verb issue s225 (feb 1-7, 2013)

Issue #225 – February 1 to February 7

arts culture music saskatoon

Photo: courtesy oF renIta FIllatre

makingmusicwith the once

into the deep Kirk Krack talks freediving

the bandleader Q+a with Morgan childs

stand up guys + promised land Films reviewed

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2feb 1 – feb 7

contentscontentscontents

into the deepFreediver Kirk Krack talks training record-holders. 4 / local

writers of a featherExploring Saskatchewan’s literary landscape. 6 / local

simply stunningOur thoughts on Saskatchewan police using tasers. 8 / editorial

commentsHere’s your say on making travel more affordable. 10 / comments

Q + a with morgan childsOn leading the band. 12 / q + a

nightlife photos We visit Sports on Tap and Winston’s. 22-25 / nightlife

listingsLocal music listings for February 1 through February 9 18 / listings

stand up guys + promised land The latest movie reviews. 20-21 / film

on the bus Weekly original comic illustrations by Elaine M. Will. 26 / comics

personal historyThe history of craft on the prairies. 13 / arts

something to write home about We visit Prairie Ink. 16 / food + drink

musicEric Church, Dean Brody + Stars17 / music

shirley valentine Touching, funny play chucks routine for impulse. 13 / arts

on the cover: the onceExploring the past and present with The Once. 14 / coVer

games + horoscopesCanadian criss-cross puzzle, horoscopes, and Sudoku. 27 / timeout

culture entertainmentnews + opinion


contents

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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, adaM hawboldt + IshtIaQ oPal

business & operationsoffice manager / stePhanIe lIPsItaccount manager / nathan holowatysales manager / vogeson Paleyfinancial manager / cody lang

contactcomments / [email protected] / 881 8372adVertise / [email protected] / 979 2253design / [email protected] / 979 8474general / [email protected] / 979 2253

Verb magazine

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4feb 1 – feb 7

Continued on next page »

local

into the deep

efore Kirk Krack enters the water for a free-dive, there are certain steps

that he goes through. It starts the night before, with a

proper meal and a solid sleep. When he wakes up on the morning of a dive there’s more food, this time a high-carb breakfast, followed by a stretching routine. Then it’s time to for Krack to mentally prepare himself. “A long time before I get in the water I start to employ sports psychology,” says Krack over the phone from Hawaii. “I use a bunch of visualization techniques to get focused.”

It is a focus Krack can’t afford to lose. See, freediving is no walk in the park. To descend hundreds of metres underwater on a single breath is about as dangerous as a sport can get — it’s right up there with BASE jumping and bull riding.

So when he gets on the boat, as he lays out his equipment and then puts it on in a very specific order, Krack has to keep his mind focused firmly on the task at hand.

“I look at that equipment like a suit of armour,” explains Krack. “With each piece I put on I’m slowly becoming someone else. What I’m trying to do is go away from being Kirk the family man, Kirk the father, to being Kirk the freediver.”

Once he’s mentally there, Krack slows down his breathing and slips effortlessly into the water.

Here, he says, he feels at home. And as he immerses his face in the water, the coolness of the ocean begins to slow his heart rate. His mammalian diving reflex kicks in. Blood moves from his extremities to his core, and his spleen compresses. Krack’s becoming one with the water, employing special

breathing techniques to help him oxy-genate, relax, and lower his CO2 levels.

Then, when Krack is ready, he starts his dive.

When Kirk Krack tells people where he’s from, invariably their first question is: “How in the heck did you become a world renowned freediving instruc-tor?” The reason? Well, Krack is from Saskatchewan — a province not ex-actly known for its deep sea activities. But it does have a lot of lakes, and that’s where Krack’s journey to the depths of the oceans around the world began.

“I grew up a water baby,” says Krack. “My parents were really into the water. When I was just months old they had me in a towel, bouncing me along the lake at Waskesiu.”

Soon Krack was enrolled in swim-ming lessons, as well as sailing and snorkeling at Lac La Ronge during the summer. For his thirteenth birthday, Krack’s mother bought him scuba div-ing lessons.

Fast forward nearly a decade. Krack is 20 years old. Not only has he

become a diving instructor, but he has also purchased The Diving Centre in Saskatoon. Fast forward again, past him selling the shop, past his move to Vancouver and his initiation into mixed-gas diving. Fast forward to the year he moved to the Cayman Islands and opened Dive Tech.

“We had this Cuban freediver who came down who wanted to break a record,” says Krack. “We had all the equipment and the experience do-ing deep dives (at that point I’d been down 500 feet using mixed gas), so we worked with him.”

And it was while working with this Cuban diver that Krack’s own interest in freediving hit a high. He would watch this man and study his methods, then on days off go out and practice the things he’d seen.

b

saskatchewan freediver Kirk Krack has trained everyone, from record-holders to tiger woods by adaM hawboldt

when i get to the surface that’s where i’m the most critically hypoxic.

KIrK KracK

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feedback? text it! (306) 881 8372

Photos: courtesy oF PerForMance FreedIvIng

Not long after, an opportunity arose for Krack to help train another freediver named Tanya Streeter. Then another opportunity sprang up. And another, and another.

Eventually, in January 2000, Krack stepped away from the scuba and technical diving side of things, moved back to Vancouver, and opened Perfor-mance Freediving. It was a wise move.

To date, Krack has trained seven freedivers to 23 world records. He’s been on Oprah helping David Blaine achieve a record. He’s taught Tiger Woods and Woody Harrelson to freed-ive. He has worked on an Academy Award-winning documentary called The Cove.

Not too shabby for a small-town kid from a land-locked province.

Back in the ocean, Krack’s first kick propels him down below the surface.

Down he goes, deeper and deeper, kicking intermittently, equalizing, making sure his body is positioned properly. At the 10-metre mark, there’s double the pressure on his body than when on the surface. His lung volume is cut in half.

At the 20-metre mark, there’s three times the pressure. His lung volume is reduced to one-third of what it was on the surface.

“The pressure, it accumulates on you,” says Krack. “Like bricks piled one on top of the other. But the human

body is very adaptable. It can adapt to extreme environments like that.”

Which is true, but just because a body can physiologically adapt, doesn’t mean the human mind is mentally strong enough to withstand the stress, anxiety and anticipation of a freedive. Kirk Krack knows this, so as he plunges deeper into the belly of the ocean he remains focused and ready for anything.

At a certain point Krack’s lungs be-come compressed enough, his wetsuit thin enough, that he doesn’t have to kick anymore.

“And I just sink like a skydiver,” he says. “Like a lawn dart descending through the water column, and now I’m just managing the sink phase.”

He cannot sink forever, though, and soon it’s time for Krack to make his way back to the surface.

This itself is no easy task. Once he’s reached the absolute depths of his dive, Krack has to turn and kick hard because of all the pressure and negative buoyancy. But as he rises, the kicking gets less difficult. He rises and rises, past the safety divers who are in place in case something goes wrong. He rises until he breaches the surface and inhales.

“But the job isn’t done there,” says Krack. “When I get to the surface that’s where I’m the most critically hypoxic. That’s where ninety percent of all blackouts happen. So I really have to focus on my recovery breathing. Make

sure I’m oxygenating myself and main-taining my blood pressure.”

If he doesn’t, he can pass out in the water or lose all control of his motor skills. It’s happened to him before. Blackouts, loss of motor control, the bends, nitrogen narco-sis, you name it. But that was when

Krack was a young freediver, just starting out.

Now he’s a pro, a guy who teaches other pros. A guy who, when this article was written, was still in Hawaii taking a team of Navy SEALs through a breath-hold survival program.

Not too shabby, indeed.


6feb 1 – feb 7


local

writers of a feather...

writing north: just another example of how far the saskatchewan literary community has come by adaM hawboldt

n azis. Reduction as violence. The Fu-Schnickens. Being shot

by a pellet gun.If someone were to put the afore-

mentioned gun to your head and ask what those four things have in com-mon, what would you say?

