verb issue r54 (nov. 16-22, 2012)
DESCRIPTION
Verb Issue R54 (Nov. 16-22, 2012)TRANSCRIPT
PHOTO: COURTESY OF JUSTIN BROADBENT
LIFELESSONSWITH THE WOODEN SKY
LIFE ON A BULL Aaron Roy is poised to make history, again
BREAKING BARRIERS Q+A with Diamond Rings
LINCOLN + STORIES WE TELL Films reviewed
ISSUE #54 – NOVEMBER 16 TO NOVEMBER 22
VERBNEWS.COMVERB MAGAZINE CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
2NOV 16 – NOV 22
CONTENTSCONTENTS
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VERBNEWS.COM@VERBREGINA FACEBOOK.COM/VERBREGINA
EDITORIALPUBLISHER / PARITY PUBLISHINGEDITOR IN CHIEF / RYAN ALLANMANAGING EDITOR / JESSICA PATRUCCOSTAFF WRITERS / ADAM HAWBOLDT + ALEX J MACPHERSONCONTRIBUTING WRITER / JESSICA BICKFORD
ART & PRODUCTIONDESIGN LEAD / ROBERTA BARRINGTONDESIGN & PRODUCTION / BRITTNEY GRAHAMCONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS / TAMARA KLEIN, DANIELLE TOCKER, ADAM HAWBOLDT + ALEX J MACPHERSON
BUSINESS & OPERATIONSOFFICE MANAGER / STEPHANIE LIPSITMARKETING MANAGER / VOGESON PALEYFINANCIAL MANAGER / CODY LANG
CONTACTCOMMENTS / [email protected] / 881 8372ADVERTISE / [email protected] / 979 2253DESIGN / [email protected] / 979 8474GENERAL / [email protected] / 979 2253
CULTURE ENTERTAINMENTNEWS + OPINION
LIFE OF A BULL RIDERAaron Roy is poised to make history, again. 3 / LOCAL
A LIFE UNDER THE LIGHTS Amy Matysio lights it up. 4 / LOCAL
SCHOOL BREAKOur thoughts on the U of R students facing deportation. 6 / EDITORIAL
COMMENTSHere’s what you had to say about alternative poppies. 7 / COMMENTS
Q + A WITH DIAMOND RINGSOn breaking down barriers. 8 / Q + A
NIGHTLIFE PHOTOS We visit The Sip. 15 / NIGHTLIFE
LIVE MUSIC LISTINGSLocal music listings for November 16 through November 24. 14 / LISTINGS
LINCOLN + STORIES WE TELL We review the latest movies. 16 / FILM
ON THE BUS Weekly original comic illustrations by Elaine M. Will. 18 / COMICS
THE YOUNG BENJAMINSOn how they came to be. 9 / ARTS
BEYOND BEERGet the laid-back pub vibe at Bush-wakker. 12 / FOOD + DRINK
MUSICTim Chaisson, Half Moon Run + Great Big Sea. 13 / MUSIC
THE GALILEO PROJECTTafelmusik takes to the stars. 9 / ARTS
GAME + HOROSCOPESCanadian criss-cross puzzle, weekly horoscopes and Sudoku. 19 / TIMEOUT
ON THE COVER: THE WOODEN SKYLife lessons on the road. 10 / COVER
PHOTO: COURTESY OF PH
/VERBREGINA NEWS + OPINIONCONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
3NOV 16 – NOV 22
LOCAL
Aaron Roy has a chance to make history, again. BY ADAM HAWBOLDT
A aron Roy climbs into the chute and eases himself down on his
bull real slow. Careful to avoid any sudden movements. That might spook the beast, and cause it to buck or lurch violently — and no bull rider wants that. The space is too confined, the bull simply too big.
Once seated, Roy slips his hand under a rope wrapped around the bull, just below the shoulders, before another cowboy pulls the rope tight. Roy wraps it around and around his hand, getting a good grip, getting comfortable. Or at least as comfortable as a 160-pound man can be when he’s tied to an enormous beast. Think about being strapped to the top of a car, then it taking off, and you might get an idea of what it’s like to be sitting on a bull in the chute, waiting for the gate to open.
Most people, if found in a position like that, would likely be scared. Nervous, even, their mind racing a million miles a minute.
But not Roy. Sitting there in the chute, strapped to a quivering, restless bull, Roy isn’t thinking or feeling anything. He isn’t worried about getting injured or planning how he’ll ride 2,000 pounds of bucking animal. No, Roy’s mind is blank. Nothing else matters in this
moment: it’s just him and the bull and the next eight seconds.
When he’s ready, Roy nods his head, and bang! the gate swings open.
Bull riding has long been considered the most dangerous eight seconds in sports. And about a year ago, a team of researchers at the University of Calgary released a study confirm-ing that this long-held consider-ation was, in fact, wildly true. The registry they compiled proved bull riding not only to be dangerous, but to be “the most dangerous organized sport in the world” — with 36 per-cent of all injuries falling under the category of “severe.”
Take Aaron Roy for instance. He has been bull riding professionally since 2009 and, by his own admis-sion, hasn’t been hurt. Much. “I’ve been lucky to avoid being injured too much,” he says. “I’ve blown out both my knees. When I first started out I broke my arm. Other than that I’ve only broken my nose, cracked my cheek bone and earlier this year I got a pretty bad concussion.”
Those kind of injuries come part and parcel with the bull riding territory. Which is why, naturally, when you are new to a sport like this there’s going to be a modicum of knee-trembling dread involved. “When you first start out, there’s
fear,” explains Roy. “For you to sit down on a bull, you’re going to be scared. Simple as that.”
But here’s the thing about fear and bull riding … if you’re afraid, you’re in trouble. “When you’re scared,” says Roy, “you’re not thinking clearly. Your mind isn’t in the right place so your body is going to want to bail out of there. That’s when you’re going to get hurt or something else bad is going to happen.”
So how do you get yourself to the point where climbing onto the back of a piece of pissed-off livestock seems like a good idea? The answer is simple: you practice.
“When I was in college I was get-ting on 10 or 15 bulls a week,” says Roy. “Every Wednesday night I’d be out riding, practicing.” But Roy isn’t in college anymore. And these days, especially in the weeks leading up to the 2012 PBR Canadian National Finals in Saskatoon, the two-time Canadian bull-riding champ isn’t high on practice. “I don’t do it much anymore,” admits Roy, who, in 2010, became the first rider to win two na-tional championships. “Now that I’m riding every weekend, I don’t need it. I don’t get on practice bulls, it’s just too risky. It really increases your chances of getting hurt.” And with a significant cash prize on the line, along with the chance of being the first and only person to ever win three national
championships, that’s simply not a risk Roy is willing to take.
The split second the gate swings open at the Finals and his bull bursts out of the chute, Roy knows what to expect — sort of. He knows that once the bull turns out, that’s when everything will start pulling and jerking. He knows there’s no way in hell that a 160-pound man can physically overpower a bull, so he’ll have to constantly be in the right position to take the animal’s power away. The one thing that Roy doesn’t know, however, is how the bulls he draws will behave.
“You can study them a bit, but they’re living animals,” explains
Roy. “They’re like you and me. Sure, they can have a set pattern … but they could also just have one of those days and do something com-pletely different. You never know.”
But that kind of uncertainty doesn’t bother Roy. He is ready — mentally and physically — for any-thing any bull can throw his way. He’s ready to let everything around him disappear, to block out the noise and crowd and just ride.
But above all else, Aaron Roy is ready to make history. Again.
@MacPhersonA
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF ANDY WATSON
THE LIFE OF A BULL RIDER
VERBNEWS.COMNEWS + OPINION CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
4NOV 16 – NOV 22
CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »
LOCAL
my Matysio wasn’t born to act. It just hap-pened. “My career has
been one thing leading to another,” she says over lunch in a crowded coffee shop, snow blowing past the window. “I feel like I discov-ered that it was a part of me very naturally as I was being exposed to different avenues, and I feel like I aligned myself with things I’m really passionate about. And then something comes along and I want to try it.” Deeply creative and driven, Matysio lives to work. “I want to create work, produce work, be a part of other people’s work, say great words that writers write,” she muses. “And put myself in a place where my collaborations are constantly inspiring me.”
