Issue #255 – August 30 to September 5
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finally Bringing the UFC to Saskatchewan dreaming in black Q+A with Powder Blue getaway + our nixon Film reviews
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Finally Bringing the UFC to SK. 4 / Local
MAKING WAVES The sport of high speed jet ski racing. 6 / Local editorial Our thoughts on red light cameras.
On the cover:
young galaxy
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comments
There and back again. 14 / cover
Here’s what you had to say about construction zone speed limits. 10 / comments
Photo: courtesy of Vanessa Heins
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Q + A with powder blue Psych rockers dream in black. 12 / Q + A
ridergirl
Bells and whistles
Love, life and football. 13 / Arts
We visit the Bell ‘n Whistle. 16 / Food + Drink
bastard poetry
Music
Acoustic rockers release debut album. 13 / Arts
Misterfire, 911 Turbo +the Dixie Chicks. 17 / music
entertainment
listings Local music listings for August 30 through September 7. 18-20 / listings
getaway + our nixon
on the bus
The latest movie reviews. 22 / Film
Weekly original comic illustrations by Elaine M. Will. 30 / comics
Nightlife Photos
Games + Horoscopes
We visited Bell ‘n Whistle + Hudson’s.
Canadian criss-cross puzzle, horoscopes, and Sudoku. 31 / timeout
24-29 / Nightlife
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Photo: Courtesy of ultraview
making waves The rise of jet ski racing in the prairies by ADAM HAWBOLDT
A
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, drowning 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 machines 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 trying to do after the race begins Continued on next page »
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Chestolowski pauses. He takes back his iPhone and says, quite matterof-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 racing. But the sport of watercross is
where it is, two things are certain: 1) some of the best watercross racers 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-
[In watercross], it’s one of those things where everybody knows each other. steve chestolowski
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 champions. There’s Fort McMurray’s Carla Klippenstein, who is a three-time world champ. There’s her brother Mike, the most decorated watercross 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
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 campground. 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 garage, 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 weekend, the desire to win burns in all of them.
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Photo: Courtesy of Mitch clarke facebook
finally
Mitch Clarke, the UFC, and Saskatchewan’s athletic commission by ADAM HAWBOLDT
M
itch Clarke knew he’d lose eventually. Nearly everyone who fights mixed martial arts does. Georges St. Pierre, Anderson 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 Saskatchewanborn 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 further, 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 training 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 supportive 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 experience, Clarke licked his wounds and went back to work getting ready for his next fight, seven months later in July of 2012, against Anton Kuivanen 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 between 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.
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 conversation 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 political process and wait until those requirements are Continued on next page »
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in place. But once it’s in place, that opens the door for our organization to bring an event to Saskatchewan. That’s something 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 getting 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 Saskatchewan as soon as possible. I’d love to fight on that card.” But before that could happen, before the federal government legalized combat sports and the Saskatchewan government set up a commission, 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 opponent 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 Winnipeg wasn’t the Clarke of old. His knee was healed, he had a new girlfriend, 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 Saskatchewan 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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smile! You’re on camera Why we think red light cameras are a waste of time and money
N
ext time you’re driving through the intersections at Preston Ave. and 8th Street, Warman Road and 51st, or Avenue C and Circle Drive, smile! You’re on camera. That’s right. At all the aforementioned 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. That’s the reason given on the City of Saskatoon’s website, after all. And while we’re not trying to downplay the importance of keeping 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 accident 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
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 government 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 & Litigation 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 carryover 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, tickets 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
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 Transportation 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, redlight 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 jurisdictions 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 increase 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.
drop the act and scrap the red light cameras. Instead of supporting a cash grab that endangers the public, let’s implement initiatives that actually work These editorials are left unsigned because they represent the opinions
of Verb magazine, not those of the individual writers. Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
@VerbSaskatoon feedback@verbnews.com
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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 contractors can clear up signs when not needed. Or better yet,keep working and get it done faster.
– We should be doing construction 24 hours a day. Im fine with the
my house that is about 6 inches deep and a foot across. Its ridiculous that its still there and summer is almost over.
text yo thoughtsur to 881 VE R b 8372
– 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.
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
– 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 construction 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-
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 legalized,” Editorial, #253 (August 16, 2013)
– 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 legalized,” Editorial, #253 (August 16, 2013)
sound off
ized,” Editorial, #253 (August 16, 2013)
– The Conservative government will never legalize weed and the
– 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 corneas! 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 important 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,
Continued on next page »
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well in the realm of mental defect, at Social Services! We all pay big time for it!
– Re: verizon coming to canadawe need foreign business to keep local business in line
– AND! IF. DETROIT. Built weapons ! The city. Wouldnt be. BANK RUPT! S**t!!. The us. Spent. MILLIONS. A. Day with. Opeption. ROLLING. Thunder get. It? Pouring. RAIN.
– Canada’s big three in telecommunications launching an media blitz on how bringing in outside competition will harm canadian consumers. To which I say “Oh you care about us now?” These big companies do not have our interests at heart. We pay more for mobile and internet than many other countries. I say let’s open up some competition and see what happens!
