MUSIC PREVIEW: Morris before us
The city was all abuzz back in 2010-11 when local Jeff Morris released his debut album, Original Songs on a Borrowed Guitar. He got mentions in press both near and far, and was nominated for an astounding six Edmonton Music Awards in 2011, including Best Live Performance, People’s Choice, Best Album and Best Single.
Fast forward to 2018, and while Morris has been keeping a pretty low profile over the past few years, he’s finally releasing the follow-up to that album, titled Laws of Motion. He plays his release party Thursday night at the Aviary.
The new material is still just as quintessentially Morris, with relaxed but pointed vocals, precise guitars, and an eclectic yet quirky look at life and the things around him. Part Jack Johnson, part Barenaked Ladies. Morris is indeed an incredible talent. It’s good to have him back in the limelight.
Ego the Jackal, Matthew Dilts, and Elene Dolan will open the show at 7:30 pm, tickets are $15 (BUY).
Thursday 10
Shania Twain – This singer-songwriter known for her incredible sense of crossing country and pop brings her newest tour to the city, in support of her 2017 release Now. An epically successful career, Twain has six American Music Awards, eight Billboard Music Awards, five Grammy Awards, thirteen Juno Awards, and well, the list goes on and on, doesn’t it? While she doesn’t attract quite the attention she used to, her latest record still soared to No. 1 both North and South of the border. She performs two nights, Wednesday (still tickets left for tonight’s show) and Thursday, at Rogers Place, with opening act Bastian Baker. 8 pm, $29.95 and up, BUY
Ingested – And on the exact opposite end of the musical spectrum, or as close to it as one could postulate, is this death metal project out of England. Blazing fast guitars, towering solos, and the screams of vocalist Jason Evans shall rule the world. Or at least the Temple venue at the Starlite Room. Florida hardcore act Bodysnatcher and Pittsburgh deathcore band Signs of the Swarm will also perform. 8 pm, $18. BUY
Friday 11
TesseracT – Also hailing from England, these pioneers of progressive metal hit the Starlite Room stage to perform numbers from their newest album, Sonder, and the remainder of their catalog. The newest release is the band’s fourth full-length. The band’s founder Ace Kahney settled on a lineup early in the band’s history – about 2006 – after amassing a considerable stable of songs himself, with original vocalist Julien Perier. The band has been through a few vocalists since then, though, and are currently on their sixth – Daniel Tompkins – but he was also their third. Plini (Australia) and Astronoid (Massachusetts) are also on the bill. Starlite Room, 6 pm, $27. BUY
Tropic Harbour – Mark Berg’s dreampop solo project is currently signed to Zappruder Records. Though he only has one single to his credit so far, expect more soon. An extremely talented soul that weaves rich tapestries of sound through his music. Aviary, 8 pm, $6. Mark Mills, Baby Jey, and Georgia-based-though-Edmonton-bred Doug Hoyer open. BUY
Glitch Mob – Formed in 2006 in the heat of the Los Angeles “beat” scene, this trio now has three full-lengths to their credit, including this year’s See Without Eyes. Union Hall, 9 pm, $20 and up. BUY
Saturday 12
En Vogue – This R&B quartet skyrocketed up the charts in the early 1990s on the backs of such megahits as Hold On, My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It), Whatta Man (with Salt-N-Pepa), and Don’t Let Go (Love). The trio continue to soldier on, now with only two of its founding members remaining (Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron), though none of their releases in this millennium has done much on the charts. Their newest album, and seventh of their career, Electric Cafe, was released in April. River Cree, 9 pm, $42 and up. BUY
