MUSIC PREVIEW: Austra extraordinary
Perhaps most interesting of an eclectic batch of artists coming through town over the next few days is Austra – the middle name of its extraordinary singer Katie Stelmanis, whose classical training shows through at each step and turn. Playing Tuesday, Oct. 8 at the Avenue Theatre, the Toronto synthpop act hit a chord with […]
EIFF REVIEW: Spinning Plates feeds heart and soul
Towards the very end of Joseph Levy’s acclaimed documentary Spinning Plates, airing Oct. 3 as part of the Edmonton International Film Festival, there is a defining moment. World-renowned chef Grant Achatz compares his ultra-expensive, ultra-exclusive Chicago restaurant to those hometown spots run by his parents when he was a kid. He says, “It’s the same […]
COMMENT: Mayor’s race a gong show
Edmonton has become embroiled in cheap mayoral politics – which is ironic as hell. The idea that three incumbents from this council could do anything cheaply must’ve been a shock to all of us. The latest is a shot at Don Iveson for having written a joking “Workers of the World Unite”-style satire piece in […]
EIFF REVIEW: Furry friends forever in Furever
The only thing missing in Furever is a visit to another country whose citizens aren’t so privileged, maybe one that doesn’t spend $52 billion a year on cats and dogs. In some places, people think we’re crazy for pampering what’s for dinner. It’s strangely ironic that the only place in the world you can get […]
EIFF REVIEW: Thanks for Sharing a sober look at sex ‘addiction’
If God allowed us to pick our addiction, who wouldn’t pick sex? No matter how many times you do it, you’re probably not going to get cirrhosis of the liver, bad skin, rotten teeth or lung cancer, provided you take the appropriate precautions. All you get out of it is a nice happy little rush […]
EIFF REVIEW: The Auctioneer like an Alberta landscape painting
Farm equipment doesn’t fetch much money at auctions these days. As Hans Olson’s languid but visually beautiful documentary The Auctioneer suggests, the family farm is dying out on the Prairies, and with the surging popularity of the Internet as a buying and selling source, so is auctioneering. Thus we see Vegreville auctioneer Dale Menzak also […]
THROUGH THE NEVER: Win Metallica schwag!
If the Apocalypse had a house band, Metallica would do nicely. Fans will get a chance to see just such a scenario in the metal superstars’ latest foray to the silver screen – “Metallica: Through the Never,” opening in IMAX 3D Sept. 27. Unlike Some Kind of Monster, this one is not a documentary. It […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: It’s not the band I hate, it’s their fans
Pop quiz: Name the album that was voted the No. 1 Canadian album OF ALL TIME by respondents to a Chart magazine poll. The answer may surprise any but true Sloan fans – and there are lot of them, an entire generation moved by the iconic Toronto quartet’s ground-breaking 1994 album “Twice Removed,” which contains […]
BUK STOPS HERE: Birds, bees put heat on Diotte
The liberal vote will get split between Don Iveson and Karen Leibovici, which means Kerry Diotte will be the next Mayor of Edmonton – but not if the fair food community has anything to say about it. Those who raise chickens and bees illegally within city limits maintain that the city government has no business […]
EIFF REVIEW: Muscle Shoals does its namesake proud
The great electric blues guitarist Otis Rush had some cracking albums in his day – and like his live gigs, they always started out with something smoking that really set the tone. In 1969 it was an album called “Mourning in the Morning.” Like most things musical, attempting to describe its incendiary, note-stabbing kickoff, all […]
EIFF REVIEW: Punk rock doc a homage for fans only
Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead was once asked what it meant to play music outside of mainstream tastes. His brief and poignant response perfectly captures the ethos of Filmage: the Story of the Descendents/All: “It means you’re f—ing broke.” Screening Oct. 1 as part of the Edmonton International Film Festival, Matt Riggle’s documentary pays a fawning, […]
