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.
**
EIFF
Finally, Saskatchewan.
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
Classic Sitting in a Cafe, Having a Cuppa Joe Pose
Long-Distance Lund
Corb Lund’s new CD has him on the verge of American stardom, but this gambler still misses Edmonton
You don’t know where you’re going, they say, until you know where you’ve been. But what if the place you want to go is the place you call home?
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.
Imperfecto
House
Paul Oakenfold
Perfecto Vegas
(Thrive)
**1/2
Let me admit something right off the bat: I know nothing about house music. Nothing. So I don’t know whether I sound like a philistine when I say every track on Paul Oakenfold’s Perfecto Vegas sounds so insanely similar that I cannot differentiate between any of them. Very energetic and often quite trippy, the album certainly evokes a time and a place. Call me ignorant (no, seriously — do it) but aside from a few interspersed trippy moments and pulsating beats, Perfecto Vegas is nothing but buildups and slowdowns. And yet house devotees adore Oakenfold. Why can’t I do the same? Perhaps it’s like my feelings about the Grateful Dead: I can’t help but feel like I’m missing out on something. Am I not on the right drugs? Or am I not sitting in the right posh lounge, swallowing enough high-priced drinks? And if I’m not, could someone please take me there? And could you buy my drinks as well? These CD reviews don’t pay much.
CURTIS WRIGHT
Studying, Reading, Chillin', Maxin, Relaxin?
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.
Country Loving Fans
Clem calls me from a roadside payphone in northern Ontario en route to sunny British Columbia, all destinations on their 10th anniversary tour. Having done the touring thing for a while, they seem to know the rules of the road. “We just made it through the bottleneck of Dryden, Ontario where the shakedowns always occur, but they seem to be eating lunch today, so we just missed them,” Clemson exclaims. “So we made it through Dryden! Now if we can only make it through Saskatchewan where the RCMP shakedown happens!”
Having admitted to me that many members of WCO have been arrested for one thing or another over the years, Clemson feels it best to avoid the “shakedowns” (speed traps to you and me) and rookie RCMP officers from Saskatchewan. After all, all they really want to do is rock every city along the way. This Clemson character is none too modest about his current six-person line-up (his “sextet,” as he habitually calls them just so he work his favourite word into the conversation more often) and their ability to leave their mark on and off the stage.
“We’ve reached year number 10 as a band — and that’s a milestone,” he says. “So we’re going to be shooting testosterone death rays out of our eyes and groins and that the powers are going to be magnified just that much more because our power grows with every year.” Clemson’s tone of voice is very matter-of-fact, as if testosterone death rays were all the rage these days.
And don’t worry — even if you’re not a fan of these mysterious six, Clemson has no doubt you’ll be converted soon enough (and that you really don’t have a choice in the matter). “It doesn’t matter much to us where we play or who you are,” he says. “You will know us because you’ll see the spotlight in the sky of the Cowbell, kind of like the bat symbol. You’ll see the populace of Edmonton walking like zombies towards the light. People don’t even know that they’re soldiers in the White Cowbell army, but they are and we get to take our pick — which will be all of you.”
After a certain point in our conversation, his spiel starts to sound less like a put-on and more like a profession of honest, quasi-religious faith. “We do work our rock and roll magic,” he says. “It’s kind of like hypnosis. Even the biggest skeptic will come and we’ll shoot these huge death rays of testosterone and they will fall to their knees in worship ’cause that’s really what we’re after: money and worship. People will be amazed and astounded on their knees, saved and emancipated from their shackles. Unfortunately, there will be a crater of fire around them as well.”
Bedouin on a Budget
“I don’t actually like to listen to that first record,” he says. “If someone ever does play it for me, I think, ‘Wow, we definitely have come from somewhere.’ I mean, that record was done on nothing.” He laughs. “But I’m definitely not embarrassed of it — if anything, I can hear where we were going. That period was very fruitful and exciting for us.”
Where they were going turned out to be an opening slot for megastars No Doubt during this summer’s concert tour. “I remember when I first met Gwen, I was like, ‘That’s Gwen Stefani! I used to watch her videos when I was a kid!’”
But after that starstruck feeling wore off, Malinowski embraced the experience. “Those guys and girls are just so down to earth, it’s really an inspiration to us as a band — they really just took us under their wing. It was a really great experience, they are great people. They really helped us on that tour — we’re really inspired by that.”
Still, he couldn’t help but be a bit blown away by the popularity a band like No Doubt still commands after all these years. “In Chicago,” he recalls, “they did, like, 30,000 people — it was insane, an insane amount of people.”
Malinowski, still giddy from the huge summer tour, clearly loves every moment he’s having. His band won a Juno for Best New Band in 2006, and they’re striving to reach greater heights.
“We’re always pushing it for where we want to be,” Malinowski says. “I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved. But yeah, it’s been a really great summer.”
