verb issue s215 (nov. 9-15, 2012)

ARTS CULTURE MUSIC SASKATOON

PHOTO: COURTESY OF PH

ISSUE #215 – NOVEMBER 9 TO NOVEMBER 15

PHOTO: COURTESY OF MARK MARYANOVICH

THE GAMECHANGERAND CHAD BROWNLEE

COLD CASING A Saskatchewan psychic helps the police

NUTCRACKER Making costumes for the Moscow Ballet

SKYFALL + KILLER JOE Films reviewed LEST WE FORGET

VERBNEWS.COMVERB MAGAZINE CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

2NOV 9 – NOV 15

PLEASE RECYCLE AFTER READING & SHARING

RELENTLESS PURSUITA day in the life of a Canadian infantry soldier. 4 / LOCAL

COLD CASINGHow a psychic helps solve cold cases. 6 / LOCAL

PURE POPPYCOCKOur thoughts on the alternative poppy movement. 8 / EDITORIAL

COMMENTSHere’s what you had to say about transfer payments. 10 / COMMENTS

Q + A WITH PETER BRENNANQueen + the SSO. 12 / Q + A

NIGHTLIFE PHOTOS We visit Colonial and the Freehouse. 22-25 / NIGHTLIFE

LISTINGSLocal music listings for November 9 through November 17. 18 / LISTINGS

SKYFALL + KILLER JOE The latest movie reviews. 20 / FILM

ON THE BUS Weekly original comic illustrations by Elaine M. Will. 26 / COMICS

NUTCRACKERArthur Oliver makes magic with costumes. 13 / ARTS

JAMAICAN ME HUNGRYGet a taste of Jamaica at the Konga Cafe. 16 / FOOD + DRINK

MUSICGWAR, Faber Drive + Carrie Catherine. 17 / MUSIC

A HISTORY OF BREATHINGDaniel Macdonald’s latest play. 13 / ARTS

ON THE COVER: CHAD BROWNLEEOn making the jump to country music. 14 / COVER

GAMES + HOROSCOPESCanadian criss-cross puzzle, horoscopes, and Sudoku. 27 / TIMEOUT

CULTURE ENTERTAINMENTNEWS + OPINION

VERBNEWS.COM@VERBSASKATOON FACEBOOK.COM/VERBSASKATOON

EDITORIALPUBLISHER / PARITY PUBLISHINGEDITOR IN CHIEF / RYAN ALLANMANAGING EDITOR / JESSICA PATRUCCOSTAFF WRITERS / ADAM HAWBOLDT + ALEX J MACPHERSON

ART & PRODUCTIONDESIGN LEAD / ROBERTA BARRINGTONDESIGN & PRODUCTION / BRITTNEY GRAHAMCONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS / PATRICK CARLEY PATRICIO DEL RIO, 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

PHOTO: COURTESY OF MARK MARYANOVICH

CONTENTSCONTENTS

VERBNEWS.COMNEWS + OPINION CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

4NOV 9 – NOV 15

CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

4NOV 2 – NOV 8

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

LOCAL

am standing in a mine-field. Shells from a bat-tery of howitzers whistle

overhead. The gun pits are more than five kilometres away, but each report feels like a kick in the chest. “Look at this,” says Warrant Officer Daniel Beason, a cheerful combat engineer from Newfound-land, running his hand along an all-but-invisible strand of wire cutting across our path. “This is a bounding fragmentation mine,” he adds, after unearthing what looked like a dull green coffee can. “It has two explosive charges. The first launches it out of the ground, the second explodes it. The kill radius? About 30 metres.”

The scariest thing about standing in a minefield, even one sown with inert training mines, is that it looks like every other patch of prairie in sight. The only difference is that every inch of it is potentially lethal. “This is a liquid pressure actuated mine,” Beason says, gesturing toward a half-buried device no bigger than a pack of cigarettes, a “toepopper” designed to separate a person’s foot from his or her body. Moments earlier, I had walked right over it.

Landmines come in all shapes and sizes. Some are powerful enough to knock the track off a main battle tank; others, packed with shrapnel, will maim or kill anyone who treads on them. Mines are cheap to manufac-ture and deploy, difficult to neutralize, and extraordinarily effective against

virtually all combatants — and civil-ians. Because of the long-term risk, Canada was one of the first countries to sign the Ottawa Treaty, which outlawed anti-personnel mines. But the Canadian Forces are sometimes asked to fight in areas littered with these devices. Beason’s minefield is benign, but the feeling of standing in it is sobering. “We train as we fight,” he says.

Beason’s dummy minefield is part of Exercise Relentless Pursuit, a Canadian Forces Reserve training

weekend. The exercise began at four in the morning, with small groups of soldiers shivering in the predawn gloom. Their task would not be easy. Framed as an infantry skills competi-tion, Relentless Pursuit is actually a grueling trek through the training area at Canadian Forces Detachment Dundurn. The soldiers are expected to march 20 kilometres over uneven ground cloaked in rain and beaten by an icy October wind.

At the command post, little more than a green tent and a truck packed

with communications equipment, several officers and non-commissioned members are sipping coffee and trying to stay warm. Captain Mike Graver is leaning over a laminated map peppered with flag markers. A tall red-haired man attached to Princess Patri-cia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Graver is the officer in charge. He explains that the exercise features a number of reserve units from across the province: the Royal Regina Rifles, the North Saskatchewan Regiment, and 38 Combat Engineer Regiment. Each team of four or five soldiers is expected to navigate the training area and stop at

several different “stands,” where their performance in a specific activity will be graded. From instinctive shooting, armoured vehicle recognition, and combat first aid to minefield extraction, key leader engagement, and stalking, each section would face an array of challenges similar to what they might encounter on the battlefield.

“When we’re developing training exercises for our soldiers, we have to design them in such a manner that the tasks we give them sometimes verge on the impossible, so that they know

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[Soldiers] step out the door for the country, but they fight for each other.

TONY ENGELBERTS

A day in the life of a Canadian infantry soldier. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

RELENTLESS PURSUIT

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5NOV 9 – NOV 15

what their capabilities are.” explains Lieutenant Colonel Tony Engelberts, commanding officer of the North Saskatchewan Regiment and Royal Regina Rifles.

That edge was apparent when Corporal Mark Webb and his section of grinning soldiers jogged into the distance-judging stand. “We expected this to be tough for everyone,” Webb laughs, shrugging off his rucksack and C7A2 carbine. His section had jogged the last five kilometres to the stand, even though they had been march-ing for eight or nine hours. “We joke a lot, a lot of black humour. Plus, we encourage each other.” As a corporal, Webb was responsible for shepherd-ing the private soldiers in his section through the course. Webb was clearly exhausted, making the tasks at the distance-judging stand that much more difficult. “We eat a lot of granola bars,” he laughs. “And beef jerky.”

In theory, taking part in a field exer-cise should be anything but fun. The hours are long, the rucksacks back-breaking and the weather often miser-able. Soldiers, however, are notorious for defying expectations. Virtually everyone in the field was grinning despite the crushing exhaustion. Engelberts thinks exercises are one of the reasons soldiers stick around. “If we just trained in the classroom and on the floor, I probably wouldn’t have anybody here within 18 months,” he says. “You put a bunch of guys to-

gether that have some shared experi-ences, and the first thing they will talk about usually is how they all barely survived something, whether it’s combat, whether it’s something that almost killed them weather-wise.”

Exercises like Relentless Pursuit are extremely demanding. Soldiers must be much more than riflemen, and a well-designed exercise forces soldiers to perform a wide range of activities while thinking care-fully about the consequences of their actions. “The situation a frontline combat arms soldier can find himself in can involve everything from doing support to the civilian possibility, dispensing aid, doing a medium-level conflict counterinsurgency, and doing high-intensity combat,” Engelberts says. “An infantry unit could be doing all of those simultaneously. You have to have a wide breadth of skills and knowledge in order to pull that off.”

That is not easy to accomplish for most reservists, who work between four and 10 days each month. Most have full-time civilian jobs and many have families, meaning their work with the military is a major commit-ment. Engelberts understands.

“I have to give them a reason to want to be here, because I ask a lot from them and the Canadian Forces asks a lot from them,” he says. “I have to make sure I’m giving them something challenging and interest-ing, especially during a time of — I won’t call it peacetime right now, but we’re not actively in a shooting

war. I’ve got to keep them engaged.” The war in Afghanistan has done much to bring the Canadian Forces into the public consciousness, but Engelberts knows sustaining that momentum will be difficult. Exer-cises go a long way to reinforcing the bonds that all soldiers share.

