Issue #289 – May 9 to May 15
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Neko Case +
robbie waisman Remembering the Holocaust to new heights Q+A with the Dodos neighbors + ida Films reviewedÂ
Photo: courtesy of emily shur
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On the cover:
NEKO CASE
The harder she fights. 16 / cover
Photo: courtesy of Jason Creps
NEWs + Opinion
drinking and driving dilemma Our thoughts on new SGI laws. 8 / Editorial
comments
remembrance of things past Robbie Wais-
Here’s your say about photo radars.
man on the Holocaust. 4 / Local
10 / comments
culture
Q + A with the dodos A bad year takes the band to new heights 12 / Q + A
i laughed, i cried, i split my side
comfort food and funky interior
The dark side of laughter. 14 / Arts
We visit Foxy’s. 18 / Food + Drink
music reviews
Music
We review Andino Suns + Plague Vendor. 15 / Music reviews
City and Colour, Motherf**kers + Michale Graves. 19 / music
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listings Local music listings for May 9 - May 17. 20 / listings
neighbors + ida
on the bus
The latest movie reviews.
Weekly original comic illustrations by Elaine M. Will. 29 / comics
22 / Film
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Canadian criss-cross puzzle, horoscopes, and Sudoku. 30 / timeout
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Remembrance of things past Holocaust survivor Robbie Waisman shares his story by adam hawboldt
R
obbie Waisman had heard the rumours. He’d heard the American army was advancing on the Buchenwald concentration camp to liberate them. He’d also heard that the camp was lined with dynamite and that the Nazis intended to blow the place sky high, killing all the prisoners and erasing any evidence of the atrocities that had been committed there. It was April 11th, 1945. As shells exploded overhead, Waisman and his friend, Abe Chapnick, lay motionless on the cold floor of Buchenwald’s Block 8, deciding whether they should try to escape or not. Run, and maybe they’d get out of this alive. Stay, and they might get blown to pieces. Then there was silence. A dead quiet. The shelling had stopped; their minds had been made up for them. “Our block was close to the main gate,” says Waisman. “I remember looking out … I saw soldiers coming in through the gate. They
weren’t German soldiers. They were wearing different uniforms.” Waisman and Chapnick ran out of the barracks. People swarmed in all directions — jeeps rumbled through the gate; American soldiers marched in unison. Waisman remembers these moments like they happened yesterday. He remembers seeing daffodils outside the compound, and wondering how something so beautiful and delicate could grow in such a godforsaken place. He remembers blurting out the number 117098 instead of ‘Robbie’ when asked for his name. And he remembers the soldiers. He’ll never forget the soldiers. Standing on a stage at the Congregation Agudas Israel Synagogue in Saskatoon, Waisman places his hands on the lectern in front of him, and says, “I was looking around at all these men. Among them, there were some black soldiers. I’d never seen a black person before. I remember thinking, is this happening? Is it real? Then I went up to touch one of the black soldiers
because I wanted to assure myself it was. Since I was tormented by white people for so long, I was sure these black soldiers were angels. And, in fact, they were. They gave us our freedom.” It took a while for Waisman and others at Buchenwald to realize this, to understand that they were free. Truly free. But once the reality of the situation set it, Waisman was overcome by a single, all-encompassing desire. He wanted to go home and see his family.
What we remember from childhood we remember forever — permanent ghosts, stamped, inked, imprinted, eternally seen. — Cynthia Ozick “What’s it like to go through the Holocaust?” Waisman asks the audience at the synagogue. He isn’t looking for an answer. Most of the people in attendance Continued on next page »
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are teenagers, around the same age Waisman was when Buchenwald was liberated. Outside of what they might have read in books or seen in movies, they have no idea what the Holocaust actually was like. Very few people do. Waisman pauses for a moment to let the question sink in. Then he takes his hands off the lectern and says, “Let me take a moment and share some memories with you. I have some horrific memories. When I share them with you, it’s not my intention to sadden you. On the contrary, I want to empower you.” Waisman begins his story with not horrific memories, but beautiful ones. Memories of being the youngest of six children growing up in Skarszysko, Poland. Of a childhood filled with warmth and laughter and love. In 1939, that childhood came to an abrupt end when his city was bombed and occupied by Nazis. At first Waisman thought it was all a game. Then he saw a Nazi soldier shoot and kill a man in front of him — that’s when the games ended. Waisman was just eight years old. Not long after that, a ghetto was formed in Skarszysko, and Waisman’s parents sent him to stay on a farm with a non-Jewish family. He remained there for about a month, spending his afternoons tending to cows, until one day he decided to run away. “There were two reasons I left,” explains Waisman. “The first was I missed my family; I wanted to be with them. And number two: me and the cows didn’t get along.” So Waisman stole away from the farm, and snuck back into the ghetto through a hole in a wall. When he returned home, his mother hugged and kissed him. His father took off his belt and gave him a beating. It was the first and last spanking Waisman ever received. “I’d never seen my father so furious,” remembers Waisman. “He thought he had saved me, thought he’d done the right thing by sending me away. But as it happens, after I left the farm, the Nazis put out a proclamation saying anyone harbouring a Jewish child should give up the child to the police in return for a reward — a sack of flour or sugar.”
Waisman pauses again, then puts his hands back on the lectern and says, “I know that many children survived in hiding elsewhere, but to my knowledge, in Skarszysko, none of them survived.” It was blind luck that Waisman left that farm when he did. Blind luck he wasn’t denounced, handed over to the authorities, and murdered like the rest of the hideaways in the area. In the years to follow, luck would play a big part in keeping Waisman alive.
The world shrieks and sinks talons into our hearts. This we call memory.
— Tim O’Brien
Chaim Waisman was the eldest of the Waisman brothers. During the Nazi occupation, his job was to drive trucks in an out of the Skarszysko ghetto. It was a privileged job that, at times, allowed him to stumble upon privileged information. Like in 1942, when he discovered that Skarszysko was going to be liquidated by the Nazis. Not wanting the “baby” of the family to be liquidated, Chaim put his youngest brother (Robbie) in the back
of his truck, covered him with hay, told him to stay down, and smuggled him out of the city under the cover of night. He left him in an abandoned barn outside the city, and told him he’d return in a couple of days. The youngest Waisman waited. One day, two days, then three. At night he raided gardens for food; the rest of the time he waited and worried. He worried something had happened to Chaim, worried that his oldest brother might not be coming back for him. And at some point, while he was hiding in the barn, the remaining denizens of Skarszysko — the ones the Nazis didn’t deem useful and old — were rounded up. They were put on a cattle train, sent to Treblinka and were gassed. Waisman’s mother was one of those people. But he didn’t know that then; he didn’t know that until
later. At the time, all he knew was he had to stay in hiding, he had to find food and he had to wait for his brother to return. When Chaim did, he put Robbie back in the truck and took him to the work camp where their father and brother, Abraham, were being held. “Life was hard there,” says Waisman. “When I first started working in the munitions factory it was my job to stamp anti-aircraft shells. At first it was very difficult, I wasn’t used to it. My hands got torn apart; they began to bleed. I just put bandages on them and continued. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when your life is at stake.” It’s also amazing what the human body, mind and spirit can endure. “Going to the barracks from work was always dangerous,” remembers Waisman. “If some guard saw me and said, ‘Oh, a youngster!
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What is he doing here?’ who knows what could’ve happened? He could’ve just pulled me out of line and killed me right there.” For Waisman, the walk to work was a journey along the razor’s edge, a constant teetering above a black abyss. Back at the barracks, life wasn’t much better. The prisoners were forced to sleep together in cramped bunks — no mattresses, just straw. They slept in their clothes. They didn’t change, didn’t shower. Lice ran rampant in the camp. When they turned out the lights, bed bugs would descend upon them. There were rats all over the place. Filth was everywhere. In these conditions it’s no surprise that typhoid fever soon swept through the camp. Waisman’s brother Abraham was one of the people who fell ill. “There was an infirmary in the camp with nurses in white uniforms,” says Waisman. “People would go there thinking they’d get medicine, but the place was always empty. Whoever went there, they’d
simply be taken out back and killed … We didn’t want that to happen to Abraham so we hid him under straw when we went to work. We gave him water when we could.” Waisman and his father hoped against hope Abraham would get better. But one day, while Waisman was getting ready for work, his brother was discovered — paleskinned and glassy-eyed. “They picked him out and led him to a truck,” says Waisman, his voice wavering slightly. “I followed them out and one of the men grabbed me and said, ‘You don’t want to go with your brother.’ I told him I did. I didn’t care, I wanted to tell him I loved him. I’d never done that … He was the one who showed me the art of survival. Going to and from work, he would make sure I was on the inside so the guards couldn’t see me. In line, he’d pinch my cheeks to make me look healthier.” When the truck was full, it pulled away, drove out of the compound and into the woods. Waisman watched it go. Eventually he lost sight of the truck. Then
he heard the crackling sound of machine gun fire. “I didn’t make anything of it at first,” recalls Waisman. “But as it got closer I looked and saw the truck. It was empty. That’s when it hit me, when it all came down on me. Why did they kill my brother? What was his crime?”
