NYE MUSIC PREVIEW: ‘Opening acts’ for 2019
Ask any musician and they’ll tell you that New Year’s Eve is the best-paying gig of the year – yet oddly it will not usually be ranked as “the most fun.”
That’s because you’re effectively playing second fiddle to the New Year itself – along with the inevitable countdown to midnight and the performance of that terrible old song Auld Lang Syne that everybody knows without knowing most of the words, or what they mean. Stops the party dead.
Everything after midnight is anti-climax; people get way too drunk, they’re preoccupied with themselves, with old year memories and resolutions already broken, and brooding over the fresh horrors the New Year may bring. Happy 2019, everybody!
Jr. Gone Wild frontman Mike McDonald admits he gets stressed out – especially as midnight approaches: “You’re trying to time it so you can count down with everybody, and there’s always about 90 people screaming at you that midnight is in 45 seconds while you’re in the middle of a song, and you’re expected to somehow telepathically let the rest of the band know this. We usually blow it.”
Going strong again as a shining light of the Albertan alternative country scene – Americana, Canadiana, Albertana, whatever you call it – Jr. is playing a New Year’s Eve show at Polar Park Brewing on Monday night. McDonald says he plans to have fun.
“The cynicism doesn’t kick in till after the show,” he says.
Also on the bill for this gig: Jody Shenkarek, and Country Vulture. 8 pm, advance tickets $30
As noted, NYE pay is usually great – and there sure are a lot of live bands playing New Year’s Eve events in town. Here are but a few more of the good ones, which happen to be from Edmonton:
Raygun Cowboys
They look like extras in some post-apocalyptic 1950s film noir. They sound like the Sex Pistols crashed into the Specials. They work harder than rig workers used to. Their shows are legendary blow-outs of good clean loud fun. This local band dubbed (by me) “The Princes of Psychobilly” may well even rip a new one on Auld Lang Syne, when the time comes. Rocky Mountain Icehouse, 8 pm, $23 advance
Rebuild/Repair
Very heavy, very edgy music not for the faint of heart, or soul, makes this band a force to reckon with. At the “Mosh in the New Year” event at Bohemia, Rebuild/Repair is an opening act, and doesn’t have to worry about playing Auld Lang Syne. Headlining are Kroovy Rookers, also with Misery Tomb and a band called Hazardous Punks. 8 pm, $10 at the door
Arlo Maverick
This proud local MC has been has been representing Edmonton for decades, and came to local fame with the group Politic Live. He has since been active with his own music, lately sounding like an experimental mash-up of jazz, soul and hip hop. Aviary, 8 pm, $20 advance
The Denim Daddies
In a deviation from our usual focus on plugging original music, this band of self-described “good ol’ boys” is staging a tribute to The Band at the Have Mercy Southern Bar – and specifically one of the greatest albums by The Band: The Last Waltz. Area fans may recall the Denim Daddies also tackled a Willie Nelson tribute, and know well the lore of the outlaw. They also have three releases of their own songs. Advance tickets from $10
Bobby Cameron
While this singer-songwriter-guitar-slinger has mellowed with age, embracing his homeland of Cape Breton with serious folk music recordings, he still is known for playing slide guitar with a beer bottle while walking across bar tables. It’s the high-diving act we all paid to see! With Train Wreck opening. Shaker’s Roadhouse, 8 pm, $55 advance (includes food and champagne).
Sam Spades
More local psychobilly excellence from E-Town, more on the “billy” than the “punk” side of the equation, from four guys who have that throwback sound – and the look – down pat. They released their debut album Wolf in 2015. Black Dog, 7 pm, $20 advance (includes champagne).
The Devil’s Voice
Does SNFU have the necessary qualifications to have a tribute band made of them? Let’s run the numbers: Yup, formed in 1981, a legend of Canadian punk rock, considered the first “hardcore” band in Edmonton, featured a colourful lead singer named Chi Pig – presumably the “Devil’s Voice” in the tribute band of the same name. That’ll work just fine for a NYE gig at the at the Starlite’s Temple Room. Opening are Norell and Original Violence. Advance $10
Tennyson
Just a couple of kids from Edmonton (Luke and Tess Pretty, progeny of noted local drummer Greg Pretty) have a whopping nine records and have made a pretty big name for themselves in the pop-electronica world. Also on the NYE bill at 9910 are Squids, Phatcat, Sahib, and Oddbear. 9 pm, $25 advance
Jay Sparrow
You know how some bar owners claim that a musician’s most important job is to sell beer? Well, this musician is literally selling beer – as one of the partner’s in Edmonton’s own Sea Change Brewing. He’d already made a musical name for himself to the tune of seven albums since 2006, and as a member of the Murder City Sparrows. Warming up the show at On the Rocks is The Prairie States. 9 pm, $25 advance