“The Canadian government might order a soldier to go to war, but when it comes down to the crunch, a soldier on the ground is fighting the war for the guy beside him and for his section, his platoon, his unit,” Engelberts says. “They step out the door for the coun-try, but they fight for each other.”

As Relentless Pursuit drew to a close, Master Corporal Joel Sutherland was finishing up the stalking challenge, an exercise focused on camouflage and stealth. His tactical vest was festooned with branches and twigs, homemade camouflage.

“It’s been pretty good so far,” he says of the day’s field exercise. “A lot of walking, yeah, but that’s what we do. It’s a lot more fun than [civilians] think it is. But we take it very seri-ously, too. After all is said and done we share our experiences and laugh. It’s an experience a lot of other people never get.”

Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372

@MacPhersonA

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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ALEX J MACPHERSON / VERB MAGAZINE


6NOV 9 – NOV 15


magine you’re sitting on a bench in the middle of a crowded mall. It’s Christ-

mas time. All around you people are milling about, doing some last minute shopping.

Now imagine while you’re sitting there you close your eyes and you listen carefully to everything that’s going on around you. The voices intermingling, the cash registers beep-ing, footsteps, rustling bags, the hum of the escalators. Imagine all that, and you’ll begin to get an idea of what it’s like to be Barb Powell.

You see, Powell is a psychic. And that whole Christmas-shopping-at-the-mall scenario, well, that’s what she experiences every day in her head.

“It’s constant,” says Powell of the din she encounters. “You have trouble sleeping. It’s hard to relax and just shut down. There’s a certain anxiety and it just kind of gets you going.”

“You get used to ignoring it,” continues Powell. She pauses for a second, chuckles and says, “I have three kids, a dog and a husband … I’ve gotten quite good at ignoring and blocking things out.”

And most of the time, that’s how Powell moves through life. Ignor-

ing. Blocking things out. Sure, when she walks past a person Powell may sense that he or she is having a bad day or something, but that’s none of her business. She can’t concern herself with everyone she passes.

“I just can’t get into that,” she says. “If I’m out with my kids, I can’t

be working. But when I am in work mode, that’s when I go deeper than just skimming the surface. That’s when I have to connect.” And some-times that means connecting with people beyond the grave — especial-ly when Powell is called in to help the police with cold cases.

The first time Barb Powell got in-volved with a cold case was because of a reading she’d done. That was a little more than a decade ago, not long

after Powell had begun doing psychic work for others.

Relatively new to the industry, she was doing a reading for a customer and began talking about a person she sensed to be the woman’s sister. Powell saw a detail of a tattoo on the sister’s back. It was a rose.

Powell went on to tell her cus-tomer other things she assumed the woman already knew — that her sister had mental issues, that her sister had disappeared, etc. When it was over, the woman told Powell that her sister (or her sister’s body) had never been found.

Then she asked if Powell would be willing to talk to a detective about her sister.

Powell said she would, never re-ally expecting that anything would materialize from it.

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COLD CASINGSaskatchewan psychic works with police on investigations… just not here in Saskatchewan. BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

I remember thinking [the body] was down this specific highway.

BARB POWELL

PHOTO: COURTESY OF GARY RIDSDALE

LOCAL

/VERBSASKATOON NEWS + OPINIONCONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

7NOV 9 – NOV 15

But one day as she was driving down the street, her phone started ringing. Powell pressed the button and said hello. An official-sounding male voice came on the line.

Sure enough, it was a detective from North Carolina.

“I was like, ‘holy crap!’” remem-bers Powell. “Immediately, I pulled over to the side of the road and began explaining some things about the sister to the detective. Things I knew, things I could feel. Things, I hate to say, that I didn’t have the heart to tell [the customer].”

And so marked Powell’s first step into the world of cold cases. Soon other law enforcement agents (mostly from the United States) were contact-ing her in search of her service.

“I remember this one case I did where they were trying to locate a body,” says Powell. “I remember thinking it was down this specific highway. I don’t know why, I just got pulled there. I just felt it. But at the same time it felt like I was being pulled in a separate direction.”

Naturally, Powell was interested. But because of her schedule, she couldn’t just drop everything and go see the highway she’d envisioned.

“Two days later they found a body at the exact location I was being pulled to,” she says. “And then they found another body in the other direction I’d been sensing.”

But don’t get things twisted.It’s not as though Powell is saying

she’s the one who solved any of the cold cases, or even found the bodies for that matter.

Not at all. Unlike what television shows like Medium or The Mentalist may lead you to believe, Powell will tell you that the role a psychic plays in a cold case investigation is nowhere near the front and centre.

“I certainly don’t think psychics solve crimes,” she explains. “That’s the police’s job. They obviously know more about the details of a crime and where to look for bodies than most other people. So for me it’s just say-ing names, dates, telling them about whatever details I come up with. They can take that, put it with what they have and hopefully it’ll open up some more doors or scenarios for them if they’re stuck.”

And if that helps, great. If not, at least she tried. But here’s the thing:

it’s not as though Powell is out there trying to help police departments all the time. Just the opposite, in fact. She only works a case (pro bono, natu-rally) if the cops call her first.

“I would never contact the police,” says Powell. “I’ve never wanted to be an ambulance chaser. Sitting there,

watching the news for someone to go missing, then offering my help. That’s not me.”

“We don’t subscribe to a newspa-per, I don’t watch the news, I don’t do anything of the sort because, honestly, I don’t want to know,” she explains. “As bad as that sounds, I’m

much happier letting people contact me if they need help.”

@AdamHawboldt

[email protected]



8NOV 9 – NOV 15


EDITORIAL

f you’ve been paying close attention to the news lately, chances are you ran

into a story or two about alterna-tive poppies.

Maybe it was the uproar Quebec Premier Pauline Marois caused when she pinned a poppy with a fleur-de-lis centre to her lapel last week. Or perhaps it was the purple poppy campaign that was launched in East-bourne, England. You know, the one to help remember all the forgotten animal victims of war.

Or maybe, just maybe, you stumbled across an article about white poppies. You see, since 1933 a select group of peaceniks from England to Canada and beyond have been pushing the white poppy as a symbol of peace, which they imply is in stark contrast to the meaning behind the traditional red poppy,

in the days leading up to Remem-brance Day. And we think that’s pure poppycock.

Don’t get us wrong. We’re all for peace and animals. We think the fleur-de-lis is a meaningful symbol, and we are most certainly in favour of personal expression. But trying to convince others that your poppy is somehow morally or ethi-cally superior to the red poppy is wrong. Consider the reader who wrote in to the National Post saying, “the red Legion poppy, in my opinion, represents the nos-talgia and romanticizing of war … We should remember that we don’t have to go to war to get peace.” Now, without getting too philosophical or

technical here, that kind of thinking, while shiny and optimistic, shows an absolute disregard for history.

Since 1921, the red poppy has stood as a symbol of remembrance

and respect for all the men and women who

have fallen in war and military

service. It’s a visual pledge to never forget what these

people did for us, our country

and the world. Inspired by the poem

“In Flanders Fields,” the red poppy was first used by the Ameri-can Legion to commemorate their soldiers who died in the First World War. Since then it has been adopted by military veterans’ groups in the

I

PURE POPPYCOCKWearing a red poppy does not glorify war.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF STEPHEN DYRGAS

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9NOV 9 – NOV 15

@VerbSaskatoon

[email protected]


Commonwealth and has never — in no way, shape, or form — represent-ed a nostalgic or a historical longing for battle. In fact, in essence the red poppy is a symbol of peace, in that through remembering the horrific realities of war, we are spurred on-wards in our work towards prevent-ing conflict.

So we wear red poppies in the days and weeks leading up to Re-membrance Day to commemorate the sacrifice of soldiers, to keep their deeds and memories alive. And it’s important to note that we’re not say-ing everybody should wear a poppy. Do it or don’t, that’s your preroga-tive. But suggesting that embracing the red poppy is a glorification of conflict is simply wrong. It would be in better taste, and would show a tad more respect for the fallen, if those proponents of the white poppy

didn’t try to hijack Remembrance Day to advance their own personal and/or political agenda.

These editorials are left unsigned because they represent the opinions of Verb magazine, not those of the individual writers.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

• The first Remembrance Day was conducted in 1919 throughout the Commonwealth

• It commemorated the end of the First World War on Monday, November 11th

1918, at 11 am1987

• Remembrance Day pays tribute to Canadians who died in service to Canada,

from the South African War to current operation.

• The symbolic use of the poppy is credited to the poem “In Flanders Fields,”

which was written by Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel, John McCrae.

