MUSIC PREVIEW: Needle orphans find new gigs
Local music people are scrambling to reschedule shows cancelled after the recent indefinite closure of the Needle Vinyl Tavern, in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment against one of the club’s owners. This place ran live music seven nights a week, sometimes two shows a day – so there are a lot of orphans. […]
REVIEW: Spotty sprawling spy spoof sparkles
Our Man in Havana announces the creation of a new Edmonton theatre company, The Varscona Theatre Ensemble. It’s actually an umbrella organization under which a number of Edmonton troupes will operate. Running through Dec. 2, this show is produced by Bright Young Things – a company known for its brilliant succession of Fringe shows. The […]
REVIEW: Barenaked Ladies have lost their direction
A band could never get away with calling itself Barenaked Ladies today. There can be only one! Even as the original’s former magic was sadly lacking during a maddening show at the Jubilee Auditorium Thursday night. It was maddening because the four remaining members – singer-guitarist Ed Robertson, keyboardist-guitarist Kevin Hearn, bassist Jim Creeggan, and […]
Soft March celebrates Farewell Party
It’s terribly ironic that a band would name its debut album Farewell Party – but the title of Soft March’s new record has special meaning for its chief songwriter Joel Kleine. He suffers from a progressive and incurable neuro-muscular disorder called Friedreich’s Ataxia, and is confined to a wheelchair. “A farewell party is a happy […]
The Needle and the Damage Done
“I want them to fail.” These were the bold words from Brittany Lyne Rudyck, who made a huge impact when she recently came forward with accusations of sexual harassment against one of her employers at the Needle Vinyl Tavern. She got her wish. The club is shut down as of Tuesday afternoon. There’s a sign […]
Hadestown one HELL of a musical
The first thing you see when you enter the theatre is a vast empty space with a huge bleached tree reaching out with leafless arms. Winter’s coming. It’s a powerful invitation and a warning of the wonders and dangers that are to come in the new musical Hadestown. It’s a simple enough start to a […]
Mayfield’s ‘80s sequel a riot of gnarly fun
The 1980s decade was not the best of times. Following just after the cultural explosion of the ‘60s, it brought us bad hair, gay bashing, Margaret Thatcher and AIDS. But after the astonishing success of the musical revue Back to the ’80s in 2015, the Mayfield Dinner Theatre has deemed to go back to the […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Diggin’ Skydiggers
The acclaimed Skydiggers are in town on Saturday night, playing the featured weekend slot at the Needle Vinyl Tavern. The concert will showcase the band’s newest release, October’s Warmth Of the Sun, a 12-track romp basking in the band’s epitomal folk-rock sound. Of course, many fans will instead look to their classic tracks from the […]
Halsey cancels Edmonton, cut short Calgary
New Americana singer Halsey has canceled Wednesday night’s show in Edmonton at Rogers Place, following a performance that was cut short Tuesday in Calgary, citing a “personal emergency.” No other details were available Wednesday morning, and her social media accounts have been silent. Ticket refunds were offered in Calgary, as they will in Edmonton, at […]
Jabberwocky a union made in puppet heaven
Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The Jaws that bite, the claws that catch! So warned Lewis Carroll back in 1871 in his famous nonsense poem in Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. But, by all means, don’t take the author literally when it comes to the latest puppet show from Calgary’s Old Trout […]