Matysio is one of the most rec-ognizable faces in Saskatchewan. A pillar of the local arts scene, she has performed on stages and in front of cameras across the province. She has worked as an actor, a director, and a producer. She has performed in local productions and played opposite some of the biggest names in Hollywood, from Ryan Reynolds and Anna Faris to Woody Harrelson. Her recent projects include inSAYSHAble, a series of comedic shorts posted online, Midsum-mer [a play with songs], which ran at Regina’s Globe Theatre this autumn, and Stranded, a science-fiction thriller starring Christian Slater. Matysio has
always enjoyed the spotlight — an old home video shows her “just going to town” on impressions from the movie Police Academy — but she came to acting relatively late.
Growing up in Regina, Matysio dabbled in the arts but rarely thought of performing as anything other than a sideline; focus and direction came later, when she chose to attend a high school across town. “I went to LeBoldus,” she says. “That opened me up to a whole new set of problems — there was improv at LeBoldus and the theatre department was really strong. I was doing band and doing theatre and doing choir — all the arts. High school was a great time to examine being an artist and figure out if this was something I wanted to do.” By the time Matysio hit grade 12, theatre was looking more and more promising. That year, 1997, she starred in a play called Flock Formations, which was written by students and orchestrated by Daniel Macdonald, one of Sas-katchewan’s finest playwrights. She didn’t know it — she couldn’t have known it — but the experience would come to define her career, a life spent under the lights.
Matysio never looked back. After finishing high school, she em-barked on a course that has taken her around the world. It has not been easy. Matysio knows this bet-
ter than anyone. “You have to really want to do this,” she laughs. “Be-cause it’s not easy.” Her reputation has grown steadily over the past several years, but Matysio knows nothing is certain in an industry where jobs are scarce and talent abundant. What separates her from many of her contemporaries, and what has sustained and expanded her career, is fiery ambition. “You can see it in my eyes when I want something,” she laughs. “It’s like candy, I’ve got to get it. And when I don’t get it, it’s that same feel-ing of sadness and it really hurts because I invest so much of myself in everything.” Matysio has learned that fatalism — and brassy jokes — helps, but sometimes the pressure reaches intolerable levels.
Matysio first experienced this in 1999, while she was completing a BFA at the University of Regina. “There came a point when I thought I might quit university,” she says, after debating whether to share the story. “I had forgotten what it was about performing and acting that made me want it in the first place.” Rather than trudge on without meaning or direction, Matysio got out. She flew to England for a few months, where she studied acting at the York St. John University and saw as many shows as possible. The experience was revelatory. By throwing herself headlong into
Saskatchewan acting sensation Amy Matysio’s career comes full circle. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
A
PHOTO: COURTESY OF MIKE FLY
A LIFE UNDER THE LIGHTS
@VERBREGINA NEWS + OPINIONCONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
5NOV 16 – NOV 22
the English theatre scene, watch-ing everything from big West End musicals to “crazy experimental work,” Matysio overcame her ennui. Today, when she is feeling discour-aged or downtrodden, she finds a way to recharge her batteries. “You have to gain a little perspective,” she says. “It’s very important, but it’s hard to do.”
Matysio has traveled all over the world and, until recently, has returned home to Saskatchewan
energized and raring to work. Now, she’s worried that she might not return at all. Earlier this year, the Saskatchewan Party announced its intention to wind down an $8 mil-lion tax credit for the provincial film industry. Matysio’s Twitter account is brimming with indignation, but in person she just seems sad. “I can say it so plainly,” she says. “I wouldn’t be where I am without the film industry in Saskatchewan, and how it’s grown over the past decade. That’s just fact.” She estimates that 80 percent of her résumé has some connection to this
province. “That’s a lot of work,” she says, sounding morose. “If you take that away, there’s not very much left for me to do. The rest of the work is elsewhere and now I need to make up for that somewhere else.”
There have been many argu-ments tabled in support of the film tax credit; most focus on the idea that the industry is both an eco-nomic driver and valuable resource. Matysio agrees. “Film is an industry and it is a resource,” she says. “We as
people, as creative resources … will keep producing work for as long as we can. We’re not going to tap out — we’ll just do it elsewhere.”
For now, Matysio plans to stick around as long as she can keep working. But there are other rea-sons why she wants to stay, too. Her family is here. Her boyfriend, award-winning fiddle player Kar-rnnel Sawitsky, is here. And Sas-katchewan has always been good to her, a point driven home when
Daniel Macdonald revived Flock Formations, the play she starred in as a hungry high school student.
“They asked me to come back and do a cameo in the show,” Matysio explains, smiling at the memory. “So on closing night I went and I did a scene, a tiny walk-on scene, playing opposite the girl playing my part.” Midway through the show, Matysio walked onstage and addressed the young actor playing the character that she had premiered more than a decade ear-lier: “You should be careful. You’ll never know where you’ll end up, maybe doing a walk-on in a high school play.”
“What was so crazy and surreal was being there and being on that stage and looking at this young girl who was about to set off onto the same course,” Matysio says, the enthusiasm in her voice palpable. “She was my age when I played the role. Looking at her was like looking into the mirror, but in a very cool way, and that reminded me and told me that I have done something, and that my success has brought me all the way back to here, and to that moment.”
PHOTO: COURTESY OF CAREY SHAW
I want to create work, produce work, be a part of other people’s work…
AMY MATYSIO
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VERBNEWS.COMNEWS + OPINION CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
6NOV 16 – NOV 22
EDITORIAL
hen it comes to theo-ries of punishment, people tend to fall
into one of two categories. First, there’s the utilitarian camp,
which thinks punishment should be forward-looking and should act as a means to deter future crime. Then there’s those who favour retribu-tion as a form of justice. These folks believe a person’s punishment should fit the crime they’ve committed.
And if you want to know which camp you fall into, take a good hard look at the case of Victoria Ordu and Ihuoma Amadi — the two Univer-sity of Regina students who have been holed up in a Regina church since June 19, seeking sanctuary from deportation. For those of you unfamiliar with the case, here are the nuts and bolts of it: both Ordu and Amadi are from Nigeria, both are students at the University of Regina, both are here on full scholarships paid for by their government and, as in-
ternational students, both have visas that allow them to work on campus. Oh, and in 2010 both Ordu and Amadi went to Service Canada and got Social Insurance Numbers.
Here’s the thing, though: both Ordu and Amadi were under the miscon-ception that their SINs allowed them to work off-campus, and at one point last year they both spent a couple weeks working at a local Walmart. But guess what? That’s illegal. And as soon as Ordu realized this, she quit her job. Amadi was also made aware of her mistake during her second week of work, when she was led away in handcuffs by two Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) agents.
And that’s why Public Safety Min-ister Vic Toews and Immigration Min-ister Jason Kenney are so hell-bent on deporting the pair of students. That’s right. For working a few mea-sly weeks, the federal government has ordered Ordu and Amadi to be deported back to Nigeria.
Now if that seems a tad extreme to you, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Ev-erybody from Liberal MP for Wascana Ralph Goodale and Sask Party minis-ter Bill Boyd, to scores of students and concerned citizens feel the federal government’s treatment of Ordu and Amadi is too harsh. Even the U of R has contacted the government, advocating on behalf of the students’ pleas that the pair stay in Canada and complete their education.
And we also think that deporta-tion is far, far too severe a punishment for what these students did.
Now, we’re not saying Canada shouldn’t enforce its immigration laws, because it should. And we aren’t suggesting that ignorance of these laws is an excuse that should exclude illegal workers from punishment.
But let’s try to keep things in perspective here. And quite frankly, deporting two college students for working a couple of weeks is border-line draconian.
So why can’t Toews, Kenney and company treat Ordu and Amadi in a manner that actually reflects the severity of what they did? Why can’t they approach this from a reasonable angle and allow the punishment to fit the crime?