The past is never dead. It’s not even past.
— William Faulkner
Sunday was Waisman’s favourite day in the camp, the day he most looked forward to. Because Waisman and his father worked opposites shifts, they’d only see each other briefly while walking to and from work, two times a day. They’d wave to one another in passing and wait for Sunday — the one day they could spend time together. But on the Sunday after Abraham died, things were different. “I looked at my dad then, and couldn’t recognize him,” says Waisman. “His black hair had turned
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white. His strength, his enthusiasm — everything was gone. I remember thinking, where is my dad? Where is his strength? And I remember being angry at him for that.” Waisman regrets that anger to this day. Years later, when he became a father himself, he finally realized how painful it must have been for his dad to see Abraham die. He finally understood the empty hole the death must have left in the centre of his father’s being. Yet at the time, even though he was mad at him, Waisman continued to wave to his father when they passed each other in the work lines. He waved to him on the Monday after Abraham was murdered. He waved to him on Tuesday. And on Wednesday. On Thursday he looked for his father, but couldn’t find him. Waisman never saw his father again. “To this day I wonder how my dad died,” says Waisman. “Did he fall because he was not fast enough, and was killed? Or maybe he ran out and touched the electric wires of the camp? Or maybe he just lay down on the bunks and died of a broken heart.” Not long after his father’s mysterious disappearance, Waisman fell ill with typhoid fever. With both his brother and dad gone, Waisman had no one to take care of him. But someone must have. Even though he doesn’t remember who, Waisman knows someone must have hid him under the straw and gave him water because somehow the Gestapo didn’t find him. Somehow he got better. But when he finally went back to work, Waisman was still weak — so weak that one day he stumbled. The guards noticed, pulled him out of work, and put him in the back of a truck — the same truck that ushered his brother Abraham to his death. Waisman wasn’t afraid, though. He didn’t care anymore. There was a sense of relief in knowing the end was near. Who wanted to live in a world like this, anyway? But live he did, thanks in part to a guard who recognized him from the munitions factory. This guard waved the truck over and had the young Jewish boy dragged from the truck back to the barracks.
Somewhere along the way, Waisman fainted.
Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it.
— Michel de Montaigne
his silence. He has been talking ever since. Standing at the front of the Congregation Agudas Israel Synagogue, Waisman steps out from behind the lectern. His story has been told, but his wounds are far from healed. With sure, steady feet, he steps down a short set of stairs into the
main aisle. People clamour to the front of the room to meet him and talk to him. To take pictures and hug him. It’s an outpouring of love and respect. And while it’s easy to see that Waisman appreciates this, no amount of love or respect can erase the memories he lives with. Memories that have intensified, that have
returned more frequently the older he grows.
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The years spent in concentration camps — first in the Skarszysko, then in Buchenwald — hardened Waisman. He transformed overnight from a child into an adult. People died in front him — family, friends, strangers. With each ensuing death, it became just another thing for him to deal with. He developed a resistance to the outside forces that preyed upon him. He lived in his own little world; there was no bigger picture. Waisman walked through life in the concentration camps with blinders on, concerned only with the few feet in front of him. The next few minutes were all that mattered, the next few morsels of bread were all he needed. He’d become a zombie who worked and existed on instinct alone. That’s why, when asked his name during the liberation of Buchenwald, Waisman responded by giving his number. By that time, he’d become dehumanized. “We didn’t act like human beings,” says Waisman. “We didn’t have normal feelings. Hunger and thirst were about the only ones … After we were liberated, we had to learn how to come back to humanity.” Eventually that happened. Eventually they left Buchenwald. Eventually Waisman immigrated to Canada and married a girl from Saskatchewan — he even lived here for a while. And eventually he began telling people his story. It took some time, though. Waisman and the other young prisoners had promised the elders in the concentration camps that, if they survived, they’d tell the world what happened to their people. What they lived through and witnessed. But in the years after liberation, the memories were too terrible to deal with. Too raw to touch. Too painful to talk about. It took a Holocaust-denying teacher in Alberta named James Keegstra to get Wasiman to break
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Drinking and driving dilemma Punish behind-the-wheel boozers, but only after they’ve been convicted
A
t the moment, anyone found driving with a blood-alcohol content (BAC) higher than .08 receives an immediate 24-hour suspension, followed by an additional 90-day suspension once SGI is notified. In roughly a month and a half, all that is going to change. At that time, anyone found driving with a BAC over .08 will have their license suspended until their charge comes before the court. We find this very troubling. You see, section 11(d) of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms explicitly states that “Any person charged with an offence has the right … (d) to be presumed innocent until proven guilty according to the law in a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal.” Presumed innocence: it is, and always should be, paramount. That’s why it was enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But this new traffic law doesn’t seem to care too much about presumed innocence. It applies to every alleged impaired driver, whether they be innocent or guilty. And in a province where impaired driving trials aren’t scheduled until six to nine months after you’re charge (and can be delayed for more than year under certain circumstances), this new rule could prove problematic — especially if you’re innocent.
Now you may be thinking: how can you be innocent of the charge if you blow over .08 on the breathalyzer? Well, for starters, breath testers can be wrong. Scientists have universally acknowledged that breath analyzers have an inherent error of plus or minus .01 percent, which has been recognized and upheld in U.S. courts, including (but not limited to) People v. Campos, 138 Cal. Rptr. 366 (California) and Haynes v. Department of Public Safety, 865 P.2d 753 (Alaska). What that means is that even in ideal conditions, a BAC reading of .08 could be anywhere between .07 to .09. That’s a margin of error of about 20 to 30 percent. There’s no way you’d accept this margin of error from, say, your accountant, so why is it reasonable to accept it in court? What’s more, there are substances that can lead to a false BAC reading. As discussed in Potsdam University’s “DWI/DUI Facts & Fiction,”during one study a sober subject was asked to apply a pint of contact cement to a piece of plywood, then apply a gallon of oil-based pain to a wall. Twenty minutes later the subject blew a .12 into a breathalyzer. In another study, a subject used a protective mask and spray painted a room for 20 minutes. He took a blood test, it showed no alcohol. He blew into a breathalyzer and registered a .075 reading.
Now don’t get us wrong — we deplore drinking and driving. It is dangerous, stupid and reckless, and those who are convicted should be punished. But dissolving the cornerstone of “presumed innocent until proven guilty” is troubling, too. So what to do? Well, we would suggest focusing more on harm-reductive strategies to prevent drinking and driving in the first place — running buses later, for example, or making taxis more available. Hand in hand with that would be stiffer penalties if convicted. First offence for blowing higher than .08 would remain the same (one-year license suspension plus hefty fines.) The second offence would lead to a five-year suspension plus associated fines. A third offence would mean a life-time driving ban and six months in jail. But only if a person convicted. Until then, we should leave our system as is. These editorials are left unsigned because they represent the opinions of Verb magazine, not those of the individual writers.
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On Topic: Last week we asked what you thought about photo radar. Here's what you had to say:
– About photo radar in province ¤ what a bunch of bull its only to make the fatcats fatter and we all know pictures can b altered
text yo thoughtsur to 881 ve r b 8372
– Photo radar is known to be a cash grab that does nothing in the service of public safety. Disgusting. We should not be paying for this.
law, of you park for the maximum amount of time (in most places, 1.5 or 2 hours) you aren’t allowed to plug the meter again and remain; you have to move Roma different HUNDRED BLOCK. Until that bylaw is removed, the convenience of smart phone access is a moot point. In response to “Parking Problems,” Editorial, # 287 (April 25, 2014)
– Photo radar seems like a pretty ineffective thing if you’re going to announce where you’re posting them. People would just speed anyways, and then slow down when they’re by the radar. Dumb.