If you answered, “things that were discussed at the 2013 Writing North conference,” then you’re correct.

The conference — which brings together noted authors from around province — always starts with a panel discussion in the Neatby-Tim-lin Theatre.

This year, the theatre is filled with hipsters and scholars, young poets and grey-haired old men. Some are jotting down notes on pieces of paper, some typing away at computers nestled in their laps. Others simply listen.

At the front of the theatre, under warm halogen lights, a panel of au-thors is seated at a long brown ta-ble. David Carpenter, a much-pub-lished local author, lobs questions at the panel, which includes writers like Candace Savage, Ken Babstock, David Poulsen, DM St. Bernard, C.E. Gatchalian. And at first all the talk is about craft and audience. Stuff

that many non-writers may find less than interesting.

But then it happens. From the audience comes an odd, out-of-place comment about Nazis, and the de-bate swells. Eventually, the talk turns

to the ‘90s rap group Fu-Schnickens, before the award-winning poet Ken Babstock regales the audience with a tale about the time he was invited to a fellow’s house, then summarily shot after putting a pellet through a light bulb. The crowd, littered with authors who have traveled from the four corners of the province to be here, chuckles. And Writing North 2013 begins with a bang.

“What you have to realize is that Saskatchewan writers are spread

all over the province,” says Dave Carpenter, sitting in the Broadway Roastery in Saskatoon days before Writing North, 2013. “From Cypress Hills to the Canadian Shield, from cities to all the small towns.”

Carpenter clears his throat and continues. “Early on, writers in this province felt a lot of isolation. If you live in a big city you have liter-ary magazines, all kinds of book stores, the bohemian vibe, writers to look over your manuscripts, you got everything a writer wants. But in the early going we didn’t really have that here. There wasn’t really a community.” On the table in front of Carpenter rests a brand new copy of the book he has spent years editing: The Literary History of Saskatchewan.

early on, writers in this province felt a lot of isolation … [t]here wasn’t really a community.

davId carPenter

Photo: courtesy oF adaM hawboldt / verb

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@adamhawboldt

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This is the first volume of a two-part series, a book that maps the jour-ney literature in this province has taken — beginning with Cree writing of the 19th century, and continuing into the 1980s.

If you open the book and flip to page 179, you’ll see an essay called “The New Generation: The ‘70s Remembered” by Ken Mitchell. That’s where you find out when and how this isolated collection of writers came together to form one of the strongest, most close-knit groups in Canada.

It all began, they say, in the summer of ’69, when a group of writers met at the Valley Centre in Qu’Appelle. These individuals came together and chatted about literary markets, professional development and other such stuff.

A year later, the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild held its inaugural conference.

“That was the first writers’ guild in Canada,” explains Carpenter. “I joined right around the time I finished my first book, and the guild, for me, that is the communi-ty. We went through a lot together. We went through the launching of all our first books together. The

friends I made back then, in the ‘70s, they’re still my friends today.”

But it wasn’t just the guild that helped build the writing commu-nity in this province. At the same time, this “school of fervent writ-ers” also created the first system of retreats to help combat the feeling of isolation.

“You can go down to Cypress Hills, there’s the Wallace Stegner residence, Fort San,” says Carpenter. “I always go to the Muenster monas-tery. Oh, and there are retreats at St. Mike’s, too.”

And it was through these retreats, through these conferences and meetings, that a bond grew between a special generation of writers in Saskatchewan.

A bond that has left hand prints all over the modern literary landscape.

Back at Writing North 2013, the festivities are in full swing.

People stand shoulder to shoulder, back to back, outside the Neatby-Timlin Theatre. They drink wine and snack on food while talking books and life and football.

And if you look around the corridor with the right kind of eyes,

you may be able to recognize a lot of the “The New Generation” of writers mentioned in The Literary History of Saskatchewan. The ones who started the guild and helped build the retreat system.

Their hair may be thinner now, a little more grey, but to watch them — authors like Carpenter, Dave Margoshes, Robert Calder, Louise Halfe, Barbara Sa-pergia and so on— you can almost see them lazing around the Fort San on a fine summer day, 40 years ago, doing pretty much the same thing.

But these writers, they aren’t stuck in the blissful haze of the good ol’ days. No, they’re still at the very heart of the Saskatch-ewan literary scene, still writing, forever building the community and making events like Writing North not only possible, but enter-taining as well.


8feb 1 – feb 7

ot so long ago, after a five-year moratorium in the wake of Robert

Dziekanski’s death in British Co-lumbia, a decision was made by the Saskatchewan Police Commission to allow police officers in this province to use conducted energy weapons.

That’s tasers, to us regular folk.Since then, comment boards on

most of the media sites that carried the story have been blowing up in heated debate. Some people are saying the decision is a horrible one, and that the general public should be outraged. Others feel that using tasers is a good idea, much better than, say, using bul-lets to subdue a situation.

Now, we are trying to be practical. We know that tasers are coming to Saskatchewan, and there’s not much we can do about it. But we refuse to buy too deep into the idea that tasers are a sensible, non-lethal alternative for police. After all, they can be lethal. And sure, some people believe that tasers are the best thing going for cops — they offer officers greater power than using pepper spray or a baton, but they’re not so deadly as opening fire on an individual … a sort of middle-ground between shooting and shout-ing. But is that really what happens?

One of the most comprehensive studies on this topic comes from our Commonwealth friend, Australia. Ethicist Stephen Coleman highlights the issues facing police officers who use tasers and other non-lethal weapons, and finds that when officers in Australia had access to these non-lethal weapons, they were deployed

thousands of times more frequently than an actual lethal weapon would have been — that is to say, rather than falling back on using discourse or an alternative method to de-escalate a situation, officers would simply turn to pepper spray or tasers.

The underlying issue Coleman is getting at: the indiscriminate use of non-lethal weapons. Sure, these weapons are a great alternative to something more aggressive, but that shouldn’t mean they are the first thing officers turn to, because they can (and have) a physical affect on a person. And the truth of the matter is: you just don’t know how every human will respond to massive electrical volts coursing through his or her body.

So how about in Canada? A recent study out of B.C. found that since 2007 — the year Dziekanski was tasered to death by police in the Vancouver International Airport — police taser use has dropped 87%, while the use of firearms has remained fairly constant. A CBC report finds that police “appear to be relying more heavily on verbal skills and physical tools other than tasers when dealing with potentially dangerous situations.” This trend sug-gests that police had been overusing the weapon, that the problem faced in the past was not with tasers, but with those holding them. And with the introduction of tasers to the Saskatch-ewan police force, this is something we all need to be concerned about.

Look, police officers are highly trained individuals whose job requires that they make split-second decisions in stressful situations. And while the

SPC is looking at implementing safety policies after a taser has been de-ployed, the fact of the matter remains that training in what happens before is just as important. And unfortunately, this doesn’t happen in a dynamic or realistic environment that mirrors real-world situations. As Coleman points out, this leads to the unnecessary deployment of stun guns.

And while the drop in taser use is encouraging, we must remember it’s the result of a number of people dying from those weapons. Dziekan-ski may be the most high-profile, but he is certainly not the only victim. So if police are being less zealous in their use of stun guns, but the impact on firearms is negligible, then what are tasers really doing other than en-couraging cops to zap people when they would otherwise use words, pepper spray, or a baton?

And while we understand that tasers are coming to this province, it seems like a move that didn’t really need to happen. If we’re going to be forced to live with police officers who carry stun guns, it’s best they learn to use their “non-lethal” weapons as little as humanly possible.

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

editorial

we’re stunned

n

Introducing tasers to the saskatchewan police seems like a wrong move

@verbsaskatoon

[email protected]



10feb 1 – feb 7


comments

text your thoughts to881 verb

8372

on topic: last week we asked what you thought about cutting corners to make travel less expensive. here's what you had to say:

– Your opinion piece was ri-diculous. Satire just obscured the message, which is valid: cheaper airfare in canada. Better luck next time.