Of course, that calls into ques-tion what would be considered reasonable. What we suggest is that the government could start by suspending the students’ study per-mit — which would cost roughly a couple hundred dollars to restore. That’s a good chunk of change for most students. Heck, we wouldn’t even be opposed to giving them a fine. Say, perhaps, a total in and around the sum of what they made
during their illegal two week work-ing tenures. And perhaps this is their only second chance.
But deportation? No way. That’s just unfair and wrong-headed. It’s high-time the federal government got off its too-tough-on-crime high horse and let reason dictate their actions.
These editorials are left unsigned because they represent the opinions of Verb magazine, not those of the individual writers.
@VerbRegina
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W
SCHOOL BREAKDeporting university students is too heavy-handed.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF ALEC COUROS
/VERBREGINA NEWS + OPINIONCONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
7NOV 16 – NOV 22
COMMENTSCOMMENTS
ON TOPIC: Last week we asked what you thought about alternative poppies. Here's what you had to say:
Text yourthoughts to881 VE83
– I agree with article about pop-pies. Implying that remembering war in some way glorifies it is reductive. Ask anyone who was actually there (those few that are still with us). I’m pretty sure none of them are advocating for the glory that was drowning in mud, dying of wounds where no one can help you, alone in a battlefield, or of trench foot or of any number of other illnesses. Lest we forget.
– Simply remembering wars past (as your editorial suggests) without critically assessing them (i.e. blindly wearing a red poppy) is ludicrous and lazy. With a severe lack of critical thinking, just wear-ing a red poppy indeed glorifies war. We need those that remem-ber the other casualties (animals, purple poppy, or civilians), the impact it has on the environment, on people’s mental healths. I say where whatever frickin poppy you want and consider war in what-ever way you want. Just because it happened and most say you should be respectful in the way they deem respectful doesn’t mean anything.
– Hey keep the red poppies. And remember those who died for our freedom
– Less young people wearing red poppies these days. Makes me sad. Let’s give thanks to those who went before us while they’re still here.
– Lest we forget. I think about the red poppies blowing in the wind, and will work for peace. Amen.
– There were many in the civilian population after the first world war that didn’t think honour-ing the soldiers was the way to go about fixing the problems of the world. Wearing red poppies honours those soldiers in a similar way. We need to consider more than their sacrifice!
– Wtf is with all the people wear-ing poppies on their hats they belong over your heart!!!
OFF TOPIC
– Interesting read about the infan-try soldiers I could never physical-ly do that n these guys are reserve? Wild! Way to make Canada proud! God Bless!
In response to “Relentless Pursuit,” Local
page, #53 (November 9, 2012)
– Hello Alex, it’s Corporal Mark Webb. You interviewed me for the Verb. I’ve read the article a number of times and each time I enjoyed it more. It was very well written. Thank you again for coming out and getting our story out there. Hope you enjoyed your time in the field.
In response to “Relentless Pursuit,” Local
page, #53 (November 9, 2012)
– I was skeptical going into the psychic story, but thought Powell was extremely well spoken, had a succinct way of trying to explain what she experiences, and a pragmatic perspective in her role aiding the police.
In response to “Cold Casing,” Local page,
#53 (November 9, 2012)
– Chad Bronlee is hawwwwwwt! Nice cover :D
In response to “Love Me Or Leave Me,”
Cover story, #53 (November 9, 2012)
SOUND OFF
– I like the DOWNtown person you make me laugh but the food bank complainers suck ( like get a job so ya dont have to go there you can afford a text phone like. Hello
– Flanders Field is in Belgium and anyone who is of Belgian ances-try has had to endure more wars and wars that were far bloodier than any country or citizens on earth - ever. If Sask people want to remember any disaster, let it be the fraud & bankruptcy Brad Wall’s
political party forced on Sask between 1988-1992…wear a Tiger Lily & never forget what a snake oil salesman & liar Wall is.
– I saw a commercial on National Geographics about sharks being ammune to any deseases like can-cer, TB, AIDS…is that a hint ? That medical scientists found a cure to these deseases? We have to extinct the sharks? I think it’ll be worth it! If it is a cure.
– Live long enough and the only things you really like and enjoy are a good meal good company and a good story.
– People who are continuously hating on Obama, get real! Him just being (re)elected is a change already in itself. The economy was at its worst when he became president so keep in mind change doesn’t come over night and he has and continues to make a dif-ference. Here you have someone who wants to make a positive change, genuinely cares about the ppl and that’s not good enough? Oh hush with your hating cause at the end of the day he IS the president. KZ
– Result of USA election was a 2x4 to the skull of GOP Time for them to drop the goofs
– Teri I’m breaking up with you... We are never ever ever getting back together :D ps whalers for the cup 2013
– There’s a lot of dysfunctional people trying to make money on the housing situation. They’re not up to landlording renos or build-ing. Something’s gotta be done!
– I agree with the texter who said ‘’Keep Christ in Christmas’’. It seems we forget that Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus not Santa!
– I don’t know why the person who texted in about keeping Christ in Christmas equated the two. Christmas is a massive, com-mercial holiday. Christ is a person who has been granted mythical status in christian folklore. If you believe in him, then the holiday season falls over his birthday (depending on which calendar you follow), but that’s about it.
– Santa is fake Jesus is real! Who would you rather believe in?
NEXT WEEK: What do you think about the U of R students facing deportation? Pick up a copy of Verb to get in on the conversation:
We print your texts verbatim each week. Text in your thoughts and reactions to our stories and content, or anything else on your mind.
VERBNEWS.COMCULTURE CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
8NOV 16 – NOV 22
ew people will recog-nize the name John O’Regan. These days,
O’Regan is best known for his musical alter ego, Diamond Rings. O’Regan fashioned Diamond Rings for himself after a period of introspection and rediscovery, his personal enlightenment. His first record, Special Affections, is packed with questions. Free Dimensional, which was released last month, doesn’t ask many questions, but it doesn’t provide any answers, either. The new record’s defin-ing characteristic is confidence. O’Regan seems comfortable with his new identity, and it shows. The songs, an eclectic mix of electro glam pop and guitar rock, reflect his desire to bend perceptions and shatter expectations in search of some truth, musical or otherwise. Free Dimensional is at its root a ter-rific pop record, but it also raises important questions about identity and confidence in a world where anything is possible. I braved a patchy cellphone connection to catch up with Diamond Rings and find out more.
Alex J MacPherson: My first impres-sion of your music is this tension be-tween wanting to push the boundaries of what pop music can be, but also staying true to your influences. Is that fair?
DR: I think that’s pretty accurate. I feel like there’s a certain sort of lim-inality to what I’m
doing. I think the nature of who I am is kind of in between a lot of things. I think with this record it was about wanting to explore pop conventions, but in a way that still felt familiar and honest to me as a songwriter and as a producer.
AJM: Are you trying to come to grips with that idea, or is this record an
expression of the fact that you’re okay with it?
DR: I think it’s a bit of both. A lot of people don’t allow themselves to fully explore, investigate, all of the contradictions that live within them, and I think artistically for me there’s a real touchstone or something I’m always trying to get closer to, under-standing who I am, why I am the way I am, why I write music. And really
try to almost exaggerate some of those contradictions through my work.
AJM: Which is certainly plain on the new record. Is that something you worked toward consciously, or does it just happen when you write?
DR: I don’t really spend too much time — or any time — when I’m composing and producing thinking about it. It spirals into a bad place when that becomes the focus. Artisti-cally, and for my own growth and
development as an artist, I found it not really effective to spend too much time thinking about what other people are going to think about what I’m thinking about. I do what I do because it’s mine and it brings me joy and pleasure and furthers my understanding of myself.
AJM: At the same time, are you con-flicted by the need to sell records and play shows to keep doing this?
DR: Most definitely. I think I’d be flat-out lying if I said that wasn’t in a sense contradictory and also difficult to reconcile. Ultimately, I guess my hope is that through my own process I’m in a way able to make connections with listeners and with fans, and present for them situations or scenarios that are in some way relatable. There is a lot more that we as human beings have in common than we perhaps sometimes are led to believe.
