Guitar Night at the Folk Fest
The first four acts of the 37th annual Edmonton Folk Music Festival have set the tone – for rocking out. Opening night contained at least twice the recommended daily dosage of electric guitar, and the folk fans didn’t mind a bit. After all, the folks know this weekend will be filled with fiddles, bouzoukis, dobros […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: What the Folk
Folk music is bleeding into the pop charts in record quantities. At this rate, it’ll be Bob Dylan at Newport all over again. So who is the next Bob Dylan? (Or Joni Mitchell, or Fairport Convention, depending.) The stars of tomorrow may well be found at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival Thursday through Sunday. Headliners […]
The Tragically Hip’s heartbreaking goodbye
Gord Downie is wrong about one thing: Courage does matter, and it couldn’t come at a better time. Without courage, he could never have mounted what may well be the last Tragically Hip tour ever – in the face of a devastating diagnosis of terminal brain cancer. The 52-year-old singer is obviously feeling well enough […]
Peter Gabriel and Sting make magic
This was a match made in heaven – and the result was a religious experience. So it works out. Two British rock Gods, Sting and Peter Gabriel, have put their own great music above rock star ego to perform together in what will surely go down as the best collaboration of the decade. At their […]
Chris Cornell unplugs grunge at the Jube
It’s official: Generation X has entered middle age. No better proof could be found than the fact that one of its rock ‘n’ roll heroes was playing the Jubilee Auditorium on Saturday night. The Jube! Where Engelbert Humperdinck played. It turned out to be the perfect venue for Chris Cornell, the 52-year-old former frontman of […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Festival GO
There are sure to be plenty of Rattatas, Magikarps, Diglets, Zubats, Pidgeys, Jigglypuffs, and various Lickitungs lurking between Pokestops and Battle Gyms at Edmonton attractions this weekend. They’re everywhere, these Pokemon. Who knew? The best part of Pokemon Go isn’t the game itself – a long walk for a scavenger hunt – but the distractions […]
Edmonton Radio a flippers free for all
Don’t take free radio for granted. It remains an easy connection to an exciting world of music and culture outside your own. You might even imagine the person speaking on the radio is your only friend in the world, that he or she is talking directly to YOU, selecting good songs they think you might […]
KISS STILL ALIVE!
“Let me remind you that patriotism is always cool!” declared Paul Stanley at Rexall Place on Tuesday night. There was general agreement among the 10,000 members of the Edmonton regiment of the KISS Army. Cue O Canada – the proper version – sung by a proper member of the Canadian military: Maj. John Kim. Man […]
Insane Clown Posse lives up to its name
Their reputation precedes them – but Insane Clown Posse is not so evil after all. The hundreds of Juggalos who turned up for the group’s first Edmonton show at Union Hall Saturday night aren’t about to run out and do any of the horrible things depicted in ICP songs, just as they wouldn’t go out […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Blink-182’s mature immaturity
Paul the Apostle had something to say about Blink-182: “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child – but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” Times sure have changed! And one could find no better rock band to embody […]
Chess meets ABBA in Walterdale musical
A musical about chess set to the music of ABBA – what could possibly go wrong? It doesn’t matter. That’s the whole point. The Walterdale Theatre, an amateur theatre company, is used to taking risks. The word “amateur” derives from the Latin “to love.” These actors don’t depend on acting to make a living. They […]
INTERVIEW: Don’t cross David Cross
If you’ve come to the point where you trust comedians more than you trust journalists to deliver the truth, you’re not alone. David Cross feels the same way – and he’s in the thick of it. “It’s kind of a symbiotic relationship,” the 52-year-old comedian observes. “I look to Wolf Blitzer as a source of […]
