Verb Issue R93 (Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 2013)

Photo: courtesy of Vanessa heins

arts culture music regina

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Finally Bringing the uFc to saskatchewan

timE to ExpERimEnt Q+a with tom holliston

gEtaway + thE kings oF summER Film reviews

+Young Galaxy for the love of pop

issue #93 – august 30 to sePtember 5

VerBnews.comVerB magazine contents local editorial comments Q + a arts Feature Food + drink music listings nightliFe Film comics timeout

2aug 23 – aug 29

culture entertainmentnews + opinion

Finally Bringing the UFC to SK. 3 / local

making waVEs The sport of high speed jet ski racing. 4 / local

EditoRialOur thoughts on red light cameras. 6 / editorial

commEntsHere’s what you had to say about con-struction zone speed limits. 7 / comments

Q + a with tom hollistonA chance to experiment. 8 / Q + a

nightliFE photos We visit Sasktel Summer Invasion. 15 / nightliFe

liVE music listingsLocal music listings for August 30 through September 7. 14 / listings

gEtaway + thE kings oF summER We review the latest movies. 16 / Film

on thE bus Weekly original comic illustrations by Elaine M. Will. 18 / comics

joi t. aRcandThrough That Which is Scene. 9 / arts

hunting FoR tREasuREWe visit Henry’s Cafe. 12 / Food + drink

musicDwight Yoakam, Don Williams + Lindi Ortega. 13 / music

moon bEams + night dREams Joanne Shannon ties up loose ends. 9 / arts

gamE + hoRoscopEsCanadian criss-cross puzzle, weekly horoscopes and Sudoku. 19 / timeout

on thE coVER: young galaxyThere and back again. 10 / Feature


contents

please recycle aFter reading & sharing

EditoRialpuBlisher / Parity Publishingeditor in chieF / ryan allanmanaging editor / Jessica PatruccostaFF writers / adam hawboldt + alex J macPhersoncontriButing writer / Victoria abraham

aRt & pRoductiondesign lead / andrew yanko contriButing photographers / baily eberle, maxton Priebe, adam hawboldt + alex J macPherson

businEss & opERationsoFFice manager / stePhanie liPsitaccount manager / kerri senkowmarketing manager / Vogeson PaleyFinancial manager / cody lang

contactcomments / [email protected] / 306 881 8372

adVertise / [email protected] / 306 979 2253

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3aug 30 – sept 5

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Feedback? text it! (306) 881 8372

teve Chestolowski leans across the restaurant table and hands me his

iPhone. A video is playing.“This is at the championships

in Lake Havasu, Arizona,” he says. “There are lots of false starts there. People come in and race from all around the world and everybody is a little bit antsy.”

On the video, Chestolowski is standing crouched on a jet ski, every muscle in his body taut and tense. There are other watercross racers lined up on both sides of him, up and down the starting line. The purr of the engines skip and echo across the water of the lake, drown-ing out the voice of the announcer. Directly next to Chestolowski stands Mike Delaire, a former watercross world champion. Delaire is holding Chestolowski’s jet ski as he revs it, higher and higher, until it’s opened up to about 3/4 throttle.

Just before the video started a guy went down the starting line, making sure that all the ma-chines are running, that everybody is ready.

“Everybody paid to come and race and nobody is making any money,” explains Chestolowski. “We don’t want anybody to miss out on a race because their boat is shut off or isn’t working right.”

The video continues to play, and when the signal to start is given Delaire and the other holders let go

of the jet skis. Chestolowski blasts off the starting line like a bat out of hell. A white wave of water sprays in the racers’ wakes.

When asked what he’s try-ing to do after the race begins Chestolowski pauses. He takes back his iPhone and says, quite matter-

of-factly, “You’re trying to get out in front … and stay there.”

When you think of the Canadian prairies, chances are the first thing that comes to mind isn’t jet ski rac-ing. But the sport of watercross is alive, well, and flourishing both here in Saskatchewan, and in Alberta.

Of the nearly 40 people who race in the Western Canadian Watercross Association (WCWA), there are a host of world champi-ons. There’s Fort McMurray’s Carla Klippenstein, who is a three-time world champ. There’s her brother Mike, the most decorated water-cross racer in history with 19 world titles. And there’s Delaire (the guy holding Chestolowski’s jet ski in

the video), with three world titles under his wetsuit.

Every couple weeks in the summer Delaire, the Klippensteins, Chestolowski and the rest of the gang get together for the weekend and race on the WCWA circuit. Sometimes it’s in Alix, Alberta, other

times it’s in Saskatoon. But no matter where it is, two things are certain: 1) some of the best watercross rac-ers in the world will be competing; and 2) a sense of fun — a sense of community — will pervade the campground where the racers have set up shop.

“What’s the culture like?” asks Chestolowski, rhetorically. “Well, it’s one of those things where every-body knows each other. On Friday and Saturday nights we’ll make a big fire and everybody will just gather around and hang out. Then during the days its all about the races. Our final race this season is in Alix. We booked the whole camp-ground. The town basically shuts down and the people come out to the lake to watch us race.”

But it isn’t just the townsfolk and the racers who attend these events. For many of the racers it’s a family affair. Significant others come camping for the weekend, as do the kids.

“That’s the big thing,” says Chestolowski, “we’re trying to keep it going, keep it growing for them. We’d rather have our kids out here camping and racing, or working on their machine back home in the ga-rage, then be out partying and stuff.”

Back in the restaurant, Chestolowski hands me his iPhone again. Another video is playing. This one shows two men talking. One of them is wearing a neck brace.

“That’s Mike Klippenstien, the 19-time world champ,” says Chestolowski, of the man in the neck brace. “He got hit in the back the day before during a race. He was out cold. We thought he was dead. Obviously he wasn’t, but when they took him in, he couldn’t feel his legs.”

And while accidents like this aren’t a common occurrence in watercross, anything can happen when you get a dozen or so racers skipping along choppy waters at 70 miles per hour, turning hard around buoys, then rocketing out of their turns at 60 miles per hour.

“I broke my ankle one year out in Fort Mac,” remembers Chestolowski.

“They had the course a little too tight. There was a big group of us. We were on a straightaway and this guy, Tim Richardson — who is, like, 66 years old and still racing — crashed in front of me. We’d just gone through the splits. He was in first, I was in second. He crashed on the waves we made at the start so I laid off the gas, and the guy behind me just kept going. Crashed right into the back of me. Broke my ankle. It was pretty scary. Everyone was coming up behind me. I was just laying in the water, couldn’t feel my legs from the knees down.”

That was in 2009. Chestolowski has long since healed and, heading into the final WCWA event of the season this weekend in Alberta, he’s looking to make some waves.

“Right now I’m sitting first in the Pro Am Vet Ski [standings] and second in the Pro Am Stock,” says Chestolowski. “I’m looking to finish first in both.”

Which just goes to show that while all the racers from Saskatch-ewan and Alberta are friends who camp together every other week-end, the desire to win burns in all of them.

s

making waVEsthe rise of jet ski racing in the prairies by adam hawboldt

[in watercross], it’s one of those things where everybody knows each other.

steVe chestolowski

Photo: courtesy of ultraView

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4aug 23 – aug 29

local

itch Clarke knew he’d lose eventually. Nearly everyone

who fights mixed martial arts does. Georges St. Pierre, Ander-son Silva, Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell — almost all the legends have a loss on their resumes.

Clarke didn’t figure he’d be any different. Sure, the Saskatchewan-born fighter had gone a perfect 9-0 fighting in Canadian organizations like the EFC and TFC, but he knew it wouldn’t last forever. Nothing does.