– Nice Can-Fly ref. Loved the ironic tone of the article, I’d totally stand for an hour or whatever for a way cheaper flight.

– Are you serious? Who in there right mind would want to just run and push a taxi. I don’t think that would even work in real life. You know flinstones aren’t real. This is stupid

– I would way rather pay a bit extra to sit than cheap to stand for a couple hours. Im to lazy.

– What about making trains or buses first class, second class, etc. like they used to. Then you can chose which class (and the corre-sponding fee) you want to pay

– What about those carts for two pulled by bikes? I’d pay less to have someone pedal me around in the summer. Not super fast, not super comfortable, but still gets you there.

– Standing only fights would be a great idea the cost of flying in this country is high and only getting higher something drastic needs to be done

off topic

– Love Whitehorse theyre such a cool group and seem like such a sweet couple. I’m going to go see them for sure!!! :D

In response to “A Work in Progress,” Cover

story, #224 (January 25, 2013)

– Loved the story about Everest. So interesting to hear what makes someone want to do that. Good luck to the young man, on his endeavour!

In response to “The rooftop of the world,”

Local story, #224 (January 25, 2013)

sound off

– ST.PAULS AND ROYAL UNI-VERSITY HOSPITALS OVER-CROWDED DO TO DEMAND AND NOROVIRUS WHY IS CITY HOSPITAL NOT BE USED TO HELP WITH PRESSURE.

– THE Citizens of saskatoon should Demand a recount Voters! Fight corruption

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11feb 1 – feb 7

– T was disgusted to hear about university bridge needing such significant repairs. We live in a city of bridges, why the f*** haven’t they figured out a better way of dealing with them? This would be laughable if it wasn’t so devastating.

– Drive safe out there! Tons of accidents all over, ice everywhere makes it impossible to stop.

– It is unreasonably cold out there. I feel proud of myself anytime I venture outside and make it some-where LOLOL

– Obligatory text denigrating the terrible coldness of winter, and the obviousness of it sucking balls.

– The CEO of Habitat for Humanity making 252k a year is no fiction. Its in public docs they file in the

U.S. Form 909 I think. Thats real investigative journalism Habitat for Humanity is not quite the charity they would have everyone believe. They’re crooked players in our housing crisis. Need to be exposed.

– Write about big companies in the city that don’t sponsor ANYTHING in the city. IE: Co-op refinery. If that place blew up it would take the whole city with it and we don’t have any gain from them being here. There are plenty more. These companies won’t evens sponsor a little league baseball team.

– Hiccups are usually a stomach acid thing. If you have a bad case of hiccups try eating a couple ant-acid tabs like Tums or Rolaids.

– A pal just invented “Highber-nate” with bad spelling. Hahaha... You pass the winter getting loaded and crashing out a lot.

– The surest mark of the true peasant is a burning desire to be monarch. The surest mark of the true monarch is a burning desire to be peasant.

– The women’s protest in India this week over rape and murder. Its always like this in feudal societies including ours. Rape and abuse of women is rampant.

– Proud Idle no more movement. Before you whitewash an entire group of people as lazy or protes-tors or having no guiding message, educate yourself first. We want to have a meaningful conversa-tion, but can’t do that if people are perceiving us through the lens of stereotypes

– Downtown guy where you at? Frozen somewhere? Are you a snowbird? COME BACK!

– What is it that Kelly Block has agianst immigrants? Everybody makes mistakes but everybody deserves the same justice.

– Jack Layton had to die. There was no way in hell the Canadian Estab-lishment was going to accept a left wing Government led by him.

– The problems with the labor and left in Sask are because a whole generation thought they could pay off big mortgages sock big pensions AND fight the g ood fight!

– False self pity is always at the root of greed and selfishness. I/we had/have it hard. I/we work hard. No help from anyone. Did it all by myself. Wah wah wah!

– Do you think you’d beat the Devil in a spank’in contest?

– Considering extra foods is one of the cheapest places to shop for food is it a scam to get the money spent at super store are they not branches of the same company

– If Saskatchewan police get tasers guaranteed they’ll taser an abo to death in the first year. Racist cow-ardice is predictable like this.

next week: what do you think about saskatch-ewan police using tasers? 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.

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12feb 1 – feb 7

the bandleader

mMorgan childs takes his quartet on the road by alex J MacPherson

Photos: courtesy oF robyn Kent

@macphersona

[email protected]


i want to make this a band that plays the better rooms in the country…

Morgan chIlds

q + a

organ Childs is one of the most popular session musicians in the country. In the

tradition of Buddy Rich and Max Roach, Childs has elevated the drum kit from simple percussion to high art. Now, after years in the studio and touring with other musicians, Childs has emerged as a bandleader and composer. After a stint on the road this winter, he and his hard bop quartet — Kelly Jefferson, David Restivo, and Jon Maharaj — will record their debut album. But first they have to cross Canada in the cold. I caught up with Childs to chat about live jazz, traveling to perform, and what it means to be a bandleader.

Alex J MacPherson: I know you’re planning a record, but it strikes me that jazz is really meant to be heard live — preferably in a smoky little club.

Morgan Childs: I definitely agree. I think part of learn-ing how to play

jazz is to see it performed live. My perspective on seeing things live was being able to translate these mysterious sounds that I heard on records to a visual medium. When you see somebody do something, and you can get really close to it,

you can see the techniques to make the sound you hear in your head or on recordings. It accelerates the process.

AJM: You’re a young guy play-ing jazz. Is it important for you to introduce other young people to the music you love?

MC: Definitely. It’s something that relates to my own experiences growing up. I come from a really small town, so when I got inter-

ested in jazz it was something I really had to fight for, to be able to see the music. I had to travel. Going to Vancouver was a ten-hour drive, but I would go just to see musicians I was into. For me, I go see live music all the time, and it solves so

many problems, so many questions you have about the music. It all gets solved live.

AJM: The idea of a bandleader is an interesting one. What exactly does it mean in jazz?

MC: A lot of people ask what the name of the band is. I say in jazz whoever’s leading the gigs, it’s their band. Basically what it means is that I choose most of the music, I write and arrange a lot of the music, I put the

personnel together, and I book the gigs myself. I always try to assemble musicians that I think are going to work well together, who will share a certain group of instincts I find really fun to play with.

AJM: What prompted you to put your own band together? Is this going to be something you’ll focus on in the years ahead?

MC: I think part of this whole experi-ence for me, with booking this tour and putting this band together and writing the music for these players, the impetus behind it was last winter I wasn’t working as much, specifi-cally in January and February. I had slow months and was going stir-crazy. Practicing a lot can only take you so far; I needed gigs, I needed to play with some people. I put this tour together basically to have something to do — but I think it can probably continue to be something like that in the future. I want to make this a band that plays the better rooms in the country and hopefully some jazz festivals one day.

AJM: You’re getting set to make a re-cord. Will that be a big departure from what you’re doing live?

MC: The studio experience is always different, because you’re listening back to yourself, hearing yourself in a different way. Certain things don’t translate in the studio the same way they do live. You have to adjust the way you play a little bit. But once the hang is good and everyone feels comfortable, it’s not really any different in the studio. It is possible that we’ll make a live re-cord out of recordings made on this tour. I may even have the Saskatoon gig recorded. If you forget the mics are there, something special might get captured.

Morgan Childs Quartet February 9 @ the bassment$15/20

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13feb 1 – feb 7

arts

a

w

Photo: courtesy oF Paul laPoInte

personal historyJune Jacobs and the history of craft in saskatchewan by alex J macpherson

Photo: courtesy oF stePhen rutherFord

a tantalizing glimpse shirley valentine looks beyond the banality of routine by alex J macpherson

continuum is slow change. It refers to the gradual,

even imperceptible, shift from one pole to another. It is also the story of craft in Saskatchewan.

