr 303 /he Â&#x153; ProjEx Room: HJ=N9D=FL 9KK=E:DQ2 HYlja[c @a__afk Â&#x153; Apr 30-May 29 Â&#x153; Gh]faf_ J][]hlagf2 Fri Apr 303 0he

LOFT GALLERY Â&#x153; 9& B& Gll]o]dd 9jlk ;]flj]$ -1(

:jgY\eggj :dn\$ K`]jogg\ HYjc Â&#x153; /0(&1**&.+*, Â&#x153; AF AND AROUND STRATHCONA COUNTY: 9jlogjck Zq l`] e]eZ]jk g^ l`] 9jl Kg[a]lq g^ KljYl`[gfY ;gmflq Â&#x153; Until May 1

MCMULLEN GALLERY Â&#x153; M g^ 9 @gkhalYd$ 0,,(%))*

AGNES BUGERA GALLERY Â&#x153; )*+)( BYkh]j 9n] Â&#x153;

Kl Â&#x153; /0(&,(/&/)-* Â&#x153; MOLTEN MEDITATION2 :]Y\k$ b]o]djq Yf\ gl`]j gZb][lk eY\] oal` dYehogjc]\ Z]Y\k [j]Yl]\ Zq e]eZ]jk g^ l`] 9mjgjY :gj]Ydak >aj]Ă&#x2C6;a]k Â&#x153; Until Jun 6

ALLEYSCAPE STUDIO Â&#x153; ,1+(; Jgkk Kl Ydd]q! Â&#x153;

MCPAG Â&#x153; Emdla[mdlmjYd ;]flj] HmZda[ 9jl ?Ydd]jq$ -,))%-) Kl$ Klgfq HdYaf Â&#x153; /0(&1.+&*/// Â&#x153; OAL@ 9DD ALK BEAUTY2 Yf ]p`aZalagf g^ HYaflaf_k Yf\ K[mdhlmj] Zq 9ddakgf 9j_q%Zm_]kk$ K`Yjgf Eggj]%>gkl]j Yf\ EYj_Y% j]l Oalk[`d Â&#x153; Until Apr 27 Â&#x153; K[mdhlmj] Zq ;]kYj 9dnYj]r3 Apr 29-May 263 Gh]faf_ j][]hlagf2 Sun May 2

ARTERY Â&#x153; 1-+- BYkh]j 9n] Â&#x153; PHOTOGRAPHIC EFFECTS RECALLING LONDON: =p`aZalagf Yf\ KYd] 9fl`gfq H& Bgf]k Â&#x153; Fri Apr 303 /he Â&#x153; *(

MICHIF CULTURAL AND MĂ&#x2030;TIS RESOURCE INSTITUTE Â&#x153; 1 Eakkagf 9n]$ Kl 9dZ]jl Â&#x153; /0(&.-)&0)/. Â&#x153;

/0(&,0*&*0-, Â&#x153; PASSIONS & PLEASURES: E]d @]Yl`3 9hj )(%*+ Â&#x153; DUSK/NIGHT2 AYf JYodafkgf <Yna\ Oadkgf3 Apr 24-May 73 Gh]faf_ j][]hlagf2 Sat Apr 24, *%,he3 9jlaklk af Yll]f\Yf[]

,(+&-1/&1/00 Â&#x153; MONSTROUS2 HYaflaf_k Zq C]ddq K`h]% d]q Yf\ []jYea[ ogjck Zq Ea[`]d] <mhYk Â&#x153; Until Apr 23

ART GALLERY OF ALBERTA (AGA) Â&#x153; Kaj Oafklgf ;`mj[`add Ki Â&#x153; /0(&,**&.**+ Â&#x153; FIGURES IN MOTION: =\_Yj <]_Yk3 Until May 30 Â&#x153; L@= <AK9KL=JK G> O9J AND LOS CAPRICHOS: >jYf[akg ?gqY; Mflad EYq +( Â&#x153; IMAGE MAKER: CYjk`3 Until May 30 Â&#x153; THE MURDER G> ;JGOK2 :q BYf]l ;Yj\a^^ Yf\ ?]gj_] :mj]k Eadd]j3 Mflad EYq 1 Â&#x153; RBC New Works Gallery: STORM ROOM: :q BYf]l ;Yj\a^^ Yf\ ?]gj_] :mj]k Eadd]j3 Until May 9 Â&#x153; BMO World of Creativity: PLAY ON ARCHITECTURE: ;`ad\j]f k _Ydd]jq Â&#x153; Sculpture Terraces: Ogjck Zq H]l]j @a\] Yf\ C]f EY[cdaf Â&#x153; BUILDING ART: =\oYj\ :mjlqfkcq k h`glg_jYh`k g^ l`] Zmad\af_ g^ l`] F]o 9?9 BILTON CONTEMPORARY ART Â&#x153; ,:$ -0(1% -) 9n]$ J]\ <]]j Â&#x153; ,(+&+,+&+1++ Â&#x153; BCA ARTISTS: ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S IN THE BAG: 9 ^]Ykl ^gj l`] ]q]k af alk \an]jkalq$ l`ak ]p`aZal oadd d]Y\ l`] Zadlgf gf Y f]o hYl` lg j]hj]k]flaf_ Yjlaklk g^ fgl] ^jge ;]fljYd 9dZ]jlY Yf\ Z]qgf\ Â&#x153; Until Jul 2 CENTRE Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ARTS VISUELS DE Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ALBERTA Â&#x153; 1)(+% 1- 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,.)&+,*/ Â&#x153; COAST TO COAST: KqdnYaf% @]fja KaeYj k h`glgk Yf\ Klm\]fl 9jlogjc ^jge ;Yehmk Kl%B]Yf Â&#x153; Apr 23-May 4 Â&#x153; Gh]faf_ j][]hlagf2 Fri Apr 233 /%02+(he CHRISTL BERGSTROM'S RED GALLERY Â&#x153; 1.*)%0* 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,10&)10, Â&#x153; IT HAS BEEN 40 YEARS: Gad hYafl% af_k Zq ;`jakld `gfgmjaf_ ,( q]Yjk g^ eYjjaY_] Yf\ ^Yeadq Â&#x153; Until Apr 30

COMMON SENSE GALLERY Â&#x153; )(-,.%))- Kl Â&#x153;

9Zgja_afYd N]l]jYfk <akhdYq Â&#x153; ?a^l K`gh Â&#x153; >af_]j o]Yn% af_ Yf\ kYk` \akhdYq Zq ;]dafY Dgq]j Â&#x153; Ongoing

LITERARY AUDREYS BOOKS Â&#x153; )(/(* BYkh]j 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,*+&+,0/ Â&#x153; Ojal]j af j]ka\]f[]$ CYl` EY[d]Yf3 =n]jq Lm]%L`m$ )2+(%-he CAMPUS STďż˝JEAN Â&#x153; Jgge +%(,$ HYnaddgf DY[]jl]$

0,(. EYja]%9ff] ?YZgmjq Kl 1)kl Klj]]l! Â&#x153; Afl]j% fYlagfYddq j][g_far]\ h]j^gjeYf[] hg]l AYf >]jja]j gf afl]_jYlaf_ emka[ oal` dal]jYjq h]j^gjeYf[] Â&#x153; Fri Apr 233 0%12+(he Â&#x153; H=J>GJEAF? QGMJ OGJ<K$ Y ojalaf_ ogjck`gh Sat Apr 243 12+(Ye%,he Â&#x153; Ogjck`gh j]_akljYlagf2 /($ af[dm\]k dmf[`& ,( e]eZ]jk! Â&#x153; [Yf% Yml`gjkYdZ]jlY&[Y Â&#x153; j]_akljYj8[YfYml`gjkYdZ]jlY&[Y

EDMONTON POETRY FESTIVAL Â&#x153; NYjagmk n]fm]k

l`jgm_` =\egflgf Â&#x153; ]\egflgfhg]ljq^]klanYd&[ge Â&#x153; ;Y^] j]Y\af_k$ :dafc Hg]ljq fa_`l$ kh][aYd _m]klk$ k[`ggd nakalk Yf\ eYfq gl`]j ]n]flk Â&#x153; Until Apr 24

GREENWOODSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; BOOKSHOPPE Â&#x153; /1*-%)(, Kl Â&#x153; 9f =n]faf_ oal` l`] 9ml`gjk 9dZ]jlY Dal]jYjq 9oYj\k K`gjldakl]\ 9ml`gjk J]Y\ L`]aj Ogjc Â&#x153; Wed Apr 283 /he Â&#x153; >j]] ROSIE'S BAR AND GRILL Â&#x153; )(,/-%0( 9n] Â&#x153; L&9&D&=&K& Klgjq ;Y^Â&#x2026; K]ja]k2 )kl L`m g^ l`] Egfl`$ gh]f ea[ ghhgjlmfalq ROUGE LOUNGE Â&#x153; )()))%))/ Kl Â&#x153; /0(&1(*&-1(( Â&#x153; Hg]ljq ]n]jq Lm] oal` =\egflgf k dg[Yd hg]lk STANLEY A. MILNER LIBRARYÂ&#x153; / Kaj Oafklgf ;`mj[`add Ki Â&#x153; /0(&,1.&/((( Â&#x153; Centre for Reading2 >jge :ggck lg >ade3 ]n]jq >ja$ *he Â&#x153; Teen Movie Scene2 egna] [dmZ ^gj l]]fk3 )kl Yf\ +j\ L`m ]n]jq egfl` Â&#x153; Writersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Corner2 =HDÂżk Ojal]j af J]ka\]f[]3 `gklk Y \a^^]j]fl Yml`gj ]Y[` egfl`3 DYkl Kmf g^ ]Y[` egfl` Yl )2+(he

THEATRE AS YOU LIKE IT Â&#x153; ;alY\]d EY[dYZ L`]Ylj]$ 10*0%)()9 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,*.&,0)) Â&#x153; EYaf KlY_] K]ja]k2 9 jgeYfla[ [ge]\q Zq OaddaYe K`Yc]kh]Yj] hj]k]fl]\ Zq l`] ;alY\]d':Yf^^ ;]flj] Hjg^]kkagfYd L`]Ylj] Hjg_jYe$ <aj][l]\ Zq BYe]k EY[<gfYd\ Â&#x153; Until May 9

MILDWOOD GALLERY Â&#x153; ,*.$ ..--%)/0 Kl Â&#x153; E]d @]Yl`$ BgYf @]Yd]q$ >jYf @]Yl`$ DYjjYaf] GZ]j_$ L]jjq C]`g]$ <Yjd]f] 9\Yek$ KYf\q ;jgkk Yf\ Na[lgjaY$ Hgl% l]jq Zq FYZgjg CmZg Yf\ Na[lgj @Yjjakgf Â&#x153; Ongoing

BUDDY! THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY Â&#x153; EYqĂ&#x2021;]d\

MUSĂ&#x2030;E HĂ&#x2030;RITAGE MUSEUM Â&#x153; - Kl 9ff] Kl$ Kl 9dZ]jl Â&#x153; /0(&,-1&)-*0 Â&#x153; SEEDS IN DISGUISE: THE BIOLOGY AND LORE OF ORNAMENTAL SEEDS2 >]Ylmjaf_ gjfYe]flYd k]]\k af b]o]dd]jq$ ljafc]lk Yf\ gjfYe]flk Â&#x153; Until May 16

/0(&,++&++11 Â&#x153; JYha\ >aj] L`]Ylj] k aehjgn k`go ]n]jq KYl$ ))he Â&#x153; )( \ggj!' 0 JYha\ >aj] L`]Ylj] e]eZ]j!' - `a_` k[`ggd klm\]flk! Yl LAP gf l`] KimYj]

NAESS GALLERYâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Paint Spot Â&#x153; )((+*%0) 9n]

Â&#x153; /0(&,+*&(*,( Â&#x153; SAND BOXES: Gad gf ;YfnYk Zq FYlYk`Y :g_\YkYna[`3 Until Apr 29 Â&#x153; DANAF? OAL@ P2 9 Zg\qeYhhaf_ ]p`aZal \]ha[laf_ l`] j]Ydala]k g^ danaf_ oal` @AN3 Until Apr 30

PICTURE THIS GALLERY Â&#x153; 1-1 Gj\r] J\$ K`]jogg\

HYjc Â&#x153; /0(&,./&+(+0 Â&#x153; F]o Yjlaklk Yjjanaf_ Ydd l`] lae]

PROFILES PUBLIC ART GALLERY Â&#x153; )1 H]jjgf Kl$ Kl 9dZ]jl Â&#x153; /0(&,.(&,+)( Â&#x153; L@= ;GDGMJK OAL@AF2 DYf\% k[Yh]k Zq ?Yad =[`daf$ Dqff EYdaf$ 9f_]dY ?jggl]dYYj$ Yf\ L]kkY Fmff Â&#x153; Until May 1 ROYAL ALBERTA MUSEUM Â&#x153; )*0,-%)(* 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,-+&1)(( Â&#x153; J==<K OGGD2 HYll]jf]\ K[j]]fk g^ ;]fljYd 9kaY3 Until Jul 4 Â&#x153; NATURAL SELECTIONS: JgqYd 9dZ]jlY Emk]me K[a]flaklk g^^]j nYjagmk na]ok gf 9dZ]jlYÂżk Zag\an]jkalq3 Until Oct 13

<aff]j L`]Ylj]$ )..)-%)(1 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,0+&,(-) Â&#x153; EYq% Ă&#x2021;]d\l`]Ylj]&[Y Â&#x153; Apr 23-Jun 27

CHIMPROV Â&#x153; NYjk[gfY L`]Ylj]$ )(+*1%0+ 9n] Â&#x153;

DIEďż˝NASTY Â&#x153; NYjk[gfY L`]Ylj]$ )(+*1%0+ 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,++&++11 Â&#x153; Dan] aehjgnak]\ kgYh gh]jY \aj][l]\ Zq <YfY 9f\]jk]f ]n]jq Egf$ /2+(he Â&#x153; Mflad EYq +) Â&#x153; )( THE DROWNING GIRLS Â&#x153; ;alY\]d Ja[] L`]Ylj]$

10*0%)()9 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,*.&,0)) Â&#x153; L`j]] o]Ydl`q oge]f$ ]Y[` k]\m[]\$ o]\$ afkmj]\$ Yf\ kdYaf Zq l`] kYe] eYf Â&#x153; Until May 2

DRY THE RAIN Â&#x153; DY ;alÂ&#x2026; >jYf[gh`gf]$ 0.*/%1) Kl Â&#x153;

/0(&,//&-1-- Â&#x153; ogjck`gho]kl&gj_ Â&#x153; 9 ^mffq$ hga_fYfl ha][] YZgml Yf ajj]n]j]fl$ ]d\]jdq [gmhd] _jYhhdaf_ oal` l`] [`Ydd]f_]k g^ egnaf_ aflg Y `ge] Â&#x153; Apr 23-May 2

THE EROTIC ANGUISH OF DON JUAN Â&#x153; L`]Ylj] F]logjc$ )(/(0%)*, Kl Â&#x153; /0(&,-+&*,,( Â&#x153; l`]Ylj]f]logjc& [Y Â&#x153; L`] af^Yegmk dgn]jÂżk _`gkl ak kmeegf]\ ^jge `]dd3 L`] Gd\ Ljgml Hmhh]l Ogjck`gh Â&#x153; Until Apr 25 GIVE PEAS A CHANCE! Â&#x153; ;YlYdqkl L`]Ylj]$ 0+*1

SCOTT GALLERY )(,)) % )*, Kl Â&#x153; /0(&,00&+.)1 Â&#x153; CUSP: JgZ]jl Kaf[dYaj3 OYl]j[gdgmj Â&#x153; Until May 4 Â&#x153; k[gll_Ydd]jq&[ge

?Yl]oYq :gmd]nYj\ Â&#x153; =fbgq Y ^j]]o`]]daf_ [YZYj]l oal` e]dg\agmk Yf\ [d]n]j `a_`da_`lk g^ ^YeadaYj Yf\ gZk[mj] emka[Yd l`]Ylj] Â&#x153; Apr 23-243 0 he Â&#x153; )- Â&#x153; LAP gf l`] KimYj] /0(&,*(&)/-/3 lapgfl`]kimYj]&[Y

,1)* Âş -) 9n]$ Klgfq HdYaf Â&#x153; L@= ?9J<=F K@GO2 :]llq K[`mdlr Yf\ ^ja]f\k `Yn] eY\] Y k]d][lagf g^ mfaim] _Yj\]f al]ek Â&#x153; May 1-30 Â&#x153; Gh]faf_ oal` Yjlaklk Sat May 1; )(Ye%*he3 J]^j]k`e]flk

SNAP (Society of Northern Alberta Print-artists) Â&#x153; )()*+%)*) Kl Â&#x153; /0(&,*+&),1* Â&#x153; KF9H ak egnaf_

HEY LADIES! Â&#x153; Jgpq L`]Ylj]$ )(/(0%)*, Kl Â&#x153; Qgm eYq `Yn] dgkl Yf `gmj Zml l`] DY\a]k oadd eYc] al mh lg qgm oal` Y _gg\ lae] Â&#x153; Fri Apr 233 0 he Â&#x153; *)

DON WHEATON YMCA Â&#x153; )(*))%)(* 9n]$ =Ykl

SPRUCE GROVE GALLERY Â&#x153; E]d[gj ;mdlmjYd ;]flj]$ +- Âş -l` 9n]fm]$ Khjm[] ?jgn] Â&#x153; /0(&1.*&(.., Â&#x153; KILN J=E=E:=J=< KFGO: ogjck Zq B]f Kge]jnadd] Â&#x153; Until Apr 24

/0(&,0*&*.0- Â&#x153; ?=LOAKL= KL99D2 9f ]p`aZalagf g^ k]n]f j][]fl k[mdhlmj]k Zq YoYj\ oaffaf_ k[mdhlgj EYjc :]ddgok Â&#x153; Until May 7

CROOKED POT GALLERY Â&#x153; HYjcdYf\ Hgll]jk ?mad\

@YddoYq Â&#x153; L@= OGJCKÂş;9FN9K OGJCK2 9jlogjck Zq Bmklaf K`Yo Â&#x153; Until Aug 31

ELECTRUM GALLERY Â&#x153; )*,)1 Klgfq HdYaf J\ Â&#x153;

/0(&,0*&),(* Â&#x153; ?gd\ Yf\ kadn]j b]o]dd]jq Zq OYqf] EY[c]fra]$ BYf]l Kl]af Yf\ Yjlogjck Zq nYjagmk Yjlaklk Â&#x153; Ongoing

ENTREPRISE SQUARE GALLERY Â&#x153; )(*+( BYkh]j 9n] Â&#x153; <G;LGJK 9F< <=JJA=J=K 9JL K@GO 9F< 9M;TION Â&#x153; Fri Apr 303 /%))he Â&#x153; 9\eakkagf Zq \gfYlagf GALLERY AT MILNER Â&#x153; KlYfd]q 9& Eadf]j DaZjYjq EYaf >d$ Kaj Oafklgf ;`mj[`add Ki Â&#x153; /0(&,1.&/(+( Â&#x153; K@GO G>>2 Yf Gh]f KmZeakkagf L]]f 9jl K`go3 Until Apr 30 GALLERY ISÂşRed Deer Â&#x153; 9d]pYf\]j OYq$ -)*+%,0l`

Kl Â&#x153; ,(+&+,)&,.,) Â&#x153; THE BIG ONES2 Ydd YZgml hYaflaf_ Za_& :a_ [YfnYk k Yf\ \jYeYla[ ]^^][lk& ;Ye ;ggc$ <]ZZa] @mfl]j$ BmklafY Keal`$ EYja] :Yfnadd] Yf\ <Yf EadYf]k] Â&#x153; Until May 1 Â&#x153; Gh]faf_ j][]hlagf Fri Apr 93 .%1he

HARCOURT HOUSE Â&#x153; +j\ >d$ )(*)-%))* Kl Â&#x153;

/0(&,*.&,)0( Â&#x153; Main Gallery2 THE EFFECT OF GAMMA RAYS ON MAN-IN-THE-MOON MARIGOLDS: EmjYd kar]\$ \a_alYd hjaflk Yf\ hjgb][lagfk Zq Eacdgk D]_jY\q3 Until Apr 24 Â&#x153; PAINTINGS BY MITCHEL SMITH AND SHEILA LUCK2 ;mjYl]\ Zq H]l]j @a\] Â&#x153; Apr 29-Jun 5 Â&#x153; Gh]faf_ j][]hlagf2 Thu Apr 293 /%)(he Â&#x153; Front Room: 99J<N9JC LG 9JEQ$ O9D=K LG RGGK Ogjck Zq BYqfmk GÂż<gff]dd3 Until Apr 24 Â&#x153; `Yj[gmjl`gmk]&YZ&[Y

HARRISďż˝WARKE GALLERYďż˝Red Deer Â&#x153; Kmfogjck$

,1*, Jgkk Kl$ J]\ <]]j Â&#x153; ,(+&+,.&01+/ Â&#x153; DEFORMITY & DECEPTION: <jYoaf_k Yf\ hjaflk Zq BaddaYf :]kl3 Mflad EYq ), Â&#x153; Gh]faf_ j][]hlagf Fri May 73 .%0he

lg alk f]o dg[Ylagf J]%gh]fk kggf&

ST ALBERT PLACE Â&#x153; /0(&1.)&+,.) Â&#x153; :M<K$ D=9N=K

AND TREES: *+j\ YffmYd Khjaf_ K`go Yf\ KYd] Â&#x153; Apr 23-25 Â&#x153; >ja$ 1Ye%1he3 KYl 1Ye%-he3 Kmf ))Ye%,he Â&#x153; Gh]faf_ j][]hlagf2 Fri Apr 233 /he

STUDIO GALLERY )) H]jjgf Klj]]l$ Kl 9dZ]jl Â&#x153;

/0(&,.(&-11+ Â&#x153; BRUSH THE SKY2 HYaflaf_k Zq ;Yjgd Bg`fkgf Â&#x153; TIMBRE: Zq :YjZYjY Ogmd\ K[`Y]^]j Yf\ HYl OY_]fkn]d\ Â&#x153; Until May 1 Â&#x153; eYbgjYf\egfcYjl&[ge

KING LEAR Â&#x153; 9n]fm] L`]Ylj]$ 1(+( ))0 9n]fm]

Â&#x153; Apr 23-243 /2+( he Â&#x153; )*&.( Â&#x153; LAP gf l`] KimYj]3 /0(&,*(&)/-/

LADIES WHO LYNCH Â&#x153; L`] Danaf_ Jgge HdYq`gmk]$

))+)-%)(. 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,-,&(-0+ Â&#x153; Yraeml`l`]Ylj]&[ge Â&#x153; 9 ZjgY\ kYlaja[Yd YllY[c gf l`] d]akmj]\ [dYkk]k g^ Fgjl` 9e]ja[Y Â&#x153; Until May 8 Â&#x153; /0(&,-,&(-0+

LAW AND ORDER CANADIAN FILES Â&#x153; BmZadY%

lagfk <aff]j L`]Ylj]$ *.1($ 000*%)/( Kl$ O=E Â&#x153; /0(&,0,&*,*,')&0//&*),&*,*, Â&#x153; 9 ^mf fa_`l g^ dYm_`l]j Yf\ kgf_ Â&#x153; Until Jun 6

SYMPHONY: 9f_]dY D]] Â&#x153; Until May 1

MOSTLY WATER THE VARIETY SHOW Â&#x153; Jgpq L`]Ylj]$ )(/(0%)*, Kl Â&#x153; /0(&,-+&*,,( Â&#x153; >]Ylmj]k F<H ED9 Daf\Y <mf[Yf$ Yf\ emka[aYfk JgZZ Yf\ Eac] 9f_mk ^jge L`] O`]Ylhggd Â&#x153; Sat Apr 24 Â&#x153; 0he Â&#x153; **&/-

U OF A MUSEUMS GALLERY A Â&#x153; EYaf >dggj$

OH SUSANNA! Â&#x153; NYjk[gfY L`]Ylj]$ )(+*1%0+ 9n] Â&#x153;

TU GALLERY Â&#x153; )(/)0 % )*, Kl Â&#x153; NATURE'S

L=DMK ;]flj]$ 0/ 9n]fm] Yf\ ))) Kl Â&#x153; @ME9F' F9LMJ=2 HGJLJ9ALK H9AFL=< 9F< ;J=9L=<2 9jlakla[ =phj]kkagfk g^ l`] @meYf =ph]ja]f[]$ @]d]f CYdnYc$ OaddaYe @g_Yjl` Yf\ egj] Â&#x153; Until May 8 Â&#x153; L`m )*%0he$ >ja%KYl )*%-he

VAAA GALLERY Â&#x153; +j\ >d$ )(*)-%))* Kl Â&#x153;

/0(&,*)&)/+)')&0..&,*)&)/+) Â&#x153; NATURE FORMS2 :q D]gfY GdYmk]f Yf\ EYj[aY K[`ea\l Â&#x153; Until Apr 24 Â&#x153; ESCAPES: LjYn]d afkhaj]\ Yjlogjck Zq Ă&#x2021;Zj] Yjlakl 9ff @Y]kk]d Yf\ Bm\al` EYjlaf3 Apr 29-Jun 63 Gh]faf_ j][]h% lagf2 Thu Apr 293 /%12+(he Â&#x153; nYYYYjlZdg_&[ge

WEST END GALLERY Â&#x153; )*+(0 BYkh]j 9n] Â&#x153; ?Ydd]jq `gmjk2 Lm]%KYl )(Ye%-he Â&#x153; /0(&,00&,01* Â&#x153; 35TH ?9DD=JQ 9FFAN=JK9JQ ;GDD=;LAGF2 Until Apr 22 Â&#x153; B=O=DK G> ;9F9<92 F]o ogjck Zq :]n Jg\af3 Apr 24 May 6 Â&#x153; Gh]faf_ j][]hlagf Sat Apr 243 )%,he

/0(&,++&++11 Â&#x153; nYjk[gfYl`]Ylj]&[ge'g`kmkYffY Â&#x153; =mjg% klqd] NYja]lq Kh][lY[d]$ `gkl]\ Zq KmkYffY HYl[`gmda Yf\ =jgk$ ?g\ g^ Dgn] Â&#x153; Sat Apr 24 Â&#x153; ))he$ <ggjk )(he

ON THE BANKS OF THE NUTÂ&#x153; NYjk[gfY L`]Ylj]$

)(+*1%0+ 9n] Â&#x153; 9hj *1%EYq )- Â&#x153; Lm]%KYl /2+(he$ KYl *he Â&#x153; *.$ *) klm\]flk Yf\ k]fagjk O]\%KYl )- KYl Y^l]jfggf$ HYq%O`Yl%Qgm%;Yf ]Y[` Lm] Â&#x153; /0(&,++&++11 ]pl) Â&#x153; Lap gf%l`]%KimYj] /0(&,*(&)/-/ Â&#x153; lapgfl`]kimYj]& [Y

OTELLO (PARTY ONSTAGE) Â&#x153; Fgjl`]jf 9dZ]jlY BmZad]] 9m\algjame Â&#x153; ?g Z]`af\ l`] k[]f]k oal` e]e% Z]jk g^ Gl]ddgÂżk [Ykl$ [j]o Yf\ [`gjmk Â&#x153; Fri Apr 23 Â&#x153; *- e]eZ]jk3 +( fgf%e]eZ]jk Â&#x153; =\egflgf Gh]jY :gp G^Ă&#x2021;[]2 /0(&,*1&)((( Â&#x153; ]\egflgfgh]jY&[ge THEATRESPORTS Â&#x153; NYjk[gfY L`]Ylj]$ )(+*1%0+ 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,++&++11 Â&#x153; JYha\ >aj] L`]Ylj] ]n]jq >ja$ ))he Â&#x153; )( \ggj!' 0 e]eZ]j!

