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Hot Ticket: Jim Bryson and the Weakerthans

On May 27, 1967, a mining prospector working in the remote wilderness of Falcon Lake, Man., came face to face with a UFO.

Found burned and stumbling along the highway, Stefan Michalak told how a red glowing object had landed in front of him, a door opened, and he heard voices from inside; and how the exhaust from the cigar-shaped object had charred his clothes, leaving a distinct pattern on his chest. The RCMP called it "the Falcon Lake incident" and it remains unsolved.

More than 40 years later, and long after Mr. Michalak's death, two of Canada's indie icons, singer/songwriter Jim Bryson and Winnipeg rockers the Weakerthans, returned to Falcon Lake in the -40 Manitoba winter to record - and now the hardy lot is on tour across the wintry Canadian landscape, performing songs the miner inspired.

And while the show doesn't seem to be drawing the extraterrestrial set, it is landing packed houses across the country.

The Falcon Lake Incident touches down at the Biltmore in Vancouver Saturday and Sugar in Victoria Sunday (ticketmaster.ca). Weakerthans fans should note that John K. Samson is not slated to perform at the B.C. shows.

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