The poem’s opening lines remark how poppies were often the first flowers to

grow in the devastated ground around Flanders.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF PATCARD


10NOV 9 – NOV 15

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE »

COMMENTS

Text your thoughts to881 VERB

8372

ON TOPIC: Last week we asked what you thought about transfer pay-ments. Here's what you had to say:

– Quebec use of transfer payments it their business. Much greater concern should be focused on the use of saskatchewan taxes by the Saskparty and NDP to run an illegal immigrant sponsorship program that illegally sponsored more than one immigrant at a time. You’ll recall the Federal Govern-ment recently told the Saskparty to cease and desist offering immi-grant sponsorships.

– Transfer payments artical way off base and fuelling anti-French sentiment. It’s terrible. You forgot to mention we were receiving payments why crap on someone getting the same deal as us? Seems dumb 2 me

– Your editorial raised some inter-esting points, though I don’t neces-sarily agree with all of it. However, I like how the Quebec provincial government supports social pro-grams/families. Just shows what they value. Way better than Wall and the SaskParty.

– Quebec use of transfer pay-ments is none of Saskatchewan’s concern. It’s their region and they are entitled to do what they want there and if we go there it’s up to us to follow their rules. Of ap-propriate concern, however, is that Brad Wall, the Saskparty & NDP used our Sask tax dollars recently to send Canadians to a foreign country for medical experiments that are illegal in Canada (lib. therapy) and that were well docu-mented as being SnakeOil in two international medical studies.

– The model the Maritimes used sounds quite smart actually might be a good thing for Quebec to look into as they move to become more financially independent.

– Live and let live. Who cares what quebec does with their transfer payments? The program works for every Canadian; how the money gets spent is not up to us. It sounds like Quebec takes quite good care of its citizens, actually. I wouldn’t mind if the SaskParty wanted to subsidize my childrens’ daycare.

– What the snack is quebec doin im shock n i want some1 to SAY N DO sumthing.stand up to those who CAN CHANGE IT.I hope dis gets2rite peps

– Quebec and transfer payments opinion was abysmal and twisted. Promoting an anti-French senti-ment is wildly dangerous and irre-sponsible. You should be ashamed.

OFF TOPIC

– Bring on the zombies! Ha ha zombies are not really silly !

In response to “The Zombies Are Coming,”

Editorial page, #213 (October 26, 2012)

– WoW just read about two gun thas amazing.u really do learn new things each day: )i love hear learning about back in tha day. BayBeDoll =87

In response to “Guns A’ Blazin’,” Local page,

#214 (November 2, 2012)

– 2 gun cohen badass muthaf**ka never heard of the man before so this is pretty wild mean streets of london to leading chinese army, they should make amovie of this guy for real

In response to “Guns A’ Blazin’,” Local page,

#214 (November 2, 2012)

SOUND OFF

– If there were endless amounts of money to go around, I’m sure the food bank could give the food that people need and want. However, that is not the case. Food banks assist people by providing food hampers. It’s not the be all and end all. You need to be thankful for whatever is part of that food hamper. If you’re not happy with the hamper, give it to someone that can use it.

– Fun fact: Try swallowing a spoonfull of cinnamon it is nearly impossible as the cinnamon ab-sorbs saliva and dry the mouth go ahead try it!

– The early bird may get the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese.

– Sound off-how come some people put recyclable material in recycle bins but wrap them in no recyclable plastic bags?

– Whoever had the bright idea of lowering the legal drinking age needs their head examined.

/VERBSASKATOON NEWS + OPINIONCONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

11NOV 9 – NOV 15

Take a look at the statistics. DUI’s will more than likely increase if lowering the legal drinking age is approved.

– The first snow fall always look good. I am glad that winter is here and everyone has to lerner how to drive again . Like little old ladies . Ha ha !

– Keep Christ in Christmas.

– So many businesses are decked out in Christmas jazz already. Dear god that is far to early

– WOW!!!! HIV-AIDS vaccine in 5 years. No adverse affects in patients of first study. - TJZ

– We have freedom in Canada because of those who have given their lives and because of those that continue to serve. Wear your poppy with pride.

– Seen many people around not wearing poppies as we approach Remembrance Day. I think that’s disgraceful. I know it can be hard to conceive of a world where your safety and basic rights are chal-lenged (we’re so desensitized to everything, watch it on the news every night but can’t empathize).

Many people sacrificed everything to work towards a great common good, and wearing poppies is one way of remembering how horrible it all was. Working for peace is the most important thing we as a global community can do. And remembering where we came from helps in that. So wear those poppies, and think of who came before you. With respect, DJM

– Relievd the States did the right thing and reelected Obama. 4 more years most popular tweet (take that beiber)

– Sure cheer for Obama you liber-als but he’s running the US into the ground. There economy is pooched and it’ll just get worse. He mightt be more likable than mitt but this won’t be good for Canada, mark my words. I admit he has some good points, but getting the economy on track isn’t one of them

NEXT WEEK: Alternative poppies. 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 FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

12NOV 9 – NOV 15

Q + A

M

ONE VISION Peter Brennan’s orchestral rock. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

PHOTO: COURTESY OF JEANS ‘N CLASSICS

any people think of rock bands and symphony orches-

tras as the two poles of live music. One is steeped in tradition, the other rebellion; one is loud and boisterous, the other reserved and intellectually demanding. Many people think this way, but Peter Brennan knows better. Brennan founded Jeans ’N Classics, a band dedicated to expanding the realm of rock music beyond the limita-tions imposed by conventional in-struments. Today, Jeans ’N Classics play rock music with orchestras across North America. Their latest project, One Vision, features the music of Queen and the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra.

Alex J MacPherson: When did it occur to you that a rock band could, and per-haps should, work with an orchestra?

Peter Brennan: I fell in love with it as a concept before having ever experienced it, not knowing if I ac-tually would experience it. I always really liked the sound of orchestral instruments within the context of pop music or rock music. I suppose it really started to hit hard with cer-tain Beatles recordings, even though they didn’t use an orchestra in the full sense.

AJM: Is it difficult to do rock music with an orchestra?

PB: On the one hand you have a fantastic pop song or a fantastic rock song that didn’t have an orches-

tra anywhere near it, yet had its integrity and had its wow factor, and also may have been commercially successful. Who am I to come along and reinvent this? I have to be very careful to not reinvent it, and to show it all the respect it merits. Yet on the other side I have this animal, this big orchestra, and I want them to enjoy playing as much as I do.

AJM: Why is Queen’s music so well-suited to this format?

PB: It’s an irony, but two sides that perhaps dominate Queen’s sound, other than the vocals. Brian May loves big rock guitar, and he’s the absolute master, as far as I’m con-cerned. The other side of it is Fred-die’s training and the way he wrote — it was the foil to Brian’s guitar. You have a very studied, sophisti-cated, almost classical approach to writing. It’s not John Mellencamp here. We don’t have three-chord heartland country pop here; it’s very sophisticated.

AJM: Can you use this to get people interested in other orchestral music?

PB: I don’t know how far-reaching the influence goes after the fact. It

doesn’t just confine itself to Queen. Generally speaking, you bring in this crowd that’s not used to the orches-tra. As the concert goes on, you find that they roar for that orchestra, they think of them as their own. There’s a very spontaneous sort of heartfelt appreciation for those musicians. Whether or not they want to come and hear Mozart the following week

is another issue, but they sure are educated in the nontechnical sense.

AJM: So what can fans of rock and of orchestral music expect to hear?

PB: We touch on hits, we touch on album classics. For people who are Queen fans, they’ll have a really good time, but they’re also going to hear Queen with an orchestra, which is a delight. I think it’s a very cool show.

SSO One Vision November 17 @ TCU Place$35+ @ tcutickets.ca

@MacPhersonA

[email protected]


I … liked the sound of orchestral instru-ments within the context of … rock music.

PETER BRENNAN

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13NOV 9 – NOV 15

ARTSARTSARTSARTS

A HISTORY OF BREATHINGDaniel Macdonald’s latest extraordinary creation. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

A rthur Oliver has always been a designer. “I knew I

wanted to do this when I was 16,” he says. “I’ve had a pencil or pen to paper since I was three, draw-ing clothes. I don’t think I could do anything else.”

Unlike many designers, Oliver was never seduced by the world of high fashion. He prefers the land of make-believe, where fantasy be-comes reality and costumes can push the boundaries of the imagination.

Oliver has been designing costumes for years. His portfolio is heavy on Shakespeare — he appren-ticed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival — but also includes theatre productions, operas, and ballets. His latest project is Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker. Scored by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker is perhaps the most famous of ballets. It has been performed thousands of times and is adored by millions; the story is as timeless today as it was at the 1892 premier.