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; APR 28, 2010

ARTS // 51

INSIDE // FILM

FILM

53

Dark Victory

54

Film Capsules

56

Online at vueweekly.com >> FILM

SideVue: Pro or Con Trier?

by Brian Gibson Brian Gibson debates the merits of Lars von Trier's cinema of shock

Oceans

REVUE // ANTICHRIST

Trier compels you The controversial Antichrist a powerful shocker Jonathan Busch // jonathan@vueweekly.com

H

orror is comedy. Sex is comedy. Sadistic, violent women are comedy. Let it be said that Lars Von Trier's latest and most controversial psychodrama Antichrist is all three of these, and still a comedy.

But you probably won't get the chance to laugh about it until you describe it to your friends.

The sense of humour in Von Trier's films is most often in how he baits his liberal audience to take offense, a fine line between the raucous shock comedy of filmmakers like John Waters and sensitive eros of the foreign cinema market. It doesn't always involve the visceral or grotesque, and is sometimes merely a perversion of formal elements, but somehow his observable audacity and even chauvinism finds its own way to piss people off.

Antichrist, however, engages some of the most obvious components of shock on the surface of creativity—misogyny, tortured animals and head-on frontal and penetrative shots of both women and men, most of the latter standing fully erect. Not surprisingly, though for many reasons beyond the visual, it is one of the most shocking and graphic films to emerge in a long while.

Such material sharply contrasts with its melodramatic plot, centred around the grief felt by a nameless woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg) over the accidental death of

her toddler son, and her psycho-therapeutic treatment by her shrink husband (Willem Dafoe). But it doesn't take long for an apparent risk of her sanity to take place, and after making a trip to their cabin secluded in the woods, he witnesses her violent fantasies manifest in the mysterious woodland known as Eden.

Like French auteur Catherine Breillat's little-seen-but-just-as-dirty Anatomy of Hell, Von Trier's film plunges to the conceptual depths of gender, framing horny men and women as vile subjects hell-bent on destroying each other. While Breillat scattered the blame between gay men and sexually adventurous women, Antichrist persecutes all women, likely why last year's Cannes jury designated a one-time antiaward for the film's questionable themes.

The wife, having once secluded herself with her son in the same cabin to complete a thesis on witch-hunts and female genocide, discovers in her past forgotten research that womanhood is perhaps the embodiment of evil. Such a revelation, or delusion, leads her to be convinced of her own gendered monstrosity that killed her child; she begrudges her husband for refusing to imagine her as the beast that she truly is, and seeks to punish him.

A DIFFERENT EDEN >> Things go wrong in the woods in Antichrist Trier gleefully suggesting that women are, in fact, Satan? Does the wife's burgeoning sexual appetite drive her husband to somehow irrationally fear their wrath? Or is it Eden, a flourishing greenery-turnedwasteland, that has a supernatural influence on her psychic vulnerability?

Antichrist is, at times, swayed by Von Trier's arty bad taste, which risks distracting his audience from a daring sense of ambiguity and quite frankly, the technical marvel of its visuals. With flawless cinematography by Oscar winner Anthony Dod Mantle (Slumdog Millionaire) and in-

As a paranoid thriller, the audience is frequently invited to question if this is really the case, as several threads of knowledge allow for various interpretations. Is Von

// Supplied

novative special effects creating possibly the most frightening woodland creatures ever, the film packs enough of a haunting eyeful that is far more memorable than any blood-gushing crotch illusion.

If anything, the shock value in Antichrist shields itself from feminist critique as though to feign an unabashed blasphemy that, in this day and age, is almost always perceived as ironic. Even if Von Trier promotes these sadistic portrayals as rich and splendorous, enough of his audience, both fans and haters, will have a hard time getting past the film as anything but "sick"

and "twisted." It profiles him and his film into something beyond criticism, a campy arthouse niche that may indefinitely tire itself out. V

sits on the front of the Mack truck that is his transportation, and the entrance to his secret hideout has "Defendoor" scrawled on it.

comedy that may be sophomoric but is still spry and occasionally witty, and on top of that manages to mix a variety of styles—character ensemble, outrageous gross-out, men behaving badly—while avoiding the unfortunate extremes of any.

In that regard, then, The Slammin' Salmon is depressingly inert. Following a group of waiters who are tasked with turning in a record night at the restaurant of a hulking former heavyweight champ, Salmon seems like it was written on autopilot, a series of reliable comic scenarios strung together as weakly as they're portrayed on screen. Simply too much is rehashed here to be engaging, and no one is really trying to rise above the material, content to be as typically zany as a first-year improv class. The one bright spot is Michael Clarke Duncan as the dimwitted former champ: he doesn't always land, but his booming bass does give his mispronunciations more authority, and there are at least a few good boxing jokes thrown in (two of his former fights: "The Fracas in Caracas" and "The Dispute in Beirut").

The occasional pun doesn't make up for interminable rest of the film, though. V

Thu, Apr 22; Sat, Apr 24; Sun, Apr 25; Mon, Apr 26 (7 & 9 pm) Fri, Apr 30; Sat, May 1; Sun, May 2; Mon, May 3 (9:30 pm) Antichrist written and directed by Lars Von Trier starring Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg 

DVD DETECTIVE >> DEFENDOR & THE SLAMMIN' SALMON

Comic capers

Even buried cleverness offers far more than rehashed gags We first meet Arthur Poppington (Woody ing a masked vigilante a bit, well, slow. For Harrelson)—aka Defendor, the masked starters, of all the attempts to ground enemy of both the scum on the superheroes in reality—Watchmen's streets and the nefarious Captain violent sociopaths, Kick-Ass's teenIndustry—in a psychiatrist's ofage fantasy—I think the most fice, decked out in an orange subversive is actually portraying om eekly.c prison jumpsuit and clearly unthe arrested development aspect @vuew e v ti c comfortable. He twangs a rub- dvddete plainly.

Much as they've been David ber band off his teeth, his eyes mainstreamed, superheroes still y r Ber wander almost vacantly and he's haven't fully escaped those adolescent roots, and watching a man-child elusive, but not in any sort of cagey not try to live out the fantasy but fully adopt way: he deflects a question by saying the answer is "top secret," but those words have the do-gooder code captures both how noble all the authority of a child scrawling them and sort of pathetic that is. And there's also on a shoe box he keeps under the bed. He's something wonderfully frank and just-cynical not bouncing off the walls or speaking gib- enough about the fact that the only person berish, but it's plainly obvious that he's not in this film who's actually willing or able to quite all there. do anything about the crime everyone sees There's something kind of brilliant in mak- around them isn't quite all there: naiveté may

DVCD TIVE

DETE

52 // FILM

not always win the day, but at least it gets you doing something.

Defendor mostly bounces between brief snippets of Poppington explaining himself to a court-appoined psychiatrist and his life on the mean streets. He is an unlikely but extremely effective crime fighter: his costume is black clothing and duct tape, and his weapons range from a lime juice and jars of wasps to a very brutal trench club, though he draws the line at guns, which he insists are for cowards.

His one-liners could use some work—"You need a ghostwriter," Defendor is told by a crooked cop he's taking down, to which he replies, "No. You need a ghostwriter. 'Cause that's what you're going to be after I pulverize you."—and one of the more consistent little jokes is his Batman-esque propensity for naming things with his sobriquet: "Defendog"

Along the way, he meets up with a drug-addicted prostitute (Kat Dennings) who convinces him that that the drug- and girl-dealer who used to be her boss is Captain Industry, and so sets him on a quest with some very real consequences. Along the way he'll get some help from an understanding cop, but for the most part his own twisted resourcefulness keeps him through. Besides everything else, actually, there's a pretty sweet and touching message about everyday heroism, but it's skillfully buried enough to avoid the typical triteness, and instead we get honest inspiration coming from a man who never should have put on the mask in the first place.

All the cleverness and subtlety that makes Defendor such a treat is absent from The Slammin' Salmon, the latest comedy from the Broken Lizard troupe. Obviously no one looks these guys up for sub-rosa sociological or pop culture criticism, but still, up until now they've carved out a niche for themselves with

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

FILM // DARK VICTORY

Dames of the golden age

The EFS pulls together the finest cinematic ladies of yesteryear tee over her symptoms, he needing to charm her just to be able to diagnose her—never honestly fades, but she lets a certain melancholy slowly seep in, and the combination makes some of the more calculated moments—when

David Berry // david@vueweekly.com

I

t's probably just the fact that I've only ever known her as a golden-age icon— she is, after all, one of the grand dames that is at the centre of the Edmonton Film Society's Spring program—but the most surprising aspect of Dark Victory is how unabashedly cute Bette Davis is as a young socialite. Those big eyes and that self-assured countenance are usually used in service of intentions more sly, or at least worldly, but here Davis is a bouncy picture of carefree youth, someone that frankly wouldn't be out of place talking indie bands in one of the recent crop of alterna-rom-coms.

It's that ability to capture such young vitality that helps ground the weepily tragic story at the heart of Dark Victory (it was remade in the '70s as a TV movie, which seems particularly fitting): Davis's Judith Traherne is a rich, headstrong young party girl diagnosed with a brain tumour. Though the surgical efforts of the charming neurosurgeon Dr Frederick Steele (George Brent) initially seem like they'll be enough, we quickly find out that she has less than a year to

It could pretty easily devolve into soap opera, but Davis is simply too smart an actress to go for melodrama. she agrees to marry Steele, and especially when she's hiding her imminent death from him as he prepares for a trip—honestly hit home.

SAY IT AIN'T SO >> Bette Davis gets a terrible diagnosis // Supplied live, and most of the film is given up to Traherne trying to accept that fact with a grace beyond her years.

It could pretty easily devolve into soap

opera, but Davis is simply too smart an actress to go for melodrama. The vivacity of her early scenes—an especially good one has Davis and Brent repar-

That said, she has plenty of help: Dark Victory is a pretty early example of a film that depends on its cast to elevate its story. Brent is sombrely affecting as a doctor who can't let his patient go, and Geraldine Fitzgerald does a stand-up job as Judith's confidante, shouldering a lot

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

of the tragic burden until it comes time for Davis to let loose. There's also a retroactively funny turn from Ronald Reagan as a sort of clueless drinking buddy.

The other grand dame is of course Joan Crawford, and between the two of them there's plenty to watch out for in the program. Though we sadly don't get Baby Jane, the original The Women, starring Crawford, is a sharply written proto-feminist comedy, and Possessed is some of Crawford's finest work, about a woman in a mental hospital who gets her life revealed to us in a series of flashbacks. Also featuring Davis, The Bride Came C.O.D. is a pretty hammy, but funny, farce, while the New Orleans-set Jezebel won Davis her second Oscar, and kicked off her run of five straight nominations. V Mon, Apr 26 (8 pm) Dark Victory Directed by Edmund Golding Written by Casey Robinson Starring Bette Davis, George Brent Part of the EFS' The Grand Dames Spring 2010 Program Royal Alberta Museum (12845 - 102 Ave), $10

FILM // 53

FILM REVIEWS 



ws Rainbo e of Plan hin p AS k-u Bac The

Film Capsules Opening Friday The Back-up Plan

Directed by Alan Poul Written by Kate Angelo Starring Jennifer Lopez, Alex O'Loughlin



One of the more perplexing aspects of Jennifer Lopez's persona is her bizarre insistence that she's just another girl. Ignoring the obvious hypocrisy—she's literally the richest latina in North America, and I believe her clothing and perfume lines came out concurrently with "Jenny from the Block"— one of the things she's legitimately good at is being glamorous: she was an early '00s mega-celeb for a reason, and even before she was J.Lo she did a stand-up job of repartee with George Clooney (Out of Sight) and

brought a kind of tragic grace to the cheesy biopic Selena.

But she needs authenticity, for some reason, and so in the tradition of hard-toswallow fare like Maid in Manhattan, The Back-up Plan puts her in the role of Zoe, a "quirky"—in the resolutely square, Sex in the City sense—shop owner who loves to fill her face with take out hotdogs and hand-scooped chili. Zoe's residual daddyabandonment issues have kept her single, so she opts for in vitro fertilization to get the baby she's always wanted, which would work out fine if she didn't meet Stan (Alex O'Loughlin), the indisputable and inexplicable "one," the very same day. The movie's every-woman pretensions aren't helped by the fact Stan is a farmer's market cheese vendor and night-school attendee who nevertheless apparently spends enough time in the gym to get those pelvic lines that poke out of the top of his jeans.

This is of course wish fulfilment, not an honest exploration of love in our time, but the inanity of it all is neatly juxtaposed by some of the film's best, more honest, moments. It takes a refreshingly ambivalent attitude towards parenthood, and a pair of scenes between Stan and a playgroundmonitoring daddy (Anthony Anderson) talking about the mixed blessings of children and the frustrations of dealing with a pregnant woman are the film's most touching and funny, respectively. Likewise, Zoe's friend calling her on her issues at least recognizes the ridiculous obstacles these kinds of films always put up in the way of the inevitable happy ending.

But, of course, that's not where The Backup Plan's intentions lie. It would much rather watch our couple jump through those ridiculous hoops, or take an occasional aside into a natural-childbirth group parody, than actually deal with anything real people might. It's awfully telling that Lopez's pretentious grasps at authenticity end up feeling so divorced from reality.

David Berry

// david@vueweekly.com

54 // FILM

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

Now Playing A Shine of Rainbows

Directed by Vic Sarin Written by Dennis Foon, Catherine Spear, Sarin Starring Aidan Quinn, Connie Nielson, John Bell



It's hard to review A Shine of Rainbows without feeling like a bully who pushes around a sweet and harmless family film probably developed on rolls of Fruit by the Foot instead of celluloid. Part of that hesitance is because I don't want to be like the bullies who torment little Tomás (John Bell) in the Irish-Catholic orphanage. But in the words of Dr Dre: "A bitch is a bitch."

To continue that Dre quote: "And a baby seal is a boy's best friend"—which isn't the only reason to pick on poor Tomás. Even after being whisked from orphanhood by lovely Maire (Connie Nielson) and moved to Corrie Island, a place with more rainbows than people, he still proves himself a wimp.

He's afraid of bugs, public speaking and his austere but otherwise nice dad, Alec (Aidan Quinn). I can only guess that the latter fear is probably better explored in the Lillian Beckwith book it's based upon, because when I watch scene after scene of Alec and Tomás quietly glaring at each other with strained eyes, that's all I see—two opposing characters glowering in a cartoonish way.

Alec admits to Maire that he hoped for a "heartier boy," and that's enough to prevent him from signing the adoption papers, which looms over Tomás and is underscored every time Maire coughs. And she starts coughing early in the story, too.

What follows can be affirmed just as prematurely, given that this saccharine story makes a Hallmark card look like a ransom letter and there's no stopping its happy ending. There is potential for the drama to come to life if the story put more emphasis on the hubris of Alec—who only took Tomás as a favour to his nurturing wife—instead of some island folklore about seals delivering messages to the dead and towering rocks which are actually wish-granting kings.

All that spare time that's usually spent watching, emotionally invested and attempting to configure an ending, is diverted

FILM REVIEWS

Film Capsules to noticing things like Maire's wardrobe, which is surprisingly current when considering the rest of the costumes and sets suggest a time before 1960. Or is it? The vague and unimportant time period is the only interesting thing about this movie.

Omar Mouallem

// omar@vueweekly.com

FILM WEEKLY FRI, APR 23 – THU, APR 29, 2010 s

CHABA THEATRE�JASPER 6094 Connaught Dr, Jasper, 780.852.4749

Directed by Neil LaBute Written by Dean Craig Starring Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, James Marsden



Death comes to us all, though perhaps never so depressingly slowly as with a 90minute clubbing over the head by a bad comedy. If the explanation for a deadly dull farce can be expressed as a mathematical formula, then the recipe for failure that Neil LaBute's flavourless comic remake follows is: man on hallucinogens + blackmailing gay midget + cantankerous old guy in wheelchair + corpse falling out of coffin ≠ funny.

Farce can be wildly antic, gleefully busy, even wittily confused, but Death at a Funeral (relocating the 2007 Frank Oz flick to a toney LA neighbourhood) is a machete-choppy non-buildup of obvious schticks. Cardboard cutouts—guilt-dishing, grandkid-wanting Widow Mother, cranky coot Uncle Russell (Danny Glover), idiot savant minus the savant Norman (Tracy Morgan)—are pushed slowly into place at the funeral for the father of distant brothers Aaron (Chris Rock) and Ryan (Martin Lawrence), snarkily competitive about their writing ambitions.

It's obvious that Oscar (James Marsden) isn't on Valium, but we're told five minutes later he's taken some goofy stuff, then we periodically return, along with his Concerned Girlfriend (Zoe Saldana, apparently trying to become so thin that she can disappear from this picture), to see the various ways he's tripping out. In case we're not sure just how gay the little fellow (Peter Dinklage) who's demanding financial compensation from Dead Closeted Dad is, some scandalous photos whipped out to gaspingly remind another character. And the movie tries but disgustingly fails to redefine "potty-mouth" in one bathroom scene.

Like the gun in a Chekhov play that has to be fired, once a midget pops up in a flat comedy like this, he has to be wrestled with. The shooting-off comes with Rock's stand-up lines, casually fired swear words (presumably meant to spice up dull dialogue like "I found something outside myself that I truly care about"), the predictable homophobia, and the stereotypical brotha who acts like a playa.

And still, after its jerky rhythm and grasping for laughs, Death at a Funeral trots out the oldest gag in the book—the grand, heartwarming speech. Giving his 110 percent to an oratory full of clichés, Aaron clinches the suspicion that he's a bad writer while capping a story that seems based on Etch-A-Sketch blueprints for an English country-house farce. No doubt, though, sequels are in the works. Anyone for the hilariously titled Life at a Birth, Water at a Baptism or Love at a Wedding?