And when the call came from the biggest mixed martial arts company

in the world — the UFC — Clarke knew he’d have to train that much

harder, push himself that much fur-ther, to postpone the inevitable.

Up against John Cholish in his UFC debut, Clarke understood

he was in for a tough night. He understood this was a jump up in competition for him. He understood he’d have to have the best train-ing camp of his life if he wanted to emerge victorious.

But there were problems.“I’m not one to place blame, but

I wasn’t in the greatest or most sup-portive relationship. My girlfriend [at the time] and I were constantly fighting,” says Clarke. “When I got that first UFC fight, I wasn’t in a great place mentally. My head wasn’t where it should have been. I wasn’t mentally prepared the way I should’ve been.”

The result was a second-round TKO at the hands of Cholish.

Chocking the loss up to experi-ence, Clarke licked his wounds and went back to work getting ready for his next fight, seven months later in July of 2012, against Anton Kuiv-anen at UFC 149. But again, it was tough for him to get to where he had to be mentally.

“Going into that fight with Anton, there was a heap of bulls**t going

on in my personal life,” admits Clarke. “I was in Arizona training at the MMA Lab with John Crouch and Ben Henderson, which was great, but I was constantly fighting with my girlfriend over Skype. It was giving me a headache. I had a hard time focusing.”

And again Clarke came up short, losing a close split decision to Kuivanen. Which was pretty good, considering Clarke blew his knee out just 20 seconds into the fight. But the fact he performed well under such strenuous circumstances didn’t assuage Clarke. He was crestfallen.

“After that loss I went into a pretty bad funk,” remembers Clarke. “I had a knee injury, didn’t know if I’d ever fight again. The girlfriend at the time had told me to choose be-tween her and fighting. Then, while I was in Arizona, I found out she’d been cheating on me. On top of that, being 0-2 in the UFC, I figured I was going to get cut.”

Down on his luck, with nowhere to live and nowhere to go, Clarke slept in his car for the next two weeks.

m

Finallymitch clarke, the ufc, and saskatchewan’s athletic commission by adam hawboldt

Photo: courtesy of mitch clarke facebook

To be able to fight in Saskatchewan … that’d mean everything to me.

mitch clarke

news + opinion

5aug 23 – aug 29

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He felt like his life and dreams were crumbling all around him.

Which was unfortunate. Because there was something big, something he’d always wanted to experience, lurking on the horizon.

In June of this year, the House of Commons passed a bill legalizing combat sports in Canada. Hot on the heals of that decision came news from the Saskatchewan government that an athletics commission was being set up to sanction professional combat sports.

Which means that one day, if all goes according to plan, the UFC will be hosting an event here. Or at least that’s Tom Wright’s plan.

As director of UFC operations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Wright has been advocating for the creation of an athletic commission in Saskatchewan for quite some time now. He’s visited the province several times, been in conversa-tion with the government, met with Kevin Doherty, our Minister of Parks, Culture and Sport. And whatever he said must’ve worked, because now the ball is rolling in the right direction and Wright couldn’t be happier.

“Yes, there are still things that have to be done from a legislative point of view this fall, then royal assent will have to be secured in the spring,” says Wright. “We obviously have to respect the po-litical process and wait until those

requirements are in place. But once it’s in place, that opens the door for our organization to bring an event to Saskatchewan. That’s some-thing that’s long been on our radar. And hopefully we can have Mitch Clarke on that card.”

Clarke hopes so, too.“I’m all for Saskatchewan get-

ting their own commission,” he says, ‘but we’re not done yet. The bureaucratic stuff, that tends to drag on. I don’t want it to drag on. I wish there was a commission tomorrow and a UFC fight in Sas-katchewan as soon as possible. I’d love to fight on that card.”

But before that could happen, before the federal government legal-ized combat sports and the Saskatch-ewan government set up a commis-sion, Clarke had to do something to ensure he’d be able to fight at home if and when the chance came. He had to win his third UFC fight.

“I had a super tough opponent, John Maguire. He was supposed to squash me,” says Clarke of his oppo-nent at UFC 161, held in Winnipeg in 2013. “In terms of match-ups, he was a stylistic nightmare.”

Clarke didn’t care.He was living on borrowed time.

Winless in the UFC to date, the old Clarke woulld’ve said this was his last chance. One last hurrah before his dream came to an end.

But the guy who stepped in the ring on that warm night in Win-

nipeg wasn’t the Clarke of old. His knee was healed, he had a new girl-friend, and he had a serious change in mindset.

“I was happy,” says Clarke. “I was positive and just trying to be the best person I could be. I’d sunk pretty low there for a while, so I switched things up and jumped back in with two feet.”

From the opening signal to fight, it showed. He handily won the first round against Maguire, the second round was a toss-up, and it looked as though he was cruising to the win when, in the third and final round, Maguire took his back and sunk in a figure-four body lock. Tight.

“I knew I had to be safe,” says Clarke, “but at the same time I

was like, ‘eff this! I need to get out of here!’”

And just like before — just like when everything in his life was holding him down, trying to break him — Clarke refused to be broken. With a few quick thrusts of his hips, Clarke broke the lock, spun around and rained punch after punch down on Maguire.

“Those were Hail Mary punches,” says Clarke. “I thought he might’ve spent too much time on my back so I threw all of them pretty hard. A couple were so hard they hurt my hand.” The same hand that was raised, moments later, when Clarke was declared the winner.

Not only did he win the fight, but for his gutsy efforts Clarke was

awarded a four-fight contract with the UFC. Which means, if the stars align properly and the Saskatch-ewan athletics commission doesn’t experience any unforeseen hiccups, Clarke may one day get a chance to fight at home.

“That would probably be the high point of my career,” says Clarke. “To be able to fight in Saskatchwan with a legal commission with the top organization in the world … that’d mean everything to me.”

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6aug 23 – aug 29

editorialeditorial

ext time you’re driving through the intersections at Albert

St. and Parliament, Albert St. and Sask Dr., or Dewdney and Lew-van, smile! You’re on camera.

That’s right. At all the aforemen-tioned intersections, the municipal government has installed red light cameras, under the auspices of improving public safety. Only thing is, red light cameras don’t actually make the roads any safer. What they do is crank out a steady stream of revenue for the city.

Now, if you ask the people responsible for implementing these cameras why they took such measures, chances are they’ll tell you it was to improve public safety — in fact, a couple years ago red light camera program coordinator Sgt. Andrew Puglia told the CBC the “sole purpose” of the devices was to prevent collisions.

And while we’re not trying to downplay the importance of keep-ing our roads safe, we are curious as to which studies our municipal governments consulted before they

made the decision to have these devices installed.

In fact, the evidence suggests red light cameras actually cause ac-cident rates to go up. A 2005 study conducted by the Washington Post found “the number of crashes at locations with cameras more than doubled, from 365 collisions in 1998 to 755 last year.” What’s more, injury and fatal crashes increased by 81 percent, and T-bone collisions also rose by 30 percent during the same timeframe.

And the Post’s study is just one of many: a 2012 analysis from the New Jersey Department of Trans-portation stated that “[r]ear-end collisions at the intersections were up by 20 percent, from 286 the year before the cameras were installed to 343 the year after, according to the report made public yesterday.” In 2008 researchers at the University of South Florida analyzed a plethora of data and concluded that “[r]ather than improving motorist safety, red-light cameras significantly increase crashes and are a ticket to higher auto insurance premiums.”