– Photo radar = money for city. I would not be happy with a ticket months after. This is ridiculous but not surprising of course they want the cash grab.
– I think they put photo radar in Edmonton and it just got them more money Don’t stand for this! Fight it because this is not how we should be helping people stay safe on our roads.
OFF TOPIC – Re: parking article: it’s a great plan except for one problem...by
sound off – Why were the bales of recycling such an eyesore considering all the trash that is just dropped on the streets and sidewalks in any part of this city Truth Is Power-Try It
– City plans to drop 1.2 million dollars to track black garbage bins...how about using the cash for painting white lines for lanes on ALL city streets so drivers know where they are driving
– Double the bike plates double the pot holes . Can’t ride in this city.
– So sorry to hear about the two teens who lost their lives in the senseless tragedy on 22nd street. It happened all because of some selfish thieves stealing a vehicle.
Life is precious. If there is someone in your life that you love, tell them so. You never know when you will never again have that chance.
– Sad to hear about the victims of the car accident - so young. As were the people who killed them. Four lives irrevocably changed not to mention their families and friends. My heart breaks for the situation. Hold your loved ones close! Yo never know.
– Be strong because things will get better. It may be stormy now but it never rains forever.
Next week: What do you think about the changes coming to those caught drinking and driving? Text in your thoughts to Verb to get in on the conversation: We print your texts verbatim each week. Text in your thoughts and reactions to our stories and content, or anything else on your mind.
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The Dodos Take Flight
Photos: courtesy of Chloe Aftel
How a bad year propelled the San Francisco rock duo to even greater heights by Alex J MacPherson
T
he most obvious difference between Carrier and every other Dodos record is that Meric Long plays electric guitar on nearly every track. Since forming in San Francisco, California in 2005, the duo has cultivated a reputation for making thoughtful, percussive, and weirdly disjointed pop music using little more than a detuned acoustic guitar and a stripped-down drum kit. This format defined the duo’s breakout release, 2008’s Visiter, as well as 2011’s No Color. Consequently, the decision to pepper Carrier with expansive electric guitar parts feels significant. But Carrier is a record defined by change, both
themselves by recording it in a new studio with a new engineer and a new record label, Polyvinyl. Musically, Carrier is subtler and more measured than anything else in the band’s inventory. Carrier knows where it is going, but it isn’t racing to get there. The same is true of Long’s lyrics, extended meditations on meaning and purpose. But when I spoke with Long about the new album, he suggested that answers aren’t that important. “Maybe if somebody listened to this new record they’d be like, these guys are done, they’re asking too many questions,” he said, laughing. “But I feel like that’s a good place to be at, you know?”
intentional and unexpected. The fact that Long decided to plug in is dwarfed by other, more important factors. The Dodos’ new album was inspired by, and feels like a tribute to, Chris Reimer, the former Women guitarist who joined the band on a tour in support of No Color before dying unexpectedly in 2012. Reimer’s passing devastated founding members Long and drummer Logan Kroeber. His influence, both as a friend and as an innovative, surprising guitarist, is woven into the fabric of each track. More generally, Carrier also reflects the band’s unwillingness to fall into a routine, to make art on autopilot. Long and Kroeber challenged
Alex J MacPherson: It’s been nine months or so since you released Carrier. Apart from touring, what has the band been up to?
another record. We got about half of it done, and then we came back after touring for Carrier and finished it — and that’s where we’re at.
Meric Long: Making another record, man. We just finished another one that we’re going to put out sometime in the next year. After we finished Carrier there was a good chunk of time before it was going to be released, and there was a bunch of stuff I had learned while being in the studio we were at that I kind of wanted to capitalize on while it was still fresh in my mind. So I booked some time in July last year, and we started
AJM: Is it strange to have a brandnew record in the can while still touring in support of Carrier, which is no longer “the new record” from your perspective? ML: Yeah, I was actually really concerned about that when we were coming up on the tour for Carrier, because we were pretty juiced about the new songs and we were like, now we’ve got to go back to this old record. But you know what? It worked out really good; since we Continued on next page »
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kind of had a break from recording Carrier, it made it fresh for us again. So when we went back to Carrier we were like, these songs, we haven’t really played them a bunch live, and we’d had a bit of a break — and a bit of a fresher perspective. It was a good tour. AJM: You’ve spoken before about changing your process before making Carrier. Why was that important, and what was it like? ML: When we started doing that record I was pretty established in my habits, and not happy with them, and I felt like I had to insert these actual diversions and roadblocks in my thinking and songwriting that would put me in a different direction. It was good, but it was difficult, too. We recorded in a different studio with different people, and for us that’s a big challenge. After finishing No Color, the previous record, I wasn’t even certain that there was going to be another Dodos record. When I got home I was like, I’m really in need of writing some different kinds of songs — trying different things, a different way of guitar-playing. Chris Reimer, who we had toured with for No Color, he was a big sort of exit door for me, in my mind. He provided a lot of new ideas and a lot of new ways of getting out of those habits that I had. Even though he passed away and we couldn’t have time to collaborate, I sort of still used a lot of the stuff that he did as a beacon, as something to shoot for, and something to try and be inspired by — just to get me off the train tracks. AJM: Obviously Chris’s passing was a major blow for the band, and
it feels like it catalyzed the songs on Carrier. I’m thinking about the first lines on “Transformer,” which introduce the big questions the album keeps coming back to: “What is a song? What is love? What does a song hold? Was it love?” ML: Well, it’s funny you’d bring up the first line of that song. That melody with that lyric was the very, very first thing I had, before I sat down and started writing songs for what ended up being Carrier. At the time, it could have been a solo record or a collab thing with Chris, whatever. It was like, this is the first thing I have, and it sort of drove the whole attitude — how I was going to write songs and write lyrics. Not to refer to more lyrics on the record, but try and figure out what is the substance of what I’m doing here. For me, Chris was somebody who had that. He played music with intention and with commitment. These are things I felt like I was lacking, and also having been stuck in this washing machine of habit, that had sucked that out for me. It was important for me to feel like there was an intention with everything. AJM: Looking back, do you think you achieved that? ML: I do. I feel really proud of that record. It’s funny, because we’re coming up on a very similar time in this new record cycle. It’s done and we’re feeling good about it. Around the same time for Carrier I remember feeling like once it was done the mission was accomplished and it didn’t really matter as much about how it was received, as maybe past records had been. To me, that was a sign that I had achieved what I wanted to with
that record. It felt like it was meaningful in itself, regardless of whether people liked it or people understood it or whatever. And looking back, I still feel that way. AJM: How does that play into the new record? Does it go in a similar direction thematically? ML: My initial instinct is to say — Logan would probably say this, and he’s coming at it from a different perspective, of course — it’s a relief, the record is cathartic in the energy that’s put forth in the songs, and also in the lyrical content. It’s more positive. But there’s a lot of sort of potential doomsday — a lot of questioning of how long this is going to last.
ML: I’m always expecting the end around the corner. But then you turn the corner and it’s like, oh, there’s something new. That’s what has kept it going: that I’m surprised at what is around the corner. And as long as there’s a granule of something that’s worth discovering or worth investigating, then I’ll keep doing it. If you ask questions, at least it keeps you open to the possibility of new things. Before we did No Color it felt like there were closed doors in front of us. Creatively, it seemed like this is what the band does and this is what the
band’s going to do, and it’s going to be really hard to deviate from that. Now there’s little exit windows. Like, this could take a turn. The Dodos May 18 @ O’Brians Event Centre (w/ Neko Case $35+ @ obrianseventcentre.ca
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AJM: Is that a bit of an odd position to find yourself in? I mean, Carrier is one of the best-reviewed records you’ve ever made, and it feels like the band is in a pretty good place, yet you’re asking these existential questions. ML: Never has the name of the band taken on more meaning than at a time like this, around this new record and the last year. It’s always been there. I don’t know what it is, if it’s just my temperament or whatever, but I always think that the end, our doom, is right around the corner. That’s always a thing that’s going on, questioning: is this what we should be doing? Are we still into it? Is it worth it? And I think the reason why it’s probably more potent on this new record is this is record number six, and the longer you go the more you’re going to wonder how much steam you’ve got left in the can. AJM: So what keeps you going? What lets you know that it is working, that you are doing something worth doing?
