OPINION: Eulogy for the Artery
I can’t remember the first show I saw at the Artery. I remember that I walked there, I remember that it was cold, I remember the only bit of warmth was my girlfriend Emily’s hand in mine. And I remember I fell in love with the room that evening. Emily and I split up shortly […]
UPDATE: Artery closing to make way for progress
The local music scene is reeling with the sudden news that the The Artery will be closing at the end of March to make way for the Valley Line LRT Project– and there goes another popular Edmonton live music venue. On the heels of the bad news about the historic McDougall United Church needing massive […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Viet Cong on the attack
Calgary’s Viet Cong is quite probably the nation’s biggest buzz band right now, receiving acclaim not only across Canada, but also from some of the biggest blogs south of the border, like Brooklyn Vegan and My Old Kentucky Blog, who have been raving about the band, and including them on their weekly radio show, since […]
Lip syncing thrives in concert karaoke
The Quixotic quest to get warning labels on concert tickets appears to be a non-starter. Imagine: “PARENTAL ADVISORY: Portions of tonight’s ‘live’ concert will contain pre-recorded backing tracks” … only in your dreams. “There are no plans to require concert promoters to print warnings on tickets regarding pre-recorded material,” says the Alberta government. “I’ve never […]
Aerosmith to draw Blue Army in Fort McMurray
Aerosmith’s legions of fans are sometimes referred to as the “Blue Army,” because they all wear blue jeans and blue jean jackets and work in blue collar jobs, while some of the band’s oldest fans are even old enough to have blue hair – not to mention the band members themselves. Way to pinpoint that […]
Disaster report, Octopus extras, tales of Fjalladrottning
Ben Disaster is the opposite of his name. That is not an Ungentle Ben reference. Disaster is an artist’s musician. Writing songs on his phone or whatever is in reach, with his creativity and dedication to his craft alone, he is most worthy of Sonic’s Band of The Month moniker. With that said, when interviewing Mr. Disaster, it […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: McMorrow the real deal
Sam Smith gets all the attention – and a big “hey, thanks, man!” from Tom Petty – for his high voice and soulful sincerity, but there’s a guy coming to the Winspear Centre on Tuesday, Feb. 24 who could sing circles around Sam Smith – and no one will say it kinda sorta sounds like […]
REVIEW: Tragically Hip fully, completely Canadian rock
Thirty years into their career, the Tragically Hip have managed to turn Canada into their own personal niche market. Their modus operandi continued to be in fine working order for a packed house at Rexall Place in Edmonton Thursday night. Early on in the band’s career, they wrote some songs that referenced America – Last […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Hip folk forever
For folk fans who find all that new-fangled hipster folk at the folk fest a little off-putting, Winterfest 2015 just might be up your hill. This is a pure Canadian folk deal. Are they not hip? Let it be known that the acts performing at this three-day event in Fiddler’s Roost were – and in […]
AC/DC to Rock or Bust in Edmonton
The last time AC/DC came to town – at the Commonwealth Stadium on Aug. 27, 2009 – a terrible thunderstorm broke out in the middle of their show. More than 50,000 fans got completely drenched, along with the band on stage and all their equipment. We learned later authorities had come within a hair’s breadth […]