Even data closer to home shows that red light cameras are a bad idea. A 2003 Ontario Ministry of Transportation study found “that ju-risdictions using photo enforcement experienced an overall increase in property damage accidents of 18.5 percent coupled with a 4.9 percent

increase in fatal and injury rear-end collisions. Rear-end collisions involving property damage alone jumped 49.9 percent.” As many theorists on why these cameras in-crease fender benders have pointed out, motorists tend to unsafely slam on their brakes upon seeing a red light camera, rather than carrying through an intersection when they have time to do so.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Time and again it has

been demonstrated that installing red light cameras does nothing to protect the people doing the driving. Moreover, many of the tickets issued from red light cameras are for minor traffic violations that in no way, shape, or form dramatically threaten public safety. This isn’t right.

And if our municipal govern-ment is keen on improving public safety, then why not get behind a measure that actually works? For example, radar speed signs — those giant boards that flash up your km/hr — are very effective. A study in the Road Injury Prevention & Litiga-tion journal found that they were “particularly effective in reducing the number of vehicles traveling ten or more miles over the speed limits.” What’s more, the speed signs have

been shown to have a positive car-ryover effect, with motorists slowing down away from the zones covered by radar speed signs.

It’s clear that red light cameras do much more for the city than they do for motorists. At $230 a pop, tick-ets generate a substantial amount of revenue. But if the story we are being fed by our elected officials is to hold true — that the safety of those on the road is of the utmost importance — then they should drop the act and scrap the red light cameras. Instead of supporting a cash grab that endangers the public, let’s implement initiatives that actu-ally work.

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

n

smilE! you’RE on camERawhy we think red light cameras are a waste of time and money

@VerbRegina

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…the evidence suggests red light cameras actually cause accident rates to go up.

Verb magazine

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7aug 23 – aug 29

commentscommentscomments

text your thoughts to881 VERb

8372

on topic: last week we asked what you thought about construction zone speed limits. here’s what you had to say:

– I would go further and fire City staff who allow work to be done on connecting roads at the same time. Seems like we always detour from one zone into another. Fix em,but not on same days! And contrac-tors can clear up signs when not needed. Or better yet,keep work-ing and get it done faster.

– We should be doing construction 24 hours a day. Im fine with the speed signs staying up all the time if it means the projects get done faster because we only have a short window to do them in so we need to make sure they are getting done fast

– If theres one thing we can agree on i think its getting construction done in a timely manner. Also lets have people fixing potholes going round the clock to. There is one by my house that is about 6 inches deep and a foot across. Its ridicu-lous that its still there and summer is almost over.

– Instead of working towards implementing a convoluted system of monitoring construction zone speed limits (though I agree it is frustrating to have to slow down when no one is there) let’s focus instead on implementing 24 hour construction work. Saskatchewan is allegedly an “it” province, that people are desperate to move to and find work in. Here’s a job: fix our roads. We need to make hay while the sun shines. So let’s work around the clock to get everything done. It’s the only way.

– Construction workers are the hardest workers out there u try it if u don’t like what they do. Drive

slow and keep them safe who cares if u have to slow a bit is it that big of a deal?

– Completely agree the way we approach construction in this province is abysmal. We need to keep these guys on track. It’s outrageous how long it takes for projects to get done, it’s bizarre that you can drive through con-struction zones in the evenings or on weekends and there’s no body working. We need to keep up with the times. We need to progress. We need to fix this asap. Fine them, keep them working or both. But something has got to change. Thanks, Daryl K

oFF topic

– Hell yes we should legalize weed wtf it hasn’t happened already is rediculous. PUFF N PASS MAN :D:D

In response to “Marijuana should be legal-

ized,” Editorial, #91 (August 16, 2013)

– The Conservative government will never legalize weed and the libs aren’t going to be getting in anytime soon. So even though you and everyone else is jumping on the bandwagon (i’m looking at you trudeau) it ain’t gonna happen. Not saying I agree, just pointing out the facts of politics.

In response to “Marijuana should be legal-


– If the states is already legalizing it in some areas then why the hell aren’t we? We should never be behind the states in implementing progressive legislation. It’s like the frigging dark ages down there in terms of healthcare and what not.

We should definitely legalize!In response to “Marijuana should be legal-


– Interesting and well written story on Killer Whales in Captivity by Hawboldt! Creeson

In response to “Killer Whales in Captivity,”

Editorial, #92 (August 23, 2013)

sound oFF

– I’m the one who commented about cops at Tim Hortons the police in Saskatoon are useless and I have no regrets saying what I did. Don’t like it? Tough!

– It saddened me after having read in the Metro that organ trafficking is happening in China. One boy had his eyes cut out for the cor-neas! How sick and twisted is that? Does civilization have any regard for human lives? That behaviour should never be tolerated!

– Christians don’t practice a “religion” but it is rather a faith available to anyone who chooses to believe it. Maybe you should read the Bible and understand that Jesus was born of a virgin birth which makes his birth the most im-portant and compelling in history as he came into the world to save sinners. We have all sinned (yes Christians too) and fallen short of the glory of God but Jesus is the hope of the world.

The thing I hate about Food Bank Carmicheal, Habitat for H etc. is they create the illusion the problems are being addressed when F**K NO! They’re just poor band aids at best! They give Social Services and its apathetic dull eyed social workers an excuse to cop out on their responsibility to the clients and this society. The denial is downright delusional, well in the realm of mental defect, at Social Services! We all pay big time for it!

nExt wEEk: what do you think of scrapping red light cameras? pick up Verb to get in on the con-versation:

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 Feature Food + drink music listings nightliFe Film comics timeout

8aug 23 – aug 29

Q + aQ + a

a chancE to ExpERimEnt

ttom holliston on his latest solo record by alex J macPherson

Photos: courtesy of Vase PetroVski + John chedsey

@VerbRegina

[email protected]


I don’t think one should try to be too self-conscious about trying to get out there.

tom holliston

om Holliston spends most of his time play-ing music with other

people. Holliston has been a vital part of the Canadian music scene for more than two decades, playing in bands like the Hanson Broth-ers, Show Business Giants, and the searing underground punk outfit NoMeansNo. In 2002, Holliston began writing songs that dulled the edges of his jagged punk pedigree with rootsy experimental sounds. His latest record, a chaotic blend of edgy guitars and obscure references called Rotherhithe, was released in late 2011, but a plethora of other commitments kept Holliston from touring the album until now. I caught up with Holliston in Vancou-ver, a few days before his western Canadian tour — which is sure to be filled with awkwardly compelling folk songs and jangled punk rock pastiches that are as provocative as they are entertaining — to learn more about his latest album.

Alex J MacPherson: You called your latest record Rotherhithe. Why are you, a songwriter from Vancouver, naming records after London suburbs?

Tom Holliston: It’s where the Mayflower set sail. It’s slightly south of the Thames. A friend of mine showed

me on YouTube a clip of Oliver Reed — years ago, when he was quite smashed — talking about how much he enjoyed being south of the Thames. So I thought I may as well call this record Rotherhithe as an obscure reference to Oliver Reed.

AJM: Given that you’re a guy with many projects on the go, from NoMeansNo to the upcoming Show Business Giants reunion, it feels like making a solo record is a real chance to experiment.

TH: When I recorded this one, a friend of mine was recovering from surgery and off work for six months. He just got ProTools so I would go over to Victoria a couple of times a month and we’d just monkey around. It was like, let’s make a record and we’ll do it this way — whatever’s around the house, that’s what we’ll use.

AJM: The record covers a lot of sonic territory, and I gather that was sort of the point with this one. How does the writing process work with a record like Rotherhithe?