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I laughed, I cried, I split my side Group exhibition explores the dark side of laughter by Alex J MacPherson
I
n 1933, the Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz published a collection of short stories titled Pamiętnik z okresu dojrzewania, which when translated reads Memoirs from the Time of Immaturity. One of the stories, “The Memoirs of Stefan Czarniecki,” focuses on a perennial outsider’s struggle to make sense of social customs, values, and rituals. When the confused protagonist joins the military, he witnesses the death of another soldier, blown to pieces by an artillery shell. As the explosion tears him apart, the dying soldier does something uncanny — he laughs. Dagmara Genda, an artist and curator born in Koszalin, Poland and based in Saskatoon, is an admirer of “The Memoirs of Stefan Czarnieck.” Upon reading the story, she was struck by how the dying soldier’s laugh compelled his counterpart to give up trying to fit in. To create his own “Mystery” instead. “At the end of the story, he stuffs a toad under the blouse of his lover and she too shrieks in madness, her cries merging with
Photos: courtesy of aka gallery
Shanell Papp, 2014. The Hunting Party.
the hysterical soldier in a bizarre, disturbing and funny connection,” Genda writes in an email from London, England. “He evokes from her the horrible laugh through the infliction of his newfound Mystery.” The notion of the “horrible laugh” rests at the heart of I laughed, I cried, I split my side, a collection of works Genda spent the last several months researching and curating. “The horrible laugh is a contradiction,” she writes. “It is laughing in futility and perhaps at our own futility, when there is no other option left. It verges on the scream.” And just as Dostoevsky framed existence as a futile yet vital struggle against death, so too have generations of artists — Edvard Munch chief among them — railed against meaninglessness. According to Genda, it is “a laughter of futility, the act of laughing at existence itself.” I laughed, I cried, I split my side includes works by four contemporary Canadian artists. Kyle Beal’s contribution consists of mirrors covered in text — “The Heckler,” “The Critic,” “The Hack,” and so on — and is made to resemble a spotlight hitting a stage. His works create muted laughter by retraining the lights and upending the relationship between performer and audience. Shanell Papp, on the other hand, creates uncomfortable laughter by recreating a common situation using uncommon materials: balaclavas and a mask made from pins. Erica Eyres’ video installations are more direct. Her works use found footage to examine the source of awkward, embarrassed laughter. One of Christine Negus’ installation pieces reframes popular clichés as expressions of meaninglessness and futility. The other hinges on a suspended razor blade. The curatorial statement states that her work “teeters between deprecation and self-destruction.”
According to Genda, each of the artists “in some way subverts the role of viewer and viewed.” By turning the joke in on itself, they force the viewer to look inward, to examine the source and effects of laughter. This is also a clever means of addressing larger problems with the art world. Genda is concerned by the changing role of artists and audiences in a world dominated by commercialism. “I’m not saying that audience isn’t important,” she writes, referring to the trend of galleries “educating” the wider public. “I just think that the dialogue at times has gotten almost condescending to whatever it is we envision this public to be. I also think that if this “public” doesn’t like the art, maybe it’s the art’s turn not to like the public.” On a more visceral level, I laughed, I cried, I split my side explores the very nature of laughter itself. Some laughs are purely psychological, others strictly physical. Genda believes laughter of the horrible variety exists somewhere between these extremes. Which is precisely where our fear of dying, and hatred of it, resides. “When I look at Christine Negus’ works, she pokes fun of something as serious as suicide, making light of what is perhaps the ultimate choice we can make,” Genda writes, paraphrasing Camus’ assertion that suicide is the only “really serious philosophical problem.” “Here, the horrible laugh seems to be a way of coping. Laughing at death itself. But are we laughing at the futility of life or the futility of death? Perhaps both?” I laughed, I cried, I split my side Through June 14 @ AKA Gallery Feedback? Text it! (306) 881 8372
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By alex J MacPherson
Andino Suns — It’s Time To Rise independent-label, 2014 It’s Time To Rise, the sophomore album from Regina’s Andino Suns, is a testament to the band’s growth over the last eighteen months. Formed in 2009 by three Chilean-Canadians, Andino Suns quickly grew into a seven-piece band. It’s Time To Rise features drums and electric guitars alongside traditional instruments like the zampoña and quena. Unlike the band’s 2013 debut, which was sung entirely in Spanish, It’s Time To Rise includes songs written and performed in English. On some, like the slow-burning ballad “Freedom Fighter” and the bright and cheerful “Dreaming,” Andino Suns sound like a folk-rock band deploying the slightest hint
of Latin influence. Other tracks are more conventional: the fiery and propulsive “La Jula” and “Gitana,” a simple yet beautiful ballad, would not be out of place on the band’s first record. The most engaging tracks on It’s Time To Rise are those that fall in the middle. The reverb-drenched guitars and Andrés Dávalos’ raspy vocals on “Havana Sun” conjure up the spectre of a darker, rootsier Bedouin Soundclash. The title track, a deeply felt examination of Latin America’s long history of political turmoil, unfolds over a hypnotic guitar groove, and ends on a triumphant note, as Dávalos bellows: “Raise your fists and resist, take no more / It’s time to rise!” Andino Suns’ ability to seamlessly switch from Latin-style grooves to rock pyrotechnics is on display on “Toro,” which tells the
story of a courageous bullfighter. The song opens as a traditional romantic ballad before settling into a lively groove. Then the band changes gears, and the song launches into a soaring guitar solo — an unexpected yet not displeasing blast of Santana-esque smoothness. Musical fusion of the sort practiced by Andino Suns is never an easy sell, but the seven musicians who make up the band are getting better and better at melding their favourite sounds into something distinctive and compelling. With each new record, they come closer to a sound that is entirely their own. It’s Time To Rise is not perfect, but its best moments suggest that the band is honing in on something great.
Plague Vendor — Free To Eat Epitaph, 2014 What Plague Vendor’s debut album lacks in length, it makes up for in raw energy. Clocking in at just eighteen minutes, Free To Eat captures the feeling of an disorderly basement punk show. The Whittier, California quartet got started playing shows in offbeat venues — basements, warehouses, anywhere. Like those teenage mob scenes, Free To Eat is an exercise in barely restrained chaos — proof that punk is best when dangling from the slenderest of threads. The biggest presence on the album is vocalist Brandon Blaine, whose unearthly wailing is a potent counterpoint to the spiky guitars and roiling rhythm section. On “Cursed Love, Hexed Lust,” he sounds a bit like Jack White. Then the band ratchets up the tempo, and his primal howl is transformed into a machine-gun burst of
black musings and dangerous dreams vaguely reminiscent of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis. Blaine reaches his frenzied apex on “Seek The Ruby Scarab,” sixty seconds of violent power chords and shrieking vitriol. But Free To Eat is much more than just eighteen minutes of noise. Blaine’s secret weapon is not his willingness to let go, but his ability to exercise restraint. On “Garden Lanterns,” his delivery is rhythmic and measured. Instead of dominating, he hangs back and allows Jay Rogers’ piercing guitar to propel the song forward. On “My Tongue Is So Treacherous,” he cuts loose with an inhuman scream before settling into the song’s metallic, Dick Dale-inspired groove. It’s the same story with the guitars, bass, and drums: by backing off occasionally, Plague Vendor only accentuate the big moments, of which there are plenty. The upshot is that Free To Eat maintains a sense of balance in spite
of the band’s obvious fondness for lightning tempos and colossal bursts of shrill guitar noise. Infused with elements of surf and early rock, the album is a refreshing break from the de rigueur California punk sound. And by indulging their obsession with folklore and mysticism (“Black Sap Scriptures,” “Plague Vendor”), as well as more straightforward themes like late-night debauchery and getting the hell out of town (“Breakdance On Broken Glass,” “Finical Fatalist”), Plague Vendor produced a record that is as penetrating as it is noisy. Which is as good a definition of contemporary punk as you’ll find anywhere.
