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A band on tour will forget all sorts of things when they leave. One band I used to be in remembered our new CDs when we were halfway to Regina. Another forgot that the guitarist was not to be trusted with money – we had to call home for gas money.So far, the cross-Canada tour with Slow Down Molasses has been amazing. We actually remembered to buy extra guitar strings, pack secret stashes of

One of my favourite shows I’ve ever seen in Saskatoon was Montreal’s Stars at Amigos. I think it was their first tour and the other band had cancelled, forcing them to play a double set. There were perhaps 20 people in the audience that night.Every band experiences this on tour. One night you can play to 150 completely appreciative fans, the next you play to 5 people, including the bar

Played to an amazing crowd at O’Hanlons last night. Even better it was my birthday, which was prefaced by ingesting the obligatory shots of alcohol, high-fives with friends and strangers and dancing with pretty girls and boys. And, of course, rocking out with 6-foot tall high kicks.For those who don’t know, Regina’s O’Hanlons enjoys the status of being an institution for ba

Alright, you Irish--you had your day, and now it's Scotland's turn! At least, it is if you're a fan of Scottish music and culture run through a punk blender.Like a cockroach living through a nuclear holocaust, The Real McKenzies simply refuse to die--and thank bloody hell for that. They're playing at Amigos tonight, and I'll keep the rest of this short and sweet: if you've

Just rolled into Regina with Slow Down Molasses – went straight to O’Hanlons for some pre-show pints and pizzas. Last night’s show at Broken City in Calgary made me feel every bit of my newfound 31st year. Women screamed incessantly throughout our set, which was sort of amusing and annoying until I realized that they were genuinely stoked to see us play. When was the last time I

Tonight at DIVA's, D.O.A headlines a show featuring 5 bands ranging from rock to alt-folk to techno.  Let me take you back in time!There is a facebook page for the event that provides more info than I have time to share.  Ignore the fact that the poster art mentions Cosmo Senior Centre.  The event will definitely be at Diva's.

I spent the last couple of weeks jet setting around the world like The Rolling Stones (okay, well, I only went to Vancouver and then Mexico, but still...).  My constant companion was a copy of the new Keith Richards biography, “Life.”  Though the book is ghost written by journalist James Fox, it feels natural, because it is based on a plethora of interviews Fox did

Actually, mostly non-Irish will be losing it tonight. I s’pect most Irish view this as a day of reverence to varying degrees. It’s the rest of us (I’m Swiss) that grab on to any excuse to make an idiot of ourselves. So enjoy, friends.A couple places that will help you feel like you’re part of something tonight:Winston’s in the Senator Hotel. They’re a cool

Greetings from the road. I am currently on a cross-Canada tour with Slow Down Molasses, a local indie band. Tonight we play in Calgary at Broken City on St. Patrick’s Day. I am hoping not to get too much green vomit on my bass. But I suppose I should be thankful for the audiences interaction – isn’t being punk rock about showing affection in strange, smelly ways?There have been p

That's right! It's "Faith Night" at the Saskatoon Blades game this evening (and a christian rock band will be there--which is always awesome!)! Um... maybe the slogan will be  "Hooray for God, now let's beat those bastards silly"? Not quite sure... but it does seem a bit strange.I first saw the announcement of "Faith Night"  in a very subtle

Have you cast your ballot yet?  You have about a week to help choose Saskatoon's Best and enter to win $500 of the finest food in town!Voting closes at noon March 24 and the results appear in the April 21st Planet S Magazine.VOTE NOW!

In recent years, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet has mounted imaginative reinterpretations of several classic tales like Dracula, Carmen and Moulin Rouge. March 16 at TCU Place, the RWB presents its latest ballet Wonderland based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.Just prior to Wonderland's world premiere in Winnipeg on March 9, I spoke by phone with Jacelyn Lobay, who dances the role of A

I love Tuesdays.   Rise Against headlines this week's new releases!

From your Regina friends at prairie dog! Remember when you're out wooing your wover tonight that GOOD TABLE MANNERS ARE IMPORTANT. So make sure that when you eat with your hands, you do so with dignity. (Youtube)That's the way to impress the cool and sexy cat of your dreams!