Framed as a personal history of craft in this province, Continuum traces not only the growth and development of 18 artists, but also their contribution to the larger question of how their form has evolved. June Jacobs, who curated the exhibition, selected pieces by artists she has represented over the last four decades.

“I’ve been on the fringe and the edge, as sort of a participant by representation rather than in actual work, for that 40 years,” laughs Jacobs, who runs the Hand Wave Gallery in Meacham, Saskatchewan. “Whenever I went back to look at the work, all of them have grown in their work and all of them have persevered when maybe it didn’t seem like an easy route.”

Continuum is a deeply personal exhibition, a selection of pieces

that reflects the many facets of Jacobs’ long and storied career in fine craft. She included fused glass by Lee Brady, a polished birch burl by Paul LaPointe, and even a pair of charming shot glasses by Wendy Parsons. The show covers a lot of territory, exploring dozens of shapes and forms and style. But it also highlights a much more universal idea: the willingness of Saskatchewan artists to expand their practice when progress is dif-ficult and the market depressed.

“Saskatchewan was unique in that over that 40 year period it did allow artists to exist,” she says. “You could always find a place to do your work. It sometimes put you on the fringes of society in that you were remote, but that remoteness allowed you to focus.” Perhaps more impor-tantly, Jacobs explains, the public has always maintained an appetite for quality work — and allowed artists to evolve. “I don’t know if that exists everywhere,” she muses. “We’ve been fortunate.”

Like all retrospectives, Con-tinuum points inexorably forward. What else is the future but the culmination of all that has hap-pened in the past? If nothing else, the exhibition shows that fine craft is alive and well in this province — and will be for years to come.

Continuum through March 3 @ affinity gallery

atching a Liverpool housewife talk to a

kitchen wall for the best part of two hours may not seem like an entertaining way to spend the evening, but Shirley Valentine ex-tracts universal insight and mean-ing from the bittersweet musings of an aging woman convinced she has wasted her life.

“Shirley’s main question is: why is there all of this unused life?” says Nora McLellan, who stars in the new production of Willy Russell’s 1986 play. “Why are we given so many thoughts and hopes and dreams when they can’t all be used? She actually says at one point that her life has been a crime against God, because she’s never lived it fully.”

Shirley Valentine is a story of dis-covery. Once a teenage rebel, Shirley Bradshaw has been transformed into a depressed homemaker. Trapped in an unfulfilling marriage and bur-dened with ungrateful children, she idles away the days and shares her innermost thoughts with the kitchen wall. As the play unfolds, Shirley is given tantalizing glimpses of the world beyond her domestic prison.

“We see Shirley with having no options, not even knowing she doesn’t have options” McLellan says. “And all of a sudden an option is given to her, and that starts the brain working. She starts questioning her husband, her life, her day to day, and asking why.”

Shirley’s world is cracked wide open when a friend offers her a trip to Greece. It feels like her last chance to make a change, and she embraces it. “The message of the play is universal,” McLellan explains. “We don’t live our lives to the max, and we get stuck in our little places. The audience can certainly relate.”

Shirley Valentine deals with the most profound existential questions, but the script is overflowing with wry humour and pathos. This is a

challenge for McLellan, who must mine the depths of her humanity while keeping the audience enter-tained — and cooking a real meal onstage, complete with chips in boil-ing oil. She is not concerned. “I’m an entertainer, and that’s my job in this play. I welcome the challenge, and if the [preview] was any indication, challenge well met.”

Shirley Valentine January 23 - February 10 (no Mondays) @ Persephone theatre$15+ @ Persephone box office

@macphersona

[email protected]



14feb 1 – feb 7


coVer

hil Churchill used to worry about touring in Europe. When his

band, a folk trio from St. John’s called The Once, first ventured across the Atlantic, he had no idea how their signature blend of tender melodies and soaring harmonies would be received by English and Irish audiences.

“I don’t know if I should speak for the whole band, but I was nervous when we first started coming over here,” he says from a van bound for Bristol, the digitized voice of a GPS device droning in the background. “I was really nervous about taking what we’ve gotten from these countries and sort of force-feeding it back to them through a filter.”

But Churchill and his bandmates didn’t have much of a choice.

Their lives and careers have been shaped and moulded by the province they call home, and their collective identity is inextricably linked to their roots in St. John’s. Churchill’s apprehension stemmed from the fact that Newfoundland music is, at its most basic, trans-planted folk that has grown and evolved free from outside influ-ence. Fortunately, he says, British crowds embraced their contem-porary take on traditional sounds: “It seems that without being really conscious of it, we’ve crossed over into doing something very differ-ent, and they seem to kind of pick up on it.”

In other words, he adds with a laugh, “They’re not going, ‘Wait a sec-

ond, that song’s Irish! You bastards, you’re not allowed to do that!’”

Most people equate Newfoundland music with Great Big Sea, a band whose talent for crafting cheerful interpretations of traditional songs is eclipsed only by their ability to keep an audience on its feet all night long. The Once draw on many of the same basic influences as their veteran peers, but they have developed a sound that is entirely their own.

Instead of channelling the boister-ous energy of the pubs and bars from

which so much Newfoundland music flows, The Once write and perform songs that say as much with silence as they do with sound. Essentially a fu-sion of traditional sounds and melodies with lyrics that capture the angst and frustration and joy of making art in the twenty-first century, the band’s sound is anchored by Churchill and Andrew Dale, who play everything from guitar and mandolin to fiddle and bouzouki, and carried to soaring heights by Geraldine Hollett, whose voice is as expressive as it is powerful. Their albums and live performances are an

exercise in making a lot with relatively little, and their success is derived from the most recognizable element of their sound — the indescribable warmth of three voices singing together.

Vocal harmonies have always been at the core of The Once’s musical vi-sion, and for good reason. Even today, Churchill says, singing with Hollett and Dale sends chills up and down his spine. “No matter how much we go on, and no matter how much we electrify our instruments or keyboards, I think that’s something that’s just ingrained in us as humans,” he says, explaining that harmony has figured prominently into

music since time immemorial. “Just go into any church and pick out a hymn book. You’re going to see it’s written by J.S. Bach, and it’s all S.A.T.B. — soprano, alto, tenor, baritone. This is the style of music that seems to have lasted and had power that reaches far beyond any other type of music we’ve been able to create.”

But great singers need great songs. If the band’s eponymous debut was an experiment, the product of three individuals exploring many dif-ferent avenues in search of a suitable sound, their latest release positions

p

past and present

they’re not going, ‘wait a second, that song’s irish! you bastards, you’re not allowed to do that!’

PhIl churchIll

the once transform ancient melodies into contemporary masterpieces by alex J MacPherson

Photo: courtesy oF the artIst

/Verbsaskatoon culturecontents local editorial comments q + a arts coVer food + drink music listings film nightlife comics timeout

15feb 1 – feb 7

@macphersona

[email protected]


Photo: courtesy oF the artIst


the once transform ancient melodies into contemporary masterpieces by alex J MacPherson

them as songwriters and interpreters of not inconsiderable talent.

“Nell’s Song” is a waltz for guitar and accordion, a tale of loneliness and the crushing weight of age and distance. “Jack The Sailor,” on the other hand, is an uptempo romp through the annals of timeless bouzouki and mandolin riffs. “A Round Again” is a simple love song animated by finger snaps and one of Hollett’s finest vocal performances. It is a fine example of the intersection of traditional instru-mentation and timeless lyrics that defines Row Upon Row of the People They Know. The title of the record was

drawn from “Song For Memory,” a collaboration with Newfoundland poet George Murray that reflects on the meaning and purpose of years gone past. It is the strongest song on the record, as well as a concise summary of everything they have achieved to date, capturing in just four minutes the tension between past and present and future that animates not only their music, but also their view of the world.