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Feature
The Worse Things G The Harder I Fight
Neko Case on the difficult birth of her latest — and potentially gr by Alex J MacPherson
T
he title of Neko Case’s latest album perfectly captures the spirit of her life and her career. Released late last year, The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You is Case’s eighth album, not counting her work with the New Pornographers, with whom she has made albums for fifteen years. It is also a disarmingly poignant collection of songs that branch out from her alt-country roots in half a dozen different directions. In some respects, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight is the natural extension of 2009’s Middle Cyclone: the sonics are similar, the songs more refined, more potent. But Case’s new record emerged from much different, and much more difficult, circumstances than any of its predecessors. After releasing Middle Cyclone, Case lost her beloved grandmother. A few months later, she lost her parents, too. Although she was not close with her mother and father, all three deaths affected her deeply. She found herself sinking into depression. In a 2013 interview with The Guardian, she described it as “physically disabling,” like being “in this plastic bag.” Her notorious sense of humour evaporated, leaving her “a little pan-
icky.” But Case refused to succumb. Although she does not remember writing some of it, The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight emerged not as a catalogue of infirmity, but a conscious attempt to examine, to analyze — and to overcome. Neko Case was born in Alexandria, Virginia. After a childhood shaped by divorce and perhaps best described as transient, she left home at fifteen. After several years in Tacoma, Washington, she moved to British Columbia to study at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and
releasing cagey alt-country records. She quickly established herself as a talented songwriter and an earthshattering vocalist. The battered and bruised Fender Jazzmaster she often plays is evidence of the way she attacks her guitar, playing each chord as if everything depends on it. Since she released her third solo album, Blacklisted, in 2002, Case’s sound has been creeping steadily away from her alt-country beginnings. Her more recent efforts tend to bedevil critics searching for the
It was plain old grief and confusion. The record happened in spite of the depression rather than because of it. neko case
Design. (Her left and right forearms are tattooed with “Scorned as Timber” and “Beloved of the Sky,” which combine to form the title of a Emily Carr painting; it depicts a lonely tree soaring high into the atmosphere, far above the rugged earth below.) While still at school, she forged connections with members of the New Pornographers and began
perfect description. The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight contains elements of folk, country, pop, and rock and roll, yet cleaves to none of them. The main anchor is her rich and lusty voice, which she manipulates with ease, moving seamlessly from contemplative restraint to unhinged wildness and back again. This is evident Continued on next page »
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Get, Photo: courtesy of Emily Shur
reatest — album on tracks like “Man,” a rollicking subversion of traditional gender roles and an affirmation of common humanity: “I’m a man / There’s innocence in all mankind / It’s what kind of animal I am / It’s that simple.” The centrepiece of the album is one of the strangest songs Case has ever recorded. A stirring a cappella tune, “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu” transforms a cruel conversation between a mother and child into an exegesis of the album’s prominent themes: strength and vulnerability, violence
distance and pain. The muffled sonar ping that opens “Where Did I Leave That Fire” hints at what follows: a clear and concise description of depression and fear: “A chill ran through me and I grabbed on tight / That was when I left my body for good / And I shook off all the strength I’d earned.” Which is not exactly true. The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight finds Case at her most exposed, her most vulnerable. But the sheer force of will needed to transform a probing examination of identity into a ringing celebration of life makes it difficult to conceive of Case as a victim. “I think it can go either way,” she wrote in a recent e-mail. “I don’t think you need to suffer at all though. I think it’s an unhealthy myth about creative people and the way they work.” The upshot is that Case didn’t make The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight because of her depression, but in spite of it. And that is just one reason why it ranks among her finest achievements. Alex J MacPherson: The title of the record suggests that this wasn’t easy, and probably still isn’t. What prompted you to give the record a title steeped in conflict and, I think, uncertainty?
and depression, a sense of helplessness in the face of time’s relentless arrow. Other tracks on the record are more conventional, but no less intoxicating. “Wild Creatures” is a brooding, mid-tempo ballad that strips the disguise of refinement from the beast within, “Calling Cards” a quietly hopeful denunciation of time and
the immediate nature of it. I liked the idea that if it could just exist in the air I would commit. Like jumping into a quarry swimming hole.
NC: Yeah, but it comes from hard work. Ideas are king. You really have to wait on them hand and foot. Then they breed like rabbits. It can be overwhelming. I don’t always have a focus, but I always have intent to work.
AJM: How has your work with the New Pornographers, or indeed any of the other projects you’ve been involved with, affected the way you approach making a Neko Case record?
AJM: “Nearly Midnight, Honolulu” is a powerful centrepiece for the record, and I think a great expression of the themes that run through the album. Can you tell me a bit about that song? Was that an incident you witnessed? Why did it resonate with you, and prompt the decision to put the song right in the middle of the record?
NC: They definitely inspire me toward choruses and gang-vocals. The only difference is I usually have to make a “gang” out of myself on the recordings. [Longtime collaborator Kelly] Hogan helps a great deal. AJM: Now that this record is out, how do you think it positioned you,
both as a songwriter and a person, for the future? NC: I’m sure it has, and for the good, but I have to confess I’m still afraid of depression. I don’t want it back any time soon. Neko Case May 18 @ O’Brians Event Centre (only show in Saskatchewan!) $35+ @ obrianseventcentre.com
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NC: It is a verbatim conversation witnessed by me. I still think about that kid and hope she’s doing okay. AJM: You’ve talked about avoiding writing “traditional love songs,” yet “Calling Cards” is one of the most achingly beautiful love songs I’ve heard all year. Did you consciously relax that rule for this record? NC: Well, it’s a love song for all my bandmates, so I still think it’s non-traditional. God help me if I actually fall in love! I might make myself puke with teenage mooning.
Neko Case: I was explaining to a friend the difficulty I was having naming the record. I said to him, “what I’m trying to get across is; the worse things get… etc.” Then I realized that was what I wanted to impart to my listeners. AJM: You’ve spoken openly about the difficult circumstances surrounding this record’s birth. Can you tell me a bit about what happened, and how it may have influenced the writing and recording of this record?
Photo: courtesy of Jason Creps
think, “I’m going to write about this” or “I’m going to write about that,” or do you find yourself surprised by what emerges?
NC: I was just really depressed. I lost several family members in a short time. It was plain old grief and confusion. The record happened in spite of the depression rather than because of it. I was the opposite of inspired by it, in any way. AJM: In the past, you’ve written songs from all kinds of perspectives, including that of a tornado. What is your songwriting process like? Do you
AJM: How do you think the process of living with and making this record changed you, and the way you think about the world? NC: I realized even in the compromised state I was in that I was still effective, still functional and that was my road out. AJM: Musically, this feels like one of the most diverse and eclectic records you’ve ever made. Did you maybe open yourself up to more musical ideas with this record? NC: I try to do that with every record, but this one is a bit more odd, I think. The a cappella song was written in the car, I was singing into a handheld recorder. I think I liked
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Comfort food and funky interior
Photo: Courtesy of adam hawboldt
Foxy’s: a cool little place to grab lunch by adam hawboldt
T
he interior of Foxy’s is nothing like I expected. It’s funkier, cooler, more chic than what I’d envisioned. When you walk in, the first thing you notice is the walls. Paint-
Taking a seat in a high-backed booth (so high you’re afforded nearly complete privacy), I surveyed the room. In the centre there’s a pillar that’s home to two electric fireplaces, and two televisions. Manchester City was playing Aston Villa on one. What was on the other I don’t rightly remember — partly because I was watching the soccer game, but mostly because I was feeling a little under the weather and was too lazy to look. Well, and also because I was fairly immersed in the menu. You ever have one of those days? Bones aching, head a million miles away from where it should be? I don’t know about you, but when I feel like that all I want is some good ol’ fashioned comfort food. So that’s what I looked for on the menu. Nothing fancy, nothing intricate or too detailed. Just comfort food. And while the thought of getting a burger (crispy Thai chicken) and some ciabatta cor-dee did cross
ed bright lime green and an earthy shade of reddish brown, the walls at Foxy’s really grab your attention. So does the geometric art work — circles, squares, ovals — that hang on them.
let’s go drinkin’ Verb’s mixology guide Strawberry-rhubarb sangria
Ingredients
Feel like a fresh fruity drink now that the snow has finally left? Mix yourself up a batch of this, then kick back and enjoy the sun.