Brian Gibson

// brian@vueweekly.com

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (18A sexual violence, disturbing content) DAILY 12:00, 3:15, 6:40, 10:10

DATE NIGHT (PG sexual content, language may offend) FRI�WED 12:10, 2:30, 5:00, 7:40, 10:15; THU 5:00, 7:40, 10:15; star & strollers screening THU 1:00

THE BACK UP PLAN (PG crude content language

CLASH OF THE TITANS (PG not rec. for young children, violence) FRI�TUE,THU 1:20, 4:40, 7:25, 10:20; WED 1:20, 4:40, 10:20

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE (18A crude content

CLASH OF THE TITANS 3D (PG violence, not rec.

may offend) FRI SAT 7:00, 9:00; SUN�THU 8:00

substance abuse) Fri Sat 7:00, 9:00; Sun-Thu 8:00

CINEMA CITY MOVIES 12 5074-130 Ave, 780.472.9779

Death at a Funeral

3:20, 4:10, 6:45, 7:30, 9:45, 10:30

EKAM � SON OF SOIL (STC) FRI�SAT 1:10, 4:25, 7:40, 11:00; SUN�THU 1:10, 4:25, 7:40

REPO MEN (18A gory scenes, brutal violence)

FRI�SAT 1:45, 4:25, 7:10, 9:45, 12:15; SUN�THU 1:45,

for young children) DAILY 12:30, 3:45, 6:40, 9:30

THE LAST SONG (PG) DAILY 12:20, 4:15, 7:00, 9:40 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (PG violence) DAILY 1:00, 4:00, 6:35, 9:15

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3D (PG violence) DAILY 12:15, 2:45, 5:15, 7:45, 10:15

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE (18A crude content,

4:25, 7:10, 9:45

substance abuse) FRI,MON�THU 1:25, 4:55, 7:50, 10:30; SAT 4:55, 7:50, 10:30; SUN 1:25, 3:55, 10:30

GREEN ZONE (14A violence, coarse language) FRI�

THE BOUNTY HUNTER (PG sexual content, vio-

THU 1:15, 4:20, 7:15, 10:05

THE CRAZIES (18A gory violence) FRI�SAT 1:50,

4:35, 7:20, 9:40, 11:55; SUN�THU 1:50, 4:35, 7:20, 9:40

COP OUT (14A crude content, coarse language) FRI

1:25, 4:05, 6:40, 9:20, 12:00; SAT 1:25, 4:05, 6:50, 9:20, 12:00; SUN�THU 1:25, 4:05, 6:40, 9:20

PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF (PG frightening scenes, not rec. for young children) FRI�SAT 1:20, 4:10, 7:15, 9:50, 12:10; SUN�THU 1:20, 4:10, 7:15, 9:50 VALENTINE'S DAY (PG language may offend) FRI� THU 1:05, 4:15, 7:00, 9:55

DEAR JOHN (PG) FRI 1:30, 4:00, 6:50, 9:15, 11:40;

SAT 1:30, 4:00, 6:50, 9:15, 11:50; SUN�THU 1:30, 4:00, 6:50, 9:15

TOOTH FAIRY (G) FRI�SAT 1:35, 3:55, 6:35, 9:05,

11:20; SUN�THU 1:35, 3:55, 6:35, 9:05

THE SPY NEXT DOOR (PG) FRI�SAT 1:55, 3:50, 6:45, 9:10, 11:30; SUN�THU 1:55, 3:50, 6:45, 9:10 THE BOOK OF ELI (14A brutal violence,not recom-

mended for children) FRI�THU 1:40, 4:30, 7:20, 10:00

AVATAR 3D (PG violence, not rec. for young

children) FRI�SAT 1:00, 4:20, 7:45, 11:10; SUN�THU 1:00, 4:20, 7:45

CINEPLEX ODEON NORTH 14231-137 Ave, 780.732.2236

THE BACK�UP PLAN (PG language may offend,crude content) FRI�TUE,THU 1:00, 4:00, 7:10, 9:50; WED 4:00, 7:10, 9:50; Star & Strollers Screening WED 1:00

THE LOSERS (14A violence) DAILY 12:30, 2:50, 5:20,

8:00, 10:40

OCEANS (G) no passes DAILY 12:00, 2:10, 4:30, 6:45, 9:00

DEATH AT A FUNERAL (14A crude content) DAILY 1:20, 4:15, 7:20, 10:15

KICK�ASS (18A brutal violence) DAILY12:40, 1:50, 3:30, 4:40, 6:30, 7:30, 9:20, 10:20

DATE NIGHT (PG sexual content, language may

lence) FRI,MON�TUE 12:50, 4:20, 7:35, 10:25; SAT�SUN 4:20, 7:35, 10:25; WED�THU 12:50, 4:20, 10:25

ALICE IN WONDERLAND 3D (PG violence, frightening scenes) FRI,MON�TUE 12:45, 3:30, 7:10, 9:45; SAT�SUN 3:30, 7:10, 9:45; WED�THU 12:45, 3:30, 9:45 THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: HAMLET EN� CORE (rating not available) SAT 11:00 KENNY CHESNEY: SUMMER IN 3D (G) SAT�SUN

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (PG violence)

ing scenes) SAT�SUN 12:45; WED�THU 7:10

WWE: EXTREME RULES (rating not available) SUN 6:00

10 DAYS X CANADA (rating not available) WED 7:00

CITY CENTRE 9 10200-102 Ave, 780.421.7020

KICK�ASS (18A brutal violence) DAILY 12:40, 3:30, 6:45, 9:45

CLASH OF THE TITANS 3D (PG violence, not rec.

for young children) DAILY 12:10, 2:30, 5:00, 7:40, 10:15

DATE NIGHT (PG sexual content, language may of-

fend) FRI�SAT, MON�WED 12:20, 2:35, 5:20, 7:45, 10:05; SUN 12:20, 2:35, 5:20, 7:45, 10:05; THU 12:20, 2:35, 5:20, 7:40, 10:05

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE (18A crude content,

substance abuse) FRI, MON�TUE 12:15, 2:45, 5:15, 7:50, 10:20; SAT�SUN 5:15, 7:45, 10:20; WED�THU 12:15, 2:45, 5:15, 10:20

THE RUNAWAYS (14A substance abuse, sexual content, coarse language) DAILY 12:50, 3:40, 6:30, 9:50

DEATH AT A FUNERAL (14A crude content) FRI�SAT, MON, WED 12:25, 2:50, 5:10, 7:35, 10:00; SUN 12:25, 2:50, 5:25, 8:00, 10:25; TUE,THU 12:30, 2:50, 5:10, 7:35, 10:00

THE LOSERS (14A violence) no passes DAILY 12:25, 3:00, 5:30, 8:00, 10:30 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3D (PG violence) DAILY 12:00, 2:25, 5:05, 7:30, 9:55

crude content) DAILY 12:05, 2:40, 5:25, 7:55, 10:25

SAT�SUN 2:00; WED�THU 7:30

CLAREVIEW 10 4211-139 Ave, 780.472.7600

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (PG frightening scenes,

DAILY 1:40, 4:10

violence) FRI 3:45, 6:35, 9:10; SAT�SUN 1:10, 3:45, 6:35, 9:10; MON�THU 5:20, 8:00

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3D (PG violence)

THE BOUNTY HUNTER (PG sexual content,

DAILY 12:15, 2:40, 5:15, 7:45, 10:10

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE (18A crude content,

substance abuse) DAILY 12:20, 3:00, 5:30, 8:10, 10:35

THE BOUNTY HUNTER (PG sexual content, violence) FRI�SUN,TUE�THU 1:10, 3:50, 7:05, 9:45; MON 1:10, 3:50, 9:45 ALICE IN WONDERLAND 3D (PG violence, frightening scenes) FRI,MON�THU 1:30, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40; SAT�SUN 4:20, 7:00, 9:40

KENNY CHESNEY: SUMMER IN 3D (G) SAT�SUN 1:00

violence) FRI 4:05, 6:45, 9:25; SAT�SUN 1:30, 4:05, 6:45, 9:25; MON�THU 5:15, 8:40

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE (18A crude content,

substance abuse) FRI 4:40, 7:15, 9:45; SAT�SUN 1:45, 4:40, 7:15, 9:45; MON�THU 5:50, 8:50

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3D (PG violence) FRI 4:00, 6:30, 9:00; SAT�SUN 1:25, 4:00, 6:30, 9:00; MON�THU 5:00, 7:50

THE LAST SONG (PG) FRI 4:10, 6:45, 9:20; SAT�SUN 1:15, 4:10, 6:45, 9:20; MON�THU 5:30, 8:15

CLASH OF THE TITANS 3D (PG violence, not rec.

CINEPLEX ODEON SOUTH 1525-99 St, 780.436.8585

THE BACK�UP PLAN (PG language may offend,

crude content) FRI�WED 12:40, 3:40, 7:15, 9:50; THU 3:40, 7:15, 9:50; star & strollers screening THU 1:00

THE LOSERS (14A violence) DAILY 1:10, 3:50, 6:30, 9:20

OCEANS (G) no passes DAILY 12:00, 2:30, 5:00, 7:30, 10:00

DEATH AT A FUNERAL (14A crude content) DAILY 1:30, 4:50, 8:00, 10:40

KICK�ASS (18A brutal violence) DAILY 12:15, 1:15,

FRI�SUN 1:55

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (PG violence) FRI�THU 7:10, 9:10; FRI�SUN 2:10

THE LOSERS (14A violence) FRI�THU 7:15, 9:20;

for young children) FRI 4:25, 7:00, 9:35; SAT�SUN 1:40, 4:25, 7:00, 9:35; MON�THU 5:10, 8:10

DATE NIGHT (PG sexual content, language may

offend) FRI 4:30, 6:50, 9:15; SAT�SUN 1:50, 4:30, 6:50, 9:15; MON�THU 5:45, 8:25

KICK�ASS (18A brutal violence) FRI 3:50, 6:40, 9:30; SAT�SUN 1:00, 3:50, 6:40, 9:30; MON�THU 5:40, 8:30

THE BACK�UP PLAN (PG language may offend,crude content) FRI 4:20, 7:10, 9:40; SAT�SUN 1:20, 4:20, 7:10, 9:40; MON�THU 5:25, 8:20

THE BACK�UP PLAN (PG language may offend, crude content) DAILY 7:00, 9:25; SAT, SUN, TUE 1:00, 3:25; Movies For Mommies TUE 1:00 DATE NIGHT (PG sexual content, language may offend) DAILY 6:50, 9:05; SAT, SUN, TUE 12:50, 3:05

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3D (PG violence) DAILY 6:45, 9:00; SAT, SUN, TUE 12:45, 3:00

CLASH OF THE TITANS (PG violence, not recommended for young children) DAILY 7:05, 9:15; SAT, SUN, TUE 1:05, 3:15

DATE NIGHT (PG sexual content, language may

KICK�ASS (18A brutal violence) DAILY 6:55, 9:20; SAT,

EDMONTON FILM SOCIETY

DEATH AT A FUNERAL (14A Coarse Language)

offend) FRI�THU 7:25, 9:25; FRI�SUN 2:25

Royal Alberta Museum, 102 Ave, 128 St, 780.439.5284

DARK VICTORY (PG) MON 8:00

GALAXY�SHERWOOD PARK 2020 Sherwood Dr, 780.416.0150 Sherwood Park 780-416-0150

THE BACK�UP PLAN (PG language may

SUN, TUE 12:55, 3:20

DAILY 7:10, 9:10; SAT, SUN, TUE 1:10, 3:10

PRINCESS 10337-82 Ave, 780.433.0728

COOKING WITH STELLA (PG) DAILY 7:00; SAT� SUN 1:00

A PROPHET (18A gory violence, language may of-

offend,crude content) FRI 4:25, 7:05, 9:50; SAT�SUN 1:30, 4:25, 7:05, 9:50; MON�THU 7:05, 9:50

fend, disturbing content) DAILY 9:00; SAT�SUN 3:00

THE LOSERS (14A violence) FRI 4:40, 7:25, 10:05;

DAILY 7:15; SAT�SUN 1:30

SAT�SUN 1:35, 4:40, 7:25, 10:05; MON�THU 7:25, 10:05

OCEANS (G) no passes FRI 4:10, 7:00, 9:20; SAT�SUN 11:35, 1:50, 4:10, 7:00, 9:20; MON�THU 7:00, 9:20

NEW YORK I LOVE YOU (14A sexual content) CHLOE (18A sexual content)DAILY 9:15; SAT�SUN 3:30

SCOTIABANK THEATRE WEM WEM, 8882-170 St, 780.444.2400

DEATH AT A FUNERAL (14A crude content) FRI

4:05, 6:45, 9:15; SAT�SUN 1:00, 4:05, 6:45, 9:15; MON�

SAT�SUN 1:40, 4:30, 7:20, 10:10; MON�THU 7:20, 10:10

THE BACK�UP PLAN (PG language may offend,crude content) FRI�TUE,THU 1:10, 4:10, 7:20, 10:10; WED 4:10, 7:20, 10:10; star & strollers screening WED 1:00

DATE NIGHT (PG sexual content, language may offend) FRI 4:20, 6:55, 9:25; SAT�SUN 1:45, 4:20, 6:55, 9:25; MON�THU 6:55, 9:25

THE LOSERS (14A violence) DAILY 12:10, 2:40,

CLASH OF THE TITANS (PG not rec. for young

7:00, 9:20

children, violence) FRI 4:00, 7:10, 10:00; SAT�SUN 1:20, 4:00, 7:10, 10:00; MON�THU 7:10, 10:00

THE LAST SONG (PG) FRI 3:50, 6:50, 9:30; SAT�SUN 1:10, 3:50, 6:50, 9:30; MON�THU 6:50, 9:30

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (PG violence) FRI 3:30; SAT�SUN 12:20, 3:30

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3D (PG vio-

lence) FRI 4:35, 7:10, 9:40; SAT�SUN 11:30, 2:00, 4:35, 7:10, 9:40; MON�THU 7:10, 9:40

THE BOUNTY HUNTER (PG sexual content,violence) FRI�SUN 7:15, 9:55

5:10, 7:45, 10:15

OCEANS (G) no passes DAILY 12:00, 2:20, 4:40, DEATH AT A FUNERAL (14A crude content) DAILY 1:20, 4:00, 7:30, 10:00

KICK�ASS (18A brutal violence) DAILY 1:45, 4:50, 7:40, 10:30

DATE NIGHT (PG sexual content, language may

offend) DAILY 11:50, 2:10, 4:40, 7:10, 9:45

CLASH OF THE TITANS 3D (PG violence, not rec. for young children) DAILY 11:45, 2:30, 5:15, 7:50, 10:20 THE LAST SONG (PG) FRI,MON�THU 12:20, 3:45, 6:45, 9:40; SAT 3:45, 6:45, 9:40; SUN 12:20, 9:40

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3D (PG

GARNEAU 8712-109 St, 780.433.0728

THE MESSENGER (14A coarse language, nudity, sexual content) DAILY 7:00, 9:15; SAT�SUN 2:00

GRANDIN THEATRE�ST ALBERT Grandin Mall, Sir Winston Churchill Ave, St Albert, 780.458.9822

THE BACKUP PLAN (PG crude content, language may offend) no passes DAILY 1:15, 3:15, 5:15, 7:15, 9:15

DATE NIGHT (PG sexual content, language may offend) no passes DAILY 1:45, 4:05, 6:00, 7:45, 9:30

violence) DAILY 12:30, 3:15, 6:30, 9:00

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE (18A crude content, substance abuse) FRI�TUE,THU 2:00, 5:00, 8:00, 10:30; WED 2:00, 4:20, 10:30 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: AN IMAX 3D EXPERIENCE (PG violence) DAILY 1:30, 4:15,

7:00, 9:30

THE BOUNTY HUNTER (PG sexual content, violence) FRI�TUE,THU 1:00, 3:40, 6:40, 9:15; WED 3:40, 6:40, 9:15; star & strollers screening WED 1:00

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE (18A crude content,

ALICE IN WONDERLAND 3D (PG violence, frightening scenes) FRI, MON�TUE 12:50, 3:50, 7:15, 9:50; SAT�SUN 3:50, 7:15, 9:50; WED�THU 12:50, 3:50, 9:50

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (PG violence)

THE METROPOLITAN OPERA: HAMLET ENCORE (rating not available) SAT 11:00

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID (G) DAILY 1:30, 3:30 substance abuse) no passes DAILY 5:25, 7:25, 9:25

DAILY 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00

CLASH OF THE TITANS (PG violence, not recommended for young children) no passes DAILY 9:05

KICK�ASS (18A brutal violence) no passes DAILY 1:35, 4:20, 6:55, 9:10

KENNY CHESNEY: SUMMER IN 3D (G) SAT�SUN 1:00; WED�THU 7:00

WWE: EXTREME RULES (rating not available) SUN 6:00

WESTMOUNT CENTRE

LEDUC CINEMAS Leduc, 780.352.3922

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (PG violence)

111 Ave, Groat Rd, 780.455.8726

THE BACK�UP PLAN (PG language may offend,crude

DAILY 12:55, 3:25, 6:55, 9:25

content) FRI 6:50, 9:25; SAT�SUN 1:00, 3:40, 6:50, 9:25; MON�THU 5:10, 8:10

VIOLENCE (14A) DAILY 1:00, 3:30, 7:00, 9:30

CLASH OF THE TITANS (PG not rec. for young

KICK�ASS (18A brutal violence) DAILY 3:35, 9:35 BACK UP PLAN (PG language may offend, crude content) DAILY 1:05, 3:20, 7:05, 9:20 CLASH OF THE TITANS (PG violence, not recommended for young children) DAILY 1:10, 7:10

METRO CINEMA 9828-101A Ave, Citadel Theatre, 780.425.9212

ANTICHRIST (stc) THU, SAT�MON 7:00, 9:00 BAD GIRL DOUBLE BILL: CHAINED HEAT (stc) FRI 9:00

DATE NIGHT (PG sexual content, language may

offend) FRI 7:05, 9:45; SAT�SUN 1:15, 3:50, 7:05, 9:45; MON�THU 5:20, 8:30

THE GHOST WRITER (PG violence,coarse language) FRI 6:35, 9:35; SAT�SUN 12:30, 3:30, 6:35, 9:35; MON� THU 5:00, 8:00

WETASKIWIN CINEMAS Wetaskiwin, 780.352.3922

mended for young children DAILY 9:30

LOSERS (14A violence) DAILY 1:10, 3:30, 7:10, 9:30 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (PG violence) DAILY 1:00, 3:25, 7:00

PARKLAND CINEMA 7 130 Century Crossing, Spruce Grove, 780.972.2332 (Spruce Grove, Stony Plain; Parkland County)

NEW

THE LOSERS (14A violence) DAILY 7:15, 9:30; SAT,

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

children, violence) FRI 7:15, 9:55; SAT�SUN 12:45, 3:20, 7:15, 9:55; MON�THU 5:30, 8:20

CLASH OF THE TITANS (PG violence, not recom-

SWITCHBLADE SISTERS (stc) FRI 7:00

THE LOSERS (14A violence) no passes FRI 4:50,

7:20, 9:50; SAT�SUN 2:00, 4:50, 7:20, 9:50; MON�THU 5:35, 8:45

SUN, TUE 1:15, 3:30

FRI�SUN 2:15

KICK�ASS (18A brutal violence) FRI 4:30, 7:20, 10:10;

KENNY CHESNEY: SUMMER IN 3D (G) no passes

THE LAST SONG (PG) DAILY12:50, 3:40, 6:50, 9:30

KICK ASS (18A brutal violence) FRI�THU 6:55, 9:05;

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (PG violence, frighten-

CLASH OF THE TITANS (PG not rec. for young

for young children) DAILY 11:50, 2:20, 5:10, 7:50, 10:30

crude content) FRI�THU 7:05, 9:15 FRI�SUN 2:05

THU 6:45, 9:15

offend) FRI�TUE,THU 12:10, 2:30, 5:00, 7:40, 10:00; WED 5:00, 7:40, 10:00; Star & Strollers Screening WED 1:00

CLASH OF THE TITANS 3D (PG violence, not rec.

6601-48 Ave, Camrose, 780.608.2144

THE BACK UP PLAN (PG language may offend,

1:00; WED�THU 7:00

THE BACK�UP PLAN (PG language may offend,

children, violence) DAILY6:40, 9:15

DUGGAN CINEMA�CAMROSE

KICK�ASS (18A brutal violence) DAILY 1:05, 3:35, 7:05, 9:35

BACK UP PLAN (PG language may offend, crude

content) DAILY 12:55, 3:20, 6:55, 9:20

FILM // 55

REVUE // OCEANS

A case for silent appreciation Oceans paints an intimate portrait of nature David Berry // david@vueweekly.com

L

ast year's Earth Day-appropriate nature documentary released by Disney was just a family-friendly reediting of BBC's incomparable Planet Earth series, keeping some of the glorious shots of undisturbed nature but losing a fair bit of the series' points about the vast interconnectivity of the natural world, a sort of sub-rosa environmentalist argument snuck in among the spectacular images. In some sense, then, it was wise of Disney to look to previously unreleased footage for the second go-round: it's not going to suffer for any comparison.

It was also wise of them to turn to Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud, the team behind Winged Migration, for Oceans. The enduring charm of that film is its level of intimacy, the way it penetrates massive flocks of birds in ways never seen, before or since. Here, too, we get a stunningly close look at sea creatures: our introduction is a marine iguana swimming off the coast of the Galapagos, and we follow him so closely we can practically count his scales.

Such close moments are some of

UNDER THE OCEAN BLUE >> A Disney-doc captures the hidden wonders the most sublime in the film. We can practically feel the silky skin of a billowing blanket octopus's sail wash over us; the odd, triply divided eye of a mantis prawn blinks at us with a kind of alien wonder; krill scurry across the lens only to end up in the massive,

// Supplied

distended mouth of a blue whale, the wildly disparate scale of the world's largest creature feeding itself solely on a squirming invertebrate beautifully and poetically captured.

That said, if the film has a drawback, it's that it tends to rely too much on visual poetry. Pierce Brosnan's narration begins by asking what the ocean is, but the answer isn't so much a narrative as an impressionistic poem, flowing from one intimate moment to another without much in the way of explanation: there are too many times when we don't even know exactly where we are, as if the filmmakers are paranoid too much information will ruin the mood. But the frequent lack of context just makes Brosnan's voice seem all the more trite and intrusive: there's something to be said for just gazing on the incredible variety and beauty of the ocean, but too often Brosnan is telling us how to appreciate what we're seeing rather than why, to the point where the better choice might have been to forgo narration entirely and just let us soak in it.

Still, there are so many incredible images—the hypnotic colour display of a cuttlefish, the surprisingly gentle stroke of a great white, a vast collection of spider crabs covering the ocean floor as far as we can see— that it's easy enough to lose yourself in them and forget the talk. Oceans doesn't really have a lot to say, but it also makes a strong case for silent appreciation. V Opens Thu, Apr 22 Oceans Directed by Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud Narrated by Pierce Brosnan



56 // FILM

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

INSIDE // MUSIC

MUSIC

62

AOK

63

Eamon McGrath

65

The Weekend Kids

Online at vueweekly.com >>MUSIC Vuetube: Colleen Brown and Trevor Tchir at the Vue Weekly studio The Classical Score: a look at what happens comedianmusicians have their way with classical music. Plus highlights of the week's classical performances.

PREVUE // ROB ZOMBIE AND ALICE COOPER

The gruesome twosome Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper collide on tour Eden Munro // eden@vueweekly.com

S

ince leaving his old band behind—White Zombie disbanded over a decade ago—Rob Zombie has put his own name on the record labels, though that doesn't mean that he's taken up the throne of a dictator at the head of a metallic empire: while he's technically a solo artist, Zombie still sees himself as a guy in a band.

"I like having a band, I like being in a band, because what makes [music] fun is the camaraderie of it all," he says over the phone just ahead of kicking off a co-headlining tour with Alice Cooper. "I think it's also important to keep that spirit alive, because sometimes if you're a solo artist and you just have a rotating roster of musicians you may not get the effect that you are looking for. And having everybody play an integral part I think helps the overall music."

Zombie's band has not been without lineup changes, but the numbers have remained relatively low, and the band's current incarnation consists of guitarist John 5 and bassist Piggy D, who joined in 2005 and 2006, respectively, along with new drummer Joey Jordison of Slipknot, who joined up just prior to the upcoming tour.

"With this group of guys it's been the coolest. I haven't really had any real problems for a long time," Zombie says. "I mean, back in the day there were always egos and problems— you know, White Zombie was probably the most problem-laden situation that I've ever been in.

"This is a band, but in some ways it's not officially a band, whereas with something like White Zombie, where you have people that start together, it's very much a band," he continues. "So that's when I think people's feelings tend to get hurt at times and problems arise. It's just like anything else in life: it's not possible for everyone to play an equal part. Everyone can share equally in the rewards, but it's just not possible, and when people understand that then everyone can be happy, but when people want to fight that, that's when problems arise."

Zombie says that Hellbilly Deluxe 2 is the first al-

bum he's done where he wrote more songs than were needed, though he admits that he didn't go overboard, either. "We just kind of got on a roll.

Other bands really write a lot of songs—they'll go and they'll write 30 songs when they need 12—but I never really do that," he explains. "And even with this record, there were only a few—we had three or four left over, and those we didn't even really finish. You get in there and you're working on the album and when you feel a song isn't going to make the album it's really hard to really care: 'What are we working on this for? What's the point?'"

With the band locked in tight step with Zombie, the singer says that he doesn't overthink the process of making an album—there's no grand scheme laid out ahead of time that he feels compelled to follow in the studio.

THE ZOMBIE "We pretty much write as we record. We never write anything in advance," he says. "We just go in the studio basically with nothing and just start recording. We're pretty fast that way, because I'm fortunate enough to have a really good songwriting partner in John 5, and because of that we get in a room and at the end of the day we'll have a finished song easily." V

T

he last time Alice Cooper came through town, he brought with him a show that pulled out all the stops, pushing uncomfortable limits in a brutal commentary on modern society. But as much as the stage show was full of twists and turns and straightup shocks, the whole thing turned on one basic element: a solid rock 'n' roll band.

"To me, if you don't have the music to back it up, it's a puppet show," Cooper explains. "If you're going to be a theatrical band, you really have to be a theatrical band, but the music has to be the engine that's driving it. If you're just going to go up there and do a bunch of theatrics and nobody cares about the music, then it doesn't work at all."

And, built upon the foundation of Cooper's band, the theatrics do work. He credits the band members for staying away from the extra noodling that musi-

AND THE MONSTER cians so often like to add to the music and sticking with the heart of the songs that line Cooper's back catalogue. The players in the group are all veterans, and Cooper says that he handpicked them for the band because of their skills. He also notes that taking the stage alongside a shock-rock legend is a little bit different from your typical rock 'n' roll band.

"These guys have been in other bands, and gener-

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

ally that means that they get on stage and they jump around a little bit," he explains. "When you're with the Alice Cooper band you actually play a part. You kind of go through basic training of what it is: if you're the guitar player, you're a character; you're not just the guitar player. So I turned them into something that they weren't before, and I said, 'I don't want you, I want the animated version of you. I want you to invent yourself as being something more than what you were. Now you're in the Alice Cooper band, so you can be a superhero. I want you to be a superhero guitar player, bass player, drummer. Go out of your way to be bigger than life.' And in this band it's absolutely OK to do that. I don't think that would work if you were in Creedence Clearwater Revival."

Over the course of more than 20 albums Cooper has dipped his fingers into a wide variety of sounds, but he points out that 90 percent of it has been rooted in guitar-driven rock 'n' roll infused with a strange sense of humour and some serious twists and punch lines along the way. So with his band holding down the musical base, Cooper is free to weave a wicked web across the stage during his shows.