“I think all of us who create any-thing, that’s the one thing that will al-ways define us,” Churchill says. “The one solace you can have in that idea,

or that fear, is that even if people don’t get the exact subject matter of the song, at the very least they’ll understand that you’re wondering: Am I totally alone here?”

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Row Upon Row is the sheer size of the sound three people can make. Recording studios allow musicians to play multiple instruments on the same track, and the record includes instruments absent from the band’s live performances, but very little is lost in translation. Seen live, The Once are as powerful and compelling as they are on Row Upon Row. This is partly be-cause their harmonies are so rich and dynamic — but it is also the product of hard work.

“There’ve been many times where we thought we had really stretched out,” Churchill says. “There’s Ham-mond organ on this, there’s a drum kit on this, there’s all kinds of stuff going on on this record, and we’re not going to be able to recreate it live.” To get around this problem, he and his band-mates spend hours rearranging their songs for the stage. “It was quite easy taking them from the kitchen table into the studio, but taking them from the studio to the stage wasn’t easy at all,” he laughs.

But even if the songs take shape differently on stage, their source is unmistakable. And that is exactly what Churchill has always wanted. “I would like people to hear what we’re playing, and whether they know that it’s us or not, to say that band sounds like The Once,” he says. “Now that we’ve been

at this for awhile, the wishes and the dreams and the hopes start turning into the plan. That would be it.”

The plan appears to be working. Hollett, Dale, and Churchill have suc-ceeded in creating music reminiscent of old folk music and sea shanties without cleaving to any sound but their own. When their European tour concludes, they will pack up their par-kas and head west. But no matter how many albums they sell, and no matter

how many concerts they play, they will always be a Newfoundland band. “We could write songs about every other place in the world besides Newfound-land, but they’re always going to come out with a sense of us being diehard Newfoundlanders,” Churchill says. “We’re just really lucky that we dig where we’re from.”

If history is any indication, people everywhere dig where they’re from, too. The upshot is that Churchill doesn’t

worry about touring Europe anymore. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

The Once February 12 @ the bassment$15/20


16feb 1 – feb 7

food + drink

something to write home about

let’s go drinkin’ verb’s mixology guide

the hemingway daiQuiri

Since Prairie Ink is a clean, well-lit place filled with photos of authors, it only makes sense to pay tribute to an author who loved his drink. Here is a dai-quiri that Ernest Hemingway fell in love with while in Cuba.

ingredients

2 oz white rum1 teaspoon grapefruit juice1 teaspoon maraschino liqueur½ oz fresh lime juice

directions

Frappe (chip or crush) some ice. Add to shaker. Pour in remaining ingredi-ents. Empty contents of shaker into a chilled cocktail glass.

wPrairie Ink combines literature and excellent food by adaM hawboldt

@adamhawboldt

[email protected]


photos courtesy of adam hawboldt

alk into most res-taurants at 2:30pm on a random

Wednesday, and you’ll find they usually have one thing in com-mon — a lack of patrons.

But Prairie Ink, nestled by the Circle Drive overpass on 8th Street, isn’t like most restaurants.

When I strolled in there one afternoon last week, I was expecting a lonely patron or two sitting around drinking tea or coffee, maybe nib-bling at a piece of cake or some other kind of dessert.

That’s what I expected. What I got was a restaurant more than half-filled with people. Soft folk music wafted through the air as the gentle murmur of midday afternoon conversation rose from the tables. I commented about how surprised I was with the

amount of people there; Clint, the restaurant manager, told me “this is nothing. Today is a slow day.”

That last tidbit of information might’ve surprised me, too, if it wasn’t for the simple charm of the restaurant. The clean, well-lit room, the walls lined with black and white pictures of famous Saskatchewan au-thors — everyone from Yann Martel to Guy Vanderhaeghe to W.O. Mitch-ell and Arthur Slade. Looking around the room at these photographs, it struck me how perfectly they suited the restaurant. See, not only is Prairie Ink located in the McNally Robin-son bookstore, but in the beginning the space started out as a place for authors to read and listeners to have some coffee. Not much more.

That was more than a decade ago. These days, as I’ve mentioned, Prairie

Ink is busy and bustling. And for good reason: the food is delicious.

Though I was tempted to order the fig and prosciutto pizza (made of caramelized figs, prosciutto, garlic butter, goat cheese, lemon arugula and fresh parmesan), something kept pulling my eyes to the wraps section.

That something was the roasted beet and caramelized onion wrap.

Never one to argue with my gut, I ordered this interesting looking item with a pear and blue cheese salad. Excellent choice.

The salad was incredible. The sweetness of the pear and the Saskatoon berry vinaigrette was cut deliciously by the sharpness of the cheese. Toss in some toasted walnuts for texture, and you have yourself one heckuva salad.

And the wrap was no slouch, either. The warm beety flavour was complimented exquisitely by a creamy goat cheese and caramelized onion mixture that oozed with every bite. It was so good, in fact, I think I may go book shopping one of these days (soon), and see what else Prairie Ink has to offer.

Prairie Ink 3130 8th st. e | 955 3579

@Verbsaskatoon culturecontents local editorial comments q + a arts coVer food + drink music listings film nightlife comics timeout

17feb 1 – feb 7

music

Photos courtesy oF: the artIst / the artIst / the artIst

Coming upnext Week

eric church

The year 2011 was a coming-out party of sorts for Eric Church. Sure, his previous two albums had gone gold in the U.S., and sure, he’d toured with the likes of Rascal Flatts, Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert. But when the country artist from North Carolina released his album, Chief, in July of 2011, his rising star skyrocket- ed into the spotlight. On the strength of songs like “Drink In My Hand,” “Homeboy” and “Springsteen,” the album went platinum. Any way you slice it, Chief was a game-changer for Church, and he set out on tour late last month to show North America just how much game he has. So if you like your country with a splash of attitude, this is a concert you might not want to miss. Tickets available through Ticketmaster.

@ the credIt unIon centrethursday, february 7 – $46.25+

You’ve got to hand it to Dean Brody, his songs have the kind of lyrics that really hit home. From “Canadian Girls” to “Dirt Road Scholar” and “Bob Marley,” this British Columbia born-and-bred country artist pumps out the kind of music that resonates with people and sticks with you long after the last chords have been played. His songs are so good and so respected they have earned Brody a couple of Canadian Country Music Awards — from Album of the Year (for his most recent release, Dirt), to Male Artist of the Year. He’s taking his talents on the road in 2013, playing concert after concert from B.C. back to the Bluenose province. Tickets to see Brody are available through theodeon.ca, or via Ticketmaster.

dean brody

Since dropping their first record in 2001, Stars have been slowly getting bigger and better. What started as a duo in Toronto (Torquil Campbell and Chris Seligman) soon became a quar-tet (with the addition of Evan Cranley and Amy Millan) before evolving into a five-piece when they met drummer Patrick McGee. As the band grew, so too did its sound — evolving from electro-pop in the early days to the sonic, sweeping indie rock they play now. Whatever they’re doing seems to be working, though. Not only have Stars been nominated for Junos and Polaris Music Prizes, but their songs have been featured on television shows from Alias to The O.C. This hot-as-hell five-piece will be rolling into Saskatoon in March. Tickets available at www.theodeon.ca.

– by adam hawboldt

stars

@ the odeon events centrethursday, february 7 – $35+

sask music previewAttention Saskatchewan performing artists: Regina’s Bushwak-ker Brewpub will be hosting the Sask Sampler on March 23. This special event will put some amazing independent performers in front of artistic directors from the Regina Folk Festival, Ness Creek Music Festival, and the Gateway Festival. Please apply through Sonicbirds before February 26; see www.reginafolkfes-tival.com for more information.