1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 2 rhubarb stalks (cut into 1/2 inch pieces) 1/2 cup fresh orange juice 1 orange (cut into slices) 1 pint strawberries (hulled and quartered) 4 cups of soda water 1 bottle of white wine ice
Directions
In small sauce pan bring sugar and water to a boil. Add rhubarb. Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature (about 30 minutes). In a large pitcher combine orange juice, orange slices and strawberries. When cool, add the rhubarb mixture. Pour in soda water, wine and ice. Serve and enjoy!
my mind, in the end I went for something simple. I went with the triple decker grilled cheese sandwich. It was Wednesday, and the server (who was exceedingly pleasant) informed me that extra toppings on the sandwich were free. I thought to myself “why the heck not,” and asked if she could put a mound of bacon on the sandwich and send it out with a side of borscht. The meal didn’t disappoint. The sandwich was cheesy, buttery and loaded with big slabs of bacon (which, let’s be honest, is key to a great grilled cheese sandwich). The borsht was savoury with some real zip. Put them together, and it’s exactly what the doctor ordered, exactly the type of comfort food I was looking for. Next time though — when I’m feeling a bit better, a bit more like my usual chipper self — I’m going to be a bit more adventurous and get that ciabatta cor-dee. It sounded yummy.
Foxy’s Lounge and Eatery 821 Central Avenue | (306) 955 4130
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Next Week
coming up
City and Colour
Mother f**kers
Michale Graves
@ Credit Union Centre Sunday, May 18 – $46.50+
@ Vangelis Sunday, May 18 – Cover TBD
@ O’Brians Event Centre thursday, July 3 – $20
Since releasing his first album in 2005, Dallas Green (the guy who writes, records and performs under the alias City and Colour) has amassed a cult-like following amongst alt-folkie types — and for good reason. The musician from Ontario is an inspired songwriter with an unmistakable voice, and his pared-down acoustic sound has won Green fans, as well as earned him a pair of Juno awards. On the heels of releasing his fourth studio album, The Hurry and the Harm, Green will be bringing his U.S./Canada tour to the Credit Union Centre. The touring band consists of Jack Lawrence (bass), Doug MacGregor (drums), Matt Kelly (pedal steel/organ/piano), Dante Schwebel (guitar) and, of course, the man himself — Dallas Green. Tickets available through Ticketmaster.
The lads in the punk outfit The Motherf**kers are quite creative when coming up with band names. When the band was first formed in 1998, a few options were thrown around. They thought briefly about calling themselves The Butcher Boys and Inside Joke (with the album cover being a picture of a prostate), before settling on Rowdy Roger and the Motherf**kers. Eventually Roger Nilson left the band and the group went on hiatus. When they got back together they toyed with the idea of being called Sensitive Sean and the Pig F**kers, but settled on simply dropping the “Rowdy Roger” bit from their previous band name; hence, the Motherf**kers. And these prairie punk rockers have been going strong ever since — albeit with a host of line-up changes along the way.
Michale Graves has been in a band or two in his life. He was a member of the Mopes and the Lost Boys. He was also in the Graves Band, Gotham Road, and the ‘90s reincarnation of the Misfits. Yes, those Misfits. Back in 1995 when the seminal punk band was reforming with a new line up, Graves bought a Misfits compilation CD, listened the hell out of it, and went to audition. He landed the gig as the lead singer and went on to appear on eight Misfits albums. These days he’s doing the solo thing, and doing it quite well. Sticking to the horror-punk/ hardcore punk genre, Graves plays the kind of heavy, in-your-face music that’ll make you want to jump in a mosh pit. Tickets for the show are available at obrianseventcentre.ca. – By Adam Hawboldt
Photos courtesy of: dani silvia/ Coralee Cahoon/ the artist
Sask music Preview It’s time for a SaskMusic membership drive! Everyone who is a SaskMusic member by May 31 will be entered to win a $250 gift certificate to the music/ tech shop of their choice, with more prizes to be announced. The benefits of being a SaskMusic member include one-on-one consultations; the ability to participate in Music2Media; discounts on (or free) music workshops, and much more. Prospective members are invited to stop in, give us a call, and/or book a free 1/2-hour consult to find out more about SaskMusic: 306-347-0676, 1-800-347-0676 or visit our Membership Benefits page https://www.saskmusic.org/about-us/membership-info
19
diva’s
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may 9 » may 17 The most complete live music listings for Saskatoon. S
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Friday 9
House DJs / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk, soul & lounge DJs liven it up. 9pm / No cover Bass Invaders / Amigos Cantina — With The Divided, Wenches and Rogues. 10pm / Cover TBD
Maurice Drouin / The Bassment — Smooth jazz stylings. 4:30pm / No cover Songwriter Night Pt.1 / Bassment — Heather Aitken + more. 9pm / $15+ Flashback Fridays / Béily’s — The best of the ‘80s, ‘90s & top 40 hits. 9pm / $5 cover Undercover Pirates / Bon Temps — A rockin’ local four piece. 9pm / Cover TBD Riff Raff / Buds — Playing classic rock anthems. 9pm / Cover TBD Johnny Don’t / Capitol — A local rock/ pop group. 9pm / $8 BPM / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin electro/ vocal house music. 10pm / $5 Maclean Brothers / Finn’s — Great musicians from Winnipeg. 8:30pm / No cover DJ Eclectic / The Hose — Local turntable whiz pumps snappy beats. 8pm / No cover DJ Big Ayyy & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — Round up your friends . 8pm / $5
Apollo Cruz / Piggy’s — High-octane blues. 9pm / Cover TBD Zeljko Bilandzic / Prairie Ink — Playing classical, flamenco and Latin guitar. 8pm / No cover DJ Stikman / Rain — Come and get your weekend started! 9pm / Cover TBD Dr. J / Spadina Freehouse — Come dance at the SOULED OUT show. 9pm / No cover Idle Rains / Stan’s Place — Come out for a rockin’ good time. 9pm / No cover Transcontinental Blues Band / Somewhere Else Pub — Blues done right. 9pm / No cover Gunner and Smith / Vangelis — With Real Panchos and more. 10pm / Cover TBD
Saturday 10
House DJs / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin deep and soulful tunes. 9pm / No cover
Comments and Concerns / Amigos — With Pandacorn + more. 10pm / Cover TBD The Stone Frigate Big Band / The Bassment — Playing swing from the 30s and 40s. 8pm / $15/$20 DJ Aash Money + DJ Sugar Daddy / Béily’s UltraLounge — These two DJs throw down a dance party every Saturday night. 9pm / $5 cover Eclipse Chorus Anniversary Show / Broadway Theatre — Highlights from the past 10 years. 6:30pm / $22 Riff Raff / Buds — Playing classic rock anthems. 9pm / Cover TBD Pink Wig Gala After Party / Capitol — Featuring Sam Corbett and Charly Hustle. 9pm / Cover TBD SaturGAY Night / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin exclusive dance remixes every Saturday. 10pm / $5 DJ Kade / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon’s own DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DJ Goodtimes / Longbranch — Playing the hottest country music all night. 8pm / $4 cover Hopsin / O’Brians Event Centre — A rapper from California with a smooth flow. 9pm / $25+ (tickets.obrianseventcentre.ca) DJ Big Ayyy & DJ Henchman / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Round up your friends ‘cause there’s no better country rock party around. 8pm / $5 Apollo Cruz / Piggy’s — High-octane blues. 9pm / Cover TBD Whiskey on Sunday / Prairie Ink — A folk/Irish/country trio. 8pm / No cover DJ Stikman / Rain — Playing all the ladies’ favourites for girls night out! 9pm / Cover TBD Funktion Saturdays / Spadina Freehouse — A music collective doing it’s thing. 9pm / No cover Idle Rains / Stan’s Place — Come out for a rockin’ good time. 9pm / No cover Transcontinental Blues Band / Somewhere Else Pub — Blues music done right. 9pm / No cover DJ Anchor / Sutherland Bar — It’s the world famous video mix show! 10pm / Cover TBD Naysa / Vangelis — With Snake River and Anna Haverstock. 10pm / Cover TBD
Sunday 11
