MUSIC PREVIEW: Mercury (Room) rising
Posted on September 17, 2014 By Michael Senchuk Entertainment, Front Slider, Music
The big news on tap this weekend for Edmonton’s live music scene is the grand opening of a brand new venue. The Mercury Room, located in the Blue Sky Arts Loft building at 10575 114 Street, just North of Oliver Square, is under new ownership with significant renovations both visible and not. Great sightlines and […]
(RERUN) NAME GAME: The 2nd coming of Big Wreck
Posted on September 16, 2014 By Mike Ross Entertainment, Front Slider, Music
Naming a band is like branding a cow. It screams and resists the process, but once the pain goes away, only the scar remains. The poor thing hardly notices its brand at all, which loses most of its original meaning beyond conferring identity and ownership. “It’s just the name of the band, man,” say band […]
MORE CONCERTS: Mother Mother, Black Label Society
Posted on September 16, 2014 By Mike Ross Entertainment, Front Slider, Music
Run for your lives! And your credit cards! Concert announcements are falling like cabinet ministers’ reputations! Just another two more today, and that should be it for the week: First, the Canadian alt-rock band so awesome they named it twice: Mother Mother, at the Shaw Conference Centre on Thursday, Dec. 4. And then the perfect […]
Sam Roberts Band at the Jube in November
Posted on September 16, 2014 By Mike Ross Entertainment, Front Slider, Music
Sam Roberts is a slippery fellow. Just when we thought he was turning into another one of these heartland hit machines like Bryan Adams, he zigs and zags and dips and turns until we don’t know what to call him anymore. A soulman in rock clothes? Or a rock ‘n’ roller with depth and groove? […]
Bryan Adams returns with the best years of his life
Posted on September 16, 2014 By Mike Ross Entertainment, Front Slider, Music, music
If Bryan Adams got his first real six-string in the summer of 1969, he would’ve been nine years old at the time. “Me and some guys from school had a band and we tried real hard,” he sings. “Jimmy quit, Jody got married. I should’ve known we’d never get far.” These events must’ve happened at […]
(RERUN): Soap-a-Thon to inspire imaginations
Posted on September 12, 2014 By Mike Ross Entertainment, Front Slider, Theatre
During an improv workshop held before last year’s Die-Nasty Soap-a-Thon, instructor Patti Stiles asked if there was anybody who had never improvised. I was the only one who raised my hand. Everyone else applauded! Way to make a newbie feel good, eh? All “guests” of the annual Soap-a-Thon – running this year from 7 pm […]
Photog plants roots in Edmonton Musician Project
Posted on September 12, 2014 By Mike Ross Entertainment, Front Slider, Life, life, Music, Visual Arts
It always seems surprising when an artist moves to Edmonton from somewhere else, survives a winter or two and still decides to stay. When music photographer Erin Walker moved here from Burlington, Ontario two years ago, her friends thought she was crazy. “My parents did, too,” she says. “Everyone thought I was crazy going to […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Eye on Edmonton
Posted on September 10, 2014 By Michael Senchuk Entertainment, Front Slider, Music
Early September typically brings about what could be described as the eye of the hurricane: A relative calm between the frenzy of the summer music festivals and the cavalcade of autumn tours by both Canadian and international acts. It gets busy. Coming soon will be Big Wreck at Encore on Sept. 19, Lyle Lovett and […]
The Fronts radio friendly ‘by accident’
Posted on September 9, 2014 By Mike Ross Entertainment, entertainment, Front Slider, Music
Saved from a lifetime of playing other people’s music, it’s a brave leap to the original for any professional musician. Professional merely means making a living at it, no day job. In most places on Earth, you can’t do that without playing in a cover band. Only the very elite of original artists get to […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Death by Robot a good way to go
Posted on September 3, 2014 By Michael Senchuk Entertainment, Front Slider, Music
This weekend has its usual share of album release parties, but one of the most anticipated of the year may be Death By Robot at the Pawn Shop on Friday. One of the bands to watch on the local music scene for the last year or so – and confirmed by their selection as last […]