PASSENGER SIDE

Sat, Oct 3 (2pm)

If your brother is a drug addict, you obviously want to help. You probably don’t want to help him score anymore drugs, though. When Michael gets a call from his estranged and troubled brother Tobey, asking for a brotherly favour in the form of taxi-service, he’s naturally skeptical. But this sibling relationship is more mutually dependent than it looks: Michael, an aspiring novelist, writes books with his addled brother as the main character while trying to pretend Tobey isn’t the model. His brother then surprises him by admitting that he’s read Tobey’s first novel (and noticed the striking resemblance), and then by revealing he’s not planning to score drugs at all.
Passenger Side is an engaging look at sibling rivalry and the disappointment that comes with failing to accomplish your life’s goals. It’s a meandering, occasionally long-winded film, but Adam Scott and Joel Bissonnette are likable enough to keep it afloat. In the end, after countless pit-stops and indirect conversations, Michael and Tobey grow as brothers, but realize entirely different things as individuals.



***1/2


SONGS FROM THE SOUTHERN SEAS

Tue, Sept 29 (5:15pm)
I know, I know: we’re supposed to give foreign films more credit for being deeper, more challenging, and while they may be more difficult to “get,” when you do get it, it’s well worth the wait and effort. Songs From the Southern Seas could be one of those movies. Or it could be an absolutely convoluted, irritatingly unclear attempt at conveying something profound. What, exactly? Beats me.
Set in Kazakhstan, Songs’ underdeveloped plot revolves around a disillusioned and distraught couple who have a new child. Unfortunately, the child is of a darker shade than the father would hope for. This sparks a rivalry between the Kazahk “father” and the Russian man he suspects is the father. The child becomes the cause not just of eternal unhappiness on the part of his “father” but continued bitterness towards the world on the part of his mother. But as the story unfolds — or at least I think it unfolds this way — the characters realize that love is what should fuel their lives, not misdirected anger. Songs’ plot thickens when love enters; sadly, I found the story too thin right from the
get-go.


**

Disc Of The Week

Corb Lund

Losin’ Lately Gambler

(New West)

****
Corb Lund couldn’t have written a more perfect album for his first big American release. He calls upon his the solid songwriting of his early material, but Losin’ Lately Gambler has clearly had a lot more studio time put into the finished product. Longtime fans of Lund and his Hurtin’ Albertans won’t be disappointed, but a few surprises are in store for them too. While the album starts in true, raucous Lund style with a couple of familiar-sounding tracks, along come a couple of darker gems. True, his previous album Horse Soldier! Horse Soldier! explored darker territory, but new songs like “A Game in Town Like This” make you feel Lund has really stepped up his game — and written a song that will kick him to new heights. “Alberta Says Hello,” the standout track, is Lund’s most sincere and touching love ballad, a beautifully crafted song about heartache and loss, that feels honest and never trite. Throughout the album, from “Alberta Says Hello” to “This is My Prairie,” Lund pays tribute to his home province, and hopefully new fans will be turned on by the beautiful picture he paints of it.

CURTIS WRIGHT

Long-Distance Lund

Even as Corb Lund celebrates the release of his band’s sixth album, Losin’ Lately Gambler, he seems a tad homesick — a little removed from the place and music scene he knows so well. A true hometown hero, Lund never forgets where he hangs his hat, but Gambler seems destined to get him much more American exposure (and keep him further from Edmonton) than he ever imagined.

Lund reflects on his days in the decade-defining Edmonton punk band The Smalls and how he was reminded of those days over the sunny months in Edmonton. Sure, his time as a Small may not have garnered him the success he’s currently enjoying, but he seems to long a little for those simpler times. So, other than prepping for the release of his biggest album ever and an impending marathon tour, how did Corb Lund spend his summer vacation (at home)?

“Summer was so cool,” Lund tells me from the Vancouver International Airport, having just flown in from Nashville, “because it’s been so long since I’ve got to be there. You know, I got to see bands, hang around, and see some of the venues. It’s funny, because for years I was super-involved in the scene with The Smalls or my band — I knew all the bands and all of the venues, but we started touring eight months a year and I got out of touch with some of the bands. So it was cool to just hang around.”

Lund laughs about how he’s lost touch with Edmonton a bit — how it took some time this past summer to readjust to the city he’s lived in since 1989. “I feel nostalgic to go around [Edmonton] because I tour so much and I’m never home,” he says. “It feels like I’ve kind of lost my social setting — I don’t really have a setting that I’m part of, ’cause I’m always on the road.”

But even when Lund is on the road, he still puts his hometown first — and that includes his beloved Oilers. He laughs when I ask him about his hopes for the upcoming Oilers season; like a true fan, he musters a lot of blind faith but takes the strong possibility of disappointment all in stride. His dedication to the team takes on a new dimension this year too: “I rewrote the lyrics to ‘Roughest Neck Around’ and they might be using it a theme song for the Oilers,” he says. “It’s about the Oilers’ history — it turned out pretty cool.”