"If you give the audience a show where if they're going to look away from the stage they're going to miss something, you can see that show five times and see five different things going on," he says. "I can totally understand how an audience can come back in—and we do get a lot of people who come back five, six nights in a row, and it's so funny 'cause I can tell when they see something that they missed the first four times. For me, if I ever look down and see an audience talking or looking around, there's really something wrong then.

"I love looking down and seeing the audience kind of bewildered. To me that's a great reaction." V Wed, Apr 28 (7 pm) Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper Rexall Place, $45 – $59.50 All ages

MUSIC // 57

MUSIC WEEKLY FAX YOUR FREE LISTINGS TO 780.426.2889 OR EMAIL LISTINGS@VUEWEEKLY.COM DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 3PM

THU APR 22 BLUE CHAIR CAFE Zav RT and Daniel Huscroft; $12; 8pm BLUES ON WHYTE Studebaker John and the hawk CHRISTOPHER'S PARTY PUB Open stage hosted by Alberta Crude; 6-10pm CROWN PUB Crown Pub Latin/world fusion jam hosted by Marko Cerda; musicians from other musical backgrounds are invited to jam; 7pm-closing THE DRUID IRISH PUB Live music with Darrell Barr; 5:308:30pm, DJ at 9pm DUSTER'S PUB Thursday open jam hosted by the Assassins of Youth (blues/ rock); 9pm; no cover DV8 Open mic Thursdays hosted by Cameron Penner/ and/or Rebecca Jane ELECTRIC RODEO�Spruce Grove Open Stage Thursday: Bring an instrument, jam/ sing with the band, bring your own band, jokes, juggle, magic; 8-12

JAMMERS PUB Thursday open jam; 7-11pm

Big Rock Thursdays: DJs on 3 levels–Topwise Soundsystem spin Dub & Reggae in The Underdog BRIXX BAR AND GRILL Radio Brixx with Tommy Grimes spinning rock and roll BUDDY'S DJ Bobby Beatz; 9pm; no cover before 10pm; Shiwana Millionaire Wet Underwear Contest CENTURY ROOM Underground House every Thursday with DJ Nic-E THE DRUID Dublin Thursdays

JEFFREY'S CAFE Martin Kerr; $10

FILTHY MCNASTY’S Punk Rock Bingo with DJ S.W.A.G.

L.B.'S PUB Open jam with Ken Skoreyko; 9pm

FLUID LOUNGE Girls Night out

LIVE WIRE BAR Open Stage Thursdays with Gary Thomas

FUNKY BUDDHA�Whyte Ave Requests with DJ Damian

MARYBETH'S COFFEE HOUSE�Beaumont Open Mic Thursday; 7pm

GAS PUMP Ladies Nite: Top 40/dance with DJ Christian

NAKED CYBERCAFÉ Open stage every Thursday; bring your own instruments, fully equipped stage; 8pm NORTH GLENORA HALL Jam by Wild Rose Old Time Fiddlers PAWN SHOP Whiskey Wagon, Feast or Famine, Audio/rocketry, Noisy Colors RED PIANO BAR Hottest dueling piano show featuring the Red Piano Players; 8pm-1am RIC’S GRILL Peter Belec (jazz); every Thursday; 7-10pm SECOND CUP�Varscona Live music every Thursday night; 7-9pm

HALO Thursdays Fo Sho: with Allout DJs DJ Degree, Junior Brown KAS BAR Urban House: with DJ Mark Stevens; 9pm LEVEL 2 LOUNGE Absolut Thursdays: with DJ NV and Joey Nokturnal; 9:30pm (door); no cover LUCKY 13 Sin Thursdays with DJ Mike Tomas NEW CITY SUBURBS Bingo at 9:30pm followed by Electroshock Therapy with Dervish Nazz Nomad and Plan B (electro, retro) ON THE ROCKS Salsaholic Thursdays: Dance lessons at 8pm; Salsa DJ to follow PLANET INDIGO�St Albert Hit It Thursdays: breaks, electro house spun with PI residents

ENCORE CLUB With A Latin Twist: free Salsa Dance Lessons at 9pm

STARLITE ROOM Jon and Roy with Wednesday Morning Blues; $10; 8pm

HAVEN SOCIAL CLUB Random Falter With The Signal; 7:30pm; $10

TAPHOUSE Alberta’s Last Band Standing TIME OUT Mr Lucky; 9:30

HOOLIGANZ Open stage Thursdays hosted by Phil (Nobody Likes Dwight); 9pm1:30am

PROHIBITION Throwback Thursday: old school r&b, hip hop, dance, pop, funk, soul, house and everything retro with DJ Service, Awesome

WILD WEST SALOON Foxx Worthee

RENDEZVOUS PUB Metal Thurzday with org666

J AND R Classic rock! Woo! Open stage, play with the house band every Thursday; 9pm

DJs BILLY BOB’S LOUNGE Escapack Entertainment BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE

SPORTSWORLD Roller Skating Disco: Thursday Retro Nights; 7-10:30pm; sportsworld.ca

Elle Dirty and ConScience every Thursday; no cover

IRISH CLUB Jam session; 8pm; no cover

WUNDERBAR DJ Thermos Rump Shakin' Thursdays: From indie to hip hop, that's cool and has a beat; no cover

IVORY CLUB Duelling piano show with Jesse, Shane, Tiffany and Erik and guests

FRI APR 23 180 DEGREES Sexy Friday night every Friday BLUE CHAIR CAFE Front Porch Blues & Roots Revue; $20; 8pm BLUES ON WHYTE Studebaker John and the hawk BRIXX BAR The Weekend Kids CD release with Farewell Apollo, LIV and C Squared; 8:30; $12 CARROT Live music Fridays: all ages; Slack Key Slim; 7pm; $5 (door) CASINO EDMONTON Sonic Sugar CASINO YELLOWHEAD Colleen Rae & Cornerstone CENTURY CASINO April Wine COAST TO COAST Open Stage every Friday; 9:30pm THE DRUID IRISH PUB Live music with Darrell Barr; 5:308:30; DJ at 9pm DV8 Future Echoes with The Shoulder; 9pm EARLY STAGE SALOON Rockabilly Kings with The Alien Rebels EDDIE SHORTS The Rob Taylor Project EDMONTON EVENTS CENTRE A Day To Remember, August Burns Red, Enter Shikari and Go Radio; 6pm; all ages; $33.25 ENCORE CLUB 4 Play Fridays FRESH START CAFÉ Live music Fridays: Drowning Ophelia 7pm; $7 HAVEN SOCIAL CLUB Miss Emily Brown With Steve Brockley, Daniel Huscroft, and Trevor Tchir; 7:30pm; $10

JEFFREY'S CAFE Randall MacDonald; $10 JEKYLL AND HYDE PUB Every Friday: Headwind (classic pop/ rock); 9pm; no cover LB'S Hank Lionheart and Fist Full of Blues; 9:30 pm LEVA CAPPUCCINO BAR Live music every Friday MANOR EUROLOUNGE "Love to Haiti” Music Benefit; $30; 6pm NORWOOD LEGION Uptown Folk Club open stage; 7pm ON THE ROCKS Mourning Wood RED PIANO BAR Hottest dueling piano show featuring the Red Piano Players; 9pm2am RENDEZVOUS PUB These 3 Cities with The Trade and What Grace?

RICHIE UNITED CHURCH Rollanda Lee and the Canadian Hot Stars STARLITE ROOM No Heat Tomorrow, Fear of City, Southroot and Unity Through Tragedy; $12; 9pm STEEPS�Old Glenora Live Music Fridays TAPHOUSE Alberta’s Last Band Standing TIME OUT Mr Lucky; 9:30 WILD WEST SALOON Foxx Worthee YARDBIRD SUITE Gale/ Rodrigues Group; $18; 9pm

DJs AZUCAR PICANTE Every Friday: DJ Papi and DJ Latin Sensation BANK ULTRA LOUNGE Connected Fridays: 91.7 The Bounce, Nestor Delano, Luke Morrison

HORIZON STAGE The Arrogant Worms; sold out

BAR�B�BAR DJ James; no cover

STOLLI'S Dancehall, hip hop with DJ Footnotes hosted by

HYDEAWAY Knucklehed; 8pm

BAR WILD Bar Wild Fridays

HILL TOP PUB 8220-106 Ave, 780.490.7359 HOLY TRINITY ANGLICAN CHURCH 10037 - 84 Ave HOOLIGANZ PUB 10704-124 St, 780.452.1168 HORIZON STAGE Spruce Grove; 780.962.7634 HYDEAWAY 10209-100 Ave, 780.426.5381 IRON BOAR PUB 4911-51st St, Wetaskiwin IVORY CLUB 2940 Calgary Trail South JAMMERS PUB 11948-127 Ave, 780.451.8779 J AND R 4003-106 St, 780.436.4403 JEFFREY’S CAFÉ 9640 142 St, 780.451.8890 JEKYLL AND HYDE 10209-100 Ave, 780.426.5381 JOHN L. HAAR THEATRE 10045-155 St JOJO’S�LA PIAZZA DASEE 8004 Gateway Blvd, 780.437.5555 JOHN L. HAAR THEATRE Grant MacEwan College, 10045-155 St KAS BAR 10444-82 Ave, 780.433.6768 KINGS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE Knoppers Hall, 9125-50St L.B.’S PUB 23 Akins Dr, St Albert, 780.460.9100 LEGENDS PUB 6104-172 St, 780.481.2786 LEVA CAFÉ 11056-86 Ave, 780.479.5382 LEVEL 2 LOUNGE 11607 Jasper Ave, 2nd Fl, 780.447.4495 LIVE WIRE 1107 Knotwood Rd. East MACLAB CENTRE�Leduc 430850 St, Leduc, 780.980.1866 MARYBETH'S COFFEE HOUSE–Beaumont 5001-30 Ave, Beaumont MCDOUGALL UNITED CHURCH 10025-101 St MYER HOROWITZ THEATRE MORANGO’S TEK CAFÉ

10118-79 St MYER HOROWITZ THEATRE 8900 114 St, 780.492.4764 NAKED CYBERCAFÉ 10354 Jasper Ave NEWCASTLE PUB 6108-90 Ave, 780.490.1999 NEW CITY 10081 Jasper Ave, 780.989.5066 NIKKI DIAMONDS 8130 Gateway Blvd, 780.439.8006 NORWOOD LEGION 11150-82 St, 780.436.1554 NORTH GLENORA HALL 13535-109A Ave O’BYRNE’S 10616-82 Ave, 780.414.6766 ON THE ROCKS 11730 Jasper Ave, 780.482.4767 ORLANDO'S 1 15163-121 St OVERTIME Whitemud Crossing, 4211-106 St, 780.485.1717 PALACE CASINO�WEM 8882170 St, 780.444.2112 PAWN SHOP 10551-82 Ave, Upstairs, 780.432.0814 PLANET INDIGO�Jasper Ave 11607 Jasper Ave; St Albert 812 Liberton Dr, St Albert PLAY NIGHTCLUB 10220-103 St PLEASANTVIEW COMMUNITY HALL 10860-57 Ave PROHIBITION 11026 Jasper Ave, 780.420.0448 QUEEN ALEX HALL10425 University Ave REDNEX BAR�Morinville 10413-100 Ave, Morinville, 780.939.6955, rednex.ca RED PIANO BAR 1638 Bourbon St, WEM, 8882-170 St, 780.486.7722 RED STAR 10538 Jasper Ave, 780.428.0825 RENDEZVOUS 10108-149 St RIC’S GRILL 24 Perron Street, St Albert, 780.460.6602 RITCHIE UNITED CHURCH 962474Ave, 780.439.2442 ROBERT TEGLER STUDENT CENTRE Concordia Campus, 73 St, 112 Ave

VENUE GUIDE 180 DEGREES 10730-107 St, 780.414.0233 ARTERY 9535 Jasper Ave AVENUE THEATRE 9030-118 Ave, 780.477.2149 AXIS CAFÉ 10349 Jasper Ave, 780.990.0031 B�STREET BAR 111818-111 Ave BANK ULTRA LOUNGE 10765 Jasper Ave, 780.420.9098 BILLY BOB’S Continental Inn, 16625 Stony Plain Rd, 780.484.7751 BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE 10425-82 Ave, 780.439.1082 BLUE CHAIR CAFÉ 9624-76 Ave, 780.989.2861 BLUES ON WHYTE 10329-82 Ave, 780.439.3981 BOHEMIA 10575-114St BOOTS 10242-106 St, 780.423.5014 BRIXX BAR 10030-102 St (downstairs), 780.428.1099 BUDDY’S 11725B Jasper Ave, 780.488.6636 CASINO EDMONTON 7055 Argylll Rd, 780.463.9467 CASINO YELLOWHEAD 12464153 St, 780 424 9467 CENTURY ROOM 3975 Calgary Tr. NW, 780.431.0303 CHATEAU LOUIS 11727 Kingsway, 780 452 7770 CHRISTOPHER’S 2021 Millbourne Rd, 780.462.6565 CHROME LOUNGE 132 Ave, Victoria Trail COAST TO COAST 5552 Calgary Tr, 780.439.8675 CONVOCATION HALL Arts Bldg, U of A, 780.492.3611 COOK COUNTY SALOON 8010 Gateway Boulevard; 780.432.2665 COPPERPOT Capital Place, 101, 9707-110 St, 780.452.7800 CROWN AND ANCHOR 15277 Castledowns Rd, 780.472.7696 CROWN PUB 10709-109 St, 780.428.5618 DIESEL ULTRA LOUNGE 11845 Wayne Gretzky Drive, 780.704.

58 // MUSIC

CLUB DEVANEY’S IRISH PUB 9013-88 Ave, 780.465.4834 DRUID 11606 Jasper Ave, 780.454.9928 DUSTER’S PUB 6402-118 Ave, 780.474.5554 DV8 TAVERN 8307-99 St, DV8TAVERN.com EARLY STAGE SALOON 491152 Ave, Stony Plain EDDIE SHORTS 10713-124 St, 780.453.3663 EDMONTON MORAVIAN CHURCH 9540 - 83 Ave EDMONTON BLUES SOCIETY Queen Alexandra Hall 10425 University Ave. EDMONTON EVENTS CENTRE WEM Phase III, 780.489.SHOW ELECTRIC RODEO�Spruce Grove 121-1 Ave, Spruce Grove, 780.962.1411 ENCORE CLUB 957 Fir St, Sherwood Park, 780.417.0111 EXPRESSIONZ CAFÉ 9938-70 Ave FESTIVAL PLACE 100 Festival Way, Sherwood Park, 780.449.3378, 780.464.2852 FIDDLER’S ROOST 8906-99 St FILTHY MCNASTY’S 10511-82 Ave, 780.916.1557 FLOW LOUNGE 11815 Wayne Gretzky Dr, 780.604.CLUB FLUID LOUNGE 10105-109 St, 780.429.0700 FOXX DEN 205 Carnegi Drive, St Albert FRESH START CAFÉ Riverbend Sq, 780.433.9623 FUNKY BUDDHA 10341-82 Ave, 780.433.9676 GAS PUMP 10166-114 St, 780.488.4841 GINGUR SKY 15505-118 Ave, 780.913.4312/780.953.3606 HALO 10538 Jasper Ave, 780.423.

HALO HAVEN SOCIAL CLUB 15120A (basement), Stony Plain Rd, 780.756.6010

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

ROSEBOWL/ROUGE LOUNGE 10111-117 St, 780.482.5253 ROSE AND CROWN 10235101 St ROYAL ALBERTA MUSEUM 12845-102 Ave SAWMILL BANQUET CENTRE 3840-76 Ave SECOND CUP�Mountain Equipment 12336-102 Ave, 780.451.7574; Stanley Milner Library 7 Sir Winston Churchill Sq; Varscona, Varscona Hotel, 106 St, Whyte Ave SIDELINERS PUB 11018-127 St, 780.453.6006 SPORTSWORLD 13710-104 St SPORTSMAN'S LOUNGE 8170-50 St STARLITE ROOM 10030-102 St, 780.428.1099 STEEPS�College Plaza 11116-82 Ave, 780.988.8105; Old Glenora 12411 Stony Plain Rd, 780.488.1505 STENCIL HALL 11525-23 Ave STOLLI’S 2nd Fl, 10368-82 Ave, 780.437.2293 STRETCH�Fort Saskatchewan 10208-99 Ave, Fort Saskatchewan TAPHOUSE 9020 McKenney Ave, St Albert, 780.458.0860 TIME OUT 9605-66Ave,

780.435.5050

WHISTLESTOP LOUNGE 12416-132 Ave, 780. 451.5506 WESTWOOD UNITARIAN CHURCH 11135-65 Ave WILD WEST SALOON 12912-50 St, 780.476.3388 WINSPEAR CENTRE #4 Sir Winston Churchill Square; 780.28.1414 WUNDERBAR 8120-101 St, 780.436.2286 Y AFTERHOURS 10028-102 St, 780.994.3256, yafterhours.com YESTERDAYS PUB 112, 205 Carnegie Dr, St Albert, 780.459.0295

BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Friday DJs spin Wooftop and Main Floor: Eclectic jams with Nevine–indie, soul, motown, new wave, electro; Underdog: Perverted Fridays: Punk and Ska from the ‘60s ‘70s and ‘80s with Fathead BOOTS Retro Disco: retro dance BUDDY’S DJ Arrow Chaser; 8pm; no cover before 10pm CENTURY ROOM Underground House every Friday with DJ Nic-E CHROME LOUNGE Platinum VIP Fridays EMPIRE BALLROOM Rock, hip hop, house, mash up; no minors ESMERELDA'S Ezzies Freakin Frenzy Fridays: Playing the best in country FUNKY BUDDHA�Whyte Ave Top tracks, rock, retro with DJ Damian GAS PUMP Top 40/dance with DJ Christian LEVEL 2 LOUNGE Formula Fridays: with rotating residents DJ's Groovy Cuvy, Touretto, David Stone, DJ Neebz and Tianna J; 9:30pm (door); 780.447.4495 for guestlist NEWCASTLE PUB Fridays House, dance mix with DJ Donovan NEW CITY LIKWID LOUNGE DJ Anarchy Adam (Punk) PLAY NIGHTCLUB The first bar for the queer community to open in a decade with DJ's Alexx Brown and Eddie Toonflash; 9pm (door); $5 www.playnightclub.ca

SAT APR 24 180 DEGREES Dancehall and Reggae night every Saturday ALBERTA BEACH HOTEL Open stage with Trace Jordan 1st and 3rd Saturday; 7pm-12 BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Hair of the Dog: live acoustic music; Every Sat; Leslie Alexander and Jenny Allen; 4-6pm; no cover BLUE CHAIR CAFE Lionel Rault and his Compadres Ilustres; $10; 8pm BLUES ON WHYTE Studebaker John and the hawk BOHEMIA Art + Muzak; 9pm BRIXX BAR The Matinee, Roste and The Killdears; $12; 9pm CARROT Open mic Saturdays; 7:30-10pm; free CASINO EDMONTON Sonic Sugar CASINO YELLOWHEAD Colleen Rae & Cornerstone COAST TO COAST Live bands every Saturday; 9:30pm CROWN PUB Acoustic Open Stage during the day/Electric Open Stage at night with Marshall Lawrence, 1:30pm (sign-up), every Saturday, 2-5pm; evening: hosted by Dan and Miguel; 9:30pm12:30am EARLY STAGE SALOON� Stony Plain Saturday Live Music EDDIE SHORTS Blazing Violets with special guest Dualside

REDNEX DJ Gravy from the Source 98.5

EXPRESSIONZ CAFÉ Open stage every Sat, 12-6pm

RED STAR Movin’ on Up Fridays: indie, rock, funk, soul, hip hop with DJ Gatto, DJ Mega Wattson

FESTIVAL PLACE Oysterband; 7:30pm

ROUGE LOUNGE Solice Fridays SPORTSWORLD Roller Skating Disco Friday Nights; 7-10:30pm; sports-world.ca STOLLI’S Top 40, R&B, house with People’s DJ STONEHOUSE PUB Top 40 with DJ Tysin TEMPLE Options Dark Alt Night; Greg Gory and Eddie Lunchpail; (door) 9pm; $5 WUNDERBAR Fridays with the Pony Girls, DJ Avinder and DJ Toma; no cover Y AFTERHOURS Foundation Fridays

GAS PUMP Acoustic Open Jam; Saturdays 4-6pm HAVEN SOCIAL CLUB Rose Cousins and Amelia Curran With Special Guest Robb Angus; 7:30pm; $10 HILLTOP PUB Open stage/ mic Saturday: hosted by Sally's Krackers Sean Brewer; 3-5:30pm HOLY TRINITY ANGLICAN CHURCH show HORIZON STAGE The Arrogant Worms; sold out; matinee added: 2pm

month; $10 IVORY CLUB Duelling piano show with Jesse, Shane, Tiffany and Erik and guests

EMPIRE BALLROOM Rock, hip hop, house, mash up ENCORE CLUB So Sweeeeet Saturdays

JAMMERS PUB Saturday open jam, 3-7:30pm; country/rock band 9pm-2am

ESMERALDA’S Super Parties: Every Saturday a different theme

JEFFREY'S CAFE Louise Dawson; $10

FLUID LOUNGE Saturdays Gone Gold Mash-Up: with Harmen B and DJ Kwake

L.B.’S PUB Open Stage withGator and Friends; 4:3002+(he EYjc 9eeYj Yf\ Kenny Skoreyko; 9:30-2am MORANGO'S TEK CAFÉ Saturday open stage: hosted by Dr. Oxide; 7-10pm O’BYRNE’S Live Band Saturday 3-7pm; DJ 9:30pm ON THE ROCKS Mourning Wood OVERTIME Jamaoke: karaoke with a live band featuring Maple Tea PALACE CASINO Rules of Nine QUEEN ALEXANDRA HALL Edmonton Blues Society Jam/ Open Stage; 8pm RED PIANO BAR Hottest dueling piano show featuring the Red Piano Players; 9pm2am ST. TIMOTHY’S ANGLICAN CHURCH Meghan Rayment; 2pm; Free admission STENCIL HALL Northern Bluegrass Music Circle Society presents 4 Chords of Wood; $25; 8pm TAPHOUSE Alberta’s Last Band Standing WILD WEST SALOON Foxx Worthee YARDBIRD SUITE Tyler Hornby Quintet; $18; 9pm

Classical HOLY TRINITY ANGLICAN CHURCH Concordia Concert Choir; $12; 7:30

DJs AZUCAR PICANTE Every Saturday: DJ Touch It, hosted

by DJ Papi BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Saturday DJs on three levels.

Main Floor: Menace Sessions: alt rock/electro/trash with Miss Mannered

HYDEAWAY F.O.S. & A.O.V.