AJM: I want to ask about your image too, which seems calculated to defy expectations and assumptions. Can you talk about that?
DR: Part of what is at play and what makes what I do interesting is my
willingness to try and defy expecta-tions in that sense, to not always nec-essarily look and sound what people are going to think, what they’re going to imagine. What I do visually is one thing; what I do musically is in some ways another. I do what I do and you can’t always expect everyone is going to connect the dots immediately.
Diamond Rings November 22 @ The Exchange$12 @ Ticketedge.ca
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Q + A
F
What I do visually is one thing; what I do musically is in some ways another.
DIAMOND RINGS
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF NORMAN WONG
DIAMOND RINGS Breaking down barriers with sight and sound. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
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9NOV 16 – NOV 22
ARTS
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M any rock bands have lead guitar players. Fancy gui-
tar work and gratuitous posturing are as old as rock itself. But as far as I know, only one rock band has a lead violin player. They are called the Young Benjamins, and they have spent the past year building a reputation for playing energetic shows and thoughtful songs that defy pop and rock conventions. But according to singer and guitar-ist Neusha Mofazzali, the band’s existence can be chalked up not to some desire, but to a series of happy accidents.
“The band joined through random occurrences,” he says. “How we discovered our sound was through playing open mics. Vaero [Poulin], the violinist, was at an open mic with us, playing a separate act. She liked what she heard, and we invited her to a jam session.” Mofazzali met drummer Kuba Szmigielski at university, and the Young Benjamins were completed when Brynn Krysa showed up with a bass.
The foursome wasted no time. Their first EP, Young Benjamins, was released in December, 2011, and a full-length album is in the works. “We knew we had the sound as soon as we started recording,” Mofazzali says. “We had a pretty good response to our songs, and once you get a good response, you think something good is going to happen.” Although he admits this isn’t always the case, it was with Young Benjamins, which solidified the band’s reputation in Saskatoon.
The EP only has three tracks, but on each a different side of the band is on display. “Out there (in the wild)” is a raucous alt-country stomp, a perfect showcase for Poulin’s slinky violin lines. “Tunnel Mountain” is a simple, reverb-drenched ballad, while “To Stay Here” sounds like something Wilco would have recorded 10 years ago. It’s a lot of territory to cover in less than 15 minutes, but the Young Benjamins pull it off without a hiccup.
But if the band’s willingness to push boundaries seems threaten-ing, it’s worth noting that their songs
are linked together by two common threads: Poulin’s violin playing, which is often smooth and sometimes manic, and Mofazzali’s voice, thin and im-mediately recognizable.
Mofazzali knows that breaking out of Saskatoon will not be easy — the odds are stacked against young bands — but suspects the strong friendships within the group will keep them going when times are tough. And it doesn’t hurt that they are one of the most promising bands Saskatchewan has produced in years.
The Young BenjaminsNovember 23 @ The Artful Dodger$10 in advance; $15 at the door
PHOTO: COURTESY OF MATT SMITH
A HAPPY ACCIDENTHow the Young Benjamins came together and knocked ‘em dead. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
THE GALILEO PROJECTTafelmusik explores the fusion of art and science. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
G
PHOTO: COURTESY OF COOPER SMITH
alileo Galilei was a Renais-sance man. His contribu-
tions to mathematics, physics, philosophy, music, and astronomy forever changed the face of modern science. The Galileo Project, an ambitious fusion of music, science, and revolutionary ideas created by Tafelmusik, a baroque orchestra from Toronto, is an attempt to show-case the value of Galileo’s work.
“Tafelmusik specializes in rep-ertoire that starts right at that time,” says Alison Mackay, the Saskatoon expat who conceived of The Galileo Project. “That time of Galileo was a very interesting time for us, in the context of the music we play. We had been experimenting for several years with concerts that perhaps had a nar-rated script performed by an actor or with some kind of global or historical context for our music.”
In its finished form, The Galileo Project casts music by some of the most important baroque composers — Handel, Vivaldi, Monteverdi, Telemann — against a backdrop of high-reso-lution images of the solar system and poetic narration. “The Galileo Project is the first time we’ve experimented with
a theatrical set and lighting design,” Mackay says, adding that the musi-cians chose to memorize their parts, freeing the orchestra to move onstage and into the audience. “It really gives the audience a different impression,” she says. “We can move around the stage almost like constellations.”
The Galileo Project has something for everyone. Hard-line baroque listeners will be thrilled to hear music played on period instruments, while classical music neophytes will be able to hear a sampling of some of the most important music ever com-posed. Perhaps more importantly, The Galileo Project unites art and science under the banner of progress. “It’s quite revolutionary,” Mackay says. “And it opens the door for people
who maybe aren’t that familiar with our kind of music.”
The Galileo ProjectNovember 30 @ Conexus Arts Centre$38+ @ Regina Symphony Box Office
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CULTURE CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
10NOV 16 – NOV 22
T
COVER
I want to make music for making music, for music lovers … I don’t know why I would make music that I didn’t like.
GAVIN GARDINER
PHOTO: COURTESY OF JUSTIN BROADBENT
THE WOODEN SKYFast food is poison, and other life lessons from the Wooden Sky. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON
here are certain rules all touring bands must follow. These rules of
the road are universal and invio-lable. The most comprehensive list was compiled a few years ago by an American musician named Thor Harris. It includes gems like “If you fart, claim it” and “Don’t f*ck anyone in the band.” These are obvious and defensible. Less obvi-ous — though no less important — are things like “Driver picks the
music” and “Remember the sound-man’s name.” But Gavin Gardiner thinks commandment nineteen is the most important of all. “Fast food is poison,” he laughs. “And it’s true.”
Gardiner is an authority on the subject of touring. His band, the Wooden Sky, has logged thousands of miles and played dozens of shows this year. Known for releasing thoughtful alt-country records with a heavy dose of rustic introspection
and then touring the hell out of them, Gardiner and his bandmates have carved out a reputation for them-selves as one of Canada’s preeminent live bands. Their latest project is a four-month odyssey in support of Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun, which was released in February. Gardiner knows the road exacts a heavy toll, but he’s prepared for it. “I think it’s important that we all try to stay healthy,” he says. “Like, actually physically take care of ourselves.” That means giving up rockstar indul-gences (most of the time, presumably) and concentrating instead on good food and exercise. “But sometimes when you’re driving down the high-way, the Trans-Canada, that’s it, that’s your only option,” he says of greasy spoon pit stops. “It’s pretty much impossible to eat well on tour.”
Fortunately for music fans across Canada, Gardiner and his band-mates are willing to endure the sog-gy hamburgers and greasy french fries. “For us, the constant goal is to be improving and striving to be a better band and playing to the wider audience,” he says. “You’re living it every single day [and] sometimes you lose sight of the fact that you’re having success.” If you measure suc-cess in sold-out concerts, ebullient audiences, and fantastic records, it
seems plain that the Wooden Sky are finding it — even if they can’t see past the golden arches.
The fundamental problem with a band like the Wooden Sky is that their music defies description. Or, more accurately, cleaves to it. Calling Gardiner and his compadres soulful alt-country pioneers is no less ac-curate than calling them introspective acoustic soundscape artists. Trying to capture the scope of Every Child A Daughter, Every Moon a Sun with a
handful of adjectives is futile, espe-cially considering Gardiner’s view of things: “If we wanted this record to feel like a fairly loud, upbeat record, all we would have to do is drop six songs.” Their sound is malleable, and the ones on Every Child a Daughter are no exception. This is plain when
Gardiner and his bandmates take to the stage.
Whereas some groups will only play rock clubs or theatres, the Wooden Sky will play anywhere. Their catalogue is big enough and diverse enough that Gardiner and his bandmates can play raucous songs to a beer-drenched bar crowd or tone it down to fill someone’s living room. “I think that’s why I love being in the band in the first place,” he says. “I think that we have the ability to really shine as a rock band in a bar and we also have the ability to really
shine in a church, where everything is quiet and people are in pews and there’s so much natural reverb.” Like most people, Gardiner pines for what he doesn’t have. At the end of a rock bar tour, all he wants to do is play a church. “But,” he says, “I get a dif-ferent high out of both. On this tour
/VERBREGINA CULTURECONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
11NOV 16 – NOV 22
PHOTO: COURTESY OF BEN ADAMSON
@MacPhersonA
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
we’re playing a very diverse range of venues, so it really forces us to be a different band every night.”