Originally choreographed by Stanislov Vlasov, the Moscow Ballet’s production has been running for 20 years. And this year the costumes are getting an overhaul from Oliver,

whose designs are as sumptuous as they are innovative.

“I’m known for having a distinct look and flavour to my costumes,” he says. “I try to make an Arthur Oliver show look like an Arthur Oliver show. And that means sometimes the costumes will not be what you expect. They may be based on a traditional look but they will have broader colours, bigger patterns — almost larger than life, but not distractingly so.” For Nutcracker, Oliver worked to make the costumes as dynamic as possible, so they echo the movements of the dancers and support the performance.

“Basically, the first rule is to help tell the story,” he says, explaining that costumes are a crucial part of a ballet, where there are no spoken lines. “What they are wearing informs everything: what our memory recalls about status, what the weather is like, financial position, everything.” In certain cases, costumes can actually shape the way an actor or dancer portrays his or her character.

And while the story of Clara — known as Masha in the Moscow pro-duction — and her adventures with the Nutcracker and the evil Mouse

King is steeped in tradition, Oliver found the experience freeing. His Mouse King is scarier, his snowflakes more dazzling, his Grand divertisse-ment characters more dynamic than anything audiences have seen before. “I’m sure I will have a few things in there that will surprise some audience members,” he laughs.

Great Russian NutcrackerNovember 18 @ TCU Placee$45+ @ tcutickets.ca

D

PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE MOSCOW BALLET

NUTCRACKER Arthur Oliver’s remarkable career as a costume designer. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

aniel Macdonald’s last play, Velocity, was about the

collapse of civilization and the im-plosion of a marriage, seen through the eyes of a high school student. If Velocity chronicled the fall, Mac-donald’s latest creation, A History of Breathing, examines the aftermath — and hints at redemption.

“I think it has artistic validity,” says Ted Cole, whose character Andrew is left to ponder his purpose and mean-ing while navigating a post-apocalyp-tic world with his daughter, Lily. “As an actor, you don’t always get to do

great new works. Oftentimes you’re doing classics, which are fantastic, or you’re doing entertainment. I think this particular piece, although it will be entertaining, really dips very heav-ily into the realm of art.”

A History of Breathing is in some ways the story of a relationship be-tween a father and a daughter. “This is a father who cares very much for his daughter, and has in some ways done remarkably well considering the circumstances and in other ways has failed miserably,” Cole says. “It’s that human frailty, the decision you

make in a split moment, that will af-fect your life forever — fill you with regret, fill you with a desire to protect your daughter.”

On the other hand, A History of Breathing mines Macdonald’s fascination with mythology from around the world, from classical European tales to North American aboriginal myths. But while the images are vivid, the storytelling is spare and potent. “I think the biggest word in the play is ‘respon-sibility,’” Cole laughs. Ultimately, the play strips away everything we

take for granted, leaving behind only what truly matters.

“One of the requirements of art is that you sort of examine what it is to be a human being,” Cole explains. “This play examines the choices we may have to make, how to live with your-self if you’re pushed to the extreme and you find yourself doing things that are normally reprehensible.” Although he characterizes A History of Breathing as less of an intellectual or philosophi-cal journey than an emotional one, Cole doesn’t dismiss the implications of what the play means. “Breathing,”

he says, “is a metaphor for being alive.” And that’s precisely the point Macdon-ald drives home: just how important it is to be alive.

A History of BreathingUntil November 18 @ Persephone Theatre’s Backstage Stage$21+ @ Pesephone Box Office

@MacPhersonA

[email protected]



14NOV 9 – NOV 15


had Brownlee prepares for a concert the same way he prepares for a

hockey game. “The feeling is actu-ally strikingly similar,” the rangy country singer says. “I got nervous before every single hockey game, from when I started playing the game until I retired. I get those same butterflies, that same excite-ment, before I go onstage. It’s just an indicator that you’re ready and that you’re doing the right thing. If I went on before a show and I wasn’t nervous, I’d be worried.”

Brownlee was born in Kelowna and spent his childhood splitting time between school and the hockey rink. He was a solid defenceman. After two seasons with the Ver-non Vipers, he was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks before spending four years playing for the Minnesota State Mavericks. During his senior year at Minnesota State, Brownlee was nominated for the NCAA Hock-ey Humanitarian Award after writing “The Hero I See” to raise money for a charity. Brownlee’s musical ability was no secret. He began playing piano as a child and later took up the tenor saxophone. Guitar soon fol-lowed, and Brownlee found himself hooked by the rush of writing and playing songs.

In 2007, Brownlee played his first game with the Idaho Steelheads, an ECHL team based in Boise. Although

he was playing hockey for a living, a series of shoulder injuries threatened his career. Eventually it became too much and, tired of surgery and rehab, Brownlee reluctantly abandoned his dream of getting paid to play the sport he loved. But rather than sink into obscurity or get a conventional job, he simply changed direction.

“I think there was a little voice inside my head that always be-lieved I could make a career out of it,” Brownlee says of swapping his hockey stick for a guitar. “I think if you really put your mind to some-thing, if you have the motivation and the passion for something, you will achieve it. It’s just a matter of putting in the time.”

The transition went smoothly. Brownlee released his first album, Chad Brownlee, in 2010. He was subsequently nominated for the Canadian Country Music Associa-

tion Rising Star award, a nod to the strength of his debut. Brownlee’s sophomore effort, which was re-leased in February, has fared even better. Love Me or Leave Me captured the hearts and minds of country fans across Canada, and earned Brownlee a nomination for the Male Artist of the Year CCMA Award. “We’re really

proud of the way that album turned out, from the writing process to the recording process, and everything in between,” Brownlee says. “It took me to a new place as an artist and as a songwriter.”

If Chad Brownlee was an able debut, a demonstration of Brownlee’s ability and a promise of what was to come, Love Me or Leave Me is a reflection of just how good he can be, offering a pleasing blend of radio-friendly hooks and earnest songwrit-ing. It is everything a popular coun-try record should be: catchy, fun, and fundamentally upbeat. Brownlee’s approach to songwriting is more

COVER

C

Chad Brownlee turns his back on hockey and makes the album of his life. BY ALEX J MACPHERSON

And, at least onstage I’m not worried about someone taking my head off like I did in hockey.

CHAD BROWNLEE

LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME

/VERBSASKATOON CULTURECONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

15NOV 9 – NOV 15

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ENERGETICCITY

@MacPhersonA

[email protected]


conventional than some of his contemporaries — Aaron Pritchett, say, or Eric Church — but he skirts the mimicry trap by writing better songs than many of them. “Love Me or Leave Me,” the best song on the record, is a fine example. Brownlee’s punchy tenor is immediately famil-iar, even if you haven’t heard him

sing before. He has a wide range, and he uses every inch of it, occasionally threatening to overpower the ubiq-uitous crunchy guitar licks layered underneath. “Listen,” on the other hand, hints at Brownlee’s crossover potential. He appears to have a taste for flashy acoustic guitars, but leaves the impression that he would be just as comfortable fronting a rock band with a battered old Stratocaster.

Love Me or Leave Me is everything it purports to be and nothing that it doesn’t. Heavy on singles and merci-fully light on kitsch, the record is sure to garner more acclaim as Brownlee tours the country. When asked,

Brownlee says something magical happened while he was recording it. “During the creative process, during the writing and recording, there’s an element you just can’t explain,” he says, speaking slowly. “Anybody in the creative world will tell you that they just don’t know when it’s going to hit. They don’t know when they’re going to have a great idea or write a great song or paint their best paint-ing: it just happens and sometimes you don’t know why. I think there were a lot of those moments through-out this process — it turned out great, but I can’t explain why or how.”

As it turned out, whatever mysti-cal alchemy went on in the studio needs no explanation. Brownlee may struggle to describe how he wrote and recorded Love Me or Leave Me, but he is completely forthright about how his hockey background has af-fected — and enhanced — his career in music.

“I’ve learned a lot from hockey that I’ve applied to music,” he explains. “Without that time, I wouldn’t be the artist I am today and the person I am today. Hockey has really given me that ability to find that concert — and to stick with it.” Hockey rewards players who prac-tice hard and learn to roll with the punches, real and metaphorical. His ability to weather criticism and his

commitment to the craft have laid the groundwork for a long and promising career in an industry where volatility is the norm and the average lifespan of an artist is measured in weeks on the chart. Naturally, Brownlee shrugs this off and turns the conversation toward his fans, the people who buy his music. “I love inspiring other people and seeing the impact of the songs I write in a positive way,” he says. The best way to do that, he

thinks, is to play as many concerts as possible. Like many musicians, Brownlee frames the allure of the stage in junkie terms. “There’s a ton of adrenaline,” he says. “That’s the drug and that’s the addiction, just feeling the intense power of adrena-line and the emotion.”