Keep up with saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org

@ the odeon events centrefriday, march 29 – $25+

Verbnews.comentertainment contents local editorial comments q + a arts coVer food + drink music listings film nightlife comics timeout

18feb 1 – feb 7

listingslistings

The most complete live music listings for Saskatoon.

february 1 » february 9

1 2

8 96 74 53

s m t w t

listings

whitehorse courtesy of paul wright

young benjaminscourtesy of the artist

friday 1house DJs / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk,

soul & lounge DJs liven up the atmo-

sphere at 6Twelve. 9pm / No cover

LaDy Deathstryke, souL Mates, herD of wasters / Amigos Cantina – Go hard

or stay home! 10pm / Cover TBD

Piano friDays: saskatoon syMPhony / The Bassment - Enjoy some smooth jazz

stylings. 4:30pm / No cover

roots series: karrnneL + frienDs / The Bassment — Fiddle music for a rootin’

tootin’ good time. 9pm / $13/18

austen roaDz / Béily’s UltraLounge —

Austen Roadz throws down a high-ener-

gy, top 40 dance party every Friday night.

9pm / $5 cover

riPPertrain / Buds On Broadway — It’s

gonna get loud up in here when these

guys take the stage. 9pm / $6

fountains of youth / The Fez on

Broadway — A night of sweet music, also

featuring Rory Borealis and the Northern

Lights. 10pm / $5

DJ ecLectic / The Hose — Featuring turn-

table whiz DJ Eclectic. 8pm / No cover

DJ sugar DaDDy / Jax Niteclub — This

local crowd favourite 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

J stax / Louis’

— Hip hop

from our

neigh-

bours

to the

south.

8pm /

Cover

TBD

DJ Butterz / Lounge 306

— Top 40 songs.

8pm / Cover TBD

Le groove / Lydia’s Pub —

Get out to Broadway and get ready to

be entertained. 9pm / $5

aDaM k / The Odeon Events Centre —

World-renowned DJ spinning sick beats

all night. 9pm / $15 (www.theodeon.ca)

DJ Big ayyy & DJ henchMan / Outlaws

— Round up your friends ‘cause there’s

no better country rock party around. 8pm

/ $5; ladies in free before 11pm

f.e.r.n. / Prairie Ink — A folk singer with

the soul of a poet will perform in this cozy

setting. 8pm / No cover

L.o.r.D. funk / Somewhere Else Pub —

Prepare to be funkified by this local band.

9pm / No cover

DueLing Pianos / Staqatto Piano Lounge

— Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad

King belt out classic tunes and audience

requests. 10pm / $5

DJ anchor + MoDus / Tequila Nightclub

— Records will spin and feet will move.

9pm / Cover TBD

the uLtiMate Power Duo / Vangelis –

Coming at you with energy, all night long.

9pm / $5

saturday 2house DJs / 6Twelve — Resident DJs

spin deep and soulful tunes all night. 9pm

/ No cover

the PistoLwhiPs, PanDas in JaPan, the groove / Amigos Cantina – A night

filled with good times and good music.

10pm / Cover TBD

Jazz Diva series: eLizaBeth shePherD trio / The Bassment — Smart, sexy, hip

jazz. 9pm / $13/18

austen roaDz / Béily’s UltraLounge

— Austen Roadz throws down a high-

energy top 40 dance party along with

DJ CTRL every Saturday night. 9pm /

$5 cover

riPPertrain / Buds On Broadway — It’s

gonna get loud up in here when these

guys take the stage. 9pm / $6

Peter aBonyi / Free

Flow Dance Centre

– Get ready

for Rosebud

Burlesque

Club’s

Variety

Night

Show.

8pm /

$12

DJ kaDe / The Hose

& Hydrant —

Saskatoon’s own

DJ lights it up. 8pm /

No cover

DJ sugar DaDDy / Jax Niteclub —

This local crowd favourite has always

been known to break the latest and

greatest tracks in multiple genres. 9pm /

$5 cover

DJ Butterz / Lounge 306 — Top 40

songs. 8pm / Cover TBD

vuLture kuLt / Lydia’s Pub — Some rock

rebooted for the 21st century. 9pm / $5

skyLaB / Lydia’s Loft — Hit up Lydia’s to

enjoy a chill, cosmic, DJ night with a deep

space theme. Styles include

house, techno, bass,

breaks and more.

No cover be-

fore 10pm

DJ Big ayyy & DJ hench-Man / Out-

laws

Country

Rock Bar

— Round up

your friends

‘cause there’s no

better country rock

party around. 8pm / $5

stone Mountain Music / Prairie Ink

—A rock-folk trio. 8pm / No cover

L.o.r.D funk / Somewhere Else Pub —

Prepare to be funkified by this local band.

9pm / No cover




requests. 10pm / $5

Mikey DuBz + Mern / Tequila Nightclub


9pm / Cover TBD

young BenJaMins / Vangelis — Alt

rock/folk music. Also appearing will be

Coldest Night of the Year. 10pm / $8

sunday 3inDustry night / Béily’s UltraLounge —

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

cover for industry staff

DJ kaDe / The Hose & Hydrant — Saska-

toon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm /

No cover

DJ san J / Tequila Nightclub — Come on

out for the Bad Boyz album launch. 8pm /

$17.50 (Ticketmaster)

BLues JaM / Vangelis Tavern — Come

down and get your jam on. 9pm / No

cover

monday 4MetaL MonDays / Lydia’s Pub — If hard,

heavy awesomeness is your thing, swing

by, listen to some killer music and get in

on some concert giveaways. 9pm

synaPtic / Vangelis Tavern — An elec-

tronic music open stage. 9pm / No cover

tuesday 5whitehorse / Broadway Theatre — A

roots duo too good to miss. 7:30pm /

$30-35

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

verB Presents oPen stage / Lydia’s

Pub — The

open stage

at Lydia’s has

hosted many

of Saskatoon’s

finest performers.

9pm / No cover

oPen Mic / The Somewhere Else

Pub — Come out to show your talent.

7pm / No cover

wednesday 6huMP 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

whitehorse / Broadway Theatre — A

roots duo too good to miss. 7:30pm /

$30-35

/Verbsaskatoon entertainmentcontents local editorial comments q + a arts coVer food + drink music listings film nightlife comics timeout

19feb 1 – feb 7

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

get listed

[email protected]

morgan childscourtesy of robyn kent

dean brodycourtesy of mark maryanovich

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 / Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon

DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No

cover

Dr. J ‘souLeD out’ / Lydia’s Pub — Dr. J

spins hot funk and soul every Wednesday

night. 9pm / No cover

wiLD west weDnesDay / Outlaws

Country Rock Bar — This

is Saskatoon’s top

industry night,

hosted by DJ

Big Ayyy

& DJ

Hench-

man.

And

don’t

forget

to come

ride the

mechani-

cal bull. 9pm

/ $4; no cover

for industry staff

DueLing Pianos / Staqa-

tto Piano Lounge — Terry Hoknes,

Neil Currie and Brad King belt out classic

tunes and audience requests, from Sinatra

to Lady Gaga. 10pm / No cover

MariLyn Manson / TCU Place — A

shock rocker like no other. 7:30pm

$35.50-49.50 (wwww.tcutickets.ca)

thursday 7eric church / Credit Union Centre — A

risk-taking country star who will have

you rocking out all night long. 7:30pm /

$46.25+ (www.ticketmaster.ca)

throwBack thursDays / Earls — Come

experience the best in retro funk, soul,

reggae and rock provided by Dr. J. 8pm /

No cover


toon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm /

No cover

DJ sugar DaDDy / Jax Niteclub — Local

DJ Sugar Daddy will be rocking the turn-

tables to get you dancing on the dance

floor! Every Thursday night will be filled

with pole dancing, shadow dancers and

much more! 8pm / $5; free cover with

student ID before 11pm

Dean BroDy / The Odeon — A Canadian

country star doing his thing. 8pm / $35

(www.theodeon.ca)

harDweLL Presents reveaLeD cana-Da / Tequila Nightclub — A night full of

sweetass DJs spinning badass tunes. 9pm

/ $15-25 (www.ticketmaster.ca)

friday 8house DJs / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk,

soul & lounge DJs liven up the atmo-

sphere at 6Twelve. 9pm / No cover

castLe river / Amigos Cantina — Also

appearing will be Little Criminals and

Caves. 10pm / Tickets at the door

Piano friDays: troy McgiLLvray / The

Bassment - Enjoy some smooth jazz styl-

ings. 4:30pm / No cover

roots series: tiM wiLLiaMs anD

Don griffith / The Bassment

— Mixing

blues, rag-

time and

old-time

country,

for your

listening

pleasure.