The most versatile band in Canada began life as Gardiner’s bedroom project while he was studying at Ryerson University. One thing led to another, and the Wooden Sky soon emerged as a fully-formed band. Driven by Andrew Keke-wich’s thoughtful percussion and Andrew Wyatt’s lissom bass lines, and ornamented with tastefully
luscious guitar lines by Simon Walker, the Wooden Sky transcends genre and style.
There are elements of rock and country and folk and roots and Americana in their music, of course, but their ability to collaborate in the studio and on the stage produces a
sound that cannot be mistaken for anything but the Wooden Sky.
Their first record was called When Lost At Sea. It came out in 2007. A couple years later, they released If I Don’t Come Home, You’ll Know I’m Gone. Gardiner later real-ized that it was his breakup record, the profoundly bleak musings of a man captured by sorrow and frus-tration. The band followed it with a short EP and, earlier this year, Every Child a Daughter, Every Moon a Sun. The new record feels like Gardiner turning the lens outward. If If I Don’t Come Home chronicled a crumbling relationship and its reverberations, Every Child a Daughter addresses empathy and compassion and understanding — the pillars of hu-man nature. “I don’t know if it’s the right term, but the bigger picture?” Gardiner muses. “[It’s about] real-izing how connected things are to each other, and that it can go from a personal to a universal idea. [And] trying to understand what it means to actually know someone.”
What’s really striking about Every Child a Daughter is the way it sounds. More expansive than any of its predecessors, the record is overflow-ing with lush soundscapes and rich musical textures. Gardiner’s voice is afloat on a sea of sound, wash-
ing in and out of the mix, battered by the swells and rising again in sympathy with the powerful guitar chords. Sprawling across every inch of the sonic landscape, Every Child a Daughter is the sort of record where the sound of the song is just as impor-tant as the song itself. “It Gets Old To Be Alone” could, for example, stand up as a simple acoustic song, but the added instrumentation — especially Walker’s guitar parts, which are sensational — transforms a simple acoustic weeper into a deeply mov-ing ballad, crackling with emotion.
Even today, eight months and dozens of shows after its release, Gardiner is not sure what to make of it. “It definitely feels like a home record,” he says, choosing his words carefully. “It’s warm sounding and lush and it’s fairly downtempo. There are explosive moments, but for me it’s that kind of record.” This
is Gardiner’s interpretation, but he is willing to entertain a variety of other theories as well. In fact, he will even defend them. Pointing to a recent re-view of an unnamed friend’s new re-cord, in which the unfortunate critic used the word “mistake,” he says: “I don’t think you can judge someone’s art and say they did it wrong. There’s no right or wrong; you take from it what you take from it.”
Gardiner understands that records are subjective; interpretation and meaning belong to the listener, not the creator. Every Child a Daugh-ter may not receive the radio play it deserves, but Gardiner refuses to be cowed by industry standards. “I think that’s a difficult thing for people in the music industry, quote unquote, to wrap their head around,” he muses. “It makes people nervous, I think, be-cause it doesn’t allow you something to really latch on to immediately.
Those people, I don’t think they’re in it for the right reasons. I want to make music for making music, for music lovers. That’s not exclusive. I’m not trying to be pretentious by saying that; it’s just the kind of music I like. I don’t know why I would make music that I didn’t like.”
And as long as Gardiner and the Wooden Sky remember command-ment nineteen, they should be mak-ing music they — and everyone else — like for a long time to come.
The Wooden SkyNovember 25 @ The Artesian on 13$16 @ picatic.ca
VERBNEWS.COMCULTURE CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
12NOV 16 – NOV 22
BEYOND BEER
BExquisite pub grub and pleasing pints at Bushwakker Brewpub. BY JESSICA BICKFORD
The thick, juicy patty was topped with aged white cheddar [and] crisp, smoky bacon…
JESSICA BICKFORD
LET’S GO DRINKIN’ VERB’S MIXOLOGY GUIDE
BUSHWAKKER BLACK AND TAN
This traditional blend of dark and light beers is sure to please anyone who loves the richness of a dark beer, but doesn’t want something quite so heavy, or those who like light beers and want to take a trip to the dark side.
INGREDIENTS
½ pint Regina Pale Ale (or another pale ale)½ pint Palliser Porter(or another porter or stout)
DIRECTIONS
In a pint glass, first pour the pale ale and then top up with the porter. Alternately, make a red and black by mixing half Palliser Porter and half Dungarvon Irish Red Ale for a sweeter version of this classic pour.
@TheGeekCooks
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
FOOD + DRINK
Photography courtesy of Danielle Tocker
ushwakker is by far one of my favourite places to eat in Regina. They
have great food, fantastic beers, and a comfortable atmosphere that can not be beat, whether you are out for an evening with your friends or having lunch with your colleagues.
I was excited to see what I would get to eat, as I tend to stick with my favourite bison burger with fries and a pint of red and black — which is always delicious, but I know that their menu offers so much more.
I started with a wild boar burger, which is made fresh with local wild boar meat from just outside of Kronau. The thick, juicy patty was topped with aged white cheddar, crisp, smoky bacon, and a fire-roasted red pepper relish. The relish had a bit of heat and sweetness, and played nicely off the
flavourful boar meat, creating a well balanced and very tasty burger. This burger is for those of you who dig a messy but intensely flavourful meal,
and it was served, of course, with Bushwakker’s perfect, thin-cut, house-made fries.
Next up were some nachos, and until you see them you will never believe how large the serving size is. I don’t recommend that you order these on your own because you need a
team to eat all of the hand-cut taco chips, cheese, jalapeños, tomatoes, black olives, and onions packed onto a regular order. The Bushwakker does
not skimp on the toppings either, and the crisp and cheesy chips are perfect with the zesty tomato salsa and fresh guacamole that come on the side.
Lastly I got a taste of something off their current seasonal menu — a Gaelic boxty. This traditional Irish dish featured a potato pancake (kind of like a crepe) filled with beef tenderloin tips, leeks, crimini mushrooms, and smothered in a creamy Jameson Irish Whiskey sauce. The tender, juicy beef was falling apart and the mushrooms had such intense umami flavour. The thin, light pancake was perfectly browned, and the sauce was decadently rich and extraordinarily flavourful, with the Jameson adding a subtle sweetness and fabulous aroma.
Along with all of this, I was sipping some Bushwakker pumpkin spice ale, which is a fantastic seasonal bev-erage. Fresh ginger, vanilla and cinna-mon are added to a base of Sodbuster Brown Ale to create a delicately flavoured, creamy, subtly spicy and remarkably aromatic beer. This was
almost too smooth and easy drinking, and is a great limited time treat.
Bushwakker almost never disap-points on either the food or the beer front, and it’s because they make just about everything from scratch and keep things fresh, both with their seasonal beers and menus, as well as their daily specials. As I said before, Bushwakker just can’t be beat.
Bushwakker Brewpub2206 Dewdney Ave. | 359 7276
@VERBREGINA CULTURECONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
13NOV 16 – NOV 22
PHOTOS COURTESY OF: THE ARTIST / THE ARTIST / CINDY FUNK
COMING UPNEXT WEEK
TIM CHAISSON
This captivating performer first garnered some serious attention with 2009’s Broken Hearted Beat. Though it was Chaisson’s fourth album, it was his first to receive some national love, and this singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist hasn’t slowed down since. Though Broken Hearted Beat featured the influences of a wide range of music, from folk to pop to country, Chaisson’s latest album — The Other Side — sees this music man going back to his East Coast roots. Chaisson began performing as a young child as part of a Celtic en-semble before breaking into his solo act, and he has received numerous accolades for that move, including COCA Emerging Artist of the Year in 2012. Check him out when he hits town; early tickets at ticketedge.ca
@ THE ARTFUL DODGERTUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27 – $5 ADVANCE;
$10 AT THE DOOR
It’s been a rather busy year for Half Moon Run. In March they released their debut album, Dark Eyes, and leapt head-first into a dozen or so Canadian gigs before crossing the pond and pounding out 32 European shows in 32 days — creating buzz at festivals in France, Germany and England. And the buzz, let me tell you, was warranted. This Montreal-based trio blends indie, pop and folk music together with atmospheric guitars and tender harmonies to produce a sound that’s unique and ethereal with a tinge of electronica. Consisting of Devon Portielje, Conner Molander and Dylan Phillips, Half Moon Run makes music that is moody, delicate, complex, classical, psychedelic and absolutely engrossing.