And unlike other a lot of Oilers fans, Lund doesn’t subscribe to anti-Flames sentiment quite as fervently either. “Well,” he says, “I grew up in Taber, so I’m close to Calgary too. I know a lot of people disagree with me about this concept ... but I actually cheer for the Flames, as long as they aren’t playing against Edmonton. I prefer the Oilers but if it’s Calgary versus Florida or something, I’m gonna cheer for Alberta.”

So, now that we’ve established that Lund is not, in fact, a true Oilers fan (because you can’t cheer for the Flames if you are), what aspirations does he have for his upcoming season? “I hope we can beat the Americans,” Lund quips. “No, that’s the biggest test. This is our first major American release, so it should be pretty interesting to see how that works. We’ve worked up a whole career in Western Canada — I mean, this is our sixth record — but down there, it’s kind of like our debut. It’ll be interesting to see if it builds up our following.”

The 2009/2010 Corb Lund schedule includes a quick Edmonton stop on the second leg of his “Losin’ Lately Gambler” tour. I guess until then, we’ll have to settle for hearing Lund’s voice at the hockey arena and watching his rising success keep him further from home. But Lund doesn’t want us to think he’s forgotten about where it all started. “Tell ’em I miss Edmonton,” he says. “Tell ’em I miss living there. Tell ’em I miss being in touch with the music scene there.”

Corb Lund’s Losin’ Lately Gambler (New West) is in stores now.

If so, you're probably going to need to check out this:

http://typerecords.com/typecasts

It's absolutely stunning, minimalist stuff - great for headphones ;). Kind of sounds like the apocalypse; sort of seems like you should be narrating over a war-movie...regardless, it's amazing - it's a little melancholy.

Also, friends, you can click on any of the releases and listen to the full album - stream-stylee. I think you might just like this.

If The Provincial Archives Could Sing ...

Cori Brewster found musical inspiration in forgotten corners of Alberta history

CORI BREWSTERBlue Chair Café (9624-76 Ave). Fri, June 5 (8pm). Tickets: $15, available in advance at 989-2861.



I remember how, when I was a kid, every summer my parents would haul out the old oversized atlas of Alberta and every summer they’d tell my brother and me to pick a spot on the map we’d like to check out. Because it was located basically in the middle of the province, Red Deer was the first Alberta break we took. My recollection, sadly, is that it wasn’t nearly as cool as I’d hoped. But as I grew older and learned a thing or two about the actual history of Alberta and the wealth of attractions our province offers, I realized there’s more of a story to be told here than my childhood self ever imagined.



Calgary singer/songwriter Cori Brewster could have told me that years ago. She celebrates Alberta’s rich and largely unknown history on her latest album, Buffalo Street. With this release, Brewster joins a distinguished group of Albertan vocalists — people like the legendary Ian Tyson and that hurtin’ Albertan, Corb Lund — who share her affinity for storytelling and times gone by.
Buffalo Street began modestly, as a concept album simply about Brewster’s family history, but it took on a life of its own when family and friends insisted that she take her passion and her personal history public. And indeed, much of the charm of the Buffalo Street project comes from the way anybody can relate to wanting to know a bit about their ancestry. “I certainly have a long history [in Alberta],” Brewster says. “My great-great grandfather arrived here in 1886, my father was born here, and my grandfather was born here. And when I moved back here [to Bow Valley], I thought it might be time to rediscover my sense of place and cultural roots.”



As with Ian Tyson, a large part of Brewster’s fascination with Alberta comes from her love of unearthing little-known stories from the past. Take the song “That Was Hell,” for instance, which celebrates the colourful legend of explorer and guide Bill Peyto, who saved the lives several stranded climbers, fought grizzly bears (not with his bare hands, but still!), and enjoyed bringing live lynx into bars and shooting them. The song, however, illuminates the softer side of the unruly man: a smitten Wild Bill marries the woman of his dreams and when she suddenly passes away, he gets lost in the heartache and finds support in a bottle and a backcountry cabin. A tamed Peyto, Brewster sings, “was wounded in the war and barley made it home. That was hell, but not like losing you.”



“Stories resonate with everybody and a lot of people can relate to the element of storytelling,” Brewster says. “I sort of let the hidden treasures find me.... There are a lot more stories to be told.”And Brewster hopes other artists like her act quickly before some of those stories are lost forever. “Banff, as much as being an incredibly beautiful place to be, doesn’t pay attention to the historical aspect,” she says. “If it doesn’t, it could be swallowed up and become only a tourist town. I think it’s important that the people that live there promote their history. It’s not just another tourist town — it has a wealth of history and a story to tell....



“I think it’s important that we preserve the culture and sink into something else. It’s too easy to look for the Starbucks instead of the history of the area.”