BUDDY'S DJ Earth Shiver 'n' Quake; 8pm; no cover before 10pm

IRON BOAR PUB Jazz in Wetaskiwin featuring jazz trios the 1st Saturday each

CENTURY ROOM Underground House every Saturday with DJ Nic-E

FUNKY BUDDHA�Whyte Ave Top tracks, rock, retro with DJ Damian HALO For Those Who Know: house every Saturday with DJ Junior Brown, Luke Morrison, Nestor Delano, Ari Rhodes LEVEL 2 LOUNGE Signature Sound Saturdays: with DJ's Travis Mateeson, Big Daddy, Tweek and Mr Wedge; 9:30pm (door); $3; 780.447.4495 for guestlist NEWCASTLE PUB Saturdays: Top 40, requests with DJ Sheri NEW CITY LIKWID LOUNGE Punk Rawk Saturdays with Todd and Alex NEW CITY SUBURBS Black Polished Chrome Saturdays: industrial, Electro and alt with Dervish, Anonymouse, Blue Jay PAWN SHOP SONiC Presents Live On Site! Anti-Club Saturdays: rock, indie, punk, rock, dance, retro rock; 8pm (door) PLANET INDIGO�Jasper Ave Suggestive Saturdays: breaks electro house with PI residents RED STAR Saturdays indie rock, hip hop, and electro with DJ Hot Philly and guests RENDEZVOUS Survival metal night SPORTSWORLD Roller Skating Disco Saturdays; 1pm-4:30pm and 7-10:30pm; sports-world.ca

BEER HUNTER�St Albert Open stage/jam every Sunday; 2-6pm BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE WHO MADE WHO: The Rock Yf\ Jgdd J]kmjj][lagf L`] Maykings revive The Who The Dirty Dudes revive AC/DC; 10pm; Free BLUE PEAR RESTAURANT Jazz on the Side Sundays BLUE CHAIR CAFE Rosette Guitar Duo; brunch BLUE PEAR Jeff Henrick; 6-9pm BLUES ON WHYTE Justine Ann and the Love Cannons B�STREET BAR Acoustic-based open stage hosted by Mike "Shufflehound" Chenoweth; every Sunday evening CROWN PUB Latin/world fusion jam hosted by Marko Cerda; musicians from other musical backgrounds are invited to jam; 7pm-closing DEVANEY’S IRISH PUB Celtic Music Session, hosted by KeriLynne Zwicker, 4-7pm EDDIE SHORTS Sunday acoustic oriented open stage hosted by Uncle Jimmy HYDEAWAY Sunday Night Songwriter's Stage: hosted by Rhea March J AND R BAR Open jam/ stage every Sunday hosted by Me Next and the Have-Nots; 3-7pm NEWCASTLE PUB Sunday Soul Service (acoustic jam): Willy James and Crawdad Cantera; 3-6:30pm NEW CITY Open Mic Sunday hosted by Ben Disaster; 9pm (sign-up); no cover O’BYRNE’S Open mic Sunday with Robb Angus (Wheat Pool); 9:30pm-1am

STARLITE ROOM SubSwara, Juakali, Poirier, MC Zulu, Sharkslayer and RSD; 8pm

ON THE ROCKS 7 Strings Sundays: Dani Jean CD Release Party; 8pm

STOLLI’S ON WHYTE Top 40, R&B, house with People’s DJ

ORLANDO'S 2 PUB Sundays Open Stage Jam hosted by The Vindicators (blues/rock); 3-8pm

TEMPLE Oh Snap!: Every Saturday, Cobra Commander and guests with Degree, Cobra Commander and Battery; 9pm (door); $5 (door) WUNDERBAR Featured DJ and local bands Y AFTERHOURS Release Saturday

SUN APR 25 ARTERY The Fugitives, Manraygun; 7pm

RITCHIE UNITED CHURCH Jazz and Reflections; 3:30-5pm SECOND CUP�Mountain Equipment Co-op Live music every Sunday; 2-4pm

Classical ROBERT TEGLER STUDENT CENTRE Francis Dunnigan conducting; 2pm ROBERTSON�WESLEY UNITED CHURCH Alberta Baroque Ensemble; $23; 3pm

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

MUSIC // 59

COMMENT >> DIGITAL SALES

The upside of the slump

A decrease in digital sales actually saw an increase in profits percent. So losing one percent of sales based Last week, Billboard magazine announced on such a price increase will mean that revethat, for the first time, sales of digital songs nues would have actually gone up by a large had declined in the US market.

In the first quarter of 2010, 312.4 million amount. Any business person will tell you that losing only one percent in gross sales songs were sold, down from 315.4 million based on a price increase of almost a from the first quarter of 2009. third is a good thing for revenues.

That's a decline of just under one No, not all of the 312.4 million percent.

Of course, pretty well everysongs Billboard tracked will have carried the new $1.29 pricetag. one in the major media is porom eekly.c @vuew But, again, with almost all new traying this as another sign of steven songs going to the more expena battered recording industry.

Steveonr And the industry itself has been sive price points, chances are that d n a S increase more than offset the downputting the blame on the decision ward blip in total songs sold. by many labels to up the price-per-song charge on iTunes from 99 cents to $1.29.

Really, for an industry that's struggling, But, in truth, this may be the sign of a decent recovery. In a bad economy, a sales the fact that so few consumers were driven away by the price hike shows that most of slump of less than one percent isn't a huge the fears that the industry has about price problem. And this gets more confusing because industry doublespeak is blaming the hikes driving consumers back to piracy are unfounded. tiny decline in total sales on a price hike. A If anything, this is proof that the majority of 30-cent hike in the cost of a single has driven consumers understand that, at 99 cents, the sales down by less one per cent. price of music was greatly undervalued.

Wait a sec. Not to go all Kevin O'Leary on you, but song prices went up by about 30 I think we only have to look at the corre-

ENTER

SAND

OR

Sean Brewer; 9pm

DJs BACKSTAGE TAP AND GRILL Industry Night: with Atomic Improv, Jameoki and DJ Tim BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Sunday Afternoons: Phil, 2-7pm; Main Floor: Got To Give It Up: Funk, Soul, Motown, Disco with DJ Red Dawn BUDDY'S DJ Bobby Beatz; 9pm; Drag Queen Performance; no cover before 10pm FLOW LOUNGE Stylus Sundays NEW CITY SUBURBS Get Down Sundays with Neighbourhood Rats SAVOY MARTINI LOUNGE Reggae on Whyte: RnR Sundays with DJ IceMan; no minors; 9pm; no cover SPORTSWORLD Roller Skating Disco Sundays; 1-4:30pm; sports-world.ca

DJs BAR WILD Bar Gone Wild Mondays: Service Industry Night; no minors; 9pm-2am BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: Eclectic Nonsense, Confederacy of Dunces, Dad Rock, TJ Hookah and Rear Admiral Saunders BUDDY'S DJ Dust 'n' Time; 9pm FILTHY MCNASTY'S Metal Mondays: with DJ S.W.A.G. FLUID LOUNGE Mondays Mixer LUCKY 13 Industry Night with DJ Chad Cook every Monday NEW CITY LIKWID LOUNGE Daniel and Fowler (eclectic tunes)

WUNDERBAR Sundays DJ Gallatea and XS, guests; no cover

TUE APR 27

MON APR 26

BRIXX BAR AND GRILL Troubadour Tuesday's ft Light Travels and John Spearn.

Hosted by Mark Feduk of Red Ram and The Uncas; 9pm; $8

BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Sleeman Mondays: live music monthly; no cover BLUES ON WHYTE Incognito DEVANEY'S IRISH PUB Open stage Mondays with Ido Vander Laan and Scott Cook; 8-12 EARLY STAGE SALOON Slowburn NEW CITY This Will Hurt you Mondays: Johnny Neck and his Job present mystery musical guests PLEASANTVIEW COMMUNITY HALL Acoustic instrumental old time fiddle jam hosted by the Wild Rose Old Tyme Fiddlers Society; 7pm PROHIBITION Chicka-Dee-Jay Monday Night: with Michael Rault ROSE BOWL/ROUGE LOUNGE The Legendary Rose Bowl Monday Jam: hosted by

60 // MUSIC

STARLITE ROOM Band of Skulls, Silver Starling and Saint Motel; $20; 8pm

BLUES ON WHYTE Incognito

CROWN PUB Underground At The Crown: underground, hip hop with DJ Xaolin and Jae Maze; open mic; every Tue; 10pm; $3 THE DRUID IRISH PUB Open stage with Chris Wynters; 9pm EARLY STAGE SALOON The Tim Hus Band L.B.’S PUB Ammar’s Moosehead Tuesday night open stage; 9pm NEW CITY LIKWID LOUNGE Open Mic; Hosted by Ben Disaster; 9pm O’BYRNE’S Celtic Jam with Shannon Johnson and friends OVERTIME Tuesday acoustic jam hosted by Robb Angus SECOND CUP�124 Street Open mic every Tuesday; 8-10pm SECOND CUP�Stanley Milner

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

Library Open mic every Tuesday; 7-9pm SIDELINERS PUB Tuesday All Star Jam with Alicia Tait and Rickey Sidecar; 8pm SPORTSMAN'S LOUNGE Open Stage hosted by Paul McGowan and Gina Cormier; every Tuesday, 8pm-midnight; no cover STEEPS�Old Glenora Every Tuesday Open Mic; 7:309:30pm

sponding rise in vinyl sales—which is by far the most expensive medium for music on the market, with us not batting our eyes at prices of $25 – $30 for an album—and realize we aren't actually that repelled by the thought of spending money on good music. Last year, vinyl sales were up a whopping 33 percent according to Nielsen Soundscan numbers.

Everyone in the industry would gladly trade a small drop in cheap online sales in exchange for a rise in vinyl.

Note the "good" point: I can see that novelty buyers—those who hear a song once and buy just the single—might be impacted by the price hike, but these numbers are reassuring to the artists who work hard to put out quality material.

It's not often when a sales drop can be seen as a positive turning point for an industry.

But, that's the case this time around. Maybe the days of discount music are coming to an end. V Steven Sandor is a former editor-in-chief of Vue Weekly, now an editor and author living in Toronto.

BLUES ON WHYTE Incognito BRIXX Really Good… Eats and Beats: DJ Degree every Wed, Edmonton’s Bassline Community; 6pm (music); no cover COPPERPOT RESTAURANT Live jazz every Wed night: Kent Shores CROWN PUB Creative original Jam Wednesdays (no covers): hosted by Dan and Miguel; 9:30pm-12:30am

YARDBIRD SUITE Bob Kitt Trio with special Guest Bob Tildesley; $5; 8pm

EDDIE SHORTS Wednesday open stage, band oriented, hosted by Chuck Rainville; 9pm-1am

Classical

FIDDLER'S ROOST Little Flower Open Stage Wednesdays with Brian Gregg; 8pm-12

KING'S UNIVERSITY COLLEGE Knoppers Hall Elena Denisova and Alexei Kornienko; $15; 8pm

HAVEN SOCIAL Open stage with Jonny Mac; 8:30pm; free

Classical BERNARD SNELL AUDITORIUM at the Walter Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre UCalgary String Quartet; free; 5pm

DJs BANK ULTRA LOUNGE Wednesday Nights: with DJ Harley BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: Blue Jay’s Messy Nest Wednesday Night: Brit pop, new wave, punk, rock ‘n’ roll with LL Cool Joe BRIXX BAR AND GRILL Really Good... Eats and Beats with DJ Degree and Friends BUDDY'S DJ Dust 'n' Time; 9pm; no cover before 10pm

DJs

LEVEL 2 LOUNGE Open mic

BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: CJSR’s Eddie Lunchpail; Wooftop: with DJ Gundam

NEW CITY Circ-O-RamaLicious: Gypsy and circus fusion spectaculars; last Wednesday every month

DIESEL ULTRA LOUNGE Wind-up Wednesdays: R&B, hiphop, reggae, old skool, reggaeton with InVinceable, Touch It, weekly guest DJs

BRIXX BAR AND GRILL Troubadour Tuesdays ft The Balconies and Sean Brewer.

Host Mark Feduk; 9pm; $8

OVERTIME Dueling pianos featuring The Ivory Club

FLUID LOUNGE Wednesdays Rock This

PLEASANTVIEW COMMUNITY HALL Acoustic Bluegrass jam presented by the Northern Bluegrass Circle Music Society every Wednesday evening

IVORY CLUB DJ ongoing every Wednesday; open DJ night; 9pm-close; all DJs welcome to spin a short set

PROHIBITION Wednesdays with Roland Pemberton III

NEW CITY LIKWID LOUNGE DJ Roxxi Slade (indie, punk and metal)

BUDDY'S DJ Arrow Chaser; 9pm ESMERALDA’S Retro every Tuesday; no cover with student ID FUNKY BUDDHA�Whyte Ave Latin and Salsa music, dance lessons 8-10pm NEW CITY LIKWID LOUNGE ‘abilly, Ghoul-rock, spooky with DJ Vylan Cadaver PROHIBITION Tuesday Punk Night RED STAR Tuesdays: Experimental Indie Rock, Hip Hop, Electro with DJ Hot Philly

WED APR 28 BEER HUNTER Organic Orbit BLACK DOG FREEHOUSE Main Floor: Glitter Gulch Wednesdays: Grass Mountain Hobos BLUE CHAIR CAFE Linda McRae; 8pm

RED PIANO BAR Jazz and Shiraz Wednesdays featuring Dave Babcock and his Jump Trio REXALL PLACE Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie; 7:45pm RIVER CREE Wednesdays Live Rock Band hosted by Yukon Jack; 7:30-9pm SECOND CUP�Mountain Equipment Open Mic every Wednesday, 8-10pm STEEPS TEA LOUNGE� College Plaza Open mic every Wednesday; hosted by Ernie Tersigni; 8pm STEEPS TEA LOUNGE� Whyte Ave Open mic every Wednesday; 8pm TEMPLE Wyld Style Wednesday: Live hip hop; $5

LEGENDS PUB Hip hop/R&B with DJ Spincycle

NEW CITY SUBURBS Shake It: with Greg Gory and Eddie Lunchpail; no minors; 9pm (door) NIKKI DIAMONDS Punk and ‘80s metal every Wednesday RED STAR Guest DJs every Wednesday STARLITE ROOM Wild Style Wednesdays: Hip-Hop; 9pm STOLLI'S Beatparty Wednesdays: House, progressive and electronica with Rudy Electro, DJ Rystar, Space Age and weekly guests; 9pm-2am; beatparty.net WUNDERBAR Wednesdays with new DJ; no cover Y AFTERHOURS Y Not Wednesday

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

MUSIC // 61

PREVUE // AOK

Two hearts

Edmonton Poetry Festival unites rap and poetry Mike Angus // mikeangus@vueweekly.com

'I

guess if you write lyrics, you're a poet. But I'm a rapper," offers Edmonton hip-hop artist Omar Mouallem (aka AOK or Assault of Knowledge).

"In some ways I'm an unusual choice for a poetry festival, but then again, the festival is bringing poetry back to its origins, which is performance art."

Mouallem is referring to Hip Hop Heart. Beat, an evening of rap and poetry at this year's Edmonton Poetry Festival, which runs from April 19 – 25.

Former poet laureate Alice Major, who organizes the annual festival, asked fellow wordsmith and rap curator Joe Gurba (aka The Joe) to pick a handful of local hip-hop artists who embody and appreciate the similarities and differences between the two art forms.

Joining AOK onstage will be Edmonton's current Poet Laureate Cadence Weapon and Gurba's Old Ugly crew.

"Nothing like it has been done before," notes Mouallem. "I don't think Alice would have put this event on if she didn't know that there's already an appreciation for hip hop in poetry circles."

Because of his other accomplishments as a published journalist and author— he's associate editor of Avenue and one of Vue's freelancers—Mouallem modestly keeps his musical achievements at an arm's length. He's currently working on the follow-up to his critically-acclaimed 2008 debut If You Don't Buy This CD the Terrorists Win, and is slowly starting

to understand how his life-long love of rap has been the basis for writing poetry. As a regular performer at open mic nights, Mouallem has found inspiration and support in both Edmonton's rap and poetry communities.

"So many young poets in Edmonton are hip-hop lovers, and even deliver their poetry in a slam, hip-hop way, so I was encourage and reminded of the synergetic quality between hip hop and poetry," he notes.

Gurba, for his part, was insistent on gathering artists—like AOK—who are conscious to represent the bridge between hip hop and poetry.

"Poetry is about showing and not telling, whereas rap is all tell," Gurba explains. "They relate on a rudimentary level, this common musicality of words and an appreciation for the sound of words. I've selected rappers who are more conscious of these differences and more poetic as rappers."

Gurba also notes that AOK in particular adds diversity to the lineup: "Omar's attachment to writing and music is a bridge to what's happening in this festival." V Fri, Apr 23 (8 pm) Hip Hop Heart. Beat AOK With Cadence Weapon, the Joe, Politic Live, mikey maybe, mitchmatic and Dakwon Lee The ARTery, $10

AOK >> The Edmonton writer/musician bridges the distance between rap and poetry

62 // MUSIC

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

// Jon B

PREVUE // EAMON MCGRATH

Peace at last

Eamon McGrath's upcoming effort an esthetic departure Bryan Birtles // bryan@vueweekly.com

T

he siren call of Europe seems to be particularly strong amongst local bands this summer, and, despite a giant ash cloud causing a few musicians to be stranded on the continent, folk-punk troubadour Eamon McGrath is gearing up for a second shot at the place that gave us Parliamentary democracy as well as a number of pungent cheeses.

Having completed a rather successful solo jaunt through Europe last summer, McGrath is most excited about being able to head across the pond with his band Peace Maker in tow.

"This time I decided to try and go and do the whole thing with a band because last time I went I was on my own, pretty much like a backpacker going across the countries, but this time we're taking a whole band and renting a van and getting our gear organized and stuff," McGrath explains of his plan for the coming tour. "Going over there is a really different experience than playing music in Canada. It's a cultural value of appreciating music differently: in Edmonton the band's in the bar and people are going to get drunk anyway is kind of the attitude—the band is like wallpaper or something—but in Europe it's not like that. When a band is booked for a

venue, the people go out just to watch them. The orientation of the culture around drinking is a lot less."

After putting out nearly two dozen albums before he turned 20, McGrath was eager to take his time with what will be Peace Maker's first release, a self-titled effort that will see the light of day as soon as the upcoming tour is over.

"You get to a point where you're recording and releasing a ton of music there's a batting average and my batting average was starting to get kind of low in terms of really great songs versus songs I wouldn't play live," McGrath explains of the genesis of the upcoming record.

"I like to think that the record definitely signals a lot of changes in my life and as an artist. I think that this record symbolizes the theme of redemption, the idea of coming out of a blackout and finding out what you did from a bunch of people is a really shitty feeling and this album tried to kind of give something to people who've felt the same way, to say that in the end it's going to be alright."

As McGrath explains, the Wild Dogs era of his life had to come to a close because he needed to move past a lot of the self-destruction that that band centred itself around—self destruction that was beginning to take a toll on him—and he needed to get back to what he really

loved: writing songs worth listening to.

"Two-and-a-half years of being shitfaced and high everyday ... it was starting to affect my art, it was starting to affect relationships I had with people— that's the big theme," he says. "There was a lot of guilt for that because I feel like I betrayed the art I was making for a long time and sacrificing songs and art for getting high. It's something I'll never do again." V Thu, Apr 29 (8 pm) Eamon McGrath With Enemies of England Leva Café

VUEWEEKLY.COM/VUETUBE

WHO LET THE DOG OUT? >> Eamon McGrath puts the Wild Dogs to rest and launches Peace Maker // Eden Munro

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

MUSIC // 63

M

US

York they don't have any nightlife. There's a law in New York that you can't dance in bars—you need a permit. You need an alcohol permit and a dance permit. We never talk about it, but these things are possible—that's why I prefer to raise my voice now than when it's too late." (Starlite Room, $20)

TE

IC

O

S

can't sell the skin of a bear before you kill it, so it means you need to do things step by step, and that's how I did it."

It seems to have worked, as Poirier's single "Wha-la-la-leng" was nominated for a Juno Award for best reggae recording. But not everyone is as enthused with Poirier's worldly dance beats as the Juno nominating committee: recently Poirier felt compelled to write an open letter to Montréal mayor Gérald Tremblay regarding noise restrictions in a show district called Quartier des Spectacles.

"How can we tolerate highways and cars, and even in Montréal we have the F1— and when the F1 is running you can hear it 10 or 20 km around it—and you can tolerate it, but music in a bar that mixes with traffic, no, that can't be tolerated. So I wanted to start that debate," he explains.

"The second debate is about ... what the cultural identity of the city is because I'm worried. I'm seeing a slowdown—it's very subtle, but I saw in Paris and New

N

Sat, Apr 24 (8 pm) / Poirier A double album is the white whale of the music industry. There are two ways to slay this particular leviathan: either an artist can plan on producing an extended statement because they think it necessary, or it can come out of long sessions where the artist has no idea which is the meat of the output and which is the fat that needs trimming.

For Montréal's Ghislain Poirier, who works under just his last name, the former was the method to his latest release; a double album entitled Running High. When he went into the studio, he knew he had to have a plan.

"Already, doing an album is messy: you're doing tons of music and this idea can go with this idea, this rhythm with this vocal—it's like a puzzle. But if you do a double album it's like a bigger puzzle," he says before recounting his strategy. "I don't know the expression in English—we say in French, 'Il faut pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué.' It means you

—Bryan Birtles

Mon, Apr 26 (8 pm) / Band of Skulls British alternative rock trio Band of Skulls used to go under the name Fleeing New York, but that was back in the days before the group released its 2008 debut Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, which was propelled by the song "I Know What I Am" after it was chosen as a free Single of the Week on iTunes. (Starlite Room, $15) —Eden Munro

VUETUBE

Fri, Apr 23 (7:30 pm) Trevor Tchir With Miss Emily Brown, Steve Brockley, Daniel Huscroft Haven Social Club, $10 All ages

// Eden Munro

Thu, Apr 29 (7:30 pm) Colleen Brown With Catherine MacLellan and The Olympic Symphonium Haven Social Club, $10 All ages

// Eden Munro

64 // MUSIC

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

PREVUE // THE WEEKEND KIDS

The Joy of DIY

The Weekend Kids do it on the weekend

ONE FOR ALL >> And all for one—that's the Weekend Kids' approach Mike Angus // mikeangus@vueweekly.com

'T

he highlight of recording was doing it all ourselves. It sounds funny to say, but I feel proud of us.

Are you supposed to proud of your own band?" asks the Weekend Kids' frontman/guitarist Andrew Nguyen.

The recording he's referring to is the band's first full-length Of Friends and Foes, and his question of pride reflects his band's genuine modesty and commitment to its do-it-yourself brand of heavy-hitting pop punk.

Rounded out by brothers Pete, Philam and Daminh Nguyen (guitar, bass and drums, respectively), the Weekend Kids are just that: four young dudes who hold down day jobs and study all week, but worked their collective ass off on the weekends to get this record done, thanks to a hard deadline they set for themselves and sweat equity. The process wasn't without its share of hangups, though.

"In the beginning, we had to iron out all those problems that were so frustrating: we'd sit there swearing at the computer, there was something wrong with the program that wouldn't let us record," Nguyen recalls. "And then near the deadline, it was crunchtime, and we were all so tired. We could only record on weekends, til two in the morning and then be back at it at 11 the next morning. It was like that every weekend. We had no lives for the longest time. It was starting to wear, but when we were done, it was the greatest feeling."

// Supplied

laboratively, where every song is a shared, vested interest.

"There's no chief songwriter," Andrew points out. "It used to be like that, where one guy would come up with a song and then tell the other guys, 'Play that, play that, play that,' and that'd be the end of the story.

Now everyone will bring in ideas, and we'll build on it. Everyone has a say, and everyone has a little part in it where they did something, so it feels more like a group effort."

In true DIY fashion, the guys from the Weekend Kids are happy to put their own stamp on everything they do, whether it's booking their own upcoming tour or beginning the next

stage of shameless self-promotion— even if they don't care for it.

"We're driven to make music, but sometimes it's a weird feeling to whore yourself out," Nguyen admits.

"I think we're getting better at it. As far as music goes, we strive to make the best music we can, music that we like ... everything we did, we did ourselves. It was all on us, and really rewarding in the end." V Fri, Apr 23 (8:30 pm) The Weekend Kids With Farewell Apollo, LIV and C Squared Brixx Bar & Grill, $10

It's this collective energy that weaves through the band's internal dynamic. Songs are written col-

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

MUSIC // 65

ALBUM REVIEWS

New Sounds

The Tallest Man on Earth The Wild Hunt (Dead Oceans) 

David Berry // david@vueweekly.com

I

n a recent conversation with local songstress Colleen Brown, she talked about how important she thought the voice was to pop music. It's the only immediately recognizable instrument we have, she said, the only one that you don't really need any kind of musical training to appreciate. To some degree, it's also the only instrument you don't need any training in to actually use: obviously some sort of inherent tunefulness is kind of essential, but the list of people who don't have classically pleasant voices that make it is at least some indication that you needn't be pitch perfect. For a lot of singers, in fact, it is those things they can't do that make their voices so appealing, their struggle to emote through their warbling and off-key voice that can make them seem more intimate and vulnerable.

Kristian Matsson, the rather diminutive Swede who records under the moniker The Tallest Man on Earth, isn't exactly Bob Dylan, but his voice does have a livedin and creaky quality that juxtaposes with his acoustic folk-pop tunes rather sharply.

What he loses in music-school perfection,

though, he more than makes up for with a creak that suggests something proud and familiar, like the comforting whine of old floorboards under bare feet. His standard tune is a bit nasal, but he is prone to little flights—points where he ends lines with sighs swallowed by his guitar, or jumps up a few notes into a broken falsetto or lets loose with a gutteral moan—that make his voice feel alive and naked as his often clever lyrics.

The Dylan comparison is relevant too for his folk revivalism: Matsson does occasionally give us scenes that point more towards Scandinavia, but his sound was wafted over from American prairies and coffee shops, and his deft fingerpicking and knack for creating space both physical and emotional would fit comfortably in either setting.