“And,” he laughs, “at least onstage I’m not worried about someone tak-ing my head off like I did in hockey. I don’t worry about that unless some-

one starts throwing tomatoes at me — and that hasn’t happened yet.”

Chad BrownleeNovember 19 @ The Odeon$20+ @ theodeon.ca

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ARTIST


16NOV 9 – NOV 15

FOOD + DRINKFOOD + DRINK

LET’S GO DRINKIN’ VERB’S MIXOLOGY GUIDE

JAMAICA COCKTAIL

With the winter months just around the corner why not escape to the island paradise of Jamaica? And if you can’t do that, why not bring a little taste of Jamaica to your home?

INGREDIENTS

3/4 oz dark rum1/2 oz coffee liqueur 3/4 oz lime juice1 dash bitters

DIRECTIONS

Half fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Pour in the coffee liqueur, lime juice, rum and bitters. Shake well. Strain the concoction into a tall, chilled cocktail glass, and serve immediately.

f you ever find yourself in Jamaica, haggling with a street vendor over the price

of a Bob Marley record, the three things that will get you a good deal

are: paying in Jamaican dollars, knowing how to suck your teeth, and speaking Patois — if you can.

The only reason I know this is be-cause of our server at the Konga Cafe.

Looking over the menu, I ask her about the canajun pork chops and how spicy the jerk chicken is. She tells me the pork chops (served with apples and onions in a maple syrup reduction) are sweet and delicious, and that the jerk on the chicken comes straight from Jamaica.

When I ask her what she’d recom-mend to eat, without hesitation she tells me “goat curry.” She mentions she’s been to Jamaica a lot and, without a doubt in her mind, the goat curry made at the Konga Cafe is the best she’s ever eaten.

And this presents a bit of a conun-drum. See, when I first walked in the door of Konga Cafe I was dead-set on getting something doused in jerk sauce — chicken, pork chops, anything. But after our server made such a convincing case about the goat curry, how could I refuse?

After almost no discussion, my dinner guest ordered the jerk mahi mahi and we were ready to roll.

And let me say this about our serv-er’s recommendation: she was right! The goat curry was, hands down, the best goat dish I’ve ever eaten (and I’ve eaten a lot!) The curry sauce was spicy yet savoury, and the meat itself, well … it was moist and tender and, best of all, not overly gamey.

Halfway through my meal, I began eyeing my friend’s mahi mahi. The jerk sauce looked incredible. So when

she turned her head I shoveled a fork-ful of fish into my craw.

Okay, maybe I asked for a bit. But how I got to sample the fish is not

important. What is important is the fish was cooked to perfection and the jerk sauce was so good it darn near left me speechless.

We finished off the meal with some key lime pie (hands down the best you’ll find in the city), a birthday shot (a mini-cake filled with spice-infused rum), and a hollowed-out strawberry filled with vodka and Baileys Irish Cream.

By the end of the meal I was stuffed and way more than satisfied. The portions at Konga Cafe are huge, the food is delicious and the staff is so friendly you’ll want to go back again and again.

Konga Cafe204 Avenue H North | 244 7867

@AdamHawboldt

[email protected]


Photography courtesy of Adam Hawboldt.

The goat curry was, hands down, the best goat dish I’ve ever eaten.

ADAM HAWBOLDT

I

JAMAICAN ME HUNGRYKonga Cafe serves up amazing Jamaican cuisine. BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

@VERBSASKATOON CULTURECONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

17NOV 9 – NOV 15

PHOTOS COURTESY OF: THE ARTIST / THE ARTIST / DAVID RECORDON

COMING UPNEXT WEEK

GWAR

Have you ever seen Gwar per-form? If not, stop what you’re doing and YouTube these cats. Seriously: you won’t be disappointed. And you certainly won’t mistake Gwar for any other band you’ve ever seen before. With their elaborate science-fiction/horror-film inspired costumes, ob-scene lyrics and rather graphic stage performances, this heavy metal four-piece is one of a kind. Originating in Richmond, Virginia, Gwar began turning heads and blowing minds in the late ‘80s. A dozen albums later, and this two-time Grammy-nominat-ed act is still going strong. Not only is their live show hard rocking, it also lampoons celebrities and current events while managing to drop your jaw to the floor. Tickets available at theodeon.ca

@ THE ODEON EVENTS CENTREFRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16 – $35

Sometimes a little winning goes a long way. Just ask the guys in Faber Drive. After beating out more than 500 other competitors to win the Fox Seeds radio challenge, these pop rockers from Mission, B.C., caught the eye of Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger, who signed them to his 604 Records label. Soon this four-piece — consisting of Dave Faber, Jeremy Liddle, Jordan Pritch-ett and Andrew Stricko — released their debut album, Seven Second Surgery. Their next album, Can’t Keep a Secret, netted them two more hit singles — “Give Him Up” and “G-Get Up and Dance.” Come check them out when they rip through Sas-katoon on their Lost in Paradise tour. Tickets for the show are available at theodeon.ca

FABER DRIVE

The best way to describe Carrie Catherine’s shows are playful and passionate. With a mesmerizing voice and a sound that’s both groovy and soulful, roots-based and ener-getic, this local singer/songwriter has been wowing audiences for the past decade or so. Along the way she’s picked up awards for her songwrit-ing, been nominated for the 2010 Lieutenant Governor’s Arts Awards and began to produce the Hayloft house concert series, which takes place in an old grocery store that’s been converted into a living area/work space/music venue. Don’t pass up the chance to see this lovely chan-teuse perform live at The Bassment. Her warm, welcoming voice and carefully crafted songs will leave you wanting more.

– By Adam Hawboldt

CARRIE CATHERINE

@ THE ODEON EVENTS CENTRESATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17 – $15+

@ THE BASSMENTFRIDAY, JANUARY 25 – $13+

SASK MUSIC PREVIEWThe Brighter Futures for Children fundraiser is seeking volunteer artists to perform at their benefit on March 28, 2013, in support of early childhood programming. Volunteer artists will receive pub-licity on the event posters and website, as well as the opportunity to sell music and merchandise at the event. The deadline to apply is November 30th; if you think you might be interested, please contact Lona Gervais @ [email protected].

Keep up with Saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org

PHOTO: COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN BERTRAND / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

MUSIC

VERBNEWS.COMENTERTAINMENT CONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

18NOV 9 – NOV 15


FRIDAY 9HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk,

soul & lounge DJs liven up the atmo-

sphere at 6Twelve. 9pm / No cover

JULIE DOIRON / Amigos Cantina — An

award-winning indie singer/songwriter

will be taking over Amigos for a night

of haunting tunes. 10pm / $10 (www.

ticketedge.ca)

PIANO FRIDAYS: TROY MCGILLVRAY / The

Bassment — Feel like taking in some

smooth jazz stylings? Look no further

4:30pm / No cover

BLUES & ROCK SERIES: THE VEXATIONS / The Bassment — Playing R&B and soul

hits for your listening enjoyment. 9pm /

Cover $12/16

AUSTEN ROADZ / Béily’s UltraLounge —

Austen Roadz throws down a high-ener-

gy top 40 dance party every Friday night.

9pm / $5 cover

RIFF RAFF / Buds on Broadway — Classic

80’s rock covers. 9pm / $6

RAVEWIND DANCE PARTY / The Fez on

Broadway — Dust off your dancing shoes

and get down here. 9pm / Cover $10

DJ ECLECTIC / The Hose & Hydrant —

Local turntable whiz DJ Eclectic pumps

snappy electronic beats all night long.

8pm / No cover

DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — This

local crowd favourite is sure to have you

on the dance floor in no time. 9pm /

$5 cover

BASS INVADERS / Lydia’s Pub — A local

alt-rock band. 10pm / $5

DJ BIG AYYY & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws

— There’s no better country rock party

around, so check it out. 8pm / $5; ladies

in free before 11pm

JAMES STEELE TRIO / Prairie Ink — A

fabulous night of great fiddle tunes. 8pm

/ No cover

BUDDY HOLLY SHOW / Royal Canadian

Legion Nutana Branch — Come out and

relive the past with this tribute show to

Buddy Holly. 8pm / $10 advance (Mc-

Nally Robinson, the Legion); $15 door

LOOSE STONES / Stan’s Place — Come out

for a night of rockin’ good tunes. 9pm /

No cover

DUELING PIANOS / Staqatto Piano Lounge

— Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad

King belt out classic tunes and audience

requests, from Frank Sinatra to Lady

Gaga. 10pm / Cover $5

BC READ / Somewhere Else Pub — Come

down and check out this consummate

musician. 9pm / No cover

SATURDAY 10DRAMA AT THE DISCOTHEQUE / 302

Lounge and Discotheque — A drag show

with stellar DJs. 9pm / Cover TBD

HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve — Resident DJs

spin deep and soulful tunes all night.