– Ive seen a problem occuring more often. Garbage men not doing their job proper. They dump the garbages but who cares if they get it all. Or what about dropping the bins and driving over them. DO YOUR JOB PROPERLY
– Why worry if you can wonder – Some anti-smoking groups would like to see the minimum age required to buy cigarettes raised from 18 to 19. What’s next; raise the drinking age back to 21 like it was before 1972??!! Society can’t be too protective of its youth!! Young people need to find things out for themselves even if it means loosing their innocence and learning the hard way as in hitting rock bottom since they tend to be rebellious like they know it all and they are less inclined to listen and take advice from older adults anyways!!! :0
– She wont even miss you when. Your gone she tallk. Too. You. Later
– An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind.
– Something is very wrong with our judicial system. Thursday’s Metro paper reported a Chief from a small Sask. reserve received a 9 month sentence for sexually assaulting a teenaged girl. Even
if it was his first offence, I’m still faberblasted by this. I was given 9 months for shoplifting 2 years ago. There is something VERY wrong with that! Prosecutors need to step up and start asking for sex offenders to get longer sentences. I didn’t learn my lesson yet, so in my opinion, I don’t think this individual will learn his either.
– God has no ancestors. Jesus is the son of God. Read the Bible and you’ll find new meaning for your life.
– If wages in sask are so good how come no-one can afford anything?
– Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.
Next week: What do you think of scrapping red light cameras? Pick up 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.
– I witnessed a case of road rage today. Come on people, let’s share the road instead of being road hogs and exercise lots of patience. It does you no good to get upset.
– At least some of the shopping carts should have a fold out seat and brake so elders and disabled can sit down and rest in these big stores and long line-ups.
– BY June. 1966 there. Are. More than 200000 US. Soldiers in Vietnam the. Largest. Military. Deployment. Since they. Started. K0REA
– If living in Saskatchewan is so bad for you maybe you should just move and make room for someone that appreciates our province!
– Why all the vengeance in your heart? We all make mistakes and we all need to forgive each other. When we forgive each other we make the world a better place.
– Yes cyclists need to stop at 4 way stops too! Follow the rules of the road just as other vehicles do!
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dream in black Photos: courtesy of Emily Kohlert
Spacey psych rock from Saskatoon rockers Powder Blue by Alex J MacPherson
I
f you enjoy staying up all night to revel in the narcotic haze of a hallucinogenic dawn, the music of Powder Blue will be instantly familiar. If you are not fond of taking drugs but still want to experience the warm embrace of a good psychedelic buzz, you could do worse than picking up the Saskatoon band’s debut, Dream In Black. Inspired by forty years of psych rock, the members of Powder Blue are famous for dosing local venues with swirling clouds of lysergic fuzz and rivers of washedout reverb. I tracked down Shelby Gaudet, who plays guitar in the group, to learn more about Saskatchewan’s newest consciousnessexpanding rock band. Alex J MacPherson: You met and first jammed together at a party. Was there a moment when you realized that this was going to be more than just a one-off? Shelby Gaudet: I kind of wanted to do that all along, I guess, and if it didn’t ever turn into something serious and was just fun I’d be okay with that, too. I guess just when we started, I started writing so many songs and realized it was something I wanted to do. And all the girls were on board. AJM: What drew the four of you to psych rock? SG: It pretty much just happened. That’s the music I listen to, and it was obvious that it would rub off on me.
AJM: Psych rock seems to be having a bit of a renaissance. Why do you think that is?
if you listen to it on the internet, it doesn’t have that spacey sound as much as it does on the vinyl.
SG: I think because the electronic world has been so over-saturated. Now anyone can make music. You don’t need to be a musician; you can make a record at home on your laptop with an app — you don’t even
AJM: I understand you have a new record in the works. What can people expect to hear, and when? SG: We’re still writing songs, but we have a few new ones that aren’t on this
When you first start, you’re so creative and songwriting comes easy. shelby gaudet
album. We’re hoping to start recording by the end of the year or in the new year. I think it’ll be easier. We’ve just been playing together longer. We’ll know what we want, and we can spend a bit more time. At the same time, it’s hard. When you first start, you’re so creative and songwriting comes easy. Now, it’s kind of slowing down — we’re jamming lots and practicing for shows but I think songwriting is getting harder. But it’ll get easier when we get there. Patience. I’ve learned to have a lot of patience.