TH: I try to focus on one thing at a time, because if I start multi-tasking I get extremely stressed and I accom-plish as little as possible or look for ways to do nothing. But this last record that I did, I decided very consciously right off the top with my friend Calvin [Dick], who I’ve played with before, to not even think about making some-thing that has to be played live. That was really a very strong conscious decision — just make music. We’d just get a couple sandwiches, work for four hours, then go do something else.

AJM: And that sort of comes up with the first two songs, “The Splintering Of The Carrot On A Stick Party” and “The Black Klansman.” Bold choices to open a record.

TH: The first one was a very straightfor-ward folky song originally. I started play-ing it and I thought, ‘I like this, but I’m get-ting bored with it pretty quickly.’ Calvin and I were just like, let’s make something that’s frenetic. Hopefully somebody will get the idea that there’s confusion, and that so often confusion is the byproduct of aspiration. I was going to do a straight-

forward cover of “The Black Klansman.” But I thought, ‘I shouldn’t do that because what’s the point of doing a straightfor-ward cover of anything? People could just listen to the original.’

AJM: This record seems to be about doing the opposite of that. How impor-tant is it to keep challenging yourself and your listeners?

TH: First of all, I never assume that I have any listeners. [Laughs]. You have to write something or try to do something for yourself, I think. I love all kinds of music, but I think that in a live context or on a record it can work really well if you play a straight ahead great five or six chord hooky punk rock song and then do something

completely different, like spoken word. I don’t think it translates into mainstream success by any stretch of the imagination. But I don’t care, so it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t think one should try to be too self-conscious about trying to get out there; just taking something and changing a few things around to make it interesting or a bit new is a big thing for me.

Tom Holliston september 13 @ the club$tba

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9aug 23 – aug 29

arts

t hrough That Which Is Scene is an exhibition

of works by Joi T. Arcand that span almost a decade. Structured to highlight the gulf between perception and reality, the exhibition charts the growth of Arcand’s major themes: personal identity, family history, and the role of indigenous people in society. Most of the works in Through That Which Is Scene combine personal mementoes, usually photographs, and ex-amples of cultural appropriation or misunderstandings. Her work is both deeply personal and highly political.

“I use my image as an indigenous woman very strategically to combat stereotypes that are in the mass me-dia,” says Arcand, who was raised at Muskeg Lake Cree Nation and cur-

rently lives in Saskatoon. “But I can only speak for my experience, and in using my personal stories I hope to give viewers a more personal look at what is behind the stories and the news they might see about indig-enous people.”

The earliest works in the exhibi-tion are also the most striking. Arcand made the Postcard Series in 2004. Each card features a black and white photograph on the front and an inscription on the back. By reframing her own experience as a counterpoint to generalization, Arcand draws attention to the indi-viduality of all people, and not just herself and her family. The series also explores the notion of authen-ticity through consumer goods — a disturbing example of how a culture has been transformed into a series of consumer goods.

Arcand works in photography and mixed media. The body of work on display in Through That Which Is Scene represents a chal-lenge to the idea that indigenous art must be traditional art. “That question has been around forever, what is indigenous art?” she says. “I think my short answer would be the indigenous person makes the art indigenous, regardless of the materials used.” Arcand also thinks art made by indigenous people cannot help but be political, a point driven home by her latest piece of art which shares its title with the exhibition.

“Through That Which Is Scene” combines toys and miniatures and other ephemera with images cut from family photo albums into a vibrant tableau. By casting her own memories and experiences against

clichés and kitsch items perpetuated by a society at large, Arcand raises questions about cultural identity and appropriation – what does it mean today? What should it mean?

The ideas contained in Through That Which Is Scene can be uncom-fortable, but Arcand softens the

blow with thoughtful works that gently steer the viewer toward a different lens through which to see the world.

Through That Which is Scenethrough october 17 @ dunlop art gallerysherwood Village branch

thRough that which is scEnE Joi t. arcand explores identity By alex J macpherson

m

Photo: courtesy of Joanne shannon

oon Beams and Night Dreams is an exhibition of

paintings by Joanne Shannon that encompasses almost two decades of work. The idea of mounting a retrospective occurred to Shan-non nine years ago, after she was diagnosed with cancer. Although she says her health is gradually improving and that she is feeling optimistic again, Moon Beams and Night Dreams feels like an attempt to sum up twenty years of living and working in the arts.

“I’m trying to tie up some loose ends, and actually show some of the work I’ve done over the years,” Shan-non says, adding that she has never considered selling her work. “I’m starting to look to the future again but it was important for me to show my work, and sort of look back at my life at this time. I’m sixty years old, and I wanted to look back at some of the work I’ve done.”

The works in Moon Beams and Night Dreams are extremely diverse, linked only by Shannon’s use of enamel house paints and her fixation on the images that come to us at night. Many of the works are fragmented and disjointed; they evoke feelings similar to the slideshow of ambiguous images that make up the most puz-zling dreams. Others are tinged with nostalgia, like faded photographs of the places we only half-remember.

“Dreams have always been important to me,” Shannon says, “and they’ve been an inspiration for a lot of my work, both writing and painting.” The other prominent theme linking the works together is the moon, which is present in some form in most of the works. Shan-non says the moon can represent an alternative to the stark utilitarianism of the Gregorian calendar, a means of judging time that aligns with what she calls the “rhythms of nature.”

The most engaging works in the show are also the most unusual. “Playing For Time” is an older paint-ing, but its checkerboard landscape hints broadly at the tyranny of the clock — the sense that the pieces are always aligning against us. “War Games” uses images cut from an encyclopedia to augment a disjoint-ed American flag, one of two truly political works in the show.

Today, Shannon is looking forward to another decade or two of making paintings. But that hasn’t dulled the impact of Moon Beams and Night Dreams, which remains an example of sober reflection in the face of a ticking clock — and a reminder that everything, and not just the dreams we have, is worth clinging to.

Moon Beams & Night Dreams through september 6 @ hague gallerycreative city centre

1. Joanne Shannon, “War Games.” Oil on

masonite board; cut out images from an

old encyclopedia.

@VerbRegina

[email protected]


moon bEams & night dREamsregina artist Joanne shannon “ties up loose ends” with a retrospective By alex J macpherson


10aug 23 – aug 29

Continued on next page »

i

thERE and back againyoung galaxy, sweden, and the making of Ultramarine by alex J macPherson

The traditional Swedish love of pop music is shameless … and I love that because I love pop music.

catherine mccandless

t is difficult to talk about pop music without talk-ing about Sweden. The

Scandinavian country has a long history of churning out terrific pop records, a tradition that began with ABBA and grew to include a vast array of sounds, from underground electronic sensation the Knife to mainstream groove aesthete Avicii. Today as in the heady 1970s, Swedish pop is immediately recognizable and deeply appeal-ing. “The traditional Swedish love of pop music, it’s shameless,” says Catherine McCandless, who sings in Young Galaxy, a dream pop band from Montreal. “They do pop really well and they love it. And I love that because I love pop music.” Over the last several years, the members of Young Galaxy — McCandless, Stephen Kamp, Stephen Ramsay, Matthew Shapiro, and Andrea Silver — have been drawn into the orbit of Swedish pop, applying its propulsive synth sounds and steely electronic gloss to the expansive pop ideals.

