REVIEW: Plain Jane shines up Noel Coward
Sir Noel Coward enjoyed a career that extended over five decades. He penned many plays that are still performed today including Hay Fever and Blithe Spirit. He wrote poetry and was regarded as the wittiest man of his age. His contribution to popular culture was enormous. His Vegas act was a smash. And he traveled […]
REVIEW: Alice a psychedelic, hilarious trip
Alice Through the Looking-Glass explodes onto the Citadel Theatre stage with an all-Edmonton cast – all 15 of them – and the exuberance of an eight-year-old on a sugar high. Director Jillian Keiley and Edmonton designer Bretta Gerecke have dug deeply into their inner urchins and come up with a visually fantastic universe, based on […]
REVIEW: Black Sabbath goes out like a lion
Is there a man whose heart beats so cold that he cannot cheer the lion in its final victory lap? Something poetic is called for to honour The End of Black Sabbath – witnessed in Edmonton by more than 12,000 fans at Rexall Place on Wednesday night. They will never come again. Some bands wait […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Cowpuncher hitting hard
Calgary’s Cowpuncher has been hitting on all cylinders lately, making a big name for themselves on the Alberta indie country rock scene. Started in 2009 as a fairly loose and large collective under the leadership of singer-songwriter Matt Olah, the project kept gathering steam after 2011’s Call Me When You’re Single and a paring down […]
Theo Fleury scores – with country music
Theoren “Theo” Fleury has found a new outlet to express his feelings about a life so filled with distress that he nearly ended it – country music. It’s a natural fit. On his first-ever tour (with a band), the 47-year-old hockey legend sings at the Century Casino in Edmonton on Friday, March 4. He’s got […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: The Hearts by any other name
Changing your band name in mid-stream success is a decision that should not be taken lightly. There are perils. Playing Friday night at the Arden Theatre in St. Albert is a band getting popular around these parts, formerly known as Jeff Stuart and the Hearts – and now called only The Hearts. Which is very […]
REVIEW: The wonderful Wizard of Oz
There is no way of escaping the infernal ear worm music of The Wizard of Oz. The 1939 MGM Technicolor extravaganza featured words and music from Harold Arlen and “Yip” Harburg and the songs have woven themselves into the fabric of our lives. If things are difficult we Follow the Yellow Brick Road to the […]
REVIEW: Matt Andersen thrills Edmonton
Great singers sure are in love with their slow songs – and Matt Andersen’s got it bad. Ballads ruled the evening at the New Brunswick bluesman’s show at the Jubilee Auditorium Sunday night. More than 2,000 fans were thrilled as he unleashed his mighty pipes in folky acoustic blues, rockin’ blues, funky uptown blues, and […]
REVIEW: Drinking has a country music problem
Making a drinking game out of one of these pop country fun concerts would be redundant – but commercial country music is nothing if not redundant. So down the hatch! Especially when Brad Paisley had an actual functioning bar at Rexall Place on Friday night. Lucky fans sat right there on stage drinking beer, watching […]