HALF MOON RUN
Great Big Sea may be a “dys-functional-family-bar-room-brawl-student-art-project-musical-pirate-crew,” but man what a crew it is! If you’ve never seen this trio from Newfoundland perform live, do yourself a favour and head to the Brandt Centre in March. Few bands put on a show like these guys. Af-fable, engaging and always enter-taining, this group — consisting of frontman Alan Doyle, Sean McCann and Bob Hallett — take traditional Newfoundland and Irish tunes (from folk songs to sea shanties) and put a rock spin on them. The result? Gold and platinum albums galore and more East Coast Music Awards than you can shake a stick at. This show will definitely be worth catching. Tickets available at Ticketmaster.
– By Adam Hawboldt
GREAT BIG SEA
@ THE EXCHANGETUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27 – $TBD
SASK MUSIC PREVIEWSaskMusic would like to congratulate Bushwakker Brewpub on recently being named the top brewpub in Canada by vaycay.ca. Coincidence, perhaps, that Bushwakker recently adopted an all-Saskatchewan mandate for their background music? If you’re a Saskatchewan artist and would like your album to be added to their playlist, contact http://www.bushwakker.com.
Keep up with Saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org
PHOTO: COURTESY OF BUSHWAKKER
@ BRANDT CENTRESATURDAY, MARCH 16 – $51+
MUSIC
VERBNEWS.COMENTERTAINMENT CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
14NOV 16 – NOV 22
The most complete live music listings for Regina.
NOVEMBER 16 » NOVEMBER 24
17
23 2421 2219 2018
S M T W T
Have a live show you'd like to promote? Let us know!
GET LISTED
LISTINGS
16
FRIDAY 16COAL CREEK BOYS / Artful Dodger
— Country music rockers! 8pm / $10
advance, $15 door
METRIC / Brandt Centre — An indie/New
Wave band that rocks. 8pm / $42.50+
(www.ticketmaster.ca)
ANDRE PHILIPPE GAGNON / Casino Re-
gina — Part musician, part comedian, all
talent. 8pm / $40+ (casinoregina.com)
DJ JUAN LOPEZ / Envy Nightclub — This
DJ loves requests. 10pm / $5
THREE FISH, FOUR FISH / The Exchange
— Featuring iONik, Demian, Chris Knorr
and 7 Deadly Sins. 8pm / Tickets TBD
NIGHTTRAIN / Gaslight Saloon — A Guns
‘N Roses tribute band. 9pm / $10
DJ PAT & DJ KIM / Habano’s — Local DJs
spin top 40 hits. 9pm / $5 cover
ALAIN LALONDE / The Hookah Lounge
— Come check out this dope local DJ/
producer. 7pm / The Hookah Lounge
METHOD 2 MADNESS / McNally’s — Play-
ing rock and roll classics. 10pm / $5
TINSEL TREES / O’Hanlon’s — Down-
tempo tunes. 9pm / No cover
WYATT / Pump Roadhouse — Featuring
rockin’ country music. 10pm / Cover TBD
ALBERT / Pure Ultra Lounge — Appearing
every Friday night. 10pm / $5 cover
FLICKERS / The Sip — A night of good
tunes. 10pm / No cover charge if in at-
tendance by 6pm
CHRIS HENDERSON / Whiskey Saloon —
A local country musician. 8pm / $10
DJ LONGHORN / Whiskey Saloon —
Come check out one of Regina’s most
interactive DJs. 8pm / $10
SATURDAY 17SAM MCLELLAN, CHLOE CHARLES, ALY TADROS / Artful Dodger — Three
wonderful women in concert. 7:30pm /
Tickets at the Artful Dodger
BLACKIE AND THE RODEO KINGS / Casino
Regina — A Canadian all-star band play-
ing country/roots/rock. 8pm / $25-30
(www.casinoregina.com)
DJ JUAN LOPEZ / Envy Nightclub — This
DJ loves requests. 10pm / Cover $5
GALLOWS, BARN BURNER / The Exchange
— A punk band from England, and rock-
ers from Montreal. 7pm / $15 in advance
(www.ticketedge.ca), $20 at the door
AMAZE / The Gaslight Saloon — A night
of awesome music! 9pm / $5
DJ NOOR / The Hookah Lounge — This
talented DJ knows how to rock a crowd.
7pm / $5 cover
HOPE ETERNAL / Knox Metropolitan
United Church — Featuring the Regina
Philharmonic Chorus and the RSO. 8pm /
Tickets at Bach and Beyond, Golden Mile
and Cobb Swanson Music
JJ VOSS / Lancaster Taphouse — An
acoustic musician. 9pm / Cover TBD
METHOD 2 MADNESS / McNally’s Tavern
— Playing great rock and roll classics.
10pm / $5
DREWSKI / Pure Ultra Lounge — Doing
what he does best. 10pm / $5 cover
FLICKERS / The Sip — A night of good
tunes. 10pm / Cover TBD
OPEN JAM SESSIONS / Smokin’ Okies
BBQ — Drop by to jam or just listen. 3pm
/ No cover
CHRIS HENDERSON / Whiskey Saloon —
A local country musician. 8pm / $10
SUNDAY 18TOM FUN ORCHESTRA / The Artful
Dodger — Think Tom Waits with east
coast flair. 7:30pm / $10 advance (www.
ticketedge.ca) or $12 door
SONGWRITER SUNDAY / Creative City
Centre — Featuring Belle Plaine, Nick
Faye and Tiny. 7:30pm / $10
INTO ETERNITY / The Exchange — Fea-
turing past and current members and
Bloodline. 49m / $20
FABER DRIVE / Pure Ultra Lounge — An
award-winning power pop band. 8pm /
$20 (www.ticketedge.ca)
MONDAY 19MONDAY NIGHT JAZZ AND BLUES / Bush-
wakker Brewpub — Featuring Shane
Reoch. 8pm / No cover
MADCHILD / The Exchange — This mem-
ber of Swollen Members is doing his solo
hip hop thing. 8pm / Cover TBD
TUESDAY 20JULIE DOIRON / Artful Dodger — A folk-
rock musician. 7:30pm / $10 advance
(www.ticketedge.ca), $15 at the door.
TROUBADOUR TUESDAYS / Bocados —
Come check out some local talents every
week. 8pm / No cover
KARAOKE TUESDAY / McNally’s — Music
venue offers patrons a chance on stage.
8pm / No cover
PANDACORN, LORDS KITCHNER / O’Hanlon’s — A night of indie rock
you’re bound to enjoy. 9pm / No cover
DALLAS SMITH, CHAD BROWNLEE / Pump
Roadhouse — Two talented country
musicians. 7pm / SOLD OUT
WEDNESDAY 21WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOLK / Bushwakker
Brewpub — Featuring The Empire As-
sociates. 9pm / No cover
COMEBACK KID, BACKTRACK, EXPIRE / The Exchange — Three stellar acts, one
hardcore show. 7:30pm / Cover TBD
JAM NIGHT, OPEN STAGE / McNally’s —
Enjoy some local talent. 9pm / No cover
DIANA DESJARDINS / Pump Roadhouse
— A sweet country act from Winnipeg.
9pm / Cover TBD
DAVID JAMES AND BIG RIVER / Whiskey
Saloon — Hot country! 8pm / $5
THURSDAY 22PEANUT BUTTER GENOCIDE / Artesian on
13 — Pounding drums and wicked rock.