One of the best songs on the album actually drops the guitar, but closer "Kids on the Run" makes the most of a delicate piano line and lyrics that are mournfully regretful for the present moment, and how little Matsson seems to have learned from the past. " No we have never grown a day from the poison we shared / And we're walking our crooked backs home / But will we ever confess what we've done? / Guess we're still kids on the run," he sings, and he sounds almost like he's pulling a knife out of his gut while he's doing it. It's a sharp contrast to the title track that opens the album, where bits of banjo back up an acoustic strum and Matsson sings, "I left my heart to the wild hunt a-comin' / I live until the call / And I plan to be forgotten when I'm gone." But the ability to balance both sentiments is one of the album's great strengths, a streak of graceful maturity.

Whatever the subject—love, touring, sitting in a cobweb-filled cabin—Matsson manages to find multiple sides of the issue without sacrificing depth of feeling. However the man sings, that's a rare talent, and it makes The Wild Hunt a powerful listen. V

E-40 Revenue Retrievin': Day Shift Revenue Retrievin': Night Shift (Heavy on the Grind Ent)  Joanna Newsom Have One On Me (Drag City) 

What's in the water out west that makes for the prolific?

E-40 and Joanna Newsom are two independent Californian musicians who outwardly couldn't have less in common. Newsom sings arcane, harp-led missives about ancient spider ladies, the Mekong, pine sap gum and phantom limbs. E-40 is an OG, a word-anddrug-slinging punchline machine miming The Wire, his gospel according to Stringer Bell. Yet when it comes to length, they're neck and neck. E-40's two concurrently released concept albums of crack commandments and street narratives (38 whole tracks of it) narrowly outclocks Newsom's triple set by about 23 minutes and 55 seconds.

Other than the numbers game, these two also share the distinction of being more famous for their linguistics than for their music, a pair of spry alien voices commonly apologized for when introduced to neophytes.

When Newsom is cross with a former flame (who could it be?), she crafts an elaborate dreamscape about a "palanquin" composed of past loves. Later, she disses him ("Chew your bitter cud / grope your little nurse"). E-40 treats language with childlike abandon. He's "flamboasting" and whipping up "yola."

Sample rhyme: "dibbling and dabbling / Flea flickin' and fiddle faddlin.'" And like Newsom, he is a virtuous technician, delivering this weirdness in a variety of ways.

Divergent approaches but equally impenetrable verbiage. So why the difference in stars? This is owing to simple decision-making. In both records, I listen for turns of phrase and the refreshing refusal to completely conform to those in their fields. Though they both make concessions (drums for Newsom, R&B crossover for Earl), Newsom's are in service of artistry, whereas E-40 is obviously maximizing earning potential. The monochrome assembly line of reheated vocal sample club beats made by his son, Droop-E, wear thin and are occasionally exposed by clearly more colourful outside production, such as on African creeper "The Server" and the cartoon funeral synth of "Rick Rock Horns."

Newsom finally accepts pop tropes (Kate Bush's lilt, forward drum movement, songs with hooks) yet retains her amazing songwriting prowess, spinning yarns that sound intimately connected. It buds like a tree, sprouting hooks and unravelling itself in controlled bursts. These are records of excess, but while E-40 treats himself in both content and literal bloat, Joanna is clearly compelled to make room for the long now.

Roland Pemberton

// roland@vueweekly.com

66 // MUSIC

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night (Outside)  Listening to the third album from the Besnard Lakes feels, appropriately enough, a lot like swimming— through radio feedback, guitar distortion and multi-tracked vocals. They all blend together to create a uniquely psychedelic listening experience, albeit one you might have trouble describing in any detail past “there are a lot of guitars goin' on in there, man.” The one song on the record that manages to stick out from the homogeneous sonic space cake is “Albatross,” mostly because of its comparatively restrained approach to distortion and the triumphant horn riff that ends the song. But “it all sounds the same” isn't a big issue when “the same” means this particular brand of trippy, hypnotic prog-rock.

Lewis Kelly

// lewis@vueweekly.com

Small Black Small Black EP (Jagjaguwar) 

The Small Black EP is neither tiny nor dark, but openhearted and emotional. It’s seven songs filled with fuzzy keyboard washes reminiscent of the Cure, simple programmed beats, occasional wailing/ buzzing guitars and precious, to-the-bedroom-wall vocals and lyrics. Leading off with the messy-synth highlight, “Despicable Dogs,” it bleeds from track to track, through the shoegaze-with-bounce blend of “Lady in the Wires” to the background wails and echoing ending strums of “Baby Bird pt. 2,” and makes up a fragile, warm whole that doesn’t so much tug on your heartstrings as it does find a place to nestle in between them.

Paul Blinov

// paul@vueweekly.com

Gold Rush Gold Rush #2 (Cassettes) 

Gold Rush #2 has a bent to it that walks a line between county and punk, dusted with a ragged dose of noise. At the heart is a set of tunes that could be pop in another world, but here they live and breathe in the uncomfortable shadows; broken bones are left exposed and the music is better for it.

Eden Munro

// eden@vueweekly.com

Gold Rush performs at New City on Thursday, April 29.

ALBUM REVIEWS David Bowie Let's Dance (EMI)

pop, but he did take kind of a [deserved?] shit-kicking at the time.)

Anyway, though, the reputation Originally released: 1983 of this album is built almost entirely off its first three tracks— David Bowie's almost constant EMI's mid-'90s re-release added m reinvention gives you multiple the Bowie/Queen duet "Under ekly.co e w e u v david@ entry points into his work. BePressure," presumably to give d i v Da y ing an '80s child, my first expeople a reason to sit through Berr perience with him was actually the other five songs in the midLabyrinth, and while "Magic Dance" dle—but most artists aren't capable might not exactly of three songs be the most worthis good in their thy song in his entire career, so canon, watching take that for what him dance around it's worth. Of the in crotch-hugging three, his reinterspandex with a pretation of "Chibunch of mupna Girl," originally pets is at least a co-written and solid introduction performed by Iggy to what kind of Pop, is the weakweirdness you can est, its surprisingexpect from the ly dark lyrics kind man, especially of undercut by since that hardly the smack-youreven counts as a face-obvious use high-water mark of the synth along for his frequently DANCIN' MAN >> An accessible David Bowie the chorus. androgynous oddity.

That still leaves us with what are arguLet's Dance introduced a whole new set of ably Bowie's two best non-'70s songs, the fans to Bowie in the early '80s, and strangeremarkably venerable title track and "Modly enough the muppets might have actuern Love," a song that's a little more comally been a better entry point. Bowie is of plicated than its bouncy pianos and backcourse now famous for being a kind of pop beat imply—I'm actually surprised that, chameleon, but the unrepentant dance-pop given Bowie's own queer history, it hasn't sensibilities—if not necessarily the neobecome more of a gay anthem. Not only is soul-funk that actually makes up the bulk it infectiously dancey, but the modern love of the record—were fairly unprecedented here is pretty thinly disguised: "Church on in his work, which was still limited to his Zigtime / Terrifies me," "God and Man / Don't gy Stardust and Thin White Duke phases. believe in modern love." I guess it probably Nothing there really pointed to synth-disco, made too many squares' wedding dances, and it's easy to picture new fans looking in which is unfortunate but nicely ironic. vain through his discography for something Though, speaking of odd anthems, equalas catchily smooth as the title track. ly surprising is how big "Let's Dance" got/ (A brief aside: you could also point to is. It's a sharp song, but for the big dance Let's Dance as one of the signposts of mainnumber, its rhythm section is actually stream pop changing from its slightly more surprisingly flat, as compared to a lot of restless, experimental phase in the '70s to big pop hits. Most big pop hits don't have the more safe sphere that most of it curBowie's hypersexual growl at their heart, rently occupies, coming as it did around the though, and the shimmering guitar and sax rise of MTV and independent labels and all interplay does make up for an awful lot. If that, which to me adds to the Bowie legend this was the only Bowie you could ever get as someone constantly at the forefront of into, you'd still be doing just fine. V

OULNDDS

SO

HAIKU Hunter Valentine Lessons from the Late Night (Tommy Boy)

QUICK

SPINS in

quicksp

Riot-grrl pop-rock About stalkers, Scarface and The "Treadmills of love"

ly.com

week s@vue

Whiteoyn Houst

Cirque du Soleil OVO (Justin Time)

I used to laugh at The fact Cirque is kinda weird But now I'm frightened

Paperplanes and Dragonboats Tell Me Before You Go (Independent)

Jonny Lang Live at the Ryman (Concord)

It's cute but earnest Kinda like a leprechaun Singing about heartbreak

Hot-shot slinger once Not much has changed: plodding songs With crowd-pleasing licks

Andrew Watt and the Glory Glory First Day of Summer Life (Independent)

Nobody Not an Album (No Label)

Out on the East Coast Summer life begins when you Diddle pianos

Ash clouds grounded planes Whitey's stuck in Amsterdam He didn't write these

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

MUSIC // 67

PREVUE >> ROSE COUSINS

In the moment

Cousins and Doucet didn't overthink The Send Off Halifax-based songwriter Rose Cousins recorded The Send Off, her second full-length album, in Toronto with Luke Doucet producing. She recently spoke to Vue Weekly about the process of creating the album.

Here are some of the highlights.

were then filled out as a group?

RC: On Luke's advice we didn't send the songs out to the players, and even Luke himself didn't have the tunes memorized and have it pre-mapped out. He was really encouraging of not being over-prepared and of creating the tracks together with VUE WEEKLY: How did you choose the musicians that we brought in. It the other players on the album? brings out the best. It basically alAre they people you play with lows each player to contribute, regularly, or were they brought to be an actual, true part of it, om in specifically for the album? and that way it's not 100 pereekly.c w e u v ROSE COUSINS: The only cent contrived and pre-decided. eden@ person that I had played with I really enjoyed it. There's obviEden o before, Kinley Dowling, who ously part of it that makes you a Munr plays the violan and viola, she is little bit nervous because you don't the one person that I flew up to Toronto know everybody, but I really trusted Luke to be on the recording. And I have a gang and it was a really fantastic experience. from Halifax and a gang from Boston who sing vocals on the last track, "Sadie in the VW: How did you decide which songs to Kitchen." So I sat down with Luke Doucet, include on the album? who produced the album, in July—we met RC: There was one song definitely that just up to talk about how we were going to didn't seem to fit, and I really, really liked produce it, so we used his bass player, Rich it. It was a song I had written called "Heart Levesque, and Al Cross, who had played on in the Game," that I had written about ElMelissa McClelland's record, so Luke had vis after going to Graceland, and I really worked with him before and he's a Toronto liked the song but it just didn't fit, and I ringer and such a fantastic person. I really think that's the case with a lot of things: trusted Luke to choose the people who I wanted the project to make sense and would help make it what it was. that song just didn't make sense for it. But in the pre-production part when Luke and VW: Did you bring the songs to the studio I met up in July, I showed him what I had fully formed, or were they sketches that and we talked over the songs and made a

ON TH

RECO

E

RD

few changes where we needed to, but, like I say, the week before I wrote two more and then actually during the recording process that song "Celebrate" that's on the album I wrote for my friend's wedding which happened in the middle of recording and I wrote it four days before the wedding and then the day after the wedding came back and recorded it.

VW: If you were to trace the musical map that led you to The Send Off, what would it look like?

RC: Music's always been the place that I would lean into, and that goes right back to playing piano by myself as a kid—without much training just kind of playing by ear for myself—and then getting to university and really wanting to learn how to play guitar and then being brave enough to go to open-mic nights around Halifax and connecting with other people who are in the same mindset, and really wanting to learn and get out there, working out stage fright.

Building confidence and finally writing my own songs to the point where I quit my job and really went for it. V Sat, Apr 24 (7:30 pm) Rose Cousins With Amelia Curran, Robb Angus Haven Social Club, $10

HOROSCOPE ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 19)

"Although obstacles and difficulties frighten ordinary people," wrote French painter Théodore Géricault, "they are the necessary food of genius. They cause it to mature, and raise it up ... All that obstructs the path of genius inspires a state of feverish agitation, upsetting and overturning those obstacles, and producing masterpieces." I'd like to make this idea one of your guiding principles, Aries. In order for it to serve you well, however, you'll have to believe that there is a sense in which you do have some genius within you. It's not necessarily something that will make you rich, famous, popular or powerful. For example, you may have a genius at washing dogs or giving thoughtful gifts or doing yoga when you're sad. Whatever your unique brilliance consists of, the challenges just ahead will be highly useful in helping it grow.

TAURUS (Apr 20 – May 20)

Yes, I know that the bull is your totem animal. But I'm hoping you're willing to expand your repertoire, because it's a ripe time for you to take on some of the attitudes of the king of beasts. Consider this. The naturalist and shaman Virginia Carper notes that lions have strong personalities but cooperate well. They're powerful as individuals but engage in constructive group dynamics.

In many cultures, they have been symbols of nobility, dignity and spiritual prowess.

To adopt the lion as a protective guardian spirit builds one's ability to know and hunt down exactly what one wants. Would you like more courage? Visualize your lion self.

68 // MUSIC

GEMINI (May 21 – Jun 20)

In 2011, I may do a tour of North America, performing my show "Sacred Uproar." But for the foreseeable future I need to shut up and listen. I've got to make myself available to learn fresh truths I don't even realize I need to know. But for now I have a sacred duty to forget everything I supposedly believe in and gratefully shuck my self-importance. By the way, Gemini, everything I just described would be a good approach for you to consider taking in the next three weeks.

CANCER (Jun 21 – Jul 22)

Is it true what they say, that you can never have too many friends? If you don't think so, it's a good time to re-evaluate your position.

And if you do agree, then you should go out and get busy. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you're likely to be extra lucky in attracting new connections and deepening existing alliances in the coming weeks. The friendships you strike up are likely to be unusually stimulating and especially productive. To take maximum advantage of the favorable cosmic rhythms, do whatever you can to spruce up your inner beauty.

LEO (Jul 23 – Aug 22)

I have compiled a set of four affirmations that I think will keep you on the right track in the coming weeks. Try saying them at least twice a day. 1. "I am cultivating relaxed alertness, because that will make me receptive to high-quality clues about how to proceed." 2. "I am expressing casual perfectionism, because that way I will thoroughly enjoy being excellent, and not stress about it." 3. "I am full of diligent indifference, working hard out of love

for the work and not being attached to the outcome." 4. "I am practising serene debauchery, because if I'm not manically obsessed with looking for opportunities to cut loose, those opportunities will present themselves to me with grace and frequency."

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sep 22)

The Great Wall of China is the largest human construction in the world, stretching for almost 3900 miles. But contrary to legend, it is not visible from the moon. According to most astronauts, the Wall isn't even visible from low Earth orbit. Keep this in mind as you carry out your assignment in the coming week, Virgo. First, imagine that your biggest obstacle is the size of the Great Wall of China. Second, imagine yourself soaring so high above it, so thoroughly beyond it, that it disappears. If performed regularly, I think this exercise will give you a new power to deal with your own personal Great Wall of China.

LIBRA (Sep 23 – Oct 22)

In the early 1990s, actors Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder were engaged to be married.

In honour of their love, Depp got a tattoo that read "Winona Forever." After the relationship fell apart, though, he had it altered to "Wino Forever." If you're faced with a comparable need to change a tattoo or shift your emphasis or transform a message anytime soon, Libra, I suggest putting a more positive and upbeat spin on it—something akin to "Winner Forever."

SCORPIO (Oct 23 – Nov 21)

In the Bering Strait, Russia and America are 2.5 miles apart. The International Date Line

runs through the gap, meaning that it's always a day later on the Russian side than it is on the American. I suggest you identify a metaphorically similar place in your own life, Scorpio: a zone where two wildly different influences almost touch. According to my reading of the omens, it's an excellent time for you to foster more interaction and harmony between them.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

I have a group of colleagues who half-jokingly, half-sincerely refer to themselves as the Shamanic Hackers of Karmic Justice. The joking part of it is that the title is so over-the-top ostentatious that it keeps them from taking themselves too seriously. The sincere part is that they really do engage in shamanic work designed to help free their clients from complications generated by old mistakes. Since you're entering the season of adjustment and atonement, I asked them to do some corrective intervention in your behalf. They agreed, with one provision: that you aid and abet their work by doing what you can to liberate yourself from the consequences of wrong turns you made in the past.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

The Weekly World News reported that a blues singer sued his psychiatrist for turning him into a more cheerful person. Gloomy Gus Johnson claimed he was so thoroughly cured of his depression that he could no longer perform his dismal tales with mournful sincerity. His popularity declined as he lost fans who had become attached to his despondent persona. I suspect you may soon be arriving at a similar crossroads, Capricorn. Through

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

the intervention of uplifting influences and outbreaks of benevolence, you will find it harder to cultivate a cynical attitude. Are you prepared to accept the consequences that may come from being deprived of some of your reasons to moan and groan?

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

Educational specialist Dr. Howard Gardner believes IQ tests evaluate only a fraction of human intelligence. He describes eight different kinds of astuteness. They include the traditional measures – being good at math and language – as well as six others: being smart about music, the body, other people, one's own inner state, nature and spatiality. (More here: bit.ly/Shrewd.) I bring this to your attention, Aquarius, because you're entering a phase when you could dramatically enhance your intelligence about your own inner state.

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

South Carolina now requires subversive people to register with the state if they have the stated intention of overthrowing the government of the United States. I have no such goal.

I am, however, participating in a movement to overthrow reality, or rather, the sour and crippled mass hallucination that is mistakenly called "reality." This crusade requires no guns or political agitation, but is instead waged by the forces of the liberated imagination using words, music and images to counteract those who paralyze and deaden the imagination. I invite you to join us. You're entering a phase when you may feel an almost ecstatic longing to free yourself from the delusions that constitute the fake "reality." V

EVENTS WEEKLY FAX YOUR FREE LISTINGS TO 780.426.2889 OR EMAIL LISTINGS@VUEWEEKLY.COM DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 3 PM

CLUBS & LECTURES A TASTE OF PERMACULTURE Pleasantview

;geemfalq @Ydd$ )(0.(%-/ 9n] Â&#x153; >mdd \Yq g^ ogjck`ghk$ d][lmj]k Yf\ [geemfalq Zmad\af_ Â&#x153; Sat May 01 Â&#x153; 12+(Ye% ,he Â&#x153; Hj]%j]_akljYlagf j]imaj]\2 +- Â&#x153; ]\h]jeY[mdlmj]8 _eYad&[ge

AIKIKAI AIKIDO CLUB Â&#x153; )()+1%0/ 9n]$ Gd\ KljYl`[gfY

;geemfalq D]Y_m] Â&#x153; BYhYf]k] EYjlaYd 9jl g^ 9aca\g Â&#x153; =n]jq Lm] /2+(%12+(he3 L`m .%0he

ART WORKOUT WEDNESDAYS Â&#x153; M g^ 9 =pl]fkagf$

)(*+( BYkh]j 9n]$ /0(&,1*&+)(1

AWA 12ďż˝STEP SUPPORT GROUP Â&#x153; :jY]ka\]

Hj]kZql]jaYf ;`mj[` Zkel$ F& \ggj$ . :]jfYj\ <j$ :ak`gh Kl$ Kaj Oafklgf ;`mj[`add 9n]$ Kl 9dZ]jl Â&#x153; >gj Y\mdl [`ad\j]f g^ Yd[g`gda[ Yf\ \qk^mf[lagfYd ^Yeada]k Â&#x153; =n]jq Egf$ /2+(he

^gj af^g Â&#x153; Kmal] *() )(.*)%)(( 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,-*&,..)2 )kl Yf\ +j\ Lm] ]Y[` egfl`$ /%1he Â&#x153; Je (.-)$ ?j]q Fmfk @gkhalYd2 =n]jq L`m3 /%1he3 EYpaf] /0(&,-)&)/--

PALS Â&#x153; 9?9$ * Oafklgf ;`mj[`add KimYj] Â&#x153; STUDENT AND VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION CELEBRATION AND AGM Â&#x153; Tue Apr 203 .he

PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS SOCIETY OF ALBERTA Â&#x153; JgqYd 9dZ]jlY Emk]me Â&#x153; ?jYf\ gh]faf_ j][]hlagf Â&#x153; Sat Apr 24 Â&#x153; )2+(he RAW VEGAN MEAL Eak]ddY <]dal]$ Klgfq HdYaf Â&#x153; Sat Apr 24 Â&#x153; /0(&1.0&./), Â&#x153; eak]ddY\]dal]&[ge&

REFLECTING ON WATER: WATER & THE CITY Â&#x153;

LIVING POSITIVE Â&#x153; ,(,$ )(,(0%)*, Kl Â&#x153; ]\edanaf_hgkalan]&[Y Â&#x153; )&0//&1/-&1,,0'/0(&,00&-/.0 Â&#x153; ;gfĂ&#x2021;\]flaYd h]]j kmhhgjl lg h]ghd] danaf_ oal` @AN Â&#x153; Lm]$ /%1he2 Kmhhgjl _jgmh Â&#x153; <Yadq \jgh%af$ h]]j [gmfk]ddaf_

)(***%)(*Kl Â&#x153; ?j]_ KeYdd]fZmj_ oadd dggc Yl l`] hgl]flaYd g^ gn]jdggc]\ Yf\ ^gj_gll]f hdY[]k Â&#x153; 9hj *+$ /he Â&#x153; Design Charette: HYjla[ahYflk Yj] afnal]\ lg _]f]jYl] a\]Yk Yf\ km__]kl \]ka_fk Â&#x153; Sat Apr 24$ 1Ye%+he Â&#x153; cajY&`mfl8mYdZ]jlY&[Y ?Yjf]Ym Mfal]\ ;`mj[`$ ))),0%0, 9n] Â&#x153; >ajkl g^ Y k]ja]k gf oYl]j& OYl]j akkm]k af =\egflgf$ Eadd ;j]]c oYl]jk`]\$ =H;GJÂżk jgd] af oYl]j imYdalq oYl]j eYfY_]e]fl Â&#x153; Mon Apr 26 Â&#x153; /%1he Â&#x153; /0(&,+1&*-()

RISE EMPLOYER AWARDS LUNCHEON Â&#x153; Kmllgf

HdY[] @gl]d Â&#x153; J][g_faraf_ d]Y\]jk`ah Yf\ affgnYlagf af j][jmalaf_$ afl]_jYlaf_ Yf\ j]lYafaf_ kcadd]\ aeea_jYflk& H]j^gjeYf[] ^jge l`] =E;F ?dgZYd Nga[]k ;`gaj Â&#x153; Thu Apr 29 Â&#x153; ))2+(%)2+(he Â&#x153; KmZeakkagfk eYq Z] eY\] af h]jkgf Yl l`] =\egflgf E]ffgfal] ;]flj] ^gj F]o[ge]jk$ ))/)+ % 0* Kl&$ =\egflgf$ 9: L-: *N1 Zq ^Yp Yl /0(%,*,% //+.$ gj Zq ]%eYad lg jak]8]e[f&YZ&[Y Â&#x153; Af^g2 /0(%1+/%*,-- gj /0(%,*,%//(1

SUGARSWING DANCE CLUB Â&#x153; GjYf_] @Ydd$ )(++-%0,

CANADIAN DEPARTMENT OF PEACE INITIATIVE

THINKING OUR WAY IN A TIME OF CRISIS Â&#x153; Kl]]hk$ )))). O`ql] 9n] Â&#x153; Ym_mklYfY&mYdZ]jlY&[Y'jgffaf_ Â&#x153; H`adgkgh`]jÂżk ;Y^Â&#x2026; K]ja]k2 L`afcaf_ Gmj OYq af Y Lae] g^ ;jakak2 9faeYl]\ Zq <Yna\ B& ?gY Â&#x153; Sat, Apr 24$ )%+2+(he

CANADIAN MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION

Â&#x153; Kmal] 0(($ )((,-%))) Kl Â&#x153; /0(&,),&.+)) Â&#x153; >Yeadq kmhhgjl \jgh%af _jgmh ^gj l`gk] o`g Yj] kmhhgjlaf_ Yf Y\mdl ^Yeadq e]eZ]j danaf_ oal` Y e]flYd addf]kk Â&#x153; =n]jq O]\$ .2+(%02+(he

CONVERSATION CIRCLE Kl 9dZ]jl HmZda[ DaZjYjq$ - Kl 9ff] Kl$ Kl 9dZ]jl Â&#x153; /0(&,-1&)/-( Â&#x153; HjY[la[] qgmj =f_dak` Â&#x153; Sat Apr 24, Sat May 1 Â&#x153; 12+(%))Ye Â&#x153; kYhd& YZ&[Y

EDMONTON BICYCLE COMMUTERS' SOCIETY Â&#x153;