After releasing a pair of moderately successful albums, the second of which was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize, the band recruited Dan Lissvik, of the Swedish electronic duo Studio, to mix their third album. The sessions were accomplished remotely. After cutting the tracks in Montreal, the band shipped them to Sweden, where

Lissvik deconstructed and rebuilt each song in his personal studio. Shapeshift-ing emerged in early 2011, a collection of finely-wrought pop songs laden with spacey synthesizers and tightly-coiled rhythms. The collaboration was a success: Shapeshifting attracted at-tention across the country and, like its predecessor, was named to the Polaris

Prize long list. When it came time for Young Galaxy to record a fourth al-bum, it was obvious that Lissvik should be involved. But instead of attempting to replicate the process that produced Shapeshifting, the band asked Lissvik to produce the album. And they decided to record the album that became Ul-tramarine in Gothenburg, on Sweden’s western coastline.

“It was like going to summer camp in a way,” says McCandless, who founded the band with Stephen Ramsay in 2005. “We were totally out of contact. We lived in the same apartment together, the whole band. We would go straight to Dan’s studio

in the morning, spend all day together. Because we were away from our usual routines and people and the phone, we could really just focus on it. And it was a great experience.”

The decision to work in Sweden was beneficial for several reasons. Young Galaxy cut their first three albums in Montreal, where distrac-

tions were plentiful and deadlines flexible. “In Montreal, you have a time limit in the studio, but you know you can book more time and come back,” McCandless says. “In this case, it was like, ‘Okay, get ‘er done — we’ve got to leave in three-and-a-half weeks.” Because time was in such short supply, the band was forced to make a plan and keep to it. Many of the decisions that affected the recording process, most notably the choice to have McCandless assume the role of sole lead vocalist, a job she had shared with Ramsay in the past, were made weeks before the tape began to roll.

Feature

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11aug 23 – aug 29

thERE and back againyoung galaxy, sweden, and the making of Ultramarine by alex J macPherson




@VerbRegina

[email protected]

“Limits on any exercise, I think, are really valuable,” she says, “and it definitely changed the way our process worked.” Not surprisingly, Ultramarine is the most focused and coherent record the band has ever made. “You can tell that there’s some shared state of mind, and that the decisions were made collectively

along the way,” McCandless says. After a pause she adds, “But it’s open to interpretation.”

The album opens with “Pretty Boy,” perhaps the strongest song the band has ever written. A cold fusion of coruscating synthesizers, pulsating rhythms, and delicate disco guitars, “Pretty Boy” sets the tone for the rest of the album: hypnotic, fantastical, deep-ly moving. “We wanted [the songs] to move people physically and emotion-ally,” McCandless says, alluding to the fact that Ultramarine is as pleasing through headphones as it is at a party. “I think we learned something from our live shows at the point of writing

this record. We knew what we enjoyed playing to an audience, and we were after something that had a little more energy in the visceral department.”

From a sonic perspective, Ultra-marine covers a lot of territory. The record includes throbbing dance grooves (“Pretty Boy,” “In Fire”) and tight, off-kilter reggae (“Fall For You”) as well as smouldering synth rock (“Fever”) and stratospheric pop (“New Summer”). The songs are linked by McCandless’s delivery, understated yet commanding, and by the lyrics, which are the most direct the band has ever composed. “When we were lost / We found each other / And headed sight-less for the city,” she sings on “Pretty Boy.” “We had no way / Misfit and stray / Living beyond both means and pity.” After pointing out that popular music is saturated with irony and double entendres, McCandless sug-gests that directness constitutes a new kind of courage. “I want bravery from artists,” she says. “And usually that’s emotional.” Ultramarine is packed with lyrics that defy the quest for deeper meaning or purpose: “So meet me by the river, let’s go for a ride / With the windows down and the stereo loud,” she howls on “New Summer,” which pairs a glitchy electronic rhythm with a soaring synthesizer melody. “Feels like a dream tonight, a little break in the time /As we howl at the moon, moon / Hey, it’s a new summer / And we’ll live it like it’s our last one.”

One of the most common miscon-ceptions about pop music is that it is homogenous, and therefore meaning-less. This is patently untrue, as Young Galaxy demonstrate again and again on Ultramarine. The songs are almost Springsteenian in their directness, yet they capture the stark simplicity of the raw emotions present in each of us. Swerving between reckless love (“Pretty Boy,” “New Summer”), reflexive melancholy (“Out The Gate Backwards”), and existential peril (the magnificent — and magnificently danceable — “Fever”), the record says a lot with very little. The words are simple but the ideas somehow aren’t. And that is the strength of pop music: it appeals to everybody because there is room for everybody’s story. Pop can’t be homogenous because it isn’t just a style of music: it is a conversation, a dialogue, an exchange.

“I don’t think pop is anti-intellectu-al,” McCandless says. “In some ways a pop song can be the most superficial — it says nothing and that’s a great thing. It’s got such a great melody or whatever that it doesn’t even matter what they’re saying. But there’s a great kind of intelligence in the songwrit-ing, I think. There’s an understanding of what hooks people. A hook is an amazing thing to a lot of people on a lot of different levels, and I don’t think that should be underestimated.” This is the essence of Ultramarine, which, in spite of its complex electronic ele-

ments and elaborate arrangements, speaks to the most basic desires present in all of us. And this love affair with the rudiments of pop, the very essence of what pop means, can be traced back to Gothenburg.

Young Galaxy have always existed on the fringes of straightforward pop, but their earlier records were just too difficult, too complicated. By strip-ping away excess and focusing not on some profound idea, but on writing great songs with great hooks and great lyrics, the band created something that anybody can identify with. Hiring Liss-vik and choosing to work in Sweden were calculated risks. But they paid off. Ultramarine is one of the strongest records of the year. As one of the ten albums on the 2013 Polaris Music Prize short list, it stands a reasonable chance

of being celebrated as the strongest Ca-nadian artistic achievement of the last year. “Here, it’s seen as cheap to go in a more classic pop direction,” McCand-less says before describing an idea that is as beautiful as it is simple. “But I’ve always been a sucker for a great hook and good harmonies and a heart-on-sleeve delivery.”

Young Galaxyseptember 19 @ the exchange$12 @ ticketedge.ca


12aug 23 – aug 29

Food + drink

V

photos courtesy of maxton priebe

isiting Henry’s is like going on a treasure hunt in the house of

a friendly eccentric. The three-storey space is part art gallery, part eclectic clothing and home store, and part café.

Everything from Pandora jew-elry, Saskatoon berry spread, baby clothes, butterfly garden accesso-ries, outdoor water jugs disguised as lady bugs, polka dot piggy banks

and wine bottle holders meant to look like little tin men fill every conceivable inch of space. All the clothing and home décor are sourced from gift and trend shows in Las Vegas, Toronto, and Edmon-ton, ensuring that Henry’s stock remains different from any other store in Regina.

But Henry’s wasn’t always a veritable jungle overflowing with unique items and curiosities. It

started 25 years ago as the Rip-plinger Fine Art Gallery. Henry Ripplinger had wanted an outlet for

his artwork, so when he happened upon the space on 14th Avenue, he knew he had to have it. The gallery features his prairie originals along with prints and artwork from other Canadian artists.

Since then Henry’s has grown into a multi-generational family affair, with his son Jason providing custom picture framing, and man-aging the café and the store with his wife Whitney, and Whitney’s brother Matt Madill cooking up a storm as the head chef.

There is so much to see at Henry’s, it’s easy to forget that they have an extensive, reasonably

priced breakfast and lunch menu that changes every six months, and a dedicated group of patrons.

I started things off with the creamy and generous chicken salad sandwich on marble rye bread and the mildly spicy wicked Thai soup with chicken, lemongrass, rice and red peppers.

