MUSIC PREVIEW: Time to give

MUSIC PREVIEW: Time to give

This weekend features a pair of fundraisers fitting the Christmas season – both for good but very different causes. On Friday night, it’s “X-MUZ Part 1” at Brixx in the Starlite Room – a fundraiser supporting the Aviary group, which is nearing the very last stages to get their Norwood-area venue up and running. The […]

PLAYBILL: The 12 Plays of Christmas

PLAYBILL: The 12 Plays of Christmas

OK, so now we’re in the mood for some sweet holiday entertainment fruitcake. Twelve sleeps till Christmas, which is the number of days in the 12 Days of Same – and the proper amount of time left to catch some of the best Christmas theatre in town. If you play your cards right, you could […]

End of the Earth

End of the Earth

Jay-Z bares his soul in Edmonton

Jay-Z bares his soul in Edmonton

Jay-Z knows he screwed up. After admittedly cheating on his wife, the rap superstar brought honesty and humility to Edmonton on Saturday night – and entertained a full Rogers Place to roc nation and redemption. He kicked off Saturday’s show fittingly with the opening track of his intensely personal new album 4:44 – Kill Jay-Z, […]

6 Edmonton arts scandals of 2017

6 Edmonton arts scandals of 2017

There hasn’t been a year like this for controversy in the Edmonton arts and entertainment scene since, well … ever. Here are six unpleasant stories that riled people up in 2017: 1. The Needle and the Damage Done One of Edmonton’s premiere live music venues came crashing down barely 24 hours after an employee accused […]

REVIEW: Shatter goes behind Halifax Explosion

REVIEW: Shatter goes behind Halifax Explosion

Early in the morning of December 6, 1917, the residents of Halifax were awakened by steam whistles hooting loudly in the harbour. The French cargo ship S.S. Mont-Blanc was slowly approaching the Norwegian vessel the S.S. Imo. Neither would give right-of-way. The inevitable collision, as if in slow motion, happened at 8:45 am. The Mont-Blanc […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: Jay-Z state of mind

MUSIC PREVIEW: Jay-Z state of mind

News that Jay-Z has finally admitted he cheated on his wife Beyonce has us all thinking of how we can possibly separate artists from their art in this day and age. Musical artists might get more of a pass than actors or media personalities, because their art – their songs – sometimes becomes so disconnected […]

PLAYBILL: You will be visited by 4 ghosts

PLAYBILL: You will be visited by 4 ghosts

Scrooge … Scrooge … SCROOGE, wake up! It’s me, your former partner, Jacob Marley. Why I’ve turned into a ghost whose only gig is to warn to you not to be so greedy is beyond me. “Don’t end up like me,” I’m supposed to say. But I was a generous guy! People liked me! Didn’t […]

INTERVIEW: The Heavy Cat Came Back

INTERVIEW: The Heavy Cat Came Back

Paul Shihadeh had been elevated to bass player’s royalty in Edmonton before he split town in 2001. Oh, go ahead and make any joke you want. What do you call someone who hangs out with rock stars? A bass player. How do you know when a bassist is at your door? He rings the bell […]

End of the Earth

End of the Earth

Edmonton Radio music report is in!

Edmonton Radio music report is in!

The rules of the “Find Any Good Song on the Radio” game are simple: Start at the bottom of the dial and work your way up until you find a good song. If you fail, you have to listen to CBC until you figure out what they’re talking about before you can try again. Back […]

Modernized Doll House an artful adaptation

Modernized Doll House an artful adaptation

At the end of Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 bombshell A Doll’s House, a liberated wife walks out on her husband and slams the door behind her. It became known as “the door slam heard around the world.” The wife, Nora, was unfulfilled in her marriage and her headlong exit at the end of the play set […]