need an instrument. I think a lot of people who are real big music fans just want to make that old fashioned rock and roll. Just dumb it down a little bit. Take your guitars and bass and drums and just play. AJM: One thing that stands out about Dream In Black is that the sound is of a very high quality, but it doesn’t sacrifice the air and the fuzz and the space of a good psych record. SG: I think if I knew what I was doing I’d probably want it to be a bit more spacey sounding. But I didn’t really know how. This is the first band that’s been my baby, where I’ve actually been in control of how it should sound. I didn’t really know how to explain that. But Barrett Ross recorded it, and he did a great job — and we just trusted him. It does sound really high quality. But I find
Powder Blue September 7 @ Amigos Tickets at the door Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
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Ridergirl
New play examines life through the prism of football
T
he Saskatchewan Roughriders have a long history of inflicting misery on their fans. The long-suffering CFL club has on countless occasions seen Taylor Field transformed into a cathedral of shame, as the worst teams in the league march up and down the field with impunity. But the fans kept coming, through thin and thin and thinner. RiderGirl, a one-woman play written and performed by Colleen Sutton, seeks to capture the spirit of Rider Nation — the peaks and the valleys of Rider fandom and the idea
by alex J MacPherson
that watching football is about more than just watching football. “That’s the big lesson of Rider Nation: you always support the ones you love,” says Sutton, who was inspired to pursue a career in the arts after a transformative experience at a Roughriders’ game. “The true fans don’t bail. No matter what, we cheer for these guys.” Sutton attended her first CFL game in 1993 as a member of the Roughriders Pep Band. The experience was given meaning by a woman whose love for the team knew no bounds. Swept up by a stranger’s en-
thusiasm and passion, Sutton became a devoted fan of the green and white. “She gave me my voice as a woman, as a person,” she muses. “Being able to scream at a game when I was really shy unearthed a passion in me that I didn’t know was there.” RiderGirl, which premiered last summer in Winnipeg, is about despair and redemption and courage. Its arc follows the story of the team, from the bleak 1990s to the historic Grey Cup victory in 2007 and beyond. The play features a diverse cast of characters, all of them played by Sutton, which guides the
audience on a journey through the experience of fandom. It is a story about life, and about courage and hope and devotion, seen through the prism of football. “Some people think it’s just a football show, but it’s not,” Sutton says, explaining that her love for the Roughriders and their diehard fans, who refuse to stop cheering for their team, inspired her to chase her own dreams, regardless of the consequences. “Ultimately, it’s Rider Nation that is able to pick me up and let me forge ahead. No matter what happens.”
Photo: courtesy of Andrew Alexander Photography
RiderGirl Sept 12 + 13 @ The Refinery $26.50+ @ ontheboards.ca
bastard poetry
Acoustic rockers release their debut album, Whole
Photo: courtesy oF Jared Robinson
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coustic punk reached its zenith in 1984, when the Alarm released “Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?” Since the heady days of skintight pants and big haircuts, there have been several attempts to resurrect the idea of simple acoustic rock and roll. Some bands gravitated to folk
by alex J MacPherson
and country, others to the glossy sound of mainstream radio. Bastard Poetry, a four-piece outfit from Saskatoon, have fashioned a sound for themselves that bridges the gap between past and present — a mix of chunky riffs, engaging and literate songwriting, and infectious choruses. “That’s the heart of it,” says Alex Shenton, a former English major who played bass in several heavy bands before picking up his acoustic guitar. “Every song can be broken down to that acoustic song. They’re just quiet little poems in the beginning, and once you get the band in there it becomes an expression. But at any time you could remove the band and the root
of the poem is still just the guy on the couch making some words to some tunes.” Bastard Poetry started life as a jam project. Shenton had written a number of simple acoustic songs and he invited drummer Jim Hunter and guitarist Jesse Kane to fill them out. “Then,” he says, “we found a super funky bass player and just started making s**t — and it took off.” After adding bassist Cole Jordan, the band went into the studio, where they cut the tracks for their forthcoming debut, Whole. Influenced by bands like Against Me! and Nirvana, as well as the endless reams of poetry Shenton read as an undergrad, Whole is simple, loud, and effective.
Shenton’s gravelly voice barks out stories of drinking too much and falling in and out of love that make each moment seem as important as anything Tennyson wrote about. From the cathartic recollections of the scrappy “Cinematic” to the anguished pleading of “Optimistic,” Whole captures the epic feeling of being young and alive. “That’s exactly how you should feel,” he says when I bring this up, “like you’re part of something greater. Even if you’re a gnat on an elephant’s ass, you feel like you’re doing something great with your life. It’s important.” Ultimately, though, Shenton and his bandmates just want to have fun. Their songs, which tread the line between the
rigid structures of seminal California punk and the ragged air of oldschool rock and roll, are only important if they are having fun. “Right now I’m grossly optimistic,” he says of the forthcoming record. “I hope it never gets to that point, because if it’s not fun there’s no point in doing it anymore.” Bastard Poetry September 6 @ Rock Bottom $TBD
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There and back again Young Galaxy, Sweden, and the making of Ultramarine by Alex J MacPherson
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t is difficult to talk about pop music without talking 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 appealing. “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. Shapeshifting emerged in early 2011, a collection of finely-wrought pop songs laden with spacey synthesizers and tightlycoiled rhythms. The collaboration was a success: Shapeshifting attracted attention 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 album, it was obvious that Lissvik should be involved. But instead of attempting to replicate the process that produced
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 distractions 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
The traditional Swedish love of pop music is shameless … and I love that because I love pop music. catherine mccandless
Shapeshifting, the band asked Lissvik to produce the album. And they decided to record the album that became Ultramarine 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.