9pm / No cover

LOCALS ONLY 5 / Amigos Cantina —

Featuring Killa1nce, MH + AB, Fabric,

Frank Rizzo + Heywood. 10pm / Tickets

at the door

PIANO SERIES: CHRIS DONNELLY AND MYRIAD / The Bassment — Think jazz

meets classical meets pop on the piano.

9pm / $15/20

AUSTEN ROADZ / Béily’s UltraLounge —

Featuring Austen Roadz + DJ CTRL. 9pm

/ $5 cover

RIFF RAFF / Buds — Classic 80’s rock cov-

ers. 9pm / $6

WHOLE LOTTA ANGUS / The Fez — Classic

AC/DC covers. 9pm / Cover TBD

MAGIC CITY CHORUS: THOSE WERE THE DAYS! / Forest Grove Community Church

— A musical flashback to the 60’s. 7pm /

$22 (call 956-7357)

DJ KADE / The Hose & Hydrant — Saska-

toon’s own DJ lights it up with hot tunes.

8pm / No cover

DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — This

local crowd favourite is sure to have you

rocking on the dance floor in no time.

9pm / $5 cover

COW PUNCHERS / Lydia’s Pub — Come

see what this act is all about. 10pm / $5

LIFTED / Lydia’s Upstairs Loft — Come

dance your heart out in Lydia’s loft, and

enjoy what Saskatoon’s electronica scene

has to offer. 10pm / $5


Country Rock Bar — Round up your

friends ‘cause there’s no better country

rock party around. 8pm / $5

JON BAILEY / Prairie Ink — Come on

down and enjoy some rock/folk tunes.

8pm / No cover

LOOSE STONES / Stan’s Place — Come out

for a rockin’ good time. 9pm / No cover




requests, from Frank Sinatra to Lady

Gaga. 10pm / $5

BC READ / Somewhere Else Pub — Come

down and check out this consummate

musician. You won’t want to miss it. 9pm

/ No cover

MODUS + CHAN L / Tequila — A night of

phat beats awaits, so head on down and

get ready to rock out! 9pm / Cover TBD

EVENING HYMNS / Vangelis — Indie folk

rock that is hot out of the Big Smoke.

10pm / $5

SUNDAY 11INDUSTRY NIGHT / Béily’s UltraLounge —

Hosted by DJ Sugar Daddy. 9pm / $4; no

cover for industry staff

HOLIC, A GHOST IN DRAG, THE BODY POLITIC, GHOST OF A GHOST, JUMBO / The Fez — An awesome line up from

start to finish. 9pm / $8

BRIE NELSON, DAVE SIMARD / Gillian

Snider’s House — Come out for a night

of great music in an intimate environ-

ment. 8:30pm / For tickets go to www.

gilliansnider.com


toon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm

/ No cover

MISCHA DANIELS / Tequila — Come

down and party with the Dutch sensa-

tion! 8pm / $11

SUNDAY JAM / Vangelis Tavern — The

Vangelis Sunday Jam is an institution, of-

fering great tunes from blues to rock and

beyond. 7:30pm / No cover

MONDAY 12METAL MONDAYS / Lydia’s Pub — Like

heavy metal tunes? Swing by, listen to

some killer music and get in on some

concert giveaways. What could be bet-

ter? 9pm

TUESDAY 13THE MULES / Buds on Broadway — A lo-

cal act that we promise you don’t want to

miss. 10pm / Cover $6

DJ SUGAR DADDY / The Double Deuce

— This crowd favourite has always been

known to break the latest and greatest

tracks in multiple genres. 9:30pm /

$4 cover

CUNNINLYNGUISTS / Louis’ — An incred-

ible hip-hop trio from the States. 9pm /

Tickets TBD

VERB PRESENTS OPEN STAGE / Lydia’s

Pub — The open stage at Lydia’s is a

chance for bands, solo artists and even

comedians to showcase original material.

9pm / No cover

The most complete live music listings for Saskatoon.

NOVEMBER 9 » NOVEMBER 17

9 10

16 1714 1512 1311

S M T W T

LISTINGS

/VERBSASKATOON ENTERTAINMENTCONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

19NOV 9 – NOV 15

Have a live show you'd like to promote? Let us know!

GET LISTED

[email protected]

OPEN MIC / The Somewhere Else Pub —

Come out and show your talent. 7pm /

No cover

WEDNESDAY 14HUMP WEDNESDAYS / 302 Lounge & Dis-

cotheque — Resident DJ Chris Knorr will

be spinning all of your favourite songs

and requests. 9pm / No cover until 10pm;

$3 thereafter

THREE STRINGS FRETLESS / Buds on

Broadway — Come down and check ‘em

out. 9pm / $TBD

NEIL YOUNG AND CRAZY HORSE / Credit

Union Centre — Don’t miss this rock and

roll icon. He puts on one helluva live

show, rocking as hard now as he ever

did. 7:30pm / $94.75+ (Ticketmaster)

THE AVENUE RECORDING COMPANY PRESENTS OPEN MIC / The Fez on Broad-

way — Hosted by Chad Reynolds. Sign

up and play at this weekly event. 10pm

/ No cover

DJ KADE / the Hose & Hydrant — Saska-


/ No cover

DR. J ‘SOULED OUT’ / Lydia’s Pub — Dr. J

spins hot funk and soul every Wednes-

day night. 9pm / No cover

WILD WEST WEDNESDAY / Outlaws

Country Rock Bar — Hosted by DJ Big

Ayyy & DJ Henchman, this is one of the

best country rock parties around! 9pm /

$4; no cover for industry staff

STEVE MAIER / Rock Creek — A local

musician doing his thing in an up close

and personal venue. 8pm / No cover




requests, from Sinatra to Lady Gaga.

10pm / No cover

XZIBIT / Tequila — This night will pimp

your ride! Ok, maybe not, but it’ll still be

amazing! Come down and check out the

one and only Xzibit. 8pm / $25+

PEACE / Vangelis — Come out and enjoy

this local act as they rock out in one of

the best venues in town. 10pm / $5

THURSDAY 15THE DISSENT / Amigos — If it’s metal

you want, you got it. Come on down and

check this act out. 10pm / Cover TBD

JAZZ JAM: DAVID FONG TRIO / The

Bassment — You sing? Play an instru-

ment? Then come on down and get your

jam on. 8pm / Cover $5

THREE STRINGS FRETLESS / Buds on

Broadway — A hard-rocking act; come

on down and check ‘em out. 9pm / $TBD

THROWBACK THURSDAYS / Earls — Come

experience some of the best in retro

funk, soul, reggae and rock provided by

Dr. J. Is there anything groovier? 8pm /

No cover

THUNDER RIOT W/CONKY SHOWPONY / The Fez on Broadway — Come dance the

night away as this local DJ plays the kind

of music that’ll get your feet moving.

9pm / $5



/ No cover

DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — Local

DJ Sugar Daddy will be rocking the

turntables to get you dancing on the

dance floor! Every Thursday night will

be filled with passion parties, pole danc-

ing, shadow dancers and much more!

8pm / $5; free cover with student ID

before 11pm

GUNNER AND SMITH, JORDAN KLASSEN, MIKE EDEL / Vangelis — A night of hot

folk, roots and rock. Hit ‘em up! 10pm /

Cover $8

FRIDAY 16HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk,

soul & lounge DJs liven up the atmo-

sphere at 6Twelve all night long. 9pm /

No cover

PIANO FRIDAYS: MAURICE DROUIN / The

Bassment — Feel like taking in some

smooth jazz stylings? Come check out

Drouin tickle the ivories of the Kins-

man Yamaha S6 grand piano. 4:30pm /

No cover

GUITAR SERIES: BOB EVANS / The

Bassment — Winner of the 2003 US Na-

tional Fingerstyle Guitar Championship.

9pm / Cover $15/20

AUSTEN ROADZ / Béily’s UltraLounge

— With over 25 years of DJ experience,

Austen Roadz throws down a high-ener-

gy top 40 dance party every Friday night.

