EIFF REVIEW: The downside of altruism in One of a Kind
Can humans help themselves by helping others? Veteran French auteur Francois Dupeyron explores this very complex question in his 17th film One of a Kind (original French Title: Mon âme par toi guérie, or My Soul Healed By You). It screens Saturday, Sept. 27 at 2 pm as part of the Edmonton International Film Festival. […]
Africa meets Newfoundland in Dr. Zoo
In an economy as robust as ours, musicians have all sorts of crazy day jobs not to quit these days. By day, Dr. Randal Arsenault is a professor of biology at the University of Alberta, specializing in the fauna of Africa. And by night – specifically the night of Saturday, Sept. 20 at the Blue […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Mercury (Room) rising
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 […]