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. “Limits on any exercise, I think, Continued on next page »
14 Aug 30 – Sept 5 culture
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Photo: courtesy of Vanessa Heins
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
Photo: courtesy of Vanessa Heins
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, deeply moving. “We wanted [the songs] to move people physically and emotionally,” 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, Ultramarine 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 sightless 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 suggests 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 misconceptions about pop music is that it is
homogenous, and therefore meaningless. 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-intellectual,” 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 songwriting, 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 elements 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 stripping 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 Lissvik 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 Canadian
artistic achievement of the last year. “Here, it’s seen as cheap to go in a more classic pop direction,” McCandless 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 Galaxy September 20 @ Amigos Cantina $10 @ Ticketedge.ca
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all the bells and whistles Photos courtesy of Adam Hawboldt
New bistro puts a tasty twist on old favourites by adam hawboldt
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here are no lack of pubs in this city. Brew pubs, gastropubs, high-end and low-end pubs. So if you’re going to open one, how do you set yourself apart?
burgers, wraps, poutine, etc. But everything has a twist, a delicious spin on what you’re used to. Take, for example, the ricotta cheesecake. Instead of offering your standard risotto balls, the Bell ‘n Whistle takes roasted garlic infused risotto, mixes it with ricotta cheese, makes a patty, fries it, then tops it with a nearly-drinkable ancho sauce. The result? A dish that’s crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside, and flat out scrumptious all the way through. Then there’s the Lebanese wrap, which is basically a ground-lamb wrap. But two things make this dish stand out: the lamb and the corn kernels. Unlike most lamb wraps you get (where you can’t really tell if the meat is truly lamb), this bad boy has big, bold lamb flavour. And the corn kernels? These crunchy morsels add a complexity of texture that makes the dish a joy to eat. Even the fish and chips is unique. Instead of your standard piece of cod or haddock coated in beer batter you find at most places, the Bell ‘n Whistle offers bite-sized pieces of tilapia battered in a spicy chickpea concoction that come with yummy Szechuan mayo. Talk about distinctive and delicious! And then there’s my personal favourite: the poutine. Or should I say Gourmet Montreal Poutine. Consisting of fries made from Kennebec po-
Create a menu (both drink and food) that sets them apart. Sure, the decor at the Bell ‘n Whistle is nice. Think urban chic. Think chandeliers made from empty wine bottles and Edison bulbs, brick
[They offer] bite-sized pieces of tilapia battered in a spicy chickpea concoction… adam hawboldt
That was the question the owners of Bell ‘n Whistle, a new bar and bistro down on 2nd Avenue South, asked themselves before opening their doors. And the answer they came up with?
walls and bank vault doors, and you’ll get the idea. But it’s the food that really makes the place. There’s nothing usual about the menu. No generic pub dishes to be found. Yes, you’ll come across old familiars like
let’s go drinkin’ Verb’s mixology guide whiskey sour classic
Ingredients
Here’s a twist for you: the Whiskey Sour Classic. It’s basically your standard Whiskey Sour, but smoothed out by one special ingredient — egg whites.
2 ounce whiskey 1 ounce lemon juice 1 ounce simple syrup 1 egg white 1 orange slice 1 maraschino cherry
Directions
Put the whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg white into a shaker with a few ice cubes, and shake well. Pour into a cocktail glass over ice, and garnish with an orange slice and cherry. Enjoy!
tatoes (the Rolls Royce of potatoes), house-made gravy, authentic cheese curds and some of the best duck confit you’ll ever eat, this poutine is a flat-out, five-star winner. You should do yourself a favour and give it a try. Heck, try nearly anything on the Bell ‘n Whistle menu and, chances are, you’ll go back for more.
Bell ‘n Whistle 243 2nd Ave S | (306) 931 4411
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music
Next Week
coming up
Misterfire
911 Turbo
Dixie Chicks
@ Louis’ Pub Saturday, September 7 – $8 (advance)
@ Louis’ Pub Friday, September 6 – $8 (advance) or
@ Credit Union Centre Sunday, November 3 – $36.75+
or $10 (door)
$10 (door)
Take some ska music, toss in a tablespoon of rock, a teaspoon of reggae, a dash of punk, and a pinch of Latin music and jazz. Now stir it around, mix it up real good, and what do you get? A Saskatoon-based quintet called Misterfire. Fueled by their rhythm section — which consists of Emmett Fortosky on bass and Ethan McKibben on drums — Jordan Welbourne (guitar/vocals), Cameron Baribeau (keyboard/trombone) and lead singer Ben Fortosky (who also plays trumpet and guitar) come together to put on a live show that’s simply electric. With a high-energy dose of eclectic music, Misterfire has been rocking venues and winning fans everywhere they play. They’ll be taking the stage at Louis’ next week. Don’t miss it.