9pm / $15/20

austen roaDz / Béily’s UltraLounge

— Austen Roadz throws

down a high-energy top

40dance party every Friday night. 9pm /

$5 cover

DJ ecLectic / The Hose & Hydrant —

Local turntable whiz DJ Eclectic pumps

snappy electronic beats. 8pm / No cover




tracks in multiple genres. He’s sure to

have you on the dance floor in no time.

9pm / $5 cover

DJ Butterz / Lounge

306 — Top 40

songs, all night

long. 8pm /

Cover TBD

DJ Big ayyy & DJ hench-Man / Outlaws

— Round

up your

friends ‘cause

there’s no better

country rock party

around. 8pm / $5; ladies in

free before 11pm

Doug BooMhower, Bruce wiLkinson, ray stePhanson / Prairie Ink — A

talented jazz trio. 8pm / No cover

unDercover Pirates / Somewhere Else

Pub and Grill — A rockin’ good night.

9pm / No cover

Jett run / Stan’s Place — Come out for a

night of good tunes. 9pm / No cover




requests. 10pm / $5

DJ von howarD + Mern / Tequila Night-

club — Records will spin and feet will

move. 9pm / Cover TBD

saturday 9house DJs / 6Twelve — Resident DJs

spin deep and soulful tunes all night. 9pm

/ No cover

DesPise you, wake / Amigos Cantina –

Things are gonna get heavy when these

two bands hit the stage. Also appearing:

Rehashed and Narcissistic. 10pm / $12

(www.ticketedge.ca)

the Morgan chiLDs Quartet / The

Bassment — Smart, soaring, hip jazz. 9pm

/ $15/20

austen roaDz / Béily’s UltraLounge —

Austen Roadz throws down a high-ener-

gy top 40 dance party along with DJ CTRL

every Saturday night. 9pm / $5 cover


toon’s own DJ lights it up. 8pm / No cover




tracks in multiple genres. 9pm / $5 cover

DJ Butterz / Lounge 306 — Top 40

songs. 8pm / Cover TBD

LifteD / Lydia’s Pub — Come dance your

heart out in Lydia’s loft. 10pm / $5

DJ Big ayyy & DJ henchMan / Outlaws Country Rock

Bar — Round up

your friends

‘cause there’s

no better

country

rock

party

around.

Be there!

8pm / $5

wayne Bargen

/ Prairie

Ink — Come

out and enjoy

Bargen’s finger-style

acoustic guitar playing. 8pm

/ No cover

unDercover Pirates / Somewhere Else

Pub and Grill — A rockin’ good night.

9pm / No cover

Jett run / Stan’s Place — Come out for a

night of good tunes. 9pm / No cover




requests. 10pm / $5

conexus PoPs series: at the Movies / TCU Place — A night of Oscar-winning

music. 7:30pm / $35-55

DJ aLBert + DisLexik / Tequila Nightclub


9pm / Cover TBD


20feb 1 – feb 7

film

Photo: courtesy oF lIonsgate

y

even with a stellar (but aging) cast, the new Pacino/walken film is not up to snuff by adaM hawboldt

Too bad the [film] is kind of predictable and, at times, absurd.

adaM hawboldt

these guys need a walker to stand up

@adamhawboldt

[email protected]


stand up guys

directed by Fisher Stevens

starring Al Pacino, Christopher

Walken + Alan Arkin

95 minutes | 14a

ou know that Spirit of the West song? The one that goes “You’ll

have to excuse me, I’m not at my best…”

Well, as much as it pains me to say this, after watching Stand Up Guys it seems like a fitting anthem for two of the finest actors of the past 40 years or so — Al Pacino and Christo-pher Walken.

Sure, Walken was good in this

year’s Seven Psychopaths, but he’s much more than a stone’s throw from the good ol’ days when he was light-ing up the screen in movies like Deer Hunter and True Romance.

And Pacino? Well, I don’t know what to say. There was a time (long, long ago) when this guy’s star burned so bright it could blind you. So much so, that at one point in time you could argue he was one of, if not the, great-est actors alive. Think The Godfather. Think Dog Day Afternoon. Think Serpico, Scent of a Woman, Glengarry Glen Ross.

But those days are gone now, like VHS and the dodo, only to be replaced

by less meaty roles in stinkers like Jack and Jill, Gigli and Righteous Kill.

His latest (their latest, Walken has to be included here), Stand Up Guys, is nowhere near as bad as any of the three aforementioned cinematic aberrations.

But it’s not overly good, either.Directed by Fisher Stevens (Fac-

totum, Hackers), the film begins with Val (Pacino), a real “stand up guy”, leaving prison after pulling a 28-year

stint because he refused to rat out his partners-in-crime after a shootout gone wrong. Val is greeted at the prison gate by his old pal and former partner, Doc (Walken). Having been locked up for so long, Val makes a beeline for a brothel to, ahem, take his ferret for a walk. Problem is, the darn little thing won’t stand up.

So Val and Doc put their criminal instincts to work, break into a drug store and steal a bunch of pills. Doc gets pills for his health, Val takes a handful of those magic blue ones, and both are now ready for action.

Back to the brothel they go. Then they go to the hospital where Val

gets treated for priapism. Somewhere along the way we learn that during the shootout Val went to jail for, a local mob boss’ son was shot and killed. Now the mob boss wants Val dead.

The kicker? Doc has been as-signed to whack his best friend.

The rest of the movie plays out along a 24-hour, will-he-or-won’t-he arc. Too bad the arc is kind of predict-able and, at times, absurd. Like, for instance, the scene when the trio of septuagenarians (along the way Val and Doc spring their former getaway driver, played by the incomparable Alan Arkin, from a nursing home), take care of a bunch of much young-er, much more menacing gangsters.

And speaking of gangsters, the best way to classify Stand Up Guys is to say it is to the gangster genre what The Hammer is to boxing movies: far from a classic, but not the worst thing you’ll see all week.

@Verbsaskatoon entertainmentcontents local editorial comments q + a arts coVer food + drink music listings film nightlife comics timeout

21feb 1 – feb 7

here’s something about Matt Damon. Something that makes

you either want to be him, or be with him.

What that “something” is, well, it’s hard to pin down. Yes, he has the kavorka. Yes, he’s smart and funny and a terrific actor and a passionate advocate of what he believes in.

But there’s more. It’s something that very few A-list

stars in Hollywood possess — low-key charm and a relatable charisma.

And both of these are what drive his newest film, Promised Land. Which makes perfect sense, considering Da-mon not only stars in the film, but also co-wrote the screenplay and produced the project. His fingerprints are all over this, and it really shows.

Directed by Damon’s old pal Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting), Promised Land is, on the surface, a movie about fracking. You know, the controversial process of getting oil and gas out of the ground by using hydraulic fracturing.

Anyway, Damon’s character, Steve, and his partner, Sue (Frances McDor-mand) work for a big energy company. Their job is to convince the residents

of a small town in Pennsylvania that’s on the verge of bankruptcy to sell their land in return for a hefty payday.

In the beginning, everything is going well.

Then problems arise. Problems always arise. This time in the form of an old high school teacher (Hal Hol-brook), who questions the policies of

Steve’s company and wants to know the threat fracking will have on the town and surrounding area.