After that I moved on to the spinach berry salad with strawber-ry dressing, toasted almonds and feta, and the impossibly creamy and thick lobster bisque with large morsels of lobster and a side of but-tery garlic bread.

Then I tried the lasagna formag-gio, which was my favourite by far, and not just because I am excellent at consuming cheese and carbs.

Unlike other lasagnas I’ve had before, this one had cottage cheese, cinnamon and nutmeg. Paired with the homemade meat sauce, mushrooms and cheese, the spices added a distinctly sweet tone that enhanced the more traditional fla-vours, resulting in a lasagna I still think about.

And last but not least, I tried the red velvet cake, which was the perfect sweet dessert to complete my dining experience.

Between the simple yet deli-cious food, shelves full of exclu-sive items, and beautiful artwork, Henry’s is a must-see stop that combines Saskatchewan culture with worldly sensibilities, great for any Regina visitor.

henry’s cafe2320 14th ave | (306) 791 7889

henry’s cafe is a multifunctional space unlike any other in regina by Victoria abraham

hunting FoR tREasuRE

lEt’s go dRinkin’ VERb’s mixology guidE

gEoRgia pEach

Slow things down, Southern-style, with this refreshing summer martini. With a delicate fruit flavour and a little carbon-ation, this is the perfect drink for those dog days of summer

ingREdiEnts

1 ounce Malibu rum1 ounce Peach Schnapps1 ounce vodka2 ounces ginger ale

diREctions

Toss all ingredients into a martini shaker. Add a few ice cubes, shake, and pour into a martini glass. Garnish with a peach wheel, and enjoy @VerbRegina

[email protected]


…Henry’s is a must-see stop … for any Regina visitor.

Victoria abraham

@VerBregina culturecontents local editorial comments Q + a arts Feature Food + drink music listings nightliFe Film comics timeout

13aug 23 – aug 29

music

Photos courtesy of: sd dirk/ the artist/ the artist

Coming upnext Week

dwight yoakam

Dwight Yoakam is the kind of guy who isn’t content doing just one thing. Sure, he’s an award-winning country musician. But did you know he’s also an accomplished actor, having appeared in first-rate movies like Sling Blade, The Three Buri-als of Melquiades Estrada, and Red Rock West? Oh, and he has his own frozen food brand called Bakersfield Biscuits. Yesiree, Dwight Yoakam is a jack of all trades. But as we all know, his bread and butter is the special brand of honky tonk country music he plays. An engaging performer with 12 gold albums, nine platinum albums and five Billboard #1 albums, Yoakam is a living legend in the country music scene. So it’d be pru-dent to go see him when he rolls into town in September.

@ casino reginathursday, septemBer 12 – sold out

In 2010, country music’s “Gentle Giant,” Don Williams, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. And for good reason! Not only is his baritone voice soothing and seductive, but Williams has a knack for pumping out hits like they were going out of style. Fifty-six of his records made the charts, 50 of which broke the Top 20, 45 made the Top 10 and 17 reached #1. Oh, and then there’s the small fact that between 1974 and 1991, Williams had at least one major hit — every year. Not too shabby for a kid from Floydada, Texas, who grew up playing guitar at home with his mom. Now, after more than four decades of a solo career, the “Gentle Giant” is still touring, still playing music, still doing what he does best. Tickets through www.conexusartscentre.ca

don williams

Picture Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash (may he rest in peace), and Emmylou Harris on stage singing together. Now, picture all their voices melding into one, and you’ll begin to get an idea of what Toronto’s Lindi Ortega sounds like. In the beginning of her career “Indie Lindi” was “Toronto’s best kept secret,” but in recent years her star has begun to rise. In 2010-2011 she toured as a back-up singer for Brandon Flow-ers (lead singer of the Killers). During that time she signed with Last Gang Records and, in June of 2011, released her first album on a label, Little Red Boots — which was longlisted for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize. Not finished there, Ortega released her follow-up album in 2012, Cigarettes & Truckstops, which, subsequently was also long-listed for the Polaris.

– by adam hawboldt

lindi oRtEga

@ conexus arts centrethursday, septemBer 12 – $41.50+

@ the exchangethursday, noVemBer 7 – tickets tbd

sask music pREViEwThis is a call for submissions for the official SaskMusic Aboriginal Showcase, to be hosted during this year’s Mundial Mon-treal, November 19-22. Mundial Montreal is a world music conference and festival that celebrates rich cultural diversity, and this year they are highlighting Aboriginal Canadian artists. Interested? Submissions can be made via email to [email protected] by 5pm on September 15; see saskmusic.org for more information.

keep up with saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org

VerBnews.comentertainment contents local editorial comments Q + a arts Feature Food + drink music listings nightliFe Film comics timeout

14aug 23 – aug 29

listingslistings

The most complete live music listings for Regina.

august 30 » sEptEmbER 7

30 31

6 74 52 31

s m t w t

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

gEt listEd

[email protected]

thiRd dEgREE biRnzcouRtEsy oF thE aRtist

VibEsQuadcouRtEsy oF tRuncata

bEgRimE ExEmiouscouRtEsy oF thE aRtist

FRiday 30Begrime exemious, Dire omen, iDes of Winter, AutAric, Des-ecrAte scripture / The Club — A

night of hard rushing heavy metal

from Alberta and Saskatchewan

groups. 7:30pm / $10 (advance), $15

(door)

DJ pAt & DJ Kim / Habano’s Martini

& Cocktail Club — Local DJs

spin top 40 hits every

Friday night that are

sure to get you on

the dance floor.

9pm /

$5 cover

Big chill friDAys / Lancaster

Taphouse

— Come

out and get

your week-

end started

with DJ

Fatbot, who’ll

be doing his

spinning thing

every Friday night.

10pm / Cover TBD

WonDerlAnD / Mc-

Nally’s Tavern — One hit

wonders and classic rock, all night

long. Come check out these badass

rockers! 10pm / $5

thirD Degree Birnz / Pump Road-

house — Come out and get down

with Saskatchewan’s ultimate party

band! 10pm / Cover TBD

AlBert / Pure Ultra Lounge — Ap-

pearing every Friday night, come lis-

ten to Albert as he does his spinning

thing. 10pm / $5 cover

DJ longhorn / Whiskey Saloon —

Come check out one of Regina’s most

interactive DJs as he drops some of

the best country beats around. 8pm /

Cover TBD

Alex runions / Whiskey Saloon —

A fan favourite of the Whiskey

Saloon, Runions is back to wow you.

9pm / $5

satuRday 31DreWsKi / Pure Ultra Lounge —

Doing what he does best, every

Saturday night. Come on down and

dance the night away with this local

DJ. 10pm / $5 cover

WonDerlAnD / McNally’s Tavern —

One hit wonders and classic rock, all

night long. 10pm / $5





Alex runions / Whiskey Saloon — A

fan favourite of the Whiskey Saloon,

Runions is back to wow you. 9pm /

$5

sunday 1DJ night / Artful Dodger — Come

out for a night of dope beats. 8pm /

Cover TBD

sexy retro DAnce pArty / Mc-

Nally’s Tavern — DJ Baby Daddy will

be popping and locking and grooving

and grinding all night, to the biggest

hits of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Is there a

better way to spend a Sunday night?