7pm / $7
JEREMY FISHER / Artful Dodger —
Modern-day folk music that’s simply
infectious. 7:30pm / Cover TBD
GENTICORUM / The Club — A wildly
talented folk trio from Quebec. 8pm /
$12 at the door
DIAMOND RINGS / The Exchange —
Toronto musician offers pop/electronic
music. 8pm / $12 (www.ticketedge.ca)
DECIBEL FREQUENCY / Gabbo’s — An
electronic dance party. 10pm / $5
PS FRESH / Hookah Lounge — Featuring
DJs Ageless and Drewski. 7pm / No cover
OPEN MIC / King’s Head Tavern — Come
show what you got. 8pm / No cover
SOL JAMES / Lancaster Taphouse — An
up-and-coming country artist from
Manitoba. 9pm / Cover TBD
DAVID JAMES AND BIG RIVER / Whiskey
Saloon — These guys put on a country
show you won’t want to miss. 8pm / $5
DJ LONGHORN / Whiskey Saloon —
Come check out one of Regina’s most
interactive DJs. 8pm / Cover $5
FRIDAY 23RHINESTONE COWGIRL / Casino Regina
— A tribute to Dolly Parton. 8pm / $20-
25 (www.casinoregina.com)
CELTIC THUNDER / Conexus Arts Centre
— An entertaining Irish extravaganza.
8pm / $37-67 (www.admission.com)
DJ JUAN LOPEZ / Envy — This DJ loves
requests. 10pm / Cover $5
BIG BAD STORM / Gaslight Saloon — A
night of kick-ass music! 9pm / $5
DJ PAT & DJ KIM / Habano’s — Local DJs
spin top 40 hits. 9pm / $5 cover
ALAIN LALONDE / The Hookah Lounge
— Come check out this dope local DJ/
producer. 7pm / The Hookah Lounge
THE MONTAGUES / McNally’s — Playing
classic rock and roll covers. 10pm / $5
TINSEL TREES / O’Hanlon’s — Enjoy some
down-tempo music. 9pm / No cover
ALBERT / Pure Ultra Lounge — Appearing
every Friday night. 10pm / $5 cover
ROUSER / The Sip Nightclub — A night of
good tunes. 10pm / Cover TBD
KAL HOURD / Whiskey Saloon — A coun-
try musician from Saskatoon. 8pm / $10
DJ LONGHORN / Whiskey Saloon —
Come check out one of Regina’s most
interactive DJs. 8pm / $10
SATURDAY 24RHINESTONE COWGIRL / Casino Regina
— A tribute to the great Dolly Parton.
8pm / $20-25 (www.casinoregina.com)
RSO MASTERWORKS: THE VOYAGERS’ SOUNDTRACK / Conexus Arts Centre —
The music of composers from around the
globe. 8pm / $33+ (reginasymphony.com)
DJ JUAN LOPEZ / Envy Nightclub — This
DJ loves requests. 10pm / $5
ANDINO SUNS / The Exchange — High-
energy Latin folk rock. 8pm / $5
DJ NOOR / The Hookah Lounge — This
talented DJ knows how to rock. 7pm / $5
CODY GAMRACY / Lancaster Taphouse —
A local indie folk rock musician worth
checking out. 9pm / Cover TBD
THE MONTAGUES / McNally’s — Playing
classic rock and roll covers. 10pm / $5
DREWSKI / Pure Ultra Lounge — Doing
what he does best. 10pm / $5 cover
ROUSER / The Sip Nightclub — A night
of good tunes. 10pm / No cover if in at-
tendance by 6pm
OPEN JAM SESSIONS / Smokin’ Okies
BBQ — If you play an instrument, drop
by for a jam. If not, stop by and just
listen. 3pm / No cover
/VERBREGINA ENTERTAINMENTCONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
15NOV 16 – NOV 22
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9 @
THE SIPThe Sip Nightclub306 Albert Street North(306) 352 5022
MUSIC VIBE / Varies all the timeFEATURED DEALS / Buckets of domestic beer (five beer) for $22.50, jugs of rye for $11 and jugs of paralyzers for $13DRINK OF CHOICE / Jugs of rye or jugs of paralyzersTOP EATS / Ribs or pizzaCOMING UP / Live performances by Flickers, Rouser and Conrad Bigknife
Photography by Klein Photography – [email protected]
NIGHTLIFE
VERBNEWS.COMENTERTAINMENT CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
16NOV 16 – NOV 22
ow much you like Ste-ven Spielberg’s Lincoln will depend on what
your expectations are.If you want to see an epic, sprawl-
ing Civil War pic, well, you’re sh*t out of luck. Same goes if you want to see a real representation of how things went down in Lincoln’s day.
But if you’re into heavy American patriotism, serious character studies and, hands down, some of the finest
acting you’ll see all year, then you’re going to like the heck out of Lincoln.
Personally, I wanted all of the above, so by the time the final credits rolled I was conflicted as all get out of here. Still am — kind of.
See, on the one hand I thought the movie worked on so many levels.
Writer Tony Kushner (Munich, An-gels in America) wisely avoids trying to tackle the entire life of Abraham Lincoln, instead opting to focus the script tightly on the last few months of Lincoln’s life, covering his struggle to
end the Civil War and all the under-handed tricks (bribery, lies, threats) Lincoln needed to get the Thirteenth Amendment (which outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude) passed.
This narrow focus really gives the movie weight.
So too does all the terrific acting. Daniel Day-Lewis, arguably the
best actor working today, doesn’t sim-ply play a good Lincoln. He becomes Lincoln, breathing life into him —
inside and out. So much so that by the time you walk out of the theatre you’ll have the feeling you’ve just spent the past couple hours watching and listening to Honest Abe do his thing at the most pivotal moment in his life.
But it’s not just Day-Lewis walk-ing tall in this film. David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck) is great as Secretary of State William Seward, as is Sally Field (Places in the Heart) in the role of Mary Todd Lincoln.
And then there’s Tommy Lee Jones playing abolitionist congressman
Thaddeus Stevens. Wow! The only way to describe Jones’ performance is incendiary. Every time he’s on screen, the film catches fire and soars to its highest heights. He’s a lock for an Oscar nomination and, to be honest, probably deserves to win.
And yet, for all the great acting and superb focus, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Spielberg could’ve done more with this movie — a feeling that started from the very first scene.
After a gruesome battle in 1865, we see Abe sitting on a tree stump, talking to four soldiers. Out of no-where, the soldiers start reciting the Gettysburg Address verbatim.
“Oh brother,” I thought, “here we go! This unbelievable cheese is going to get unbelievably cheesier.”
Fortunately, I was wrong. But still, there is a lot of patriotic chest beating going on. And too much myth-mak-ing. Lincoln’s actual views on African Americans are barely breached (that might tarnish the myth of The Great Emancipator). And there’s nary a mention that Lincoln wanted to pass the 13th Amendment not because he
was against slavery, but for politi-cal reasons. See, if the South had no slaves that meant their economy would be crippled, there would be no one to grow their crops, their armies wouldn’t have proper supplies and, therefore, the North (Lincoln’s team) would emerge victorious.
Yet for all the things it neglected, Lincoln is still an excellent movie. And a pretty darn good look into the
last days of a great man struggling through his greatest hour.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF 20TH CENTURY FOX
H
Daniel Day-Lewis…becomes Lincoln, breathing life into him…
ADAM HAWBOLDT
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@AdamHawboldt
FILM
LINCOLN
DIRECTED BY Steven Spielberg
STARRING Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally
Field + Joseph Gordon-Levitt
120 MINUTES | PG
New bio-pic of America’s 16th president is excellent,despite its flaws. BY ADAM HAWBOLDT
LOVE FOR LINCOLN
@VERBREGINA ENTERTAINMENTCONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
17NOV 16 – NOV 22
arah Polley’s intriguing story begins before she was born.