Industry Night / Béily’s UltraLounge — Hosted by DJ Sugar Daddy; this crowd favourite has always been known to break the latest and greatest tracks in multiple genres. 9pm / $4; no cover for industry staff Acoustic Night / Buds — Featuring Al Morrison. 9pm / Cover TBD
The Emeralds / Dakota Dunes — Celebrate Mother’s Day with this band from Edmonton. 7pm / 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
Monday 12
The Ian Summach Trio / Bon Temps Cafe — Debuting six original songs. 7pm / Cover TBD Dick MacInnis / Buds — Eclectic musician playing eclectic songs. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Audio / Dublins — Spinning dope beats. 9pm / Cover TBD Snak the Ripper / Louis’ Pub — With Merkules and Jacyln Gee. 9pm / $20 Jessy Lanza / Vangelis — Also appearing: Twin Voices. 9pm / $8 (ticketedge.ca)
Tuesday 13
Dick MacInnis / Buds — Eclectic musician playing eclectic songs. 9pm / Cover TBD 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. 9:30pm / $4 cover DJ Nick Ruston / Dublins — Spinning dope beats. 9pm / Cover TBD Verb presents Open Mic / Rock Bottom — Come and rock the stage! 9pm / No cover Open Mic / Somewhere Else Pub — Come out to show your talent. 7pm / No cover
Wednesday 14
DJ Modus / 302 Lounge & Discotheque — Spinning all your favourite tracks. 9pm / No cover until 10pm; $3 thereafter The Bjorn Thoroddsen Trio / The Bassment — One of Icleand’s leading jazz guitarists. 8pm / $17/$23 Salsa Night / Béily’s — Latin music and salsa dance lessons. 8:30pm / Cover TBD Dick MacInnis / Buds — An eclectic musician playing eclectic songs. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Memo / Dublins — Spinning dope beats. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Kade / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover Atmosphere / O’Brians Event Centre — A hip-hop duo from Minneapolis. 8pm / $34 (ticketmaster.ca) Buck Wild Wednesdays / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Come out and ride the mechanical bull! 9pm / $4; no cover for industry staff Continued on next page »
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Stephen Maguire / Rock Creek (Willowgrove) — Come out for some laid-back tunes. 8pm / No cover Cougars in America / Underground Cafe — With Myles and the Blanks. 9pm / Cover TBD
Thursday 15
Songwriter Night Part II / The Bassment — Featuring Kristen Berkel, Kirby Criddle + many more. 8pm / $15/$20 Self Evolution / Buds — A four-piece rock act from Edmonton. 9pm / Cover TBD DJ Kade / The Hose — Saskatoon DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DJ Goodtimes / Longbranch — Playing the hottest country music. 8pm / $4 cover DJ Paola Shea / Rain — Former Maxim model turned DJ. 9pm / $10+ 36? / Vangelis — With Sexy Preacher an Cpt. Pickard. 9pm / Cover TBD Open Stage / The Woods — Hosted by Steven Maier. 9pm / No cover
Men Without Shame / Buds — A glamified classic rock party band. 9pm / Cover TBD SaturGAY Night / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin exclusive dance remixes every Saturday. 10pm / $5 DJ Kade / The Hose & Hydrant — Saskatoon’s own DJ lights it up with hot tunes. 8pm / No cover DJ Goodtimes / Longbranch — Playing the hottest country music all night. 8pm / $4 cover Nightrain / O’Brians Event Centre — 100 Mile Ride Child Abuse Awareness Show. 9:30pm / $20 DJ Big Ayyy & DJ Henchman / Outlaws Country Rock Bar — Round up your friends ‘cause there’s no better country rock party around. Come rocks your socks off! 8pm / $5
The Lost Keys / Prairie Ink — Playing eclectic easy listening. 8pm / No cover DJ Stikman / Rain — Playing all the ladies’ favourites for girls night out! 9pm / Cover TBD Jett Run / Stan’s Place — Come out for a rockin’ good time. 9pm / No cover DJ Anchor / Sutherland Bar — It’s the world famous video mix show! 10pm / Cover TBD Motherf**kers / Vangelis — With Mystery Squad, Exoskeleton + more. 10pm / $8
Get listed Have a live show you'd like to promote? Let us know! layout@verbnews.com
Friday 16
House DJs / 6Twelve Lounge — Funk, soul & lounge DJs liven it up. 9pm / No cover All Mighty Voices / Amigos Cantina — With Fisticuffs. 10pm / Cover TBD Piano Fridays: Martin Janovsky / The Bassment — Smooth jazz stylings. 4:30pm / No cover Flashback Fridays / Béily’s — The best of the ‘80s, ‘90s & top 40 hits. 9pm / $5 cover Banjo Van / Bon Temps Cafe — Rockin’ banjo tunes. 9pm / Cover TBD Men Without Shame / Buds — A glamified classic rock band. 9pm / Cover TBD BPM / Diva’s — Resident DJs spin electro/ vocal house music. 10pm / $5 DJ Eclectic / The Hose — Local turntable whiz pumps snappy beats. 8pm / No cover DJ Big Ayyy & DJ HENCHMAN / Outlaws — Round up your friends. 8pm / $5 Self Evolution / Piggy’s — An Edmonton rock four piece. 9pm / Cover TBD Slightly-Off-Centre / Prairie Ink — Playing rock and country. 8pm / No cover DJ Stikman / Rain — Come and get your weekend started! 9pm / Cover TBD Jett Run / Stan’s Place — Come out for a rockin’ good time. 9pm / No cover Future Forests / Vangelis — With Ravewind and Pandas in Japan. 10pm / $10
Saturday 17
House DJs / 6Twelve — Resident DJs spin deep and soulful tunes. 9pm / No cover Evan Dando / Amigos Cantina — With guest, Sara Johnston. 10pm / $12 DJs Aash Money + Sugar Daddy / Béily’s — These two DJs throw it down. 9pm / $5
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Neighbours from hell
Photo: Courtesy of universal pictures
New Seth Rogen comedy is hilarious and real by adam hawboldt
H
ell is other people.” John-Paul Sartre wrote that in his play, No Exit. And whether Andrew J. Cohen or Brendan O’Brien — the writing team who penned the new flick, Neighbors — ever read No Exit, I have no idea. But I do know this: the idea of hell being other people is front and centre in their new comedy. The plot of Neighbors is fairly straightforward. In the beginning, we’re introduced to Mac and Kelly Radner (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) — a young, married couple who have a new, doe-eyed daughter. The Radners live in the suburbs and are enjoying their quiet life — until they get new neighbours, that is, and their peaceful existence is shattered. Who are these new neighbours? A round-the-clock party better known as the Delta Psi fraternity, led
The relationship is off to a good start, but the next night the frat brothers are back at it: chugging beer and making an almighty uproar. Mac calls the cops on them, so Teddy declares war on his new neighbours. What happens after that is a backand-forth series of pranks that get wilder and more outrageous as the war rages on.
by their alpha-bro president, Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron). Mac and Kelly want to seem cool, so they greet the new neighbours with a smile and ask them — in a way that’ll make you giggle — if they could possibly keep the noise down. Teddy promises they will, then invites the Radners to their house-warming bash. And what a bash it is! A bash
…the humour in Neighbors gets better and bigger as the movie unfolds at breakneck speed. Adam Hawboldt
Eventually, the college dean (Lisa Kudrow) is forced to intervene, and puts Delta Psi on probation. One
where the Radners prove their coolness by drinking booze and doing copious amounts of hallucinogens.
more strike and they’re out. And you can bet your bottom dollar that Mac and Kelly try to instigate that last strike, by hook or crook. And that is the plot of Neighbors. Admittedly it’s kind of thin, and essentially operates as one set piece after another. But here’s the thing: each and every set piece is kick ass and hilarious. And in Neighbors, the laughs begin early and never stop. Heck, unlike a lot of movies, the humour in Neighbors gets better and bigger as the movie unfolds at breakneck speed. It’s raunchy and vulgar and wildly funny. It’s unpredictable and outrageous. It’s also disgusting and insane and ludicrous and unrealistic. But so what? It’s an enjoyable hour and a half in which Rogen and Efron get to do their thing. And while Neighbors is arguably the funniest movie released so far this year, it’s also more than a joke-
Neighbors Nicholas Stoller Starring Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne + David Franco Directed by
96 minutes | 18A
a-minute marathon. It’s also an intimate look at a couple who are facing some of the big obstacles of first-time parents — baby care, lack of sex, no time alone, etc. Put that together with some of the funniest sight gags you’ve seen in a while, and Neighbors is a sure-fire winner (though not for the easily offended or faint of heart).