 Stop me if you’ve heard this one before --- God and Satan board a train to discuss the fate of a few poor souls while rocking out to some really bad new wave.  Okay, it’s not a joke; it’s the plot of Night Train to Terror, a Z-grade Twilight Zone: The Movie knock off.  However, where Twilight Zone’s structure was intentional, Night Train to Terror is a godle

You have until Thursday to see Enter the Void at The Roxy Theatre!  Film nuts, drug fiends, perverts, and those who just wanna feel something, man --- head down there ASAFP.  Thursday is the LAST NIGHT!THE PLOT:  A drug dealer is shot by the Tokyo police after reading the Tibetan Book of the Dead.  His spirits floats free from his body and moves through the gritty Tokyo scene a

The Inane Ramblings of Someone who is Obviously Mentally Ill:  The Post-2010 Years.There’s post-modernism, post-punk, post-everything --- or Post-Nothing, a great album by Japandroids.  Now we’re stepping into what I think of as the Post-2010 world. Growing up, I remember watching the 1984 film, 2010: The Year We Make Contact and thinking it seemed like a realistic take

 Evgenia Mikhaylova is the production manager of Planet S. The following message is for Canadian hockey fans disappointed in yesterday’s crushing loss to a superior Russian team.  Не пейте и не летайте, дуболь два по-русски! Товарищи Канадцы,не волнуйтесь попросту и не надейтесь на слад

*Don't Drink & Fly, translation courtesy smug Planet S production manager Evgenia Mikhaylova.So, team Russia got kicked off their plane this a.m. for drunken, unruly behaviour? Oh dear.Also: can we maybe have a little class and congratulate the Russian junior team for their spectacular comeback win? It wasn’t just a Canadian collapse, after all: there were some spectac

City council was talking bridge width last night.  Size matters and thanks to my friend Eric at Shaw, we have a condensed version of some of the discussion here!

Let it be said that 2010 was an awesome year for music. However, it's probably not surprising that some of the biggest albums of the year were also, in my opinion, amongst the biggest flops. But let it also be said that 2010's mass-acceptance of mainstream barf like Bieber and Die Antwoord has put me dangerously close to renouncing many of my friendships. Come to think of it, there was a l

Welcome to Craig Silliphant's 2010 Music Roundup!  Yee haw!As a music journo, a Polaris Music Prize juror, and a guy with a ton of music geek friends, I’m exposed to a lot of mind-blowing music.  Today I’ve compiled a list of my favourite albums of the year --- and I want to hear your opinions!  Did I miss any albums you think are important this year?  Do you di

This week I saw Bukowski: Born into This, a documentary about one of the best modern writers of our age, Charles “Hank” Bukowski. The film chronicles his life from a violent upbringing in California to being the alcoholic gutter poet we know and love.  Along the way, he was both a terrible and reckless force, as well as a sensitive and brilliant mind.Spurned by women because

It was freezing down here today: with the windchill, temps ranged from -28 to -22. But sometimes the right mix of temperature and humidity gives you an upside in raw beauty, which we got today, as you can see in the photo. For more images of a day in the life of your humble southern neighbour, head over to prairie dog's blog here.And that's it for a few days from Planet S' southern bur

 1 KOREA SCARY BADNESS ALERT From the Guardian: “China fears that tensions on the Korean peninsula could spiral out of control, President Hu Jintao told Barack Obama last night, according to state media. The telephone call between the two leaders came as South Korea began fresh military exercises – including in an area close to the disputed Yellow Sea border –

Yeah, it’s not a joke. The perp has been arrested,  the victim is dead. And you probably already knew about this awful terrible scary insane crime, which happened yesterday in Toronto. But maybe you don’t yet know that the victim is the father of the man accused of his murder? It’s true.What a disturbing story. Baby panda time!

1 FIRST NATIONS WON’T RELEASE CHILD CARE INFORMATION Is it a legitimate jurisdictional concern or good old-fashioned butt-covering? Also, it sounds like the Social Services Ministry is falling down on the job in general. Hooray!  Story here.2 HOMELESSNESS SUCKS A Saskatoon doc on life on life without walls, discussed.3 Q & A WITH JULIAN ASSANGE The best newspaper in the world puts r

1 CLIMATE CHANGE AND CANCUN As the world warms, countries meet for another round of talks. As usual, Canada is expected to be one of the problem countries.2 GET THE LEAD OUT Canada announces tough new standards for lead in children's toys.3  PILE O' PICASSOS Nearly 300 unknown works by the legendary artist have surfaced.4 STEPHEN LEWIS ON AIDS The humanitarian talks about the pandemic

Story here. Thanks for the laughs, sir. And for trying to save us from ocean-zombies.

Serge LeClerc denied he smoked the wacky weed, but he did! He did! And he also had cocaine delivered to his home. From CBC:On Tuesday, after an expert examination of the audiotapes and transcripts of computer chats, conflict of interest commissioner Ron Barclay said in a 32-page report tabled in the legislature that he’s satisfied LeClerc spoke the words on the tape and there was no doctorin