MUSIC PREVIEW: METZ next bezt betz
After a bowlful of festival-related gigs last weekend, this weekend turns back to the great indoors – including one of Canada’s biggest buzz bands of the past few years, METZ. The Toronto noise rock-punk band is touring to support their sophomore release from May, Metz II, as they embark on a whirlwind tour of Canada […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Yeehaw for Interstellar Rodeo!
This time of year is less about the individual “shows” than it is about festivals. The biggest and baddest of those this weekend is all about the music – as the Interstellar Rodeo takes place at the Hawrelak Park Amphitheatre on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Of course, if you’re in certain circles that don’t pay […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Decemberists get hot in July
Local music fans have to wait until Monday for one of the most anticipated gigs of the month, as The Decemberists perform at Winspear Centre. Perhaps the best known indie-folk band currently in existence, the act’s instrumentation includes not only your typical guitar, bass, and drums, but also the bouzouki, harmonica, mandolin, pedal steel, accordion, […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Dawes awes with new music
Friday Night finds Los Angeles indie-folk-rock project Dawes headlining the Starlite Room. The band was formed out of the ashes of the band called Simon Dawes after the departure of half of the songwriting team (Blake Mills), leaving frontman-guitarist Taylor Goldsmith to pen most of the band’s material. While Simon Dawes had a distinct post-punk […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Swervedriver returns
Swervedriver puts the shoe in shoegaze – or maybe it’s the gaze. Either way, this British band formed in 1990 by Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge was considered to be in the vanguard of the anti-grunge genre’s quick spark and peak, with their first full-length Raise being released in 1991, followed by a 1993 sophomore […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Ed Sheeran sheer brilliance
Is there anyone hotter in the music world right now than Ed Sheeran? That’s a rhetorical question. You don’t need to answer: Of course he is. No surprise. Sheeran has a knack for attracting all manner of fans with all manner of musical genres. He’s definitely got the pop melodies down pat. His love of […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Great Lake Swimmers gaining ground
Fans of the folk-rock genre are in for a treat Friday night with the return of the Great Lake Swimmers, no strangers to our landlocked province. The Toronto band struck a chord with almost every Canadian partial to the genre with their 2012 release New Wild Everywhere, a torrent of emotions and exceptional musicianship from […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Sepultura cannot be stopped
The mighty metal men of Sepultura have been sighted and are expected to launch a monster assault on the City of Edmonton this weekend. Citizens are advised to take all the usual precautions. Playing Saturday night at the Starlite Room as part of the renowned act’s 30th anniversary tour, a five week barnstorming journey across […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Counting on Counting Crows
In the early 1990s amongst the stratospheric rise of grunge and alternative rock to the forefront of the North American music scene, many acts also found immense success using those elements as a subtle influence to their own sound, often staying more true to straight-up rock ‘n’ roll. One of those acts was the Counting […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Mastodon mashes mammoth metal
Heavy metal comes to the forefront on this weekend’s schedule, as Atlanta’s Mastodon performs at the Edmonton EXPO Centre on Sunday. This quartet formed in 2000 after drummer Brann Dailor and guitarist Brian Kelliher moved to Atlanta from New York state, and met bassist Troy Sanders and guitarist Brett Hinds. They all share vocal duties. […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Marilyn Manson causes nightmares
How appropriate for the impending Easter Weekend that we have the one and only Marilyn Manson coming to Edmonton, playing at the Shaw Conference on Thursday night, the day before Good Friday. What can be said about Marilyn Manson that hasn’t already been said? That he’s an aging goth who’s putting on an 18-plus show […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Paradise by the Gaslight Anthem
While the rest of the weekend sees an eclectic mix of live gigs, from two metal shows on Thursday, to country, classic rock, indie, and Nickelback on Friday, one of Edmonton’s most anticipated spring shows occurs Monday night when The Gaslight Anthem comes to town on the back of their 2014 album Get Hurt. The […]