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A search for identity
New Polish film, Ida, is stunning and powerful by adam hawboldt
E
very now and then a movie comes along that will really blow your hair back. It will stagger you with its beauty, floor you with its gravity, leave you numb with a strange feeling you’re not quite sure how to define. Ida is one of those movies. At least it was for me. Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, the film begins in a Polish convent. There are Latin chants, statues of Jesus, and snow. There’s also Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska) — a young woman preparing to take her vows to become a nun. Before she does that, though, the Mother Superior suggests Anna go into the city and meet her aunt, her only living relative. Anna, who was orphaned as a child and raised by the nuns, agrees. The year is 1962. The place, communist Poland.
[Ida] is an incredible journey about a young woman’s search for identity. Adam Hawboldt
When she meets her aunt Wanda (Agata Kulesza), Anna is taken aback. Here is a dark-haired woman clad in a bathrobe. She’s waiting for a man to get dressed in the next room. She drinks (sometimes straight from the bottle), and smokes constantly. Wanda is brusque and worldly. Still glamorous, she has nevertheless been toughened by war and circumstance. She tells her niece that her real name isn’t Anna, it’s Ida, and she’s Jewish. She also tells Ida that
Photo: Courtesy of music box films
her parents put her up for adoption before they went into hiding during the War. That both her parents are dead, the whereabouts of their remains unknown. What follows is an incredible journey about a young woman’s search for identity. Ida, desperate to find out about her past, sets out (with Wanda in tow) to see the village where her parents lived. And so begins a road trip movie unlike any you’ve ever seen. Along the way a strange and tender bond forms between the two women. Ida meets a handsome saxophone player (Dawid Ogrodnik) who is drawn to her, and she to him. But growing up in a convent, Ida has troubles coming to terms with the whirlwind of emotions she’s experiencing. Filmed in black and white, and shot with the boxy aspect ratio of an old-time movie, the film is stunning. It’s spare, haunting, elegant, and uncompromising. There’s not too much talking in the film, but in the moments of silence it speaks volumes. Much of the credit for that must go to the lead actresses. As the slightly delusional, hard-drinking aunt, Kulesza absolutely nails it. And as
IDA Pawel Pawlikowski Agata Trzebuchowska, Agata Kulesza + Dawid Ogrodnik Directed by Starring
80 minutes | PG
Ida, Trzebuchowska is brilliant. She displays powerful emotion through subtle body language, and hits all the right notes when she delivers lines. Never is this more apparent than when she finds out what happened to her parents. Not to spoil the moment (other than saying it’s probably not what you expect), but Trzebuchowska is stunning, and hits a high note of her young acting career. Ida is a quiet and beautiful and powerful film. It is perhaps not the feel-good movie of the year, but what a movie it is nonetheless. Ida is currently being screened at Broadway Theatre; see broadwaytheatre.ca for more information.
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tuesday, may 6 @
sports on tap
Sports on Tap 2606 Lorne Avenue (306) 683 8921
Photography by Patrick Carley
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tuesday, may 6 @
red zone
Red Zone Premium Sports Bar 106 Circle Drive West (306) 978 6514
Photography by Patrick Carley
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Check out our Facebook page! These photos will be uploaded to Facebook on Friday, May 16. facebook.com/verbsaskatoon
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comics PH
Š Elaine M. Will | blog.E2W-Illustration.com | Check onthebus.webcomic.ws/ for previous editions!
29 May 9 – May 15 @verbsaskatoon
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crossword canadian criss-cross
© walter D. Feener 2014
30. Boot uppers 33. Place in Ontario where ìJohn Qî film’s baseball scene was filmed 37. In the manner of 38. Some people 40. Of long ago 41. Made melodious sounds 43. ‘Got it!’ 45. It may be served à la mode 46. One who skips school 48. Meddle with 50. Doug Henning’s forte 51. Sing in succession 52. Trellis piece 53. European river
DOWN 1. Speed up 2. Time period 3. Greedy 4. Translates into plain text 5. Having no distinctive flavour 6. Easy toss 7. Missing, as a soldier 8. Town crier 9. Dog with a foxlike head 11. Strong fibre 12. Word used to address the Queen 14. Drinks like a dog 17. Portable timepieces 20. A bit wet
22. Coughlike utterance sudoku answer key 25. Become corroded A 27. Guessing game 29. Complete outfit for a newborn baby 30. Immense 31. Warning of danger 32. Transmission type 34. Fall over 35. Bay window B 36. ___-do-well 39. Trailer’s connection to a car 42. Noise of a baby trying to imitate speech 44. British nobleman 47. Louse egg 49. Unruly group of people
1 2 5 7 6 4 9 8 3 7 9 3 8 1 2 4 6 5 8 6 4 9 5 3 2 1 7 4 3 6 2 9 7 8 5 1 5 8 2 6 4 1 3 7 9 9 1 7 3 8 5 6 2 4 6 5 1 4 3 8 7 9 2 2 4 8 1 7 9 5 3 6 3 7 9 5 2 6 1 4 8
1. The top 5. General lack of interest in life 9. Cut in slices 10. Put down 12. Picture made of small coloured pieces 13. Away from the mouth 15. Creative work 16. Fluffy feathers 18. Master of Tibetan Buddhism 19. Elderly 21. Father, in toddler talk 23. Mouth piece 24. Mosque tower 26. Keeps secret 28. What a bodybuilder builds
2 7 3 8 4 9 1 6 5 9 6 4 5 1 2 3 7 8 1 5 8 7 3 6 9 4 2 4 9 7 1 5 3 2 8 6 3 8 2 9 6 7 4 5 1 6 1 5 4 2 8 7 3 9 5 2 9 6 7 4 8 1 3 8 4 1 3 9 5 6 2 7 7 3 6 2 8 1 5 9 4
ACROSS
Horoscopes may 9 - may 15 Aries March 21–April 19
Leo July 23–August 22
Sagittarius November 23–December 21
You are going to be determined to get ahead this week, Aries. Keep your nose to the grindstone, but don’t run over others in your race to the finish.
Have you been feeling a little off lately, Leo? If so, it’s no big deal. Things should return to normal this week.
Don’t be afraid to take chances, Sagittarius. Even impossible tasks can be made possible if you try. All you have to do is take that chance.
Taurus April 20–May 20
Virgo August 23–September 22
Capricorn December 22–January 19
If the opportunity for travel comes along in the next few days,Taurus, be sure to jump at it. It’s important for you to get out there.
Be wary of your frenemies this week, Virgo. There could be someone close to you that doesn’t have your best interests at heart.
You’re going to be flooded with ideas later this week, Capricorn. Problem is, they’re not going to be all good ones. Sift through accordingly.
Gemini May 21–June 20
Libra September 23–October 23
Aquarius January 20–February 19
An increased clarity of mind will be yours this week, Gemini. Use this streamlined focus to accomplish that one thing you’ve been putting off.
All is not what it seems in the coming days, Libra, so don’t fret about things too much. Try to use your intuition to help you navigate.
This is one of those weeks when you may find your head in the clouds. Try to stay grounded — there’s stuff that needs your attention down here.
Cancer June 21–July 22
Scorpio October 24–November 22
Pisces February 20–March 20
If you leave yourself open to it, you will have some interesting practical and philosophical discussions this week.
Are you a self-aware person, Scorpio? If not, there’s no better time than the present to figure out who you truly are.
Keep your mind open to bits of advice others give you this week, Pisces. You may need guidance more than you realize.
sudoku 2 3 8 4 9 6 1 3 7 1 5 4 9 7 5 3 2 8 5 1 6 4 8 7 5 9 6 8 1 3 9 6 2 7 2 4
crossword answer key
A
5 4 9 7 3 2 5 8 5 3 1 7 6 2 5 1 8 2 6 4 9 9 3 6 1 8 2 4 1 7 9 6 3 7 4 8
B
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