This juggernaut of German techno from Saskatoon brings party energy and catchy dance hits to each of their shows. With hits like “Lazerbeams,” “Mein Porsche” and “Straight to Ze Top,” 911 Turbo offers a one-of-a-kind stage performance that blurs the line between comedy and awesome dance party. Made up of Von Trask (dirty synth blaster/public German speaker), Von Hattie (bassitizer/babe pleaser) and Von Lermstein (drumspert/ fog-machinist), this trio is known for having a blast on stage. They’ll be playing Louis’ next week, so if you’re into wild dance parties, crazy light shows and dudes on stage giving it their all, you should probably check out 911 Turbo. Be there or be square.
Photos courtesy of: the artist/ the artist/ Mred32
The Dixie Chicks have come a long way, and gone through some pretty marked changes, since forming back in 1989. Back then they were a quartet playing a lot of bluegrass music. Eventually one of the members quit, the lead singer was replaced by Natalie Maines, and the rest is history. With their new line-up of Maines along with sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robinson, the Dixie Chicks went on to become one of the biggest acts in country music. Their commercial success began in 1998 with hits like “There’s Your Trouble” and “Wide Open Spaces.” Since then it’s been a rocket ride straight to the top, one that has garnered them 13 Grammy Awards and fans from all walks of life. They’ll be in Saskatoon in November; tickets through Ticketmaster. – By Adam Hawboldt
Sask music Preview This is a call for submissions for the official SaskMusic Aboriginal Showcase, to be hosted during this year’s Mundial Montreal, 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 info@saskmusic.org by 5pm on September 15; see saskmusic.org for more information. Keep up with Saskatchewan music. saskmusic.org
17 Aug 23 – Aug 29 @verbsaskatoon
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august 30 » september 7 The most complete live music listings for Saskatoon. S
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House DJs / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk, soul & lounge DJs liven up the atmosphere at 6Twelve, every Friday night. 9pm / No cover The Seahags / Amigos Cantina — An old-timey country garage band will be taking the stage to rock you. Also appearing is Vico Kid and the Milky Way. 10pm / Cover TBD DJ Aash Money / Béily’s UltraLounge — DJ Aash Money throws down a high-energy top 40 dance party every Friday night. 9pm / $5 cover Small Kitchen Radio / Broadway Theatre — An alt-rock CD release party to wow you. Also appearing will be Spade the Shovelhead. 7pm / $22 The Nightrain / Buds on Broadway — A Guns N’ Roses tribute band. 9pm / Cover TBD
BPM / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin electro/vocal house music to start your weekend off right. 10pm / $5 DJ Eclectic / The Hose & Hydrant — Local turntable whiz DJ Eclectic pumps snappy electronic beats for your listening pleasure. 8pm / No cover DJ Stikman / Jax Niteclub — Kick off your weekend with all your favourite party hits, courtesy of DJ Stikman. 9pm / $5 cover Kaleb’s Adventure / Odeon Events Centre — Featuring HIllbilly Blunt, Johnny Reeferseed and Amy Hef. 7pm / $20+ (theodeon.ca) DJ Big Ayyy & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Round up your friends ‘cause there’s no better country rock party around. DJs Big Ayyy and Henchman hold it down, all night long. 8pm / $5; ladies in free before 11pm The Standards Trio / Prairie Ink - A local jazz ensemble featuring Don Sawchuk, Todd Gursky and Matt Gruza. 8pm / No cover DJ Twerk-tacular / Spadina Freehouse — This DJ, formerly known as Mitchy the Kid, is here to do his thing. 9pm / No cover Dueling Pianos / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King belt out classic tunes and audience requests, from Sinatra to Lady Gaga. 10pm / $5
Party Rock Fridays / Tequila — Featuring DJ Anchor, spinning dope beats all night long. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Nick Ruston / Uncle Barley’s — Come and check him out as he drops hot beats for you. Let’s party like it’s the weekend! 9pm / Cover TBD Pirate Fridays / Vangelis Tavern — Featuring the talents of PandaCorn and Darren Eedens. 10pm / $8 (advanced), $10 (door) Roofstock / Winston’s — Featuring The Dudes, Junior Pantherz, Young Benjamins and more. $20(advance), $25(door)
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House DJs / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin deep and soulful tunes all night. 9pm / No cover Body LVL / Amigos Cantina — An electronic experience you most definitely don’t want to miss. Also appearing will