It begins when her mother, Diane, sees a young British actor named Michael Polley on a Toronto stage and falls in love with the character he’s playing. They get married, but soon Diane comes to realize the man is not the same as the character she fell in love with. Things fizzle and the marriage grows stale. And in 1978, Diane (who’s a thespian herself) goes to Montreal to act in a play produced by Harry Gulkin, after which she returns home. And shortly after, out pops little Sarah Polley.
Sounds like fairly standard story, right? Wrong.
See, when Sarah is 11 years old her mother dies of cancer. Polley and her siblings are left to be raised by their dad, Michael — a man she loves, but from whom she has al-ways felt a certain distance. Even-tually Sarah follows in her parents’ footsteps and becomes an actress. She appears in Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter, David Cronen-
berg’s eXistenZ, Michael Winterbot-tom’s The Claim.
She finds fame and critical ac-claim and everything ends happily ever after, right? Wrong again.
See, Polley suspects her fam-ily of keeping a secret from her, so she begins to investigate. Research is done and the truth comes to the surface: Michael isn’t her real father. Her real dad is the producer Harry Gulkin!
This is the narrative Polley tells in her new documentary, The Sto-ries We Tell.
Presented in a series of family interviews, old home movies, re-en-acted events and talking heads, the
documentary is as direct as a kick to the private parts. A straight-in-the-eye look at family, forgiveness and one woman’s desire to unearth the truth … no matter what.
Needless to say, The Stories We Tell is an intensely personal movie that must’ve been hard as hell for Polley to make. And as a straight-ahead documentary meant to chronicle the history of someone’s life, The Stories We Tell works pretty
well on the surface.But when you dig a bit deeper
you realize something is lack-ing. Just because it’s an intensely personal story doesn’t mean it’s penetrating or that it will resonate with others.
And that’s the main problem with Polley’s doc.
Even though it’s an interesting enough story and personal and, at times, touching, there’s not a whole lot for the viewer to grab onto. Yes, there are twists and turns and the movie is exceedingly well-shot. But there’s something missing, some-thing standing in the way of it from becoming truly terrific.
Maybe because all the things Polley explores here (parents, fam-ily secrets, the slippery nature of truth) have all been done before and done better — by authors and playwrights and other movie mak-ers.
I don’t know. What I do know is this: The Stories
We Tell is way more than just a movie about a Canadian actress letting us in on a family secret. It’s about big, universal ideas. It’s beautifully put together. And it’s much better than Polley’s last project, Take This Waltz. But for all that, there’s some damn ineffable thing holding it back.
Go watch it for yourself, and if can figure out what that thing is, send me a message — I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Stories We Tell will be screened at the Regina Public Library begin-ning November 22nd; see reginali-brary.ca for showtimes.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF MONGREL MEDIA
The Stories We Tell is an intensely personal movie that must’ve been hard as hell for Polley to make.
ADAM HAWBOLDT
Canadian actress Sarah Polley takes an unflinching look at her life and family. BY ADAM HAWBOLDT
STORIES WE TELL
DIRECTED BY Sarah Polley
Cinematography Iris Ng
109 MINUTES | PG
Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@AdamHawboldt
S
PERSONAL STORIES
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© Elaine M. Will | blog.E2W-Illustration.com | Check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!
ENTERTAINMENT CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
18NOV 16 – NOV 22
COMICS
/VERBREGINA ENTERTAINMENTCONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS NIGHTLIFE FILM COMICS TIMEOUT
19NOV 16 – NOV 22
ACROSS1. Be an omen of
5. As well
9. More rational
10. Rains heavily
12. Empty space
13. Songs of praise
15. Kinds
16. Crooked deal
18. Make fast
19. Night before
20. High-priced
21. Manner of doing
22. Wait on tables
24. Longed for
26. Formation of troops
or ships
28. Humorous drawing,
as in a newspaper
31. Impoverished
35. Pass a test easily
36. Goes as fast as possible
38. Briny expanse
39. Parts of pairs of
eyeglasses
41. Heart colour, on a card
42. Surgery souvenir
43. Gave final form to a film
45. Prince Edward ___
47. Put away for use later
48. Cleans chalkboard
erasers
49. Practice punching
50. Write with a computer
DOWN1. One who gives financial
support
2. Responsibility
3. Wild animal’s home
4. Rub out
5. Clothing
6. Rich soil
7. Take to court
8. One versed in rhetoric
9. Healing ointment
11. Insinuating
12. Whoppers
14. Bit of bird food
17. Musical beat
20. Interior design
21. Something that
belongs to me
23. Check for accuracy
25. Male children
27. Pack rat
28. Attention to detail
29. Corrosive chemicals
30. Makes a payment
32. Break out of prison
33. College officials
34. Place to play
37. Authoritative order
40. Come to a halt
42. Hit with the hand
44. Time period in history
46. Deceitfully clever
HOROSCOPES NOVEMBER 2 – NOVEMBER 8
© WALTER D. FEENER 2012
SUDOKU CROSSWORD ANSWER KEY
A B
ARIES March 21–April 19
This is going to be a fun week, Ar-
ies. Whether it be an invite to a hip
party or simply hanging out with friends,
good times shall be had by all.
TAURUS April 20–May 20
Contemplation. That’s the watch-
word this week, Taurus. Whenever
you get a free moment, take the time to sit
back and think about the big things in life.
GEMINI May 21–June 20
You may find yourself feeling
beaten down and run ragged early
this week, Gemini. Don’t worry. In a few
days you’ll be full of zip and zeal.
CANCER June 21–July 22
When the going gets tough, the
tough grab the going and beat the
ever-loving stuffing out of it. Yep, it’s going
to be that kind of week. But you got this!
LEO July 23–August 22
There are only so many hours in
a day, Leo. Twenty-four, to be pre-
cise. So try to make the most of the time
you have this week to start a new project.
VIRGO August 23–September 22
It might take you a while to make
sense of things this week, but once
you get everything straightened out, clar-
ity, thy name shall be Virgo.
LIBRA September 23–October 23
Sometimes how good you are de-
pends entirely on how lucky you
are. And this week, Libra, you’re going to
be both lucky and good. Enjoy it!
SCORPIO October 24–November 22
Some weeks are meant for explor-
ing, other weeks all you want to do
is curl up on the couch. If given the choice,
opt for the latter in the days ahead.
SAGITTARIUS November 23–December 21
We all have room for personal
improvement, Sagittarius. So why
not take this week to try and turn your
shortcomings into something positive.
CAPRICORN December 22–January 19
This promises to be a magical
week for you, Capricorn, full of
wonder and awe. Enjoy it, before reality,
inevitably, comes crashing down.
AQUARIUS January 20–February 19
If someone challenges you this
week, Aquarius, don’t shy away
from them. Instead, put on your game face
and start taking names and kicking ass.
PISCES February 20–March 20
Like sands in an hour glass, you
may find your energy levels
slowly but steadily dwindling this week,
Pisces. Never fear: all will be right soon!
SUDOKU ANSWER KEY
A
B
6 9 4 5 2 3 7 8 17 8 1 6 4 9 3 2 52 5 3 7 8 1 6 9 49 1 6 8 3 7 5 4 24 7 2 9 6 5 1 3 85 3 8 2 1 4 9 7 63 2 9 4 5 6 8 1 78 6 7 1 9 2 4 5 31 4 5 3 7 8 2 6 9
8 5 7 6 4 2 1 3 92 9 6 3 7 1 5 8 41 3 4 9 5 8 6 7 26 8 3 7 1 9 2 4 55 4 9 8 2 3 7 6 17 1 2 4 6 5 8 9 39 6 5 2 3 7 4 1 83 7 1 5 8 4 9 2 64 2 8 1 9 6 3 5 7
9 4 5 3 8 1 6 4 2 52 49 6 5 7 6 3 8 3 2 1 4 7 2 6 1 78 7 9 5 1 3 8 9
5 4 9 6 3 1 5 8 1 8 6 7 8 3 7 9 2 4 4 2 6 2 5 3 5 7 8 1 9 4 2 1 9 6 3 7
TIMEOUT
CROSSWORD CANADIAN CRISS-CROSS
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