McGowans rediscover True Spirit of 420
420 has to be the most redundant, ridiculous holiday ever invented. Every hour of every day is 420 for its most chronic celebrants. Why bother? “I guess it’s kind of like how people have Christmas in their hearts all year round, but still celebrate on that one day,” says Mark McGowan of the McGowan Family […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Mastodon mashes mammoth metal
Heavy metal comes to the forefront on this weekend’s schedule, as Atlanta’s Mastodon performs at the Edmonton EXPO Centre on Sunday. This quartet formed in 2000 after drummer Brann Dailor and guitarist Brian Kelliher moved to Atlanta from New York state, and met bassist Troy Sanders and guitarist Brett Hinds. They all share vocal duties. […]
Pat Benatar to hit us with her best shot
Long before Hit Me Baby One More Time came Pat Benatar to implore us to “hit me with your best shot” – metaphorically speaking, of course – announcing to all that the 1980s had arrived with a vengeance. Now it’s time to bring it all back! Like it ever left. Benatar is one of the […]
Mumford & Sons to rock out in Edmonton
Not since Dylan turned on and plugged in has there been such a buzz about folk music – and now the poster child for the neo-folk music movement that’s sweeping the nation is returning to excite us a second time. With rock ‘n’ roll! Mumford & Sons plays Rexall Place on Tuesday, Aug. 11, touring […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Take me to (Eric) Church
It’s one thing to make jokes about why you may be a redneck. It’s another thing to live the life. Here’s one: You may be a redneck if you think Eric Church is the Pope of Rednecks. Don’t you doubt it! Returning to Rexall Place on Sunday, the North Carolinian superstar displays deep country roots […]
Beyond Bjork: Edmonton Iceland love affair EXPOSED
It’s high time we got to the bottom of this torrid love affair this city seems to be having with Iceland. For the love of Odin, why? Why go to a place even more frozen and isolated than Edmonton? It can’t just be volcanoes and Bjork. Observers credit Iceland’s recent massive tourism campaign, bouncing back […]
Colleen Brown: The Joni Mitchell of Edmonton
Colleen Brown has been compared to Joni Mitchell so many times that she isn’t even bugged by it anymore. Colleen, not Joni. It doesn’t help that the Edmonton singer-songwriter sings Joni Mitchell songs rather well, and even was part of a tribute show in Toronto in March. Brown recalls she was a little nervous after […]
Lucinda Williams plays Winspear Centre in July
It’s not enough we get an embarrassment of folk music riches during the folk fest proper. Now they have to spill over to big ticket folk shows all year long. Lucinda Williams is the latest in a series of “Live at the Winspear” concerts. She plays the downtown concert hall on Tuesday, July 28 in […]
Rise Against to play Edmonton in August
It has not been established what exactly is to be risen against from the band Rise Against – but it’s no secret these guys have become a dependable big hall headliner in the field of hardcore punk rock. That’s no mean feat. The band returns to a favourite Canadian market for a show at the […]
CONCERTS: Sign of the Gipsy Kings
Their lively flamenco rhythms have provided the soundtrack to countless love affairs negotiated in coffee shops around the world. They bewitch the unwary listener with a splendor of Latin guitar goodness from ear to shining ear. They have been called the sound of “pure Corinthian leather.” Of course we’re talking about the Gipsy Kings, who […]