be Booji Bomb and Cloudrunner. 10pm / Cover TBD DJ Aash Money + DJ Sugar Daddy / Béily’s UltraLounge — These two DJs throw down a dance party every Saturday night. 9pm / $5 cover The Nightrain / Buds on Broadway — A Guns N’ Roses tribute band. 9pm / Cover TBD SaturGAY Night / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin exclusive dance remixes the seahags COURTESY OF the artist every Saturday. 10pm / $5 DJ Kade / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon’s own DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DJ Stikman / Jax Niteclub — It’s ladies’ night with DJ Stikman and the Jax party crew. What a way to party for the long weekend! 9pm / $5 cover Madchild / Odeon Events Centre — With Slaine, Adlib and DJ Dow Jones. 8pm / $20+ DJ Big Ayyy & DJ Henchman / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Round up your friends ‘cause there’s no better country rock party around. DJs Big
Ayyy and Henchman hold it down, all night long 8pm / $5 Zeljko Bilandzic / Prairie Ink — Flamenco and classical guitar in an intimate and cozy atmposphere. Also appearing is Mikola Karnaukh. 8pm / No cover The Gaff / Spadina Freehouse — Swing by for some sweet beats. 9pm / No cover Dueling Pianos / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King belt out classic tunes and audience requests, from Sinatra to Lady Gaga. 10pm / $5 DJ Anchor / Sutherland Bar — It’s the world famous video mix show! 10pm / Cover TBD Sexy Saturdays / Tequila Nightclub — A night of hot tunes for your listening pleasure. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Thorpdeo / Uncle Barley’s — Spinning hot tunes for your listening pleasure all night. 10pm / Cover TBD Single Mothers, The Faps / Vangelis Tavern — Badass punk music done gritty and well. 10pm / $8 (advanced), $10 (door) Peter and Troy / The Woods — Come on down and check it out. 9pm / No cover
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little black dress party / Béily’s UltraLounge — Come on and celebrate
saskatoon transit
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the Labour Day Long Weekend with guest DJs from Toronto, Kidkut and Jester. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ KADE / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover Blues Jam / Vangelis Tavern — The Vangelis Sunday Jam is an institution, offering great tunes from blues to rock and beyond. 7:30pm / No cover
favourite songs and requests, every Wednesday night. Come on down and see what it’s all about 9pm / No cover until 10pm; $3 thereafter Federal Lights / Amigos Cantina — Alt-pop masters from Winnipeg will be hitting the Amigos’ stage to wow you. Also appearing will be Foam Lake. 10pm / Cover
Monday 2
DJ Audio / Dublins — Spinning dope beats. 9pm / Cover TBD
Tuesday 3
Lightning Dust / Amigos Cantina — A talented indie rock duo from Vancouver. Also appearing is Louise Burns. 10pm / $12 (ticketdedge.ca) DJ SUGAR DADDY / The Double Deuce — Able to rock any party, this crowd favourite has always been known to break the latest and greatest tracks in multiple genres. Come check him out doing his spinning thing, every Tuesday night. 9:30pm / $4 cover DJ Nick Ruston / Dublins — Spinning dope beats for your listening pleasure, all night long. 9pm / Cover TBD Verb presents Open Mic / Rock Bottom — Come and rock the stage! 9pm / No cover Open Mic / The Somewhere Else Pub — Come out to show your talent. 7pm / No cover
Wednesday 4
HUMP WEDNESDAYS / 302 Lounge & Discotheque — Resident DJ Chris Knorr will be spinning all of your
lightning dust
COURTESY OF Ila Meens
DJ Aash Money / Béily’s UltraLounge — Come and party with DJ Aash Money, who will be spinning dope beats all night. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Memo / Dublins — Memo will be dropping hot tunes for you to get you up and moving. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Kade / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon’s own DJ Kade will be lighting it up with hot tunes, every Wednesday night. 8pm / No cover A Tribe Called Red / Louis’ — Some Pow Wow step beats for your listening pleasure. 9pm / $20 (advance), $22 (door) Buck Wild Wednesdays / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Come out and ride the mechanical bull! 9pm / $4; no cover for industry staff
CJWW Karaoke / Stan’s Place — Your talent, aired on the radio! Come out, do your thing and show Saskatoon what you’ve got. 9pm / No cover Dueling Pianos / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King belt out classic tunes and audience requests, from Sinatra to Lady Gaga. 10pm / No cover
Thursday 5
Throwback Thursdays / Earls — Come experience the best in retro funk, soul, reggae and rock provided by Dr. J. 8pm / No cover DJ Kade / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon’s own DJ Kade will be lighting it up with hot tunes for you all night long. 8pm / No cover Thunder Riot w/Conky Showpony / Rock Bottom — Come dance the night away as this local DJ plays the kind of music that’ll get your feet moving. 9pm / $5 Triple Up Thursdays / Tequila Nightclub — Featuring DJ Dislexic. 9pm / Cover TBD Open Stage / The Woods — Hosted by Steven Maier. Come on down and show Saskatoon what you’ve got, or else drop by to check out some local talent rocking the mic! 9pm / No cover