9pm / $5 cover

HURRICANE CLETIS / Buds on Broad-

way — Local rockers with an infectious

sound, come on down and rock the night

away. 10pm / Cover $6

ORAL FUENTES / The Fez on Broadway —

A night filled with the sweet sounds of

reggae, bringing a little soul and heat to

the prairie winter. 9pm / Cover TBD

DJ ECLECTIC / The Hose & Hydrant —

Local turntable whiz DJ Eclectic pumps

snappy electronic beats all night long.

8pm / No cover

DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — Able

to rock any party, this local crowd fa-

vourite has always been known to break

the latest and greatest tracks in multiple

genres. 9pm / $5 cover

GRANDTHEFT, SMALLTOWN DJS / Louis’

— Come check out this stop on the Good

People Tour. 9pm / $10

GUTTERDOGS / Lydia’s Pub — A local

rock a band that’s big on talent. 10pm /

$5 cover

MEMORY LANE / North Ridge Hall, Mar-

tensville — A tribute to music from the

‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s. 7:30pm / $20

GWAR / The Odeon Events Centre — Get

ready for a heavy metal show unlike any

other. 6:30pm / $335 (www.theodeon.ca)




rock party around. 8pm / $5; ladies in

free before 11pm

TROY HUDSON / Prairie Ink — Honest

folk music in an intimate environment.

8pm / No cover

L.O.R.D FUNK + FRIENDS / Somewhere

Else Pub — A night of funk, blues and

R&B. 9pm / No cover

ROUTE 66 / Stan’s Place — A band from

Regina playing vintage rock and country

rock. 9pm / No cover





10pm / Cover $5

MODUS + MERN / Tequila — Hit up the

MPowered Party and get two DJs for the

price of one. 9pm / Cover TBD

FABRIC / Vangelis — Come join us for a

night of musical sweetness. 10pm / $5

SATURDAY 17HOUSE DJS / 6Twelve — Resident DJs

spin deep and soulful tunes all night.

9pm / No cover

PUTRESCENCE / Amigos Cantina — Come

out for a kickass night of deathgrind.

10pm / Cover TBD

JAZZ DIVA: ELIANA CUEVAS / The

Bassment — One of the top singers of

Latin American music. 9pm / $25/30

AUSTEN ROADZ / Béily’s UltraLounge

— With over 25 years of DJ experience,

Austen Roadz throws down a high-

energy top 40 dance party along with

DJ CTRL every Saturday night. 9pm / $5

cover

HURRICANE CLETIS / Buds on Broad-

way — Local rockers with an infectious

sound. 10pm / Cover $6

HONEY WAGON / The Fez on Broadway

— Come and enjoy some blues and rock

straight out of Creighton. 9pm / Cover

TBD


toon’s own DJ lights it up with hot tunes.

8pm / No cover

DJ SUGAR DADDY / Jax Niteclub — Able

to rock any party, this local crowd fa-

vourite has always been known to break

the latest and greatest tracks in multiple

genres. He’s sure to have you on the

dance floor in no time. 9pm / $5 cover

DESPITE THE REVERENCE / Louis’ — Local

band playing hard rock with metal influ-

ences. 9pm / Tickets TBD

COAL CREEK BOYS / Lydia’s — Don’t miss

out on a night of great music and good

times! 10pm / $5

LIFTED / Lydia’s Upstairs Loft — Come

dance your heart out in Lydia’s loft.

10pm / $5

FABER DRIVE / The Odeon Events Centre

— An award-winning power pop band.

7pm / $15-25




rock party around. 8pm / $5

F.E.R.N. / Prairie Ink — A local folk/

acoustic performer will put on a fabulous

performance in an intimate setting. 8pm

/ No cover

L.O.R.D FUNK + FRIENDS / Somewhere

Else Pub — A night of funk, blues and

R&B. 9pm / No cover

ROUTE 66 / Stan’s Place — A band from

Regina playing vintage rock and country

rock. 9pm / No cover





10pm / $5

CONEXUS POP SERIES: ONE VISION THE MUSIC OF QUEEN / TCU Place — If you

like Queen (and who doesn’t!), there’s no

way you can miss this. 7:30pm / 35-55

(www.tcutickets.ca)

FREESTYLERS / Tequila — This British

EDM duo is nothing short of awesome.

9pm / $10

ECONOMICS, J RILEY HILL, STEPHEN COOLEY / Vangelis — What better way to

spend a Saturday night than with musi-

cians like these? 10pm / $5


20NOV 9 – NOV 15

hat a lot of people forget about Mat-thew McConaughey

is that the guy can act.Don’t get me wrong, he’s not the

next Marlon Brando or anything. Far from it. But because of a run of movies like The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, etc., etc., McConaughey tends to get stereotyped as the charming roman-tic-comedy lead who simply can’t keep his shirt on.

And while it’s understandable if that’s how you view the hunky Texan, here’s the thing: the dude has been flat-out captivating in at least a few of

his movies. His character Wooderson is usually the first thing that pops into peoples’ minds when they think of Dazed and Confused. Be honest. When you read that sentence you immedi-ately heard the line “That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age,” didn’t you? It’s nothing to be ashamed of. He was incredible in that movie. He was also dynamite as Jack Brig-ance in A Time to Kill.

And guess what? In his new movie Killer Joe, McConaughey is back

in fine, fine form. Playing a Dallas detective named Joe Cooper (who, it turns out, is also a hit man for hire), McConaughey is charming, funny, smart, reptilian, violent, menacing and lecherous all at the same time.

And man is he ever a pleasure to watch in Killer Joe. So is the entire film, for that matter.

Directed by the brilliant Wil-liam Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection), Killer Joe is set in podunk Texas where a dimwit-ted drug dealer named Chris (Emile Hirsch) owes a gang a truckload of money — a gang that’s going to kill him if he doesn’t pay up.

So what does Chris do? Well, his mother purportedly has a $50,000 life insurance policy that has Chris’ sister Dottie (Juno Temple) as the sole ben-eficiary. Dottie isn’t quite right in the head, so Chris reckons if he has their mother knocked off he can convince his sister to give him the money.

And their father, Ansel (Thomas Haden Church), who is about as sharp as a bowling ball, thinks the plan is a good idea.

And that’s where “Killer” Joe Coo-per comes into play.

And that’s all I’m willing to say in regards to the plot of Killer Joe, be-cause any more would simply ruin a terrific, twisty-turny and terribly dark movie for you.

That said, Killer Joe isn’t for every-one. It’s a graphic and disturbing flick that will make you stare into the low-er rungs of depravity for so long that it may become downright nightmarish. But while that’s happening, you’ll be laughing at all the dark humour and sitting on the edge of your seat wait-ing to see what happens next.

In short, Killer Joe is a wickedly intense, utterly savage and darkly hilarious film in which no thought or action is too amoral.

Oh, and if you do decide to watch Killer Joe this weekend keep this in mind: you may never be able to look at fried chicken in the same way again. You’ve been warned.

Killer Joe is currently being screened at Roxy Theatre.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF LD ENTERTAINMENT

W

Killer Joe is a dark, twisted, deeply funny film noir.BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

Killer Joe is … wickedly intense, utterly savage and darkly hilarious…

ADAM HAWBOLDT

KILLER JOE

DIRECTED BY William Friedkin

STARRING Matthew McConaughey,

Emile Hirsch, Thomas Haden Church

+ Gina Gershon

103 MINUTES | PG


@AdamHawboldt

[email protected]

MCCONAUGHEY KILLS

FILM

@VERBSASKATOON ENTERTAINMENTCONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

21NOV 9 – NOV 15

A


@AdamHawboldt

[email protected]

sk people to rate their top five favourite James Bond movies

and two things will invariably occur. One, nobody in their right mind will include Moonraker. And two, no one will list the exact same movies in the exact same order.

Don’t believe me?

Okay. When asked this question a few days ago, the list I gave ran as follows: 1) Goldfinger, 2) Dr. No, 3) From Russia With Love, 4) GoldenEye

and 5) The Spy Who Loved Me.And I’m willing to bet that your

list is different from that.Hell, now that I’ve seen Skyfall,

the 23rd installment of the Bond franchise, my list is different than that. Because I can say, in all honesty, Skyfall is one of the best Bond flicks I’ve seen. Like, ever. Where it falls on my list, I don’t know right now.

All I know is The Spy Who Loved Me is getting the boot, and I’m going to have to revisit the top-five rank-ings fairly soon.

So what, you may ask, makes Skyfall so good?

Well, in a word — everything. But since this is a movie review let’s see if I can’t break it down.