10pm / Cover TBD





monday 2open mic night / The Artful Dodger

— Come down and jam! 8pm / No

cover

monDAy night JAzz / Bushwakker

Brewpub — Featuring The Lenna

Gardikiotis Quartet, belting out

tunes by Porter, Gershwin, Si-

mon and others. 8pm / No cover

tuEsday 3trouBADour tuesDAys / Bo-

cados — Come check out some

live tunes from local talents

every week, then bring an instru-

ment and partake in the open mic/

jam night. 8pm / No cover

KArAoKe tuesDAy / McNally’s

Tavern — Famous live music venue

offers its patrons a chance to share

the stage. 8pm / No cover

wEdnEsday 4WeDnesDAy night folK / Bushwak-

ker Brewpub — Featuring Keiffer

and the Curiosity Club, a young up-

and-coming performer who has

been getting tons of buzz. 9pm /

No cover

JAm night AnD open stAge / McNally’s

Tavern — Come on

down and enjoy some

local talent, or get on

the stage and show

off what you got. 9pm

thuRs-day 52 BeAts & A hAt / Artful

Dodger — Presented by DJ Ver-

bal & E-Major, come enjoy two

DJs with guest performances the

first Thursday of every month. 7pm /

$5 in advance or at the door

DeciBel frequency / Gabbo’s Night-

club — A night of electronic fun.

10pm / Cover $5

ps fresh / The Hookah Lounge — DJ

Ageless started spinning in Montreal,

DJ Drewski started in Saskatoon.

They both landed in Regina and have

come together to sling some bomb

beats. 7pm / No cover

open mic night / King’s Head Tav-

ern — Come out, play some tunes,

sing some songs, and show Regina

what you got. 8pm / No cover

the service / Pump Roadhouse —

Winnipeg’s finest top-40 rock and

pop band. 10pm / Cover TBD

DJ long-horn / Whiskey Saloon — Come

check out one of Regina’s most



Cover TBD

FRiday 6BoBBy curtolA / Casino Regina — A

pop singer who’s been going strong

since the 60s. 8pm / $30+ (casinore-

gina.com)

viBesquAD / The Exchange — This

Colorado-based DJ offers up ill beats

and stomach-tearing basslines, so

come on down and check him out.

Also appearing will be Prairie elec-

tronic artist Demian, DJ Mitchy the

Kid, dancing by the 7 Deadly Sins

and visuals by Vendetta Sin’s Lucid

Designs. 9pm / $20

DJ pAt & DJ Kim / Habano’s Martini

& Cocktail Club — Local DJs spin top

40 hits every Friday night that are

sure to get you on the dance floor.

9pm / $5 cover

Big chill friDAys / Lancaster

Taphouse — Come out and

get your weekend started

with DJ Fatbot, who’ll be

doing his spinning thing

every Friday night. 10pm /

Cover TBD

the service / Pump Road-

house — Winnipeg’s finest

top-40 rock and pop band will

be partying. 10pm / Cover TBD

AlBert / Pure Ultra Lounge —

Appearing every Friday night, come

listen to Albert as he does his spin-

ning thing. 10pm / $5 cover

DJ longhorn / Whiskey Saloon —

Come check out one of Regina’s most



Cover TBD

Jo hiKK / The Whiskey Saloon — Cal-

gary’s country music sensation will

be hitting the stage at the Whiskey

Saloon. 9pm / $5

satuRday 7DreWsKi / Pure Ultra Lounge

— Doing what he does best,

every Saturday night. Come

on down and dance the

night away with this local

DJ. 10pm / $5 cover

the service / Pump Road-

house — Winnipeg’s finest

top-40 rock and pop band.

10pm / Cover TBD

Jo hiKK / The Whiskey Saloon

— Calgary’s country music sensa-

tion will be hitting the stage at the

Whiskey Saloon. 9pm / $5

/VerBregina entertainmentcontents local editorial comments Q + a arts Feature Food + drink music listings nightliFe Film comics timeout

15aug 23 – aug 29

nightliFenightliFe

FRiday,august 23 @

summERinVasionSaskTel Summer InvasionWascana Park

Photography by Bebzphoto

checK out our fAceBooK pAge! These photos will be uploaded to

Facebook on Friday, September 6.

facebook.com/verbregina


16aug 23 – aug 29

hen my editor told me to review Getaway, my initial

reaction was, “Oh great! Some hack director is going to remake, and absolutely ruin, one of Steve McQueen’s finest films. Egads! This is going to be downright painful to watch.”

Well, I was both right and wrong. Wrong, insofar as Getaway wasn’t even close to being a remake of Mc-Queen’s move, The Getaway (thank-fully)! Alas, I was all too right about the painful part.

How painful was it? Let’s just say I’d rather run my

scrotum over a cheese grater for an hour and dip it in vinegar than watch Getaway again. And I’m not being hyperbolic here. Dead serious.

The movie was really that bad.Directed by Courtney Solomon,

Getaway stars Ethan Hawke as Brent Magna (no really, that’s his name!) —

a former race car driver. When we first meet Mr. Magna he’s entering his apartment in downtown Sofia, Bulgar-ia, only to find the place completely trashed. The phone rings and a voice

(Jon Voight) tells Magna that his wife has been kidnapped and if he ever wants to see her again, Magna best go to a local garage, get behind the wheel of a 2008 Shelby Super Snake, and await further instructions.

Magna does as he’s told. And as it turns out, these further instructions — which are administered through some

sort of computerized thingamajig on the dashboard — are to turn the car on and drive like hell through the winding streets of Sofia, pedestrians and traffic be damned.

At this point, Magna figures he’s being cast in the role of a drug mule or a weapons mule or something. But no! That’d make way too much sense. Instead, the voice tells him to smash into everything in sight and lead the cops on some sort of chase.

While on this journey of vehicu-lar mayhem, Magna meets a young

computer whiz (Selena Gomez) who used to own the car he’s driving. She joins him on his travels as they tear through pedestrian-filled parks, down stairwells and through burning power plants. At one poignant point in the movie, Hawke’s character screams, “I need to know when this s**t is going to be over!”

And in that moment, chances are, you’ll found myself wondering the exact same thing: when will this s**t be over?

Why? Because Getaway is noth-ing more than one long, extended chase scene. The acting is horrendous (which is surprising, because Hawke has some serious acting chops), the dialogue is atrocious, the plot is inane, the directing is piss-poor, and there are so many leaps in logic that you’ll find yourself shaking your head in disgust and disbelief again and again.

If they had marketed this as a B-movie, then perhaps Getaway would

be good in a campy, it’s-so-bad-it’s-good kind of way. But Solomon seems to be seriously trying to make one of those classic car chase movies, like Bullit or Smokey and the Bandit. Too bad he fails — miserably.

Now I’m not saying Getaway is the worst movie ever made. But rest assured you’ll be a worse person for having watched it.

Film

w


@VerbRegina

[email protected]

Photo: courtesy of warner bros. Pictures

gEt away whilE you still cannew car chase film Getaway an absolute train wreckby adam hawboldt

gEtaway

diREctEd by Courtney Solomon

staRRing Ethan Hawke, Selena

Gomez + Jon Voight

90 minutEs | pg

The acting is horrendous … the dialogue is atrocious, the plot is inane [and] the directing is piss-poor…

adam hawboldt

@VerBregina entertainmentcontents local editorial comments Q + a arts Feature Food + drink music listings nightliFe Film comics timeout

17aug 30 – sept 5

It’s the kind of movie that’ll bring you back to those halcyon summer days…

adam hawboldt

Photo: courtesy of cbs films

kings oF summER? indEEdnew coming-of-age movie, The Kings of Summer, is wise, charming and hilariousby adam hawboldt

i


@VerbRegina

[email protected]

f you watch Parks and Recreation, you know Ron Swanson. And to know

Ron Swanson is to love him. A staunch libertarian, dedicated handyman and master of the manly moustache, Swanson (played by Nick Offerman) is as funny a character as you’ll find on television. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

In one of his finer moments, Swanson, tackle box in hand, looks straight at the camera and says: “Fishing relaxes me. It’s like yoga, except I still get to kill something.”

