MUSIC: Top 10 Edmonton albums of 2012
This was quite the year for music in Edmonton. Not only did we play host to some major touring acts, capped off by two nights with the legend Paul McCartney, but a large number of local acts put out some sensational albums. While the city may be best known in music circles for its folk […]
LOCAL CHRISTMAS MUSIC: Hot chocolate for the ears, cider for the soul
It’s hard to know if Edmonton musicians are more or less inclined to record Christmas music than musicians in other places – hard to know because, frankly, we’re too lazy to do the math. It’s that time of year. But there are telling signs. Area artists, generally, don’t seem as inspired by Edmonton’s long beautiful […]
MAIMANN DOWN UNDER: Cross Turbonegro off bucket list
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – I waddled into the Hi-Fi club feeling the ground sway relentlessly back and forth, reeling from a three-day