Right around this time is when Dustin Noble (John Krasinski) shows up. True to his preposterous name, Mr. Noble is an environ-mentalist who wants to fight the good fight and send the big energy conglomerate packing. He’s also in town to fight Steve for the atten-tion of a local beauty named Alice (Rosemarie DeWitt).

But that’s all surface stuff.Because when you dig down and

start fracking the essence of Promised

Land, you’ll see it’s more of a charac-ter study and a compelling human drama than a political statement.

And Matt Damon is no dummy. At the heat of this drama he puts two characters who, even though they’re supposed to be the bad guys in the movie, have the ability to evoke the viewer’s sympathy.

First you have Sue. Sure, she’s a tad unethical in her approach, but all the things she does to get paid are for one simple reason — to give her daughter a better life.

Then there’s Steve. He’s a farmer’s son from Iowa who knows what it’s like to watch his small town get devastated by this new economy we live in.

So was Promised Land any good?Sure it was. It wasn’t flawless or

anything, but on the whole it was an honest, interesting movie that oozes humanity and has its finger on the pulse of present-day America.

Kind of like Matt Damon himself.Promised Land is currently being

screened at Roxy Theatre.

t

shows somereal promisePromised Land may have flaws, but it’s still a pretty good flickby adaM hawboldt

@adamhawboldt

[email protected]


promised land

directed by Gus Van Sant

starring Matt Damon, Frances

McDormand + John Krasinski

107 minutes | pg

…it was an honest, interesting movie that oozes humanity…

adaM hawboldt

Photo: courtesy oF Focus Features


22feb 1 – feb 7

nightlife

Photography by Patrick Carley


23feb 1 – feb 7

saturday, january 26 @

sportson tapSports on Tap2610 Lorne Avenue(306) 683 8921

Music viBe / Rock, and all sporting eventsfeatureD DeaLs / Bone-in ribs for $8, dry ribs for $6, Grey Goose for $5, Johnny Walker Red for $4, and pints of Rickard’s and Keith’s for $5.50Drink of choice / Pints of Keith’s, and Titanics (4-litre pitcher)toP eats / Dry ribssoMething new / New TVs, ping pong table, pinball machines, foosball tables, and Newcastle is now on tapcoMing uP / UFC gear giveaway on February 2, and a Super Bowl jersey giveaway on February 3


24feb 1 – feb 7

nightlife

Photography by Ishtiaq Opal (opalsnaps.com)

@Verbsaskatoon entertainmentcontents local editorial comments q + a arts coVer food + drink music listings film nightlife comics timeout

25feb 1 – feb 7

friday, january 25 @

winston’spubWinston’s English Pub & Grill243 21st Street East(306) 374 7468

Music viBe / A modern mix of everythingfeatureD DeaLs / Import Fridays — all imports on special from 4pm ‘til close


26feb 1 – feb 7

© elaine m. will | blog.e2w-illustration.com | check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!

comics


27feb 1 – feb 7

timeout crossword Canadian Criss-Cross

horoscopes February 1 – February 7

© walter d. feener 2012

sudoku crossword answer key

a b

sudoku answer key

a

b

5 1 3 4 6 7 8 2 92 4 6 9 8 3 7 1 59 7 8 2 1 5 4 6 33 2 1 7 5 6 9 4 87 8 5 1 4 9 2 3 64 6 9 3 2 8 5 7 16 3 7 5 9 4 1 8 28 5 2 6 7 1 3 9 41 9 4 8 3 2 6 5 7

6 1 7 2 4 8 5 9 33 8 9 1 7 5 2 6 45 2 4 9 6 3 7 1 89 7 1 4 2 6 8 3 58 6 3 7 5 1 9 4 22 4 5 8 3 9 1 7 61 9 6 5 8 4 3 2 74 5 2 3 1 7 6 8 97 3 8 6 9 2 4 5 1

1 7 92 4 6 8 7 5 2 1 6 3 6 9 4 7 8 5 9 3 3 8 7 3 5 9 4 28 2 1 41 6 5

6 2 4 5 3 8 7 5 2 4 7 1 9 1 4 2 8 6 1 9 2 5 3 61 6 4 3 3 7 8 97 8 9 5

timeout

across 1. Button alternative

5. Play the lead

9. Tied score in tennis

10. Powdery ink

12. “Canadian Idol”

winner in season 2

13. Become rotten,

as eggs

15. Have an obligation

16. Animal with a horn on

its snout

18. Second-largest

living bird

19. Darn socks

21. Show curiosity

22. Noise at a barbershop

23. Replace with

another program

25. Not glossy

26. One who works in

a bank

28. Passengers hold onto it

31. Ideal future husband

35. Heavy hammer

36. Canadian who directed

“The Thorn Birds”

37. Line of light

38. Sphere

39. Not as much of

40. Piece of office furniture

41. Green ___ (foe of

Spider-Man)

43. Sleep-inducing

substance

45. Youthful years

46. Minister’s house

47. Long-handled tool

48. Move through

a crowd

down 1. Calm and unruffled

2. Overenthusiastic one

3. Botanical name

for maple

4. Maybe

5. Gave off a foul odour

6. Commotion

7. Furthermore

8. Become less cruel

9. Widow’s inheritance

11. Send payment

12. Magnificent display

14. Victim of deceit

17. Narrow connecting

strip of land

20. Windshield sticker

22. Delhi dress

24. Navigator’s need

25. Nothing more than

27. Annoying

28. Air pollution

29. Fortune-telling card

30. Odd game played to

break a tie

32. Thick lubricant

33. Overly eager speed

34. Naughty child

36. Tightly packed

39. Chain part

40. Do surface damage to

42. Meadow

44. Water lily leaf

aries March 21–april 19

Grace and poise: normally these

things are absent in you, Aries. But

this week will be different. Be sure to use

these virtues wisely.

taurus april 20–May 20

You may find yourself feeling both

creative and romantic this week,

Taurus. Both feelings aren’t mutually exclu-

sive, so find a way to mesh them together.

gemini May 21–June 20

You might have an urge to strive for

order this week, Gemini. Don’t kid

yourself, it’s a fool’s errand. You can’t impose

order on chaos, no matter how hard you try.

cancer June 21–July 22

Are you afraid to take risks,

Cancer? This is a week you should

confront those fears. Look ‘em in the eye

and say, “not today, bucko!”

leo July 23–august 22

Expect the unexpected this week,

Leo. A windfall of something is on

its way. What that is, I have no clue. Just

be ready, and brace yourself for anything.

virgo august 23–september 22

This week you may be feeling fit

as a fiddle, never better, energy

and spirits both high. If not, time to reas-

sess what’s holding you back.

libra september 23–october 23

When’s the last time you’ve been

to a museum, Libra? If it hasn’t

been in the last month, now’s an amazing

time for you to explore new territories.

scorpio october 24–november 22

Errands, errands and more errands.

That’s what’s going to dominate

this week, Scorpio, so make sure to plan

and use your time effectively.

sagittarius november 23–december 21

Have you been working hard lately,

Sagittarius? If so, don’t expect any

back slaps or thanks for all your efforts. Don’t

let it get you down. Keep on keepin’ on.

capricorn december 22–January 19

There’s no time like the present,

Capricorn, so don’t get bogged

down in the past or look too far in the fu-

ture. It’s time for you to live for the moment.

aQuarius January 20–February 19

Hey yo! Passion is in the air this

week, Aquarius. Too bad you’re

not going to realize it until it’s too late.

Better luck next time.

pisces February 20–March 20

This weekend threatens to begin

with drunken revels and end with

a hangover, Pisces. Enjoy this while you can

— big changes are looming on the horizon.

verb issue s225 (feb 1-7, 2013)

Documents

focus krack

deep kirk krack

deepfreediver kirk krack

deepefore kirk krack

freedivingthe bandleader

food drinkmusiceric

q anightlife photos

long time