BPM / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin electro/vocal house music for you, every Friday night. Come on down and start your weekend off right. 10pm / $5 DJ Eclectic / The Hose & Hydrant — Local turntable whiz DJ Eclectic pumps snappy electronic beats for your listening pleasure, all night long. 8pm / No cover DJ Stikman / Jax Niteclub — Kick off your weekend with all your favourite party hits.. 9pm / $5 cover 911 Turbo / Louis’ — Zany German techno music will pummel your ears. These guys have a killer live show, so drop by the University of Saskatchewan campus to check ‘em out. 9pm / Cover TBD
Classified / Odeon Events Centre — One of Canada’s finest rappers will be swinging through Saskatoon. It’s the Back to School Bash with guests Hustle & Thrive, DJ Scott Turner and DJ Heywood Be there or be square! 8pm / $25 (theodeon.ca) DJ Big Ayyy & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Round up your friends ‘cause there’s no better country rock party around. Let’s get the weekend started! 8pm / $5; ladies in free before 11pm Keiffer and the Curiosity Club / Prairie Ink — Alternative folk music from right here on the prairies, coming at you in a intimate and cozy setting. 8pm / No cover
Friday 6
House DJs / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk, soul & lounge DJs liven up the atmosphere at 6Twelve, every Friday night. 9pm / No cover Whiskey Songs / Amigos Cantina — Funky bluesy tunes from Mark Ejack and Paul Kuzbik. Also appearing will be Blackwater. Come on down and start your weekend off right! 10pm / Cover TBD DJ Aash Money / Béily’s — DJ Aash Money throws down a high-energy, top 40 dance party every Friday night. 9pm / $5 cover
19 Aug 23 – Aug 29 /verbsaskatoon
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Bastard Poetry / Rock Bottom — A debut album release party like no other, so come on down! Also appearing will be The Triplophonics, The Department Heads and Myles and the Blanks. 10pm / $10 cover Darwin and the Boys / Stan’s Place — Come on down for a rockin’ good night. 9pm / No cover Dueling Pianos / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King belt out classic tunes and audience requests,from Sinatra to Lady Gaga. 10pm / $5 Party Rock Fridays / Tequila Nightclub— Featuring DJ Anchor. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Nick Ruston / Uncle Barley’s — Come and check him out, as he does his spinning thing for you all night long! 9pm / Cover TBD Unsatisfied Poets / Vangelis Tavern — Also appearing will be Kay the Aquanaut and more! This promises to be one hell of a show, so come on down and start your weekend off right. 9pm / $8 cover
Saturday 7
House DJs / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin deep and soulful tunes all night. 9pm / No cover Powder Blue / Amigos Cantina — A hard rocking four-piece featuring playing shoegaze/psyche. 10pm / Cover TBD DJ Aash Money + DJ Sugar Daddy / Béily’s UltraLounge — These two DJs throw down a dance party every Saturday night. 9pm / $5 cover SaturGAY Night / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin exclusive dance remixes for your listening pleasure, every Saturday. 10pm / $5 DJ Kade / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon’s own DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DJ Stikman / Jax Niteclub — Ladies night with DJ Stikman and the Jax party crew. 9pm / $5 cover
Misterfire / Louis’ Pub — A CD release party for Darling, This is War. Featuring talented local rockers, Misterfire offers up a live show you won’t want to miss. 8:30pm / $8(advance), $10(door) DJ Big Ayyy & DJ Henchman / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Round up your friends ‘cause there’s no better country rock party around. Where else would powder blue COURTESY OF Emily Kohlert you want to be on a Saturday night? 8pm / $5 The Nobles / Prairie Ink — Playing classic rock to country from the father daughter team of Madison and Lorry Noble. Come and enjoy some live music in an intimate and cozy atmosphere. 8pm / No cover Darwin and the Boys / Stan’s Place — Come on down for a rockin’ good night. 9pm / No cover Dueling Pianos / Staqatto Piano Lounge — Terry Hoknes, Neil Currie and Brad King belt out classic tunes and audience requests, from Sinatra to Lady Gaga. 10pm / $5 DJ Anchor / Sutherland Bar — It’s the world famous video mix show! 10pm / Cover TBD Sexy Saturdays / Tequila — A night of hot tunes. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Thorpdeo / Uncle Barley’s — Spinning hot tunes all night. 10pm / Cover TBD Fabian Minnema / The Woods — Some laid-back, acoustic tunes. 9pm / No cover
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New car chase film Getaway an absolute train wreck by adam hawboldt
W
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 McQueen’s move, The Getaway (thankfully)! 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, Bulgaria, 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 vehicular mayhem, Magna meets a young computer whiz (Selena Gomez) who
getaway Courtney Solomon Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez + Jon Voight Directed by Starring
90 minutes | PG
ing 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 Bmovie, then perhaps Getaway would
The acting is horrendous [and] the dialogue is atrocious … adam Hawboldt
be good in a campy, it’s-so-bad-it’sgood 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.
