Over the Edge + March 2, 2011 arts 11 Some Fairly Odd (and Talented) Folk Lauren Mann shares stories from home DARCIE SMITH ARTS EDITOR “It doesn’t matter how you tell your story, it just matters that it’s being told” - These are the inspirational words of Calgary, Alberta’s Lauren Mann, who came to Prince George with The Fairly Odd Folk on Wednesday, February 16, 2011. Lauren Mann and her husband, Zoltan Szoges played downtown at Third, representing the indie-folk band as a two-piece ensemble with Mann on keyboard and vocals and Szoges on drums and backing vocals. They brought copies of their newly released album Stories From Home with them, and played many of the tracks from the album. Stories From Home is a compilation album, featuring songs from The Lauren Mann EP and The Lost and Found EP. The album also includes three previously unreleased tracks that were written and recorded during 2006-2009. Other contributions to the Fairly Odd Folk in the past and present have included Jon Purshke, Aaron Fraser, Distance Bullock, Carissa Webster, Jon Seib, Elliott Mann, and Andrew Hamill. Currently Mann and Szoges are on a cross-Canadian tour that includes over 60 shows. They opened up their set with the first track from their album, “Lost in the Sound” which was instantly a hit. The bouncy pianos were so delightful and hard to ignore and the crowd immediately got into the music. At times, Mann’s voice is reminiscent of Beach House’s Victoria Legrand with a bit of a smoky feel to it that compliments the soulful piano well. Another strong track from the album they played was “Stow Me Away,” which showcased Mann's ability to write a beautiful ballad. A lot of the Fairly Odd Folk’s songs have a real ocean-y quality to them that do indeed make the listen become lost in the sound. “Ina Wooden Glen At Dusk,” an instrumental track from Stories From Home, sounds like it could be straight off “The Legend of 1900” soundtrack. At times, the lyrics are a bit cliché and redundant, but overall the album is a great Canadian treat for any folk-pop lover. Originally from Quesnel, but now living in Prince George, The Sky Venture opened the show with a short acoustic set, in which they covered the bands Mumford and Sons and Paramore. Jamie Bell followed, and put on a lovely acoustic performance that included some very endearing and self-deprecating banter. The entire evening was broadcast over the Internet, which Bell admitted made him extremely nervous, however, he managed to put on the charm and do extremely well despite his claims. The Delightful Gang played before the headlining band, The Concerns of Royalty. TDG had some adoring fans in the crowd, and they were certainly tight instrumentally, however, the vocals were their weak point and slightly took away from the appeal of the music. | UB sey The Concerns of Royalty finished up the evening with their usual alt-country indie-rock set that included a few new songs, and only one song they played was actually from their album. TCOoR haven't been playing as many shows over the past few months, and it was a pleasant relief to hear them live again. For more upcoming shows at Third, check out the Third Facebook page. —— yw ws 6 A BA aT? Roland es ‘Ee DARCIE SMITH Some fairly odd folk By Request: Forgetting Sarah Marshall A review DARCIE SMITH ARTS EDITOR awkward sexual intercourse with a myriad of weirdos. The sex scene montage causes a great concern for the single lady population, not only because of the female’s bizarre bedroom quirks, but also because Peter is repulsive. His heaving body on top of those poor women was cringe-worthy y and uncomfortable to watch. Since this advice turned out to be a poor choice, Peter considers a second round of advice from his pal: Go to Hawaii! Sarah would never be in Hawaii, right? Right. Wrong! Of course Sarah is in Hawaii with her new musician idiot boyfriend, Aldous. Essentially, from this point forward, the film becomes tiring, predicatble, and highly cliche. Cute girl at front desk going beyond her job description? Check. (PS. What is up with Mila Kunis’ voice?) Awkward restaurant encounters between Peter and the happy couple? Check. Inevitable disappointment in the bedroom? Check! The film was far too long, especially since it relied heavily on over-used ideas and tired themes. There was the odd genuine laugh at some shockingly hilarious moments (the unnecessary yoga scene), and Paul Rudd was almost unrecognizable as the idiot-surfer, however, it was a chore . cmd ONLINE SOURCE forget it Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a comedy film that was released in 2008, starring Jason Segel (Freaks and Geeks) and Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars). The film was fairly successful and has been mentioned as one of the funniest films made, however, it did not quite live up to the expected standards upon further review. The plot rotates around the familiar concept of breakups and an all-consuming jealousy acquired when your beloved ex inevitably moves on. Frumpy deadbeat Peter (Segel) gets dumped by his ridiculously (and unbelievably) hot actress girlfriend Sarah (Bell). The first issue here is the fact that no one with Sarah’s porn star good looks would ever consider dating someone like Peter. Especially not for five years. Peter is ugly. Even though the audience learns that she was indeed having an affair with someone more “attractive,” it is pretty shocking to imagine that she would spend five years with Peter and his great personality. Her character can by no means pull off the concept of “I’m really big on personality” trait, because Peter is kind of a douchebag and he certainly appears to be quite awful in the bedroom. From the first scene it was hard to find Peter and Sarah’s relationship remotely plausible, but perhaps Jason Segel got cast because of his ability to shamelessly dickslap himself, literally. Enter the breakup. Sarah dumps Peter, and based on the advice of his good friend, Peter decides to engage in to wait for the ending. Another grievance to be had was the soundtrack. The Smiths are one of the greatest bands, but hearing them in breakup comedies is getting really old. Ultimately, showing Peter sympathy was just a bit too difficult, and Sarah is definitely someone that anyone would gladly forget. The film seemed to try to hard to achieve some laughter, and in the end it is its downfall.