:Y[c 9dd]q$ )((,/%0( 9n] Â&#x153; @Yf\k%Gf :ac] EYafl]fYf[] K]eafYj Â&#x153; =n]jq L`m .he Â&#x153; - fgf%e]eZ]jk Â&#x153; ]\egflgfZac]k&[Y

EDMONTON ESPERANTO SOCIETY Â&#x153; )((*-%)(*9

9n]$ Je )0)*0 Â&#x153; /0(&/(*&-))/ Â&#x153; =n]jq >ja Yf\ l`] k][gf\ L`m g^ ]Y[` egfl`3 )*%)he

FOOD ADDICTS Â&#x153; Kl Dmc] k 9f_da[Yf ;`mj[`$ 0,*,%1- 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,.-&*()1'/0(&,-(&.)/1 Â&#x153; >gg\ 9\\a[lk af J][gn]jq 9fgfqegmk >9!$ ^j]] )*%Kl]h j][gn]jq hjg_jYe ^gj Yfqgf] km^^]jaf_ ^jge ^gg\ gZk]kkagf$ gn]j]Ylaf_$ mf\]j% ]Ylaf_$ Yf\ ZmdaeaY Â&#x153; E]]laf_k ]n]jq L`m$ /he GREAT EXPEDITIONS HOSTEL TRAVEL Â&#x153; @gkl]ddaf_

Afl]jfYlagfYd$ )(.,/%0) 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,-,&.*). Â&#x153;

GREEN DRINKS EDMONTON Â&#x153; L`] CYkZYj l`] ZYk]-

e]fl g^ QaYffa k gf O`ql]! )(,,,%0* 9n] Â&#x153; O] oadd `Yn] Y dan]dq eaplmj] g^ h]ghd] ^jge F?Gk$ Y[Y\]eaY$ _gn]jfe]fl Yf\ Zmkaf]kk& ;ge] Ydgf_ Yf\ qgm dd Z] eY\] o]d[ge] Â&#x153; Thu Apr 29 Â&#x153; /%))he

HOMEďż˝Energizing Spiritual Community for Passionate Living Â&#x153; ?Yjf]Ym'9k`Zgmjf] 9kkakl]\ Danaf_ HdY[]$ ))),0%0, 9n] Â&#x153; Home2 :d]f\k emka[$ \jYeY$ [j]Ylanalq Yf\ j]Ă&#x2C6;][lagf gf kY[j]\ l]plk lg ]f]j_ak] qgm ^gj hYkkagfYl] danaf_ Â&#x153; =n]jq Kmf +%-he

HOW SHOULD WE MANAGE POLAR BEARS? Â&#x153;

L=D )-( L]dmk ;]flj]$ jgge )-(!$ M g^ 9 [Yehmk Â&#x153; L`] =fnajgfe]flYd ;gfk]jnYlagf K[a]f[]k Klm\]fl 9kkg[aYlagf =;K9! ak hjgm\ lg `gkl <j& D]] >ggl] <]hYjle]fl g^ J]f]oYZd] J]kgmj[]k$ M g^ 9! ^gj `ak hj]k]flYlagf L`] J]hj]k]flYlagfYd FYlmj] g^ Oad\da^] Â&#x153; Wed Apr 28 Â&#x153; /%02+(he Â&#x153; >j]]

HUMAN RIGHTS CAFE SERIES L`j]] :YfYfYk ;Y^]

af Kaj Oafklgf ;`mj[`add KimYj]3 11)0 % )(* 9n]fm] Â&#x153; Ă&#x2021;jkl Kmf Y^l]jfggf g^ ]Y[` egfl` l`ak egfl` gfdq2 Thu Apr 22)$ bgaf gf] g^ gmj @meYf Ja_`lk >Y[adalYlgjk af Y \aYdg_m] Â&#x153; >j]] Â&#x153; b`[]flj]&gj_

HOW�TO & HANDS�ON BIKE MAINTENANCE SEMINARS =\egflgf :a[q[d] ;geeml]jk Kg[a]lq3

ZY[c Ydd]q3 )((,/%0( 9n] Â&#x153; =n]jq L`m3 .he Â&#x153; =:; oadd Z] g^^]jaf_ Y k]ja]k g^ `go%lg Zac] eYafl]fYf[] k]eafYjk3 >j]] ^gj =:; e]eZ]jk3 - ^gj fgf%e]eZ]jk3 [gmjk]k8 ]\egflgfZac]k&[Y3 ]\egflgfZac]k&[Y

INDIGO DRINKS Â&#x153; NaddY_] Da^]klqd]k$ )(,*1%/1 9n] Â&#x153; 9

k`af\a_ Yf\ eap]j g^ ^gdck o`g ogjc af l`] `gdakla[ Ă&#x2021;]d\ Fri Apr 30 Â&#x153; /%)(he Â&#x153; >j]] Â&#x153; dmfY8]cklYkak\Yf[]&[ge

INTRODUCTION TO SCRAPBOOKING Kl 9dZ]jl HmZda[ DaZjYjq$ - Kl 9ff] Kl$ Kl 9dZ]jl Â&#x153; /0(&,-1&)/-( Â&#x153; Thu Apr 29 Â&#x153; /%02+(he Â&#x153; ooo&kYhd&YZ&[Y KARMA TASHI LING Â&#x153; )(-(* %/(9n] Â&#x153; <N< hj]k]flY-

lagf Yf\ \ak[mkkagf gf >gmj <`YjeYk g^ ?YehghY$ Zq N]f& L`jYf_m Jafhg[`] Â&#x153; L`m ]n]faf_k Â&#x153; Until May 20 Â&#x153; /%02+(he Â&#x153; ooo&cYjeYlYk`adaf_&[Y Â&#x153; /0(%,++%0,.+

LIVING SMALL(ER) Â&#x153; L`] MfalYjaYf ;`mj[` g^ =\egflgf$ )(0(, ))1 Kl Â&#x153; /0(&,-,&0(/+ Â&#x153; 9 hYf]d gf kaehd] danaf_ af Y `][la[ ogjd\ Â&#x153; Fri Apr 23 Â&#x153; /%1he Â&#x153; m[]&[Y MAX WYMAN Â&#x153; Bg`f D& @YYj L`]Ylj]$ ;]flj] ^gj l`]

9jlk Yf\ ;geemfa[Ylagfk$ )((,-%)-. Kl Â&#x153; 9 \Yf[]$ emka[ Yf\ l`]Ylj] [jala[ ^gj egj] l`Yf +( q]Yjk$ EYp OqeYf ak gf] g^ ;YfY\Y k d]Y\af_ [mdlmjYd [gee]flYlgjk Â&#x153; Wed Apr 28 Â&#x153; /he Â&#x153; >j]]

OH! MY DEAR, HUMAN FLESH! Â&#x153; =\egflgf Jgge$

KlYfd]q 9& Eadf]j DaZjYjq Â&#x153; K]jnYflk Yf\ kdYn]k Yl l`] lae] g^ BYf] 9mkl]f <ak[mkkagf Yf\ j]^j]k`e]flk Y^l]joYj\k& Sat Apr 24 Â&#x153; *%,he Â&#x153; >j]] Â&#x153; logd]_k_gg\8l]dmk&f]l Â&#x153; /0(&,/1&)/*1

ORGANIZATION FOR BIPOLAR AFFECTIVE DISORDER (OBAD) Â&#x153; K[`argh`j]faY Kg[a]lq g^ 9dZ]jlY$

*(($ )(.*)%)(( 9n] Â&#x153; Kmhhgjl _jgmh e]]lk )kl Yf\ +j\ Lm] ]Y[` egfl`$ /%1he Â&#x153; ;Ydd <Yfa]dd] gj EYpaf] Yl /0(&,-*&,..)

/0(&+0/&++,+ Â&#x153; e]]l egfl`dq Â&#x153; Af^g2 _jgmhk&qY`gg&[ge' _jgmh']\egflgfWaddmkagfk

INSIDE/OUT Â&#x153; M g^ 9 ;Yehmk Â&#x153; ;Yehmk%ZYk]\

9n] gj Hd]YkYflna]o @Ydd$ )(0.(%-/ 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&.(,&/-/* Â&#x153; Koaf_ <Yf[] Yl Km_Yj >ggl Klgeh2 Z]_aff]j d]kkgf ^gddgo]\ Zq \Yf[] ]n]jq KYl$ 0he \ggj! Yl GjYf_] @Ydd gj Hd]YkYflna]o @Ydd$ [`][c o]Zkal]

Â&#x153; =\egflgf ;`Yhl]j& KljYl`[gfY HmZda[ DaZjYjq$ *f\ ^dggj e]]laf_ je$ 0++)%)(,Kl Â&#x153; Sat May 1 Â&#x153; )he

ILLUSIONS SOCIAL CLUB: CROSSDRESSERS Â&#x153;

RECLAIMING LOST SPACES Â&#x153; <]dlY ;]flj] Kmal] @gl]d$

BAGS FOR HOPE Kl 9dZ]jl HmZda[ DaZjYjq$ - Kl

9ff] Kl$ Kl 9dZ]jl Â&#x153; /0(&,-1&)/-( Â&#x153; @]dh ca\k \][gjYl] k`ghhaf_ ZY_k lg jYak] egf]q ^gj l`]aj _gg\ [Ymk] Â&#x153; Fri Apr 23 Â&#x153; +%-he

af_3 jmffaf_8l]Ye]\egflgf&[Y Â&#x153; Spinning: EY[=oYf ;]flj]$ )(1 Klj]]l Yf\ )(, 9n]3 khaf8l]Ye]\egflgf& [Y Â&#x153; Swimming: F9AL hggd$ ))/.*%)(. Kl3 koaeeaf_8 l]Ye]\egflgf&[Y Â&#x153; Volleyball: Egl`]j L]j]kY =d]e]flYjq K[`ggd Yl 1((0%)(-93 9eakcaoY[aq 9[Y\]eq$ )() 9ajhgjl J\3 j][ngdd]qZYdd8l]Ye]\egflgf&[Y3 ngdd]qZYdd8 l]Ye]\egflgf&[Y Â&#x153; QG?9 @Yl`Y!2 >j]] Qg_Y ]n]jq Kmf$ *%+2+(he3 Cgj]rgf] >alf]kk$ *(+$ )(-/-%))- Kl$ qg_Y8 l]Ye]\egflgf&[Y

VVOA DINERS CLUB Gja]flYd N]__a] @gmk]$ )(-(.% )(( Kl Â&#x153; Fri Apr 23 Â&#x153; Hj]%j]_akl]j /0(&,.1&),,0 Â&#x153; ngY8 l]dmkhdYf]l&f]l Â&#x153; /he

WHAT IS ART? Â&#x153; K]jnmk Hd$ Egjafnadd] Je$ ,(( ;YehZ]dd J\$ Kl 9dZ]jlÂ&#x153; D][lmj]Âş\ak[gn]j hmZda[ Yjl af Kl& 9dZ]jl Â&#x153; Thu Apr 22$ *1$ /2+(he Â&#x153; -( -%hYjl k]ja]k!' )( ]Y[`!

THE WOMEN GATHERING EVENT Â&#x153; =phj]kkagfr

;Y^] % L`] K[`ggd g^ Da^]$ 11+0 % /( 9n]fm] Â&#x153; /0(&,+/&+../ Â&#x153; <Yqlae] Ogjck`ghk$ Dan] =fl]jlYafe]fl$ <jmeeaf_ <Yf[af_$ Hgldm[c Kmhh]j$ O]ddf]kk K]kkagfk$ EYjc]lhdY[] Â&#x153; Sat, Apr 24

WOMEN IN BLACK Â&#x153; Af >jgfl g^ l`] Gd\ KljYl`[gfY

>Yje]jk EYjc]l Â&#x153; Kad]fl na_ad l`] )kl Yf\ +j\ KYl$ )(%))Ye$ ]Y[` egfl`$ klYf\ af kad]f[] ^gj Y ogjd\ oal`gml nagd]f[]

COMEDY

CENTURY CASINO Â&#x153; )+)(+ >gjl JgY\ Â&#x153; /0(&.,+&,((( Â&#x153; P JYl]\ K`gok2 <Yjj]f >jgkl oal` Ea[`]dd] K`Ym_`f]kkq :gZ :]\\go Â&#x153; Apr 23-24 COMEDY FACTORY Â&#x153; ?Yl]oYq =fl]jlYafe]fl

;]flj]$ +, 9n]$ ;Yd_Yjq Lj Â&#x153; L`m$ 02+(he3 KYl$ 0he Yf\ )(he Â&#x153; Dgmak Bg`fkgf Â&#x153; Apr 22-24

COMIC STRIP Â&#x153; :gmjZgf Kl$ O=E Â&#x153; /0(&,0+&-111

Â&#x153; O]\%>ja$ Kmf 0he3 >ja%KYl )(2+(he Â&#x153; @al gj Eakk Egf\Yq2 YeYl]mj [ge]\q fa_`l3 Egf\Yqk Â&#x153; L`] :]kl g^ =\egflgf2 Dg[Yd LYd]fl Fa_`l3 Lm]k\Yqk Â&#x153; :jqYf ;Ydd]f Apr 29-May 2

DRUID Â&#x153; )).(. BYkh]j 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&/)(&*))1 Â&#x153; ;ge]\q Fa_`l2

@gkl]\ Zq DYjk ;Ydda]gm$ oal` gh]f [ge]\q klY_] Â&#x153; =n]jq Kmf$ 1he

HYDEAWAYďż˝Jekyll and Hyde Â&#x153; )(*(1%)(( 9n] Â&#x153;

/0(&,*.&-+0) Â&#x153; Kmh]j 9o]kge] ;ge]\q hj]k]flk2 Oa^] :]Yl]j [ge]\q fa_`l Â&#x153; - \ggj! Â&#x153; Dan] [ge]\q ]n]jq Lm]

gj_YfarYlagf ^gj d]kZaYf$ _Yq$ Zak]pmYd$ ljYfk%a\]flaĂ&#x2021;]\ Yf\ im]]j D?:LI! ^Y[mdlq$ _jY\mYl] klm\]fl$ Y[Y\]ea[$ kljYa_`l Ydda]k Yf\ kmhhgjl klY^^ Â&#x153; +j\ L`m ]Y[` egfl` ^Ydd' oafl]j l]jek!2 Kh]Yc]jk K]ja]k& =2 co]ddk8mYdZ]jlY&[Y

MAKING WAVES SWIMMING CLUB Â&#x153; _]g[ala]k&[ge' eYcaf_oYn]kW]\e Â&#x153; J][j]YlagfYd'[geh]lalan] koaeeaf_& Kg[aYdaraf_ Y^l]j hjY[la[]k Â&#x153; =n]jq Lm] 'L`m PLAY NIGHTCLUB Â&#x153; )(**(%)(+ Kl Â&#x153; Gh]f L`m$ >ja$ KYl oal` <Bk 9d]pp :jgof Yf\ =\\a] LggfĂ&#x2C6;Yk` PRIDE CENTRE OF EDMONTON Â&#x153; 1-,(%))) 9n] Â&#x153;

/0(&,00&+*+, Â&#x153; hja\][]flj]g^]\egflgf&gj_ Â&#x153; Gh]f Lm]%>ja )%)(he$ KYl *%.2+(he Â&#x153; D?:L K]fagjk <jgh%af2 =n]jq Lm]' L`m$ *%,he Â&#x153; ;92 L`m /he! Â&#x153; Kmal Mh Yf\ K`go Mh2 99 Za_ Zggc klm\q _jgmh ]n]jq KYl$ fggf Â&#x153; Qgml` Mf\]jklYf\af_ Qgml`2 Mh lg *- q]Yjk$ kmhhgjl Yf\ kg[aYd _jgmh ]n]jq KYl$ /%1he3 qmq8k`Yo&[Y Â&#x153; OgegfkhY[]2 e]]l )kl Kmf ]Y[` egfl`$ )(2+(Ye%)*2+(he Â&#x153; LjYfk =\m[Ylagf'Kmhhgjl ?jgmh e]]l2 )kl'+j\ Kmf$ *%,he$ ]Y[` egfl`3 YdZ]jlYljYfk& gj_ Â&#x153; E]f LYdcaf_ oal` Hja\]2 Kmf /he3 ^Y[adalYlgj2 JgZ O]ddk jgZo]ddk/0(8`gleYad&[ge Â&#x153; @AN Kmhhgjl ?jgmh2 *f\ Egf ]Y[` egfl`$ /he Â&#x153; LjYfk_]f\]j$ LjYfkk]pmYd$ Afl]jk]p Yf\ Im]klagfaf_ LLAI! 9ddaYf[] kmhhgjl e]]laf_ *f\ Lm] ]Y[` egfl`$ /2+(he Â&#x153; LjYfk_]f\]j$ LjYfkk]pmYd$ Afl]jk]p Yf\ Im]klagfaf_2 =\m[Ylagf$ Y\ng[Y[q Yf\ kmhhgjl ^gj e]f$ oge]f Yf\ qgml` Â&#x153; >j]] hjg^]kkagfYd [gmfk]ddaf_ ]n]jq O]\ ]p[]hl l`] )kl O]\ ]Y[` egfl`3 /%)(he3 Yhhl hj]^]jj]\$ \jgh%afk o]d[ge] Â&#x153; Qgml`KhY[]2 \jgh%af ^gj D?:LI ^gj qgml` mh lg *-3 Lm]%KYl$ +%/he

PRISM BAR Â&#x153; )(-*,%)() Kl Â&#x153; /0(&11(&((+0 Â&#x153; O]\2 >j]]

Hggd3 CYjYgc]$ 1he%ea\fa_`l Â&#x153; L`m2 Hjake Hggd D]Y_m]3 /%))2+(he Â&#x153; >ja2 Kl]Yc Fal]k3 -%1he3 <B Yl 12+(he

ROBERTSONďż˝WESLEY UNITED CHURCH Â&#x153; )(*(1%

)*+ Kl Â&#x153; /0(&,0*&)-0/ Â&#x153; Kgmd GMLaf_2 Yf D?:L%^g[mk]\ Ydl]jfYlan] ogjk`ah Â&#x153; *f\ Kmf ]n]jq egfl`$ /he3 ogjk`ah Kmf$ )(2+(Ye3 h]ghd] g^ Ydd k]pmYd gja]flYlagfk o]d[ge]& D?:L egfl`dq Zggc [dmZ Yf\ Ă&#x2021;de fa_`l& =2 bjYn]fk[jg^l8 jom[&gj_

ST PAUL'S UNITED CHURCH Â&#x153; ))-*.%/. 9n] Â&#x153;

/0(&,+.&)--- Â&#x153; H]ghd] g^ Ydd k]pmYd gja]flYlagfk Yj] o]d[ge] Â&#x153; =n]jq Kmf )(Ye ogjk`ah!

WOMONSPACE Â&#x153; /0(&,0*&)/1, Â&#x153; ogegfkhY[]&[Y$

ogegfkhY[]8_eYad&[ge Â&#x153; 9 Fgf%hjgĂ&#x2021;l d]kZaYf kg[aYd gj_YfarYlagf ^gj =\egflgf Yf\ kmjjgmf\af_ Yj]Y& Egfl`dq Y[lanala]k$ f]okd]ll]j$ j]\m[]\ jYl]k af[dm\]\ oal` e]eZ]jk`ah& ;gfĂ&#x2021;\]flaYdalq Ykkmj]\

WOODYS Â&#x153; ))/*+ BYkh]j 9n] Â&#x153; /0(&,00&.--/ Â&#x153; CYjYgc] oal` FYl`Yf3 Egf 0he Â&#x153; EYjlafa Egf\Yqk3 +he Â&#x153; Qgm <gf l Cfgo ?Ye] K`go oal` HYlja[c Yf\ FYl`Yf3 L`m 1he Â&#x153; Dgf_ AkdYf\ A[]\ L]Y3 L`m +he Â&#x153; CYjYgc] oal` Egj_Yf3 O]\ /he Â&#x153; CYjYgc] oal` C]naf3 Kmf 0he

YOUTH UNDERSTANDING YOUTH Â&#x153; qmq]\e&

[Y Â&#x153; E]]lk ]n]jq KYl$ /%1he Â&#x153; =2 af^g8qmq]\e&[Y$ L2 /0(&*,0&)1/)

SPECIAL EVENTS

LOVE TO HAITI MUSIC BENEFIT AND DINNER

RIVER CREE RESORT AND CASINO Â&#x153; +(( =Ykl

Â&#x153; L`] EYfgj =mjgDgmf_] )(()0%)(-kl Â&#x153; Kmhhgjl Y e]\a[Yd eakkagf ljah lg @Yala l`ak kmee]j Â&#x153; Emka[ Zq Kaegf @gkcqf$ L`] Kcq Da^]$ 9 Dalld] Hjgb][l$ Lqd]j ;gddafk Â&#x153; Fri, Apr 23 Â&#x153; .he <aff]j +( Yl l`] \ggj Â&#x153; 02+(he Emka[ )( Yl l`] \ggj Â&#x153; Fg Eafgjk Â&#x153; /0(&/()&*0,*

QUEER

l`jgm_` =\egflgf Â&#x153; ]\egflgfhg]ljq^]klanYd&[ge Â&#x153; ;Y^] j]Y\af_k$ :dafc Hg]ljq fa_`l$ kh][aYd _m]klk$ k[`ggd nakalk Yf\ eYfq gl`]j ]n]flk Â&#x153; Until Apr 24

LAUGH SHOPďż˝Whyte Â&#x153; *f\ >d$ )(+.0%0* 9n] Â&#x153;

/0(&,/.&)()( Â&#x153; Dan] [ge]\q O]\%Kmf ]n]jq o]]c Â&#x153; l`]dYm_`k`gh&[Y DYhglY[ :dn\ Â&#x153; <gf Ja[cd]k Â&#x153; Wed Apr 28; 0he

AFFIRM SUNNYBROOKďż˝Red Deer Â&#x153; KmffqZjggc

Mfal]\ ;`mj[`$ J]\ <]]j Â&#x153; ,(+&+,/&.(/+ Â&#x153; 9^Ă&#x2021;je o]d[ge] D?:LI h]ghd] Yf\ l`]aj ^ja]f\k$ ^Yeadq$ Yf\ Ydda]k e]]l l`] *f\ Lm]$ /he$ ]Y[` egfl`

BISEXUAL WOMEN'S COFFEE GROUP Â&#x153; 9 kg[aYd

_jgmh ^gj Za%[mjagmk Yf\ Zak]pmYd oge]f ]n]jq *f\ Lm] ]Y[` egfl`$ 0he Â&#x153; _jgmhk&qY`gg&[ge'_jgmh'Zo]\egflgf

BOOTS BAR AND LOUNGE )(*,*%)(. Kl Â&#x153;

/0(&,*+&-(), Â&#x153; *f\ L`m2 Addmkagfk Kg[aYd ;dmZ Â&#x153; +j\ O]\2 =\egflgf Kg[a]lq Â&#x153; *f\ Lm]2 =\egflgf JYafZgo :mkaf]kk 9kkg[aYlagf Â&#x153; =n]jq >ja2 H`adgkgh`q ;Y^Â&#x2026; Â&#x153; >ja'KYl <B K]PPPq K]Yf )(%+ Â&#x153; Dgf_ O]]c]f\ Kmf\Yqk ^]Ylmj] l`] KlYj\mkl Dgmf_] oal` Eakk :aYf[Y Yf\ NYfalq >Yaj

BUDDYS NITE CLUB Â&#x153; ))/*-: BYkh]j 9n] Â&#x153;

/0(&,00&//+. Â&#x153; <B <mkl f Lae]3 Egf 1he Â&#x153; <B 9jjgo ;`Yk]j3 Lm] 1he Â&#x153; <B <mkl f Lae]3 O]\ 1he$ fg [gn]j Z]^gj] )(he Â&#x153; <B 9jjgo ;`Yk]j3 >ja 0he$ fg [gn]j Z]^gj] )(he Â&#x153; <B =Yjl` K`an]j f ImYc]3 KYl 0he$ fg [gn]j Z]^gj] )(he Â&#x153; <B :gZZq :]Ylr3 Kmf 1he Â&#x153; <jY_ Im]]f H]j^gjeYf[] K`go$ Kmf$ fg [gn]j Z]^gj] )(he