First, it’s directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) and shot by crackerjack cinematog-rapher Roger Deakins (No Country For Old Men, The Big Lebowski).

The result is a visually stunning film that delves deep into the essence of 007 while unfolding at a wicked pace that yanks the viewer in from the very first scene.

And speaking of Skyfall’s opening sequence, all I can say is “Yowz-ers!” When the film starts we see Bond racing across rooftops on a motorcycle, trying to retrieve a hard drive containing the identity of every undercover NATO agent on the planet. The chase takes him to the top of a moving train, where he is struggling with a bad guy when disaster strikes.

James Bond (Daniel Craig) is accidentally shot by a fellow agent and dies. Okay, who am I kidding? Bond doesn’t die. But for a while his agency assumes he’s dead, before he reemerges from a vacation of sorts and begins to track the missing hard drive again.

This brings him in contact with a creepy, sexually ambiguous, eerily psychotic super-villain named Silva. Played by a blonde and bewigged Javier Bardem, Silva is one of the best Bond villains in some time — mostly because Bardem breathes so much life into the character.

Which brings us to another reason why Skyfall is so good: character de-velopment. It’s almost as though, after 50 years of Bond, the powers that be have decided to take a long look into 007’s inner turmoil and show fans what truly motivates him.

What’s more, for the first time in the franchise’s history, the character of M (Judi Dench) is explored and

we’re given some keen insight into what makes the spymaster tick.

Roll all this into one big ball and you have a Bond flick that’s stripped down, grittier and more revelatory than most installments in the fran-chise’s history.

And if you don’t leave the theatre wanting to see what happens to 007 next, then I feel kind of bad for you.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER

SKY’S THE LIMITLatest Bond installment one of the best in franchise history.BY ADAM HAWBOLDT

SKYFALL

DIRECTED BY Sam Mendes

STARRING Daniel Craig, Judi Dench,

Javier Bardem + Ralph Fiennes

143 MINUTES | PG

Silva is one of the best Bond villains … mostly because Bardem breathes so much life into the character.

ADAM HAWBOLDT


NIGHTLIFE

22NOV 9 – NOV 15

NIGHTLIFE


23NOV 9 – NOV 15

Photography by Patrick Carley – [email protected]

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5 @

THECOLONIALThe Colonial Pub & Grill1301 8th Street East(306) 343 0917

MUSIC VIBE / Top 40FEATURED DEALS / 2 beer for $7.50 (9-11pm), 2 highballs for $6 (9-11pm), and flavoured vodka for $4.50 and imports for $5 (9pm ‘til close)DRINK OF CHOICE / VodkaSOMETHING NEW / A kitchen will be opening soon, and it’s Girls’ Night on Tuesdays


24NOV 9 – NOV 15

NIGHTLIFE

Photography by DelRioPhotographics.com – [email protected]

@VERBSASKATOON ENTERTAINMENTCONTENTS LOCAL EDITORIAL COMMENTS Q + A ARTS COVER FOOD + DRINK MUSIC LISTINGS FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

25NOV 9 – NOV 15

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3 @

THEFREEHOUSEThe Spadina Freehouse608 Spadina Crescent East(306) 668 1000

MUSIC VIBE / Funk, pop, ‘80s, pop rock, and whatever the DJ is playingFEATURED DEALS / Seasonal desserts and entréesDRINK OF CHOICE / SangriaTOP EATS / Pizza, made fresh in the forno oven COMING UP / Anniversary party on November 23rd, and a Boxing Day party on December 26th

VERBNEWS.COM

© 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 FILM NIGHTLIFE COMICS TIMEOUT

COMICS

26NOV 9 – NOV 15


27NOV 9 – NOV 15

TIMEOUT

CROSSWORDACROSS1. Think over

5. Slice of lamb

9. Canadian whose parents

were Japanese immigrants

10. Ruinous damage

12. Cram for an exam

13. Site for curved hairs

15. Unpleasantly patterned

16. Rattler in a whistle

18. Tear apart

19. Manitoba’s neighbour:

abbr.

20. Slender, graceful girl

22. Break a Commandment

23. Tearful

25. “Harry Potter and the

___ Hallows”

27. Arouse the wrath of

29. Outline

32. Comb backwards

36. Eggs

37. Problem at the airport

39. Faulty firecracker

40. Earthy deposit

42. “See you later”

43. Lose hair, like a dog

44. List of printing mistakes

46. A way out of a problem

48. Sing in Switzerland

49. Become hardened to

50. Satisfactorily

51. Cutting side of a blade

DOWN1. Unit of time

2. Took advantage of

3. Moldovan monetary unit

4. Mouthy

5. Reduce its worth

6. You have to make it

while the sun shines

7. Higher than

8. Make smooth and shiny

9. Opposite of everybody

11. Kind of engineer

12. Be out of breath

14. Refuse to acknowledge

17. Past middle age

20. Church council

21. Done too soon

24. Orchestra’s place

26. Curling target

28. It’s white with no

number

29. Arrive at

30. Part of the pistil

31. Of small width

33. Become stuck to

34. Jacket material

35. Circular movement of

water

38. Nest built on a cliff

41. Take on cargo

43. Self-righteously com-

placent

45. ___ Aviv, Israel

47. Bring to a conclusion

CANADIAN CRISS-CROSS

HOROSCOPES NOVEMBER 9 – NOVEMBER 15

© WALTER D. FEENER 2012

SUDOKU CROSSWORD ANSWER KEY

A B

SUDOKU ANSWER KEY

TIMEOUT

A

B

4 5 2 8 6 7 3 1 96 3 8 2 1 9 4 5 79 1 7 4 5 3 2 6 83 8 9 5 7 1 6 4 25 2 4 3 8 6 9 7 17 6 1 9 4 2 8 3 51 4 3 7 9 8 5 2 62 9 6 1 3 5 7 8 48 7 5 6 2 4 1 9 3

8 1 5 9 2 4 7 3 63 4 7 5 8 6 1 9 26 2 9 1 3 7 8 5 49 6 1 8 7 5 4 2 37 5 2 4 6 3 9 8 14 8 3 2 1 9 6 7 52 3 4 7 9 1 5 6 85 9 6 3 4 8 2 1 71 7 8 6 5 2 3 4 9

4 1 3 8 9 5 1 4 5 3 2 8 8 9 7 2 4 3 8 6 9 1 6 3 1 7 2 6 9 5 7 4 7 5 6 2

8 9 4 63 4 26 1 3 5 49 5 37 5 2 6 3 8 9 7 5 1 8 9 4 2 1 71 7 8 6 2

ARIES March 21–April 19

The key to all effective commu-

nication is listening, so keep your

damn ears open this week, Aries. Other-

wise, you might get things twisted.

TAURUS April 20–May 20

Sometimes it feels like life is

squeezing so hard you can’t

breathe and at other times like it’s pulling

you apart. Get ready to experience both.

GEMINI May 21–June 20

Get ready for a blast from the past

this week, Gemini. It could be a

person, a song, a movie or something else,

but nostalgia is on its way.

CANCER June 21–July 22

You may feel the urge to tell some-

one to shut up this week, Cancer.

Don’t say it. Or at least not in those words

— it could come back to bite you.

LEO July 23–August 22

Your mind may feel like a bird

bouncing around a small cage this

week, Leo, and it might be hard to find

peace or clarity of thought. Good luck.

VIRGO August 23–September 22

Oh Virgo, your powers of persua-

sion are going to be running high

this week. Don’t neglect them. Use them if

necessary, but only for evil.

LIBRA September 23–October 23

You may receive a lot of informa-

tion you disagree with this week,

Libra. That’s fine, but don’t outright dis-

miss the news. That’d be a sad mistake.

SCORPIO October 24–November 22

You may have a lot of cool and

wonderful ideas this week, Scor-

pio. Good for you. The key, however, is to

figure out which ones are the good ones.

SAGITTARIUS November 23–December 21

This is an excellent time to start

something new, Sagittarius. What

that something is is entirely up to you. But

get out there and expand your horizons.

CAPRICORN December 22–January 19

You know Eminem’s song,

“Cleanin’ Out My Closet?” Well,

maybe you should give that a try this

week — both literally and figuratively.

AQUARIUS January 20–February 19

Have you felt that lately you’re

on the edge of something? Either

something awesome or something dan-

gerous? If so, get ready to take the leap.

PISCES February 20–March 20

Chaos: that’s going to be the

keyword for the next week or so,

Pisces. So strap on a helmet, bite down on

your mouthguard and brace yourself.

VERBNEWS.COM

verb issue s215 (nov. 9-15, 2012)

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