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 nothing 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 direct-
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Remembering nixon
New doc shines a light on USA president by adam hawboldt
I
f the right people had been in charge of Nixon’s funeral, his casket would have been launched into one of those opensewage canals that empty into the ocean just south of Los Angeles. He was a swine of a man and a jabbering dupe of a president. Nixon was so crooked that he needed servants to help him screw his pants on every morning. Even his funeral was illegal. He was queer in the deepest way. His body should have been burned in a trash bin.” That’s an excerpt from the obituary Hunter S. Thompson wrote about Richard Milhous Nixon after the president died in 1994. And Thompson wasn’t alone in his loathing and condemnation of Nixon. Without a doubt, the man who once said “I’m not a crook” (and turned out to be just that) is the most vilified American president of the 20th century. Which is why director Penny Lane’s (yes, that’s her real name) documentary, Our Nixon, is a breath of fresh air
Photo: Courtesy of CNN films
daughter, the instances of him cracking corny White House jokes, and the moment where he’s visibly shaken, almost overcome with grief, when talking to a Vietnam vet. Instead of recreating events, like so many documentarians do these days, Lane and her co-writer/co-
But the real star of the show was the Super 8 footage they used, footage shot by Nixon staffers … Adam Hawboldt
when it comes to the Nixon oeuvre. Yes, it captures Nixon at his more despicable moments, like when he blames the downfall of the Greek and Roman Empires on homosexuality by brazenly declaring, “the last six Roman emperors were all f*gs,” before going on to blame the communists for pushing the homosexual agenda in the US. But for every less-than-stellar moment, there is a counter-balancing human moment that shows Nixon wasn’t the absolute monster some people have made him out to be. There’s the scene of him dancing lovingly with his
producer Brian Frye relied solely on primary sources for Our Nixon. They used archived TV footage and press interviews to excellent visual effect. They used the Nixon tapes (telephone conversations during Nixon’s terms, the last of which were declassified earlier this year) for audio. But the real star of the show was the Super 8 footage they used, footage shot by Nixon staffers H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and Dwight Chapin that was confiscated by the FBI as part of their Watergate investigation. Footage that, for the past 40
our nixon Penny Lane Written by Penny Lane + Brian Frye Directed by
84 minutes | NR
years, has been sitting in a back room on some dusty shelves. And while these Super 8 films (which are all silent) don’t necessarily offer any revelations about the Nixon presidency, they do offer a glimpse of a man and his staff journeying from the innocence of recently being elected into one of the darkest eras of recent American history. So is Our Nixon a good documentary? You bet your sweet ass it is. And while it really drops the ball on things like Rose Mary Woods, the Saturday Night Massacre and Nixon’s trip to Russia, it still offers a new, unique view on Nixon as a man and as a president. Think of it as catnip for history buffs and for those who either love, or love to hate, Nixon.
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Bell ‘n Whistle Bar & Bistro 243 2nd Avenue South (306) 931 4411
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Hudson’s Canadian Tap House 401 21st Street East (306) 974 0944
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Š Elaine M. Will | blog.E2W-Illustration.com | Check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!
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crossword canadian criss-cross 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
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
A
B
4 7 9 1 2 3 5 8 6 5 3 2 6 9 8 1 4 7 1 8 6 4 7 5 3 9 2 2 9 7 5 4 1 8 6 3 3 6 5 9 8 2 7 1 4 8 4 1 7 3 6 2 5 9 7 5 4 2 1 9 6 3 8 6 2 8 3 5 4 9 7 1 9 1 3 8 6 7 4 2 5
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
© walter D. Feener 2013
sudoku answer key
DOWN
1 5 4 2 3 6 7 8 9 3 2 6 8 7 9 5 1 4 7 9 8 4 5 1 2 3 6 6 8 1 7 9 2 4 5 3 2 7 3 5 6 4 8 9 1 5 4 9 3 1 8 6 2 7 8 6 5 1 4 3 9 7 2 4 1 2 9 8 7 3 6 5 9 3 7 6 2 5 1 4 8
ACROSS
Horoscopes august 30 - september 5 Aries March 21–April 19
Leo July 23–August 22
Sagittarius November 23–December 21
You may feel preoccupied this week, Aries. Something that means a lot to you might not be getting the attention it deserves.
A situation may arise this week that will make you feel wildly uncomfortable, Leo. Stay calm and deal with it.
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.
Taurus April 20–May 20
Virgo August 23–September 22
Capricorn December 22–January 19
You may end up worrying about money very soon, Taurus. But there might not be any real reason for it. Don’t panic.
Conflicts may very well happen in your near future, Virgo. Be sure to deal with them appropriately. Reacting emotionally won’t get you anywhere.
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.
Gemini May 21–June 20
Libra September 23–October 23
Aquarius January 20–February 19
Someone close to you may seem distant or preoccupied this week. It’s okay, Gemini, it’s only a phase. Eventually, this too will pass.
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.
Some wonderful news may come your way sometime in the next few days, Aquarius. Take it and make the most of it.
Cancer June 21–July 22
Scorpio October 24–November 22
Pisces February 20–March 20
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.
Feeling claustrophobic lately, Scorpio? As though the walls of life are closing in around you? Don’t worry. Just breathe and keep moving.
Feeling lonely lately, Pisces? If so, why don’t you curl up with a good novel and get lost in the land of makebelieve? It could be transformative.
sudoku 4 3 6 7 8 2 8 5 4 7 9 1 8 5 2 6 4 1 5 9 3 1 6 2 6 7 4 9 8 7 3 5 9 3 2 1
crossword answer key
A
2 3 6 5 3 2 9 8 1 7 1 9 7 1 6 3 6 5 8 2 4 8 7 9 7 4 2 1 8 6 5 4 9 3 4 5
B
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