EDMONTON PRIME TIMERS (EPT) Â&#x153; MfalYjaYf

;`mj[` g^ =\egflgf$ )(0(,%))1 Kl Â&#x153; 9 _jgmh g^ gd\]j _Yq e]f o`g `Yn] [geegf afl]j]klk e]]l l`] *f\ Kmf$ *2+(he$ ^gj Y kg[aYd h]jag\$ k`gjl e]]laf_ Yf\ _m]kl kh]Yc]j$ \ak[mkkagf hYf]d gj hgldm[c kmhh]j& Kh][aYd afl]j]kl _jgmhk e]]l ^gj gl`]j kg[aYd Y[lanala]k l`jgm_`gml l`] egfl`& =2 ]\egflgfhl8qY`gg&[Y

GLBT SPORTS AND RECREATION Â&#x153; l]Ye]\egflgf&[Y Â&#x153; Badminton, Co-ed: Kl& L`geYk Eggj] K[`ggd$ 1.)(%).- Kl$ [g]\ZY\eaflgf8l]Ye]\egflgf&[Y Â&#x153; Badminton, Women's Drop-In Recreational: Gdan]j K[`ggd ?qe$ )(**/%))0 Kl3 ZY\eaflgf8l]Ye]\egflgf& [Y Â&#x153; Co-ed Bellydancing: Z]ddq\Yf[af_8l]Ye]\egflgf& [Y Â&#x153; Bootcamp: Dqffogg\ =d]e]flYjq K[`ggd Yl )-,-)% 0, 9n]3 Egf$ /%0he3 Zggl[Yeh8l]Ye]\egflgf&[Y Â&#x153; Bowling: ?Yl]oYq DYf]k$ )(($ +,), ?Yl]oYq :dn\3 KYl$ -%/he3 Zgodaf_8l]Ye]\egflgf&[Y Â&#x153; Curling: ?jYfal] ;mjdaf_ ;dmZ3 /0(&,.+&-1,* Â&#x153; Running: =n]jq Kmf egjf-

EDMONTON POETRY FESTIVAL Â&#x153; NYjagmk n]fm]k

ʸ HYjcYdd]f ;ge-

emfalq @Ydd Â&#x153; Fgl qgm _jYf\eY k [jY^l kYd] % Y ^mf eap g^ [gfl]ehgjYjq `Yf\a[jY^lk Zq dg[Yd YjlakYfk Â&#x153; Sun Apr 25 Â&#x153; )*%,he Â&#x153; ^mfcq^mkagf[jY^lkYd]&[ge

THE GIFT OF LIFE >mf Jmf OYdc af =\egflgf

Â&#x153; 9;L ;]flj]$ Jmf\d] HYjc Â&#x153; Sun Apr 25 Â&#x153; J]_akl]j Yl ca\f]q&[Y

JUNK IN YOUR TRUNK @Yf_Yj )) % ;alq 9ajhgjl Â&#x153;

E[EYf ?YjY_] KYd] >mf\ JYak]j Â&#x153; )((# KlYddk$ ;`ad\j]fÂżk 9j]Y$ ;gf[]kkagf Â&#x153; Sat May 1 Â&#x153; 0Ye%*he Â&#x153; e[eYf&[Y

KENYA RUN FOR WATER Â&#x153; >ggl] >a]d\$ gf l`]

Mfan]jkalq g^ 9dZ]jlY kgml` [Yehmk Â&#x153; Sun May 2 Â&#x153; +j\ YffmYd -ce jmf gj *&-ce oYdc Â&#x153; c]fqYf[]jYea[k&gj_

ʸ NYjagmk Dg[Ylagfk Â&#x153; RALLY AND MARCH

?Yl`]j Yl ?agnYffa ;YZglg HYjc$ 1-Kl % )(09 9n]$ ,he Â&#x153; MAY DAY CONCERT Â&#x153; McjYafaYf ;]flj] ))()0 % 1/ Klj]]l Â&#x153; Fglj] <Ye] \]k :YfYfYk Yf\ EYjaY <mff Â&#x153; /he Â&#x153; )- 0 ^gj dgo af[ge]! Â&#x153; /0(&,.-&/01+ gj =Yjl` k ?]f]jYd Â&#x153; AFTER PARTY Â&#x153; B]cqdd Yf\ @q\] HmZ Yf\ J]klYmjYfl )(*(1%)(( 9n]$ .he%ea\fa_`l Â&#x153; Sat May 01 Â&#x153; eYqo]]c&YZ&[Y

POP CULTURE FAIR Â&#x153; EYqĂ&#x2021;]d\ LjY\] ;]flj]$ )..)-%

)(19n] Â&#x153; ;<k$ EY_Yraf]k$ Lgqk$ J][gj\k$ Egna]k$ ;gea[k Egj] Â&#x153; Sun May 2 Â&#x153; - Â&#x153; /0(&1+*&(**) Â&#x153; hgh[mdlmj]^Yaj& com

ROYAL BISON CRAFT FAIR Fgjl` g^ l`] >Yje]jk

EYjc]l$ 0,*.%?Yl]oYq :dn\ Â&#x153; Dg[Yddq eY\] [jY^lk$ b]o]d]jq$ [dgl`af_$ j][gj\k$ Yjl$ hgkl]jk$ Y[[]kkgja]k Yf\ egj] Â&#x153; May 1-2 Â&#x153; *

WYRD FEST II Â&#x153; L`] 9JL]jq$ 1-+- BYkh]j 9n]fm] Â&#x153; L`] 9ff]p$ :jYradaYf Egf]q$ CjYf_$ Lghd]kk Egf_gk$ Gml\ggj Eaf]jk$ >akl ;alq$ KlYdoYjl Kgfk$ Eq]daf K`]Yl`k$ EQL@K$ K`Yjh =f\k$ Gegf JY AA$ >Yeaf]k$ ?jYf\ Ljaf]$ Fm K]fkY]$ ;GKE=LA;K$ K`]Yjaf_ Hafp$ Oge]f$ L`] Oa[c]\ 9o]kge]k dYkl k`go! Â&#x153; Sat May 1 Â&#x153; 9dd 9_]k Â&#x153; 9\n )- Ă&#x2021;jkl )((!$ *( Yl :dY[cZqj\ Eqggrac Â&#x153; o]aj\[YfY\Y& [ge'oqj\'

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; APR 28, 2010

BACK // 69

COMMENT >> LGBT

The danger of polite and proper society Commander of Canadian Forces Base Tren- hyper-macho militarism, but rather the violence possible in the most "polite and proper" ton, Colonel Russell Williams, was charged on institutions and individuals. It is not uncomFebruary 7 with a number of crimes, including two sexual assaults in 2009 and the mur- mon for left-minded queers to quickly write ders of Jessica Lloyd and Marie-France off anything associated with the military.

Comeau. After attempting suicide, And there is something to this idea, of course: war is nasty (an underThe Globe and Mail reports, Wilstatement). But this column is a liams is now starving himself.

Articles from The Globe and tiny attempt to think beyond the m Mail have relayed Williams' likimpasse between anti-military ekly.co e w e u v lucas@ queer discourse and violent naability and his history as a pracLucas tionalist sentimentality. The "left, tical joker, even describing the d r o Crawf young Williams as "an irrepressible right, left, right" cadence of conrascal." The normalcy and morality of ventional political debate and military this straight white man was presumed—or, marching can become monotonous.

The camp I attended as a youth was pretty at least, the presumed morality of his normative identity is what allows this story to read queer (trust me on this). There were fabuas such a special shock. lous outfits, strutting, plenty of role-playing Canadian queer media, busy with prom seaand vogue-ing. For a proto-butch kid itching for queer kitsch, which camp might this have son, has been mum following these events, ones that call to mind not the caricature of been? Air Cadet camp, of course.

EERN Q UN TO MO

CLASSIFIEDS

na Expressionz Cafe - The School of Life 9938 - 70 Ave is a centre for the arts. We are currently looking for visual artists and artisans for a weekly art market and a rotating gallery space. 780.437.3667

sRL run this ad indefinately starts Dec 18 08

Learn to Act for the Camera with the Best!

L.A. Director Tom Logan.

In Edmonton May 7, 8, & 9 Call to register (780) 975.7022 www.tomlogan.com

na Apr 15, 2010

Auditions for the Heart of the City Festival (June 5 & 6) take place April 22, 24, 25. At least 50% of musical act must live, work, volunteer, or go to school within our boundaries: North of the river, South of Yellowhead Trail, East of 124 street, and West of Wayne Gretzky Drive. Email: heartcitymusic@gmail.com

RL Mar 4-May 6

HELP WANTED

RL Apr 29

Change your life! Travel, Teach English: We train you to teach. 1000’s of jobs around the world. Next in-class or ONLINE by correspondence. Jobs guaranteed. 7712104 St. Call for info pack 1.888.270.2941

70 // BACK

ASA Gallery at Walterdale Playhouse seeks proposals for art exhibitions.

Info at www.artists-society.ab.ca Deadline May 31st, 2010

na Apr 29, 2010

The Allied Arts Council of Spruce Grove welcomes all Alberta Artists to submit a proposal as a Feature Artist for a solo or group show to be held at the Spruce Grove Art Gallery. The deadline for submission is June 30, 2010.

For more information call (780) 962-0664 or go on our website: www.alliedartscouncil.com

until June 30, 2010

Seeking visual artists and artisans to display work in Kaleido Festival's Art Market and Gallery, Sept 10-12; E: kaleidoprogram@gmail.com, artsontheave.org

na Mar 11 2010

Models wanted, strong faces needed for photography portrait series. Free photographs b/w, colour given to models. contact@gerryyaum.com, gerryyaum.blogspot.com

na Mar 11 2010

MODAL MUSIC INC. 780.221.3116

FILM AND TV ACTING Learn from pro's how to act in Film and TV Full-time training.

1.866.231.8232 www.vadastudios.com

MUSICIANS Singer/songwriter/front man/guitarist with pro level gear and experience looking for serious players or project.

Leave a message at 780.418.6352 na Apr 22 Jordan; Bassist. We worked 2gether @Factory @ Motorhead show. iHav work 4U. Contact Grag. mansfastmusic@hotmail.com na Apr 22 Guitar player/drummer looking for a malcolm/angus guitar/bass player for ac dc cover band.

Please call 780-263-6660 na Apr 15 Metal band Looking for vocalist to gig and record!

Call Jon at 780.920.3268 na Apr 15

Smaller Than A Breadbox Exhibit: no piece larger than 3"x3"x6"; Works Festival: June 25-July 7; deadline: Mon, May 1; info at theworks.ab.ca

MUSICAL INSTRUCTION

EDUCATIONAL

May 27, 2010

until May 27, 2010

The Cutting Room is looking for Assistants and Stylists Please drop off your resume at 10536-124 Street

RL run indefinately

VW/ 05

I was thrilled to learn that an anti-harassment program would be established in 1999, until my classmates giggled at the gay pedophilia case study. Making matters worse, the adult leader of the class told them not to laugh, as "gay molestation" was the worst: "it makes people gay," after all! Then, my 15-year-old self struggled to tactfully dissent.

Now? You can imagine just how succinct the expletives would be. For me, the bad parts and good parts of this culture did not cancel each other out.

I also lived adjacent to a military base. In many of our daily lives, the military was a place where work-weary middle-aged folks (often my friends' parents) called people half their age "Sir" or "Ma'am," where "nationalism" is so implicit it need not be named, and where the macroscopic level of global violence and colonialism translated—never simply—into microscopic personal relation-

na Apr 22, 2010

Do you want to spend a summer in the Canadian rocky mountains? Freewheel Cycle in beautiful Jasper Alberta is looking for experienced bike mechanics and floor sales people. Competitive wages, incredible perks, fun friendly staff and a guaranteed good time makes this job right for you! Please forward a resume to freewheelderek@gmail.com or call 780-852-3898 and ask for Wendy! We are waiting for you!

VW 090909

The other side of cadets is perhaps more imaginable: the friends who went absent when I "came out," the simultaneously titillated and disgusted women who were convinced I was flirting with them (they should have been so lucky), the male boss of one summer who stormed out of an auditorium upon learning he had to work with me and so on. viding the ad is non-profit. Ads of more than 20 words subject to regular price or cruel editing. Free ads must be submitted in writing, in person or by fax. Free ads will run for four weeks, if you want to renew or cancel please phone Glenys at 780.426.1996/fax 780.426.2889/ e-m office@vueweekly.com or drop it off at 10303-108 St. Deadline is noon the Tuesday before publication.

Placement will depend upon available space

FAX YOUR FREE LISTINGS TO 780.426.2889 OR EMAIL LISTINGS@VUEWEEKLY.COM DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 3 PM Business opportunities

The less obviously queer characteristics, ones for which I remain grateful, were unlikely cross-class contacts, no-cost travel, free music classes and the chance to meet loads of different folks. With neither the Internet nor any sort of queer community in my small town, I had plenty of queer mentors at camp—other cadets, who often didn't seem like the models of mentorship promoted in middle-class milieus or the conventions of liberal-urban-queer community.

Musicalmania! is looking for strong, preferably older, tenor for production at end of May. Paid position. 780.460.2937

Quality music instruction since 1981.

Guitarist. Educator.

Graduate of GMCC music program

until May 27, 2010

Male swing dancer seeks to practice West Coast Swing. tdickins@ualberta.ca na Mar 11 Display/sell work, and/or facilitate an art workshop at the Heart of the City Festival, June 5 & 6. E: rambow. anna@gmail.com

ARTIST TO ARTIST

ʸ ʸ ʸ ʸ ʸ ʸ ʸ ʸ ARTIST/NON PROFIT CLASSIFIEDS

na mar 18 2010

Need a volunteer? Forming an acting troupe? Want someone to jam with? Place up to 20 words FREE, pro-

Seeking musicians, buskers, dance groups, installation artists to help shape an avant-garde extravaganza during Kaleido Festival, Sept 10-12 E: kaleidoprogram@gmail. com/artsontheave.org

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

ships and communities.

There is a point here aside from the obvious catharsis of the former Sergeant Crawford giving a one-fingered salute to the anti-queer underbelly of pseudo-military culture and a hearty thanks to those who thought differently. As in any institution I can name, the military produces "severely normal" violence and also—however unwittingly—generates queer connections and relationships that range from imperceptible to downright flaming. This is no defense for the kinds of institutional violence that many of us queers find abhorrent; it is, rather, an attempt to see such institutions as always already infiltrated by queer critical impulses. (And clearly, a youth group is a far cry from the actual military.)

The lesson we might do well to remember in light of the Russell Williams case? While militaristic heterosexism inheres in our stereotypical image of hyper-masculinity, it can also be much more subtle—inherent also in the production of normalcy, that which purports to be neutral and noble. For queers, this is an old lesson, but it bears repeating. V

COMMENT >> ALT SEX

Rubber soul

Dear Andrea: Is it normal for a child to experiment sexually Your column always seems pretty non-judg- like this? And do you think it's appropriate to mental, so I wanted to ask about something discuss it with my boyfriend? I'm sure I wasn't harmed by the experiences I had, and I was that's been bothering me and that I didn't want to Google for obvious reasons. never abused or anything like that. But still, it I have memories from early childhood onseems like I started sexually expressing myself wards of masturbating. (I'm a woman, by awfully young.

Love, the way.) I'm talking when I was four Rub It In years old or possibly even younger.

I remember doing it in public too, like in front of family members.

Dear Rub: It always took the form of rubPish tosh. Four-year-old (and m ekly.co vuewe younger) girls are well-known bing myself against objects or altsex@ a e the floor. I'm pretty sure I experifrotteurs, and often show an inr d n A son terest in ride-on toys, coin-operated enced orgasm too.

Nemer bucking broncos, broomstick ponies When I got a little older I started and the like keen enough to discomfit to feel guilty and embarrassed about the whole thing and I think I kind of re- nearby adults. The fact that we, the adults, pressed memories of it altogether. Now I'm may be discomfited oughtn't in any way imin a healthy, committed relationship where ply that the kids are doing anything wrong. we talk about sex openly and often, and I've You certainly weren't. Neither was the young niece of a friend of mine, who mortified him started thinking about it again.

ALT.

SEX

Experienced & educated upright bassist w/strong music reading skills for notation/charts available for gigs, recording, studio work. Adept improviser in most genres, specialize in folk, roots, country, bluegrass. Steve 780.718.2269 na Mar 18-Apr 22 I, Hart Bachmier, officially end my band Disciples of Power. There will be no more CD's or shows ever. Sorry if I corrupted you with my evil music. Give glory to God and forgive me

na Mar 11-Apr 8

Professional metal band is seeking a dedicated guitar and bass player. Please, no cokeheads, etc. Contact Rob at 780.952.4927

na Mar 11-Apr 8

Singer-guitarist available for freelance work. Can double on bass or electronic keyboard. Hundreds of MIDI files if needed. Country, old R&R, have played almost anything but Rap and Metal. No bad habits. Call 780.634.9713

na Feb 25

Metalcore band seeks serious vocalist and bass player, an open mind, commitment and proper gear (100+ watts) is a must. Contact Aaron at 780.974.8804

na Mar 4 2010

na Jan 21 10x

The Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts: looking for artists to provide mentorship to our artists with developmental disabilities. Share your talents and passion while gaining work experience. Info: Anna at volunteer@ninahaggertyart.ca

Mar 11 2010

E]Ydk gf O`]]dkºNgdmfl]]jk f]]\]\ Lg \]dan]j fmljatious meals (vehicle required) Weekdays 10:45am-1pm Lg Ykkakl af l`] cal[`]f O]]c\Yqk .Ye Yf\ *he3 k`a^l lae]k Yj] È]paZd] /0(&,*1&*(*( Canadian Mental Health Association/Board Recruiting 2009 Learn about our community work: cmha-edmonton.ab.ca

Volunteers Needed: Instructors – Tap Dancing, Line Dancing and Calligraphy. Wednesday – kitchen helper, Friday – dining room servers, Wednesday evening dinners – dishwashers, kitchen preparation and servers. Call Mary at 433-5807

S.C.A.R.S.: Second Chance Animal Rescue Society. Our dogs are TV stars! Watch Global TV every Sat at 9:45 AM where new, wonderful dogs will be profiled. scarscare.org

CNIB's Friendly Visitor Program needs volunteers to help and be a sighted guide with a friendly voice. If you can help someone with vision loss visit cnib.ca or call 780.

453.8304

na Oct 15 09

Bicycle Mechanic Volunteers for Bissell Centre community homeless or near homeless members on Mon, Wed, Fri, 9am-12pm. Contact Linda 780.423.2285 ext 134

na Oct 1 09

The Learning Centre Literacy Association: seeking an artist or arts & crafts person who would be willing to commit 2 hrs weekly to the instruction of their passion to adult literacy learners in the inner city. Denis Lapierre 780.429.0675, dl.learningcentre@shaw.ca

simply suggest that erections be achieved, displayed and investigated in private.

Adults are certainly entitled to their reactions (often amusement, sometimes shock or dismay) but in the interest of not scarring one's children for life it's best to hide those.

Which brings us to the inevitable side-note on judgment/non-judgment. I do appreciate your noting my fair-mindedness, but I am, of course, ferociously judgmental. It's really hard for me to imagine anyone judgier than I am, on all sorts of topics, from people's sexual behavior to their taste in shoes. If I were working one-on-one with you, though, or answering your question in front of a class, you would never know. A good sex educator needs a good poker face.

Anyway. What you were doing as a kid was perfectly normal and totally harmless and I'm really sorry you had to go through that whole guilt and repression phase. I'm kind of cheered, though, to see that it didn't take. While it probably wouldn't be great for either you or your boyfriend for you to have only one route to orgasm, and that rather solitary, rubbing is a

perfectly good addition to one's repertoire.

So, yes, it was normal to do what you did when you were doing it, and many adult women continue the practice, and I can't think of a single reason not to mention it to your boyfriend. I imagine he will counter with some similar confession and you will both laugh and yet find yourselves just a bit turned on as well. I can't promise that either of you will be able to come up with a good, non-awkward way to incorporate rubbing against inanimate objects into your partnered sex, but have you by any chance considered adapting your formerly solitary practice to your current situation? That is to say, you have a perfectly good object for your rubbing right there next to you, provided he doesn't mind being called an object. If he is anything like any other heterosexual male I have encountered either personally or professionally, he will not mind in the least having an attractive and, in this case, already beloved female grind her pelvis against him.

Love, Andrea

STEAMWORKS GAY & BI MENS BATHHOUSE. 24/7 11745 JASPER AVE. 780.451.5554 WWW.STEAMWORKSEDMONTON.COM

#1 SEXIEST CHAT! Call now! FREE to try! 18+ 780.665.6565 403.313.3311 RL indef from May 19 (Nightline)

100S OF HOT LOCAL SINGLES It's FREE to try! 18+ 780.669.2323 403.770.0990

Apr ALL HOT SEXY BABES Try it FREE! 18+ 780.665.0808 403.313.3330 RL May 6

na Nov 5 09

na Aug 20

na Apr 8 2010

Personal Connections TM OLD FASHIONED? Meet someone new RIGHT NOW! All Ages - All Lifestyles - 18+ Local Call Free 24/7 1-866-701-4393

Volunteer at ElderCare Edmonton: help out with day programs with things like crafts, card games and socializing.

Call Renée for info at 780.434.4747 Ext 4

na Jan 15

VOLUNTEER

ADULT

Provocative, unique, innovative volunteers needed for Northern Light Theatre's upcoming events. Ellen Chorley, 780.471.1586; nlt.publicity@telusplanet.net

na jul 30

Volunteer Edmonton is looking for Edmonton Festivals to participate in the third annual Festival Volunteer Fair on Wednesday, May 12 at the City Room in City Hall. Call 780.732.6649

I was also puzzled recently by a discussion of small boys and foreskins and what happens when they begin to have erections.

Every child develops on his own schedule, of course, but it's well-documented that the little nippers can get erections in utero, and certainly infants produce them regularly, although infants are too busy learning where their feet are to bother much with genitals yet. Toddlers and preschool boys, much like their adult counterparts in their less-guarded moments, will proudly indicate theirs while crowing, "Penis! Penis!" and they won't stop without some sort of (gently diplomatic) intervention. As with the girl and her Elmo, it's best to show no emotional reaction but

na Apr 8 2010

FEb 11 2010

WANTED: JAMMERS for open public monthly jam on the 2nd Sun of the month at 9119-128A Ave. Rock, country & old time music. Ph. 780.973.5593, randyglen@JumpUpDj.com

by promptly and publicly putting his gift of a (vibrating) Tickle-Me Elmo to a use for which it was not designed and yet ideally suited. I believe they gently removed the little monster (Elmo, not the niece) and just as gently suggested that she engage with Elmo in the privacy of her bedroom, rather than at, say, the family seder.

WEBCAM MODELS WANTED: Looking for female models for adult webcam site.

Email: yoursecretgirls@shaw.ca

THE NIGHT EXCHANGE Private Erotic Talk.

Enjoy hours of explicit chat with sexy locals.

CALL FREE* NOW to connect instantly.

780.229.0655 The Night Exchange.

Must be 18+. *Phone company charges may apply.

ANNOUNCEMENTS Common Law Copyright Notice CNN – 197204111208BFF All rights reserved re; common-law copyright of tradename/trademark, CLAYTON EDWARD ZACHOW© as well as any all derivatives and variations in spelling of said trade-names/trademarks – Copyright 1972 Clayton-Edward: Zachow. Unauthorized use of CLAYTON EDWARD ZACHOW© is strictly prohibited and is so indemnified and held harmless by Debtor, i.e. “CLAYTON EDWARD ZACHOW ©” in Hold-harmless and Indemnity Agreement No. 197204111208BFF. April 22 – May 13

SERVICES

SACRED Edmonton Society; sacredeatingdisorders.com; An Eating Disorder Intensive Recovery Program for those with anorexia or with bulimia.

E: sacred6@telus.net; T: 780.429.3380 NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS Help Line 24 Hours a Day–7 Days a Week If you want to stop using, we can help Local: 780.421.4429/Toll free: 1.877.463.3537 Have you been affected by another person's sexual behaviour? S-Anon is a 12-Step fellowship for the family members and friends of sex addicts. Call 780.988.4411 for Edmonton area meeting locations and info, sanon.org SACE–Public Education Program: Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton (sace.ab.ca) provides crisis intervention, info, counseling, public education. T: 780.423.4102/F: 780.421.8734/E: info@sace.ab.ca; sace.ab.ca/24-hour Crisis Line: 780.423.4121 Are you an International Medical Graduate seeking licensure? The Alberta International Medical Graduates Association is here to help. Support, study groups, volunteer opportunities–all while creating change for tomorrow. aimga.ca

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FOOD BANK

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010

BACK // 71

72 // BACK

VUEWEEKLY // APR 22 – APR 28, 2010