MUSIC PREVIEW: Stars to shine on Edmonton
Stars is just one of the bands associated with Broken Social Scene – but it’s one of the biggest.
Playing the Myer Horowitz Theatre Monday night, Stars will be featuring music from their 2017 album, There Is No Love In Fluorescent Light. The group is led by Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan, both of whom have also dabbled in solo careers and play with the collective Broken Social Scene, as does guitarist-bassist Evan Cranley.
The band now has a total of nine albums, including Fluorescent Light, though the band’s peak – at least so far – came in the 2000s with a pair of Juno nominations, and two entirely separate albums that landed on the Polaris list (the first of which, In Our Bedroom After the War, arguably included their most well-known song to date, Take Me To the Riot). Not to mention an insane amount of television and movie placement.
The famed Peter Katis produced the group’s most recent album; his name may sound familiar as he’s done seven albums with The National, among other bands. He also produced Kurt Vile’s most recent album. You know, if someone were dropping names or something.
Dizzy will open the show at 7 pm, tickets $36, BUY
Thursday 22
Look Vibrant – This Montreal-based noise pop project is gathering a lot of attention for their debut album, The Up Here Place, which was released in the spring. From punchy guitars to synth-dominated tracks, the release is at once both experimental and familiar, pleasing yet cacophonous. It just works on so many levels. With Jesse Nakano’s Space Classic (it just so happens to be a release party for his newest effort as well), Squids, and High Tides. Buckingham, 9 pm, $10.
Friday 23
The Flatliners – This pesky in-your-face Ontario punk band formed back in 2002, and is now touring to support their fifth full-length after seeing their prior album nominated for a Juno in the metal-hard rock category. Fire Next Time, Old Wives, and SEA support. Starlite Room, 8 pm, $20. BUY
Saturday 24
Harlequin – Still doing it for love, this Winnipeg band continues to gig based on their highlight reel of highlight reels from the 1980s, featuring hit tracks like Innocence, Superstitious Feeling, and, yes, I Did It For Love. Century Casino, 8 pm, $42. BUY
K?d – This Miami DJ/producer has found the Billboard charts a couple of times, and is currently touring to support his debut EP, Find Paradise, though he may be more well known for some of his remixes. Union Hall, 9 pm, $20 and up. BUY
Mike Plume – This New Brunswick roots-Canadiana artist with a whole lot of country influence is back in Canada after almost two decades in Nashville, and we’re definitely the richer for it. In fact, he’s living right here in Edmonton now, thanks to his wife’s new job at the Stollery as a music therapist. Plume, meanwhile, continues to do what he does best, which is put out incredible music, as witnessed by his album of earlier this year, Born By the Radio. Station On Jasper, 8 pm, $20. BUY
Stiff Little Fingers – Now if you want old school punk rock, this is the gig to see. This Belfast band has been setting decibel records since 1977, though they did take a bit of a hiatus for about five years in the 1980s. They’ve now got an even ten albums in their catalog, from 1979’s Inflammable Material to 2014’s No Going Back. Starlite Room, 8 pm, $39.50. BUY
