MUSIC PREVIEW: Deep Waters runs still

MUSIC PREVIEW: Deep Waters runs still

One could easily, and most happily, write pages and pages about the career of Roger Waters, never mind his personal challenges and triumphs – but here is what you really need to know: He’s taking no prisoners on his edgy new tour US + Them, which lands at Rogers Place next Tuesday and Wednesday. Donald […]

REVIEW: Pop just the tip of de Burgh

REVIEW: Pop just the tip of de Burgh

Chris de Burgh doesn’t get all the credit he deserves. A lot of people tend to focus on his saccharine love songs of the ’80s, particularly Lady in Red – ignoring the fact he also has a proven track record of powerful songs about social issues, both present and past. But this wasn’t news to […]

PLAYBILL: Get out – while you can!

PLAYBILL: Get out – while you can!

That’s “get out,” as in “get out and see some live theatre, ya lazy bums!” And that’s “lazy bums” with present company excepted. Didn’t mean to scare you. It being Halloweeny season and all, it’s worth checking out a spooky tale being spun by Catch the Keys Productions at Fort Edmonton Park – verily one […]

End of the Earth

End of the Earth

REVIEW: alt-j weirdest band in the universe

REVIEW: alt-j weirdest band in the universe

If there is such a thing as being the exact opposite of “radio friendly,” the band alt-j would win the prize. Thank God! Radio is getting too friendly as it is. This trio of British nerds have decided to take the rock ‘n’ roll rule book, throw it out the window and reinvent the art […]

THEATRE: Evil rises again in Bright Room

THEATRE: Evil rises again in Bright Room

Back in 1985, American playwright Tony Kushner launched a new work called A Bright Room Called Day. He went on to write the two-part Angels in America that became one of the most highly regarded pieces of theatre of the 20th Century. You can certainly see elements of the genius that Kushner was later to […]

THEATRE: Ubuntu a haunting fusion of cultures

THEATRE: Ubuntu a haunting fusion of cultures

The story of how Ubuntu (The Cape Town Project) came to be could make something of a play in itself. Back in 2004, current Citadel Theatre Artistic Director Daryl Cloran became fascinated by the ancient Bantu word “Ubuntu” meaning, “I am because you are.” The concept, and Cloran’s perception that theatre would be one of […]

MUSIC PREVIEW: alt-j a Delta Force

MUSIC PREVIEW: alt-j a Delta Force

Just curious: What happens when you actually press “alt-j” on a computer keyboard? Hmm, nothing. Or wait. What’s this: ∆ … is the actual name of the band. It’s Delta, the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, and it refers to the discriminant of a polynomial equation, among other things. Does that help? Right. So […]

Arcade Fire meekly mesmerizes millennials

Arcade Fire meekly mesmerizes millennials

They came, they saw, they conked the much-despised Boomer generation on their collective noggins with the ferocity of a barbed-wired baseball bat on a hapless Walking Dead captive. OK, the jury’s still out on that third assessment, but it was all to the delight of the devout 10,000 or so hipsters at a pilgrimage showcasing […]

Local comic makes serious study of comedy

Local comic makes serious study of comedy

Lars Callieou has been studying comedy longer than he’s been a comedian – thanks to his long-running weekly show on CJSR radio. He’s had on every area comic you could name during the last 11 years; they’ve plumbed every angle, dissected every joke, shared many a gory road story. As such, he is uniquely qualified […]

Imagine Dragons breathes fire at Rogers Place

Imagine Dragons breathes fire at Rogers Place

“We will never be stopped!” Take heed of the inspirational rallying cry from the Las Vegas band Imagine Dragons in the wake of the horrific mass shooting in their hometown. The show must go on. They pretty much had to bring it up during their concert at Rogers Place on Tuesday night, especially seeing as […]

PLAYBILL: I Am Because You Are

PLAYBILL: I Am Because You Are

Never let it be said that the Citadel Theatre is an ivory tower that never takes chances. Those two “nevers” just cancel each other right out in the hands of their bold new artistic director Daryl Cloran. In the second play of his first Citadel season in Edmonton, he has wrangled an ambitious new play […]