Terrible books make for a terribly fun time

Say Wha?! at the Cottage bistro

Syra Bynoe & Jeff Gladston

By Cody Klyne, Arts Editor

he world is full of lonely, horny,

and hilarious people; or at least

that was one of my biggest
takeaways from my virginal “Say
Wha?!” experience last Wednesday
night, February 16, at the Cottage Bistro
on Main.

Say Wha?! is a monthly evening
of public readings that pits comedians,
actors, and book-junkies against some
of the worst “literature” around. Armed
with excerpts and back-of-the-book
blurbs, performers read choice passages
with a vehement sense of masochistic
glee and gusto; they went to the pains of
not only finding, but reading, miserable
crap that has no other reason for being
referred to as a book outside of the
fact that it’s printed on paper and is, at
least in most cases, written in a modern
tongue decipherable to someone with a
high school education. The whole thing
amounts to a horrifically satisfying
pairing and a night filled with groans,
guffaws, and crowd-wide utterances
of “Say Wha?!” With St. Valentine ’s
Day having occurred only 48 prior,
February’s edition was, as you might
expect, slathered in smut, ensconced in
erotica, and devilishly dirty.

With a cast of brilliant readers
including the hilarious host Sara Bynoe,
comedian Robyn Daye Edwards, writer
and comic Eric Fell, writer/performer
Riel Hahn, acclaimed journalist
Ken Hegan, renaissance man Devon
Lougheed and more; each brought their
own unique approach to the treatment
of their coveted bargain bin lit-trash
treasures.

Of the night’s highlights (which
number in the many) one that stands
out for being the “odd duck” of the
evening—which says a lot when you

_ consider the range of...

 

interesting books
that were presented—is the perplexing
reads-like-it’s-written-by-an-eight-year-
old anthology Cats and Their Dykes (by
Irene Reti). I really don’t know what
else I can say here to entice you other
than that Cats and Their Dykes should
probably never be allowed to be read
aloud again... you missed out?

My favourite presenter of the
night, Eric Fell, brought to the stage
what was potentially the cherry on
the trash heap when he read from
Eternal Pleasure. Penned by romance
“novelist” Nina Bangs—subtle Nina,
subtle—the premise of Eternal Pleasure
is-astoundingly idiotic in the best kind of
way: 11 “Gods of the night” are brought
back after a 65 million year absence
to save humanity from the Mayan
predicted apocalypse of 2012. Focusing
on the sexy world-saving adventures
of heroine driver Kelly Maloy, the
story takes an amazingly ridiculous
and unexpected turn when it’s revealed
that her employer, Ty Endeka, has the
soul of a Tyrannosaurus rex and can
transform at will to fight vampires. Fan-
freaking-tastic. Thank you for sharing
this absolute gem of a book Mr.Fell but
you’ ll have to excuse me while I go have
my memory wiped. The thought of sexy
god dinosaur men fighting vampires is
simply too much for my human man
brain to handle.

With the next Say Wha?! event less
than a month away, Wednesday March

* 16, I suggest you take the time you have

now to prepare: have a good book ready
to cleanse the pallet. The alternative
option of an at-home lobotomy should
be the /ast resort to dull the painful
memories of the kind of crap that

really does get published. For more
information checkout Say Wha?! on
Facebook.

 

Burd

 

The Weakerthans: Punk, folk, and undefined

Touring now with Jim Bryson
By Joel MacKenzie

Weakerthans, a Winnipeg-based rock

band, by someone who listens to
punk music. Bands he usually enjoyed
were harsh and raw sounding, which is
why it came as a surprise that he liked
this band’s sound which, by comparison,
is substantially softer. They indeed do
have punk influences, though. The band’s
founder, guitarist and writer John K.
Sampson formed The Weakerthans shortly
after leaving the popular Canadian punk
band, Propaghandi. Unsurprisingly, his
punk roots continue to influence their
work, expressed as distorted power chords

[= first introduced to The

_ and a stomping rhythm. But while this

is noticeable, elements from country and
folk are also prevalent, especially in their
newest albums. Instruments traditionally
associated with these genres, including
slide guitar, trumpet, and keyboard, are
mixed in to their sound. So although it is
perhaps easiest to consider them indie,
their mixing of genres is what makes them
notoriously unable to be defined as only
one.

The Weakerthans’ lyrics are what
many fans find sets them apart from other
bands. Their lyrics are honest, engaging
and beautifully descriptive. Sampson
has described his lyrics as a reflection of
“the place we come from, musically and
geographically, the community we live
in, and the struggle for any one person
to connect with another in a meaningful
way.” One aspect which makes the lyrics
particularly interesting is the different
points of view featured in some songs:

they can range anywhere from a lien
distributer to a drunken explorer in the
arctic to a housecat (featured in two of
their popular songs, “Plea ‘from a Cat
Named Virtue” and “Virtue the Cat
Explains Her Departure”). Despite these
changing viewpoints, all the songs contain
the same romantic, observant tone that
binds them together.

Hard to categorize into a genre,
The Weakerthans’s style has indeed
changed throughout the course of their
four albums. The punk influence is much
more prevalent in their earlier years, and
those of folk and country more in their
later. As their style evolved, they recently
collaborated with a fellow Canadian
musician: Jim Bryson. They recorded with
him his newest album, The Falcon Lake
Incident, which was released in October
2010. Although the album is labelled
solely under Bryson’s name, one can still
hear The Weakerthans’ influence, in the
steady guitar, broken chords, and Samson’s
vocals. Together with Bryson they still
have the introspective, honest, descriptive
lyrics that Weakerthans fans will be
familiar with.

Jim Bryson and The Weakerthans are
touring this newest CD and are coming
to the Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver on
the 26— but tickets are already sold out.
Of course, you could hang around outside
The Biltmore and try to steal a listen. But I
would suggest checking them out online or
waiting until they come around ss You
won’t be disappointed.

www.theweakerthans.org
www.jimbryson.com

 

Be afraid to miss out on Virginia Woolf
At the Arts Club Theatre now until March 12

By Julia Siedlanowska

pening night of “Who’s Afraid of

Virginia Woolf?” at the Arts Club

Theatre. The actors held out the
throbbing hearts of each character, and in
turn, our own hearts felt the pain of the self-
sabotaging relationships we saw on stage.
Edward Albee’s master script is brought
to life with the full forced stamina of the
cast and director of the Blackbird Theatre
Company.

The set perfectly emanated the 1960’s
feel of a witty academic couple. Martha
and George (played by Gabrielle Rose and
Kevin McNulty) spew comments that meet
with laughter, but also resonate with a sort
of bitter cruelty. The complexity of the
relationships Albee has crafted is revealed
through each intonation, and every pause.
Things get even more complicated with the
arrival of the young couple Nick and Honey

(played by Craig Erickson and Meg Roe)
that Martha has invited for a late night’s
journey into day. Soon, all the tensions and
personal regrets each person carries with
them mix with the constant “Can I pour you
another drink?” into a toxic mess of revenge
and love.

Rose’s performance displays all the
pained, emasculating qualities of Martha,
while McNulty’s emasculated George
slowly reveals his cancerous side—
revealing that there is more than one tyrant
in this house. Erickson is every bit of
testosterone and self righteous ambition that
makes up pretty boy Nick, and Roe is all
the sweet naivety of the simple and witless
Honey.

Met with a standing ovation (every
bit owed to them), the actors bowed, tears
welled in eyes. Though tragic in some ways,
this actually seemed like an ugly (but true)
love story. Or perhaps a cautionary tale...