Sonic Boom a cold and rainy circus
Every successful new band has a gimmick – sometimes more than one. Twenty One Pilots has at least as many as their name, and showed them all closing out the first night of Sonic Boom 2016 in Borden Park. They wore alien masks, did back-flips off the piano, crowd surfed the entire drummer and his […]
Brit channels legend in The Simon and Garfunkel Story
It’s not enough that the British defeat us hapless Colonists in all things to do with Rock ‘n’ Roll (just go to the scoreboard: The Beatles, The Stones and The Sex Pistols vs. Elvis, Dylan and Bon Jovi – it’s no contest) – but they have to come plunder our beloved American icons, too. Dean […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Sonic Boom blows up genres
It’s really very simple: If you like listening to the alternative rock radio station Sonic 102.9, you’re going to love Sonic Boom. This last festival of summer is like listening to Sonic minus the commercials – plus being at the mercy of the elements, food that’s bad for you, there’s line-ups for everything, and you […]
Kenny Rogers deals last hand at Northlands Coliseum
You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table – there’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done. Oh, Kenny Rogers, leave it to you to sum up the Northlands foofarah almost 40 years before it happened. What are they goin’ to do with themselves? How fitting that the building now […]
Volbeat motors manic metal mashup
Volbeat wears its influences on its sleeve – or would if frontman Michael Poulsen didn’t prefer to bare his arms to display his many tattoos. His vest. He wears his influences on his vest: Sewn patches of Motorhead, Johnny Cash, the Ramones, the death metal band called Death, and so on. Bursts of just about […]
How did our festivals do?
Imagine you’re on the fence about going to Sonic Boom, Edmonton’s last proper outdoor festival happening Sept. 3-4 in Borden Park. Maybe you’re festival-ed out. Maybe you’re sick of summer. Maybe you’re tired of life. Then you find out Twenty One Pilots is playing – and that’s the deal maker. Sure, OK, let’s have one […]
INTERVIEW: Has Zakk Wylde gone myld?
Zakk Wylde has been typecast as a metal dude for so long that it’s taken fans some time to get used to his somewhat mellower direction. On his “Book of Shadows II” solo tour, coming to the Ranch Roadhouse Tuesday night, one might even be tempted to call him “Zakk Mylde.” Not to his face. […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: No bad blues
One of the great things about the blues is that it can be played by musicians who’ve never met or who don’t even know the same songs. One of the bad things about the blues is that it can be played by musicians who’ve never met or who don’t even know the same songs. That’s […]
FRINGE: 6 shows about mental illness
There’s a revolutionary new treatment for mental illness. It’s called Fringe Therapy. Here’s how it works: The patient reveals all the gory details of his or her disorder to a roomful of strangers in a one-man and/or-woman show at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival. Get it in the open. Tell the whole, true story. […]
FRINGE: 4 shows about religion
It’s good they still have a “religious content” warning in the Fringe program – but they should go a little further: Believer or Non-Believer. For there’s nothing worse for a heathen than expecting a good old God-bashing rant at the Fringe only to find a bunch of True Believers have commandeered the event as a […]
Rockers rock Edmonton Rock Festival
People like Kim Mitchell and Randy Bachman have played here so much that we take them for granted. These guys are world-class artists who’ve put a lot of rock standards on the scoreboard, but around here they’re just part of the landscape, ignored, sometimes even scorned by younger generations. If you miss them now, hey, […]
Folk Fest vs. LRT: A hill to die on
There’s a mild controversy literally surrounding the Edmonton Folk Music Festival this year. Like a lot of Edmonton gripes, it’s over a bridge. Folkies may have noticed they can’t walk over on the Cloverdale footbridge anymore. The City has already started breaking it down to make way for the new LRT Valley Line, to be […]