Then and there, I developed a seri-ous man-crush on Nick Offerman. I knew that, quick as a hiccup, I’d watch him in any show or movie he’s ever in.

Enter The Kings of Summer.This new coming-of-age film —

written by Chris Galletta (Late Show with David Letterman) and directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (of Funny or

Die fame) — is quirky and charming and, in spots, funny as hell.

It’s the kind of movie that’ll bring you back to those halcyon summer days, just before you got overly in-terested in sex and stuff. Back to the

days when you woke up in the morn-ing and ran wild and free until the sun set on the horizon. Think Stand By Me, but with a splash of Napoleon Dynamite or Wes Anderson.

Without giving too much away, the plot of The Kings of Summer revolves around a young teenager named Joe (Nick Robinson.) Like

most boys his age, Joe isn’t really a fan of his overbearing father (Nick Offerman). One day, while stum-bling through the woods, he has a plan — build a summer cabin and run away from dear old dad.

Anyone who has ever built a cabin in the woods knows this isn’t the kind of project you go at alone. So he enlists the help of his friend Patrick (Gabriel Basso), who is having his own family issues, and a neighbourhood oddball named Biaggio (Moisés Arias.) Together they forage (read: steal) building

materials from a nearby residential development, build their cabin and promptly run away.

For a while everything is excel-lent. They hunt for their own food (which, more often than not, they find at a Boston Market), hang out, grow beards and go on adventures. But when they bring in a girl named Kelly (Erin Moriarity) to give the place a “woman’s touch,” the glue that has held their summer of free-dom together starts coming undone.

Oh, and all the while the parents are trying to find their kids.

All this makes for one memo-rable, passionate, hilariously good movie, made all the better by the aforementioned Offerman.

Does he steal the show? You bet. Offerman plays Joe’s dad much like he plays Ron Swanson: a stern, lov-able grizzly bear of a man with a good heart. The scene with him arguing about wontons is priceless. Come to

think of it, so too is much of The Kings of Summer.

No, it’s not a perfect movie. There are pacing issues and the third act isn’t quite as strong. But, pound-for-pound, The Kings of Summer is one of the most enjoyable films of the summer so far.

The Kings of Summer will open at the Regina Public Library on September 5.

thE kings oF summER

diREctEd by Jordan Vogt-Roberts

staRRing Nick Offerman, Nick Robinson,

Gabriel Basso + Moisés Arias

93 minutEs | pg


18aug 23 – aug 29

© Elaine M. Will | blog.E2W-Illustration.com | Check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!

comicscomics

/VerBregina entertainmentcontents local editorial comments Q + a arts Feature Food + drink music listings nightliFe Film comics timeout

19aug 23 – aug 29

hoRoscopEs august 30 - september 5

sudoku cRosswoRd answER kEy

a B

sudoku answER kEy

4 3 6 7 8 2 8 5 47 9 1 8 5 2 6 4 15 9 3 1 6 2 6 7 4 9 8 7 3 59 3 2 1

2 3 65 3 2 9 8 1 71 9 7 1 6 3 6 5 8 2 48 7 97 4 2 1 86 5 4 9 3 4 5

cRosswoRd Canadian Criss-Cross

acRoss 1. Greek cheese

5. Writer of rhymes

9. Tummy pain

10. Rope fibre

12. Stiff garment

13. Determine the com

pass bearings of

15. Tablecloth fabric

16. Raised edge

18. Fish often tinned

19. Consumed food

20. Snake poison

22. Baby seal

23. Allow to go

25. It might be a mirage

27. Go without

29. Forest clearing

32. Illegal recreational drug

36. Metal writing tip of a pen

37. Quick at learning

39. Seek to marry

40. Source of nuclear energy

42. Bustle

43. Use words to communicate

44. Child who stays away

from school without

permission

46. One who takes bets

and pays winners

48. Provide with a quality

49. Ready for war

50. Society newcomers,

for short

51. Numeral suffix

down 1. Breaks open

2. Different

3. Make a knot

4. Performer in plays

5. Piece of publicity

6. Pole with a flat blade

7. Give off

8. Traffic jams

9. Animal with a long

flexible snout

11. Boredom

12. Wearing particular

clothes

14. Signal for lights out

17. As an alternative

20. Unexplainable feelings

21. Slightly wet

24. Very angry

26. Social insect

28. Circus performer

29. Biting fly

30. Metric unit of capacity

31. Be plentiful

33. Make conscious

34. Not hollowed out

35. Itís used on a farm

38. Husbands and wives

41. Artificially produced

43. Large book

45. Protuberance

47. Metal-bearing mineral

timeout

© waltER d. FEEnER 2013

a

B

1 5 4 2 3 6 7 8 93 2 6 8 7 9 5 1 47 9 8 4 5 1 2 3 66 8 1 7 9 2 4 5 32 7 3 5 6 4 8 9 15 4 9 3 1 8 6 2 78 6 5 1 4 3 9 7 24 1 2 9 8 7 3 6 59 3 7 6 2 5 1 4 8

4 7 9 1 2 3 5 8 65 3 2 6 9 8 1 4 71 8 6 4 7 5 3 9 22 9 7 5 4 1 8 6 33 6 5 9 8 2 7 1 48 4 1 7 3 6 2 5 97 5 4 2 1 9 6 3 86 2 8 3 5 4 9 7 19 1 3 8 6 7 4 2 5w

aRiEs march 21–april 19

You may feel preoccupied this

week, Aries. Something that

means a lot to you might not be getting

the attention it deserves.

tauRus april 20–may 20

You may end up worrying about

money very soon, Taurus. But

there might not be any real reason for it.

Don’t panic.

gEmini may 21–June 20

Someone close to you may seem

distant or preoccupied this week.

It’s okay, Gemini, it’s only a phase. Even-

tually, this too will pass.

cancER June 21–July 22

Don’t be surprised if you get a

message from a long lost friend

in the next few days, Cancer. It may be

something important.

lEo July 23–august 22

A situation may arise this week

that will make you feel wildly

uncomfortable, Leo. Stay calm and deal

with it.

ViRgo august 23–september 22

Conflicts may very well happen

in your near future, Virgo. Be sure

to deal with them appropriately. Reacting

emotionally won’t get you anywhere.

libRa september 23–october 23

Be careful not to overindulge

in the coming weeks, Libra. It’s

important to remember that there can

be too much of a good thing.

scoRpio october 24–november 22

Feeling claustrophobic lately,

Scorpio? As though the walls

of life are closing in around you? Don’t

worry. Just breathe and keep moving.

sagittaRius november 23–december 21

At some point this week someone

may ask you to lend them a helping

hand, Sagittarius. Offer it willingly. You

may be in need of some good karma.

capRicoRn december 22–January 19

At some point this week you’re

going to feel guilty, Capricorn. So

remember: guilt is like a bag of bricks. All

you gotta do is put it down.

aQuaRius January 20–february 19

Some wonderful news may come

your way sometime in the next

few days, Aquarius. Take it and make the

most of it.

piscEs february 20–march 20

Feeling lonely lately, Pisces? If so,

why don’t you curl up with a good

novel and get lost in the land of make-

believe? It could be transformative.

VerBnews.com

Documents

Verb Issue R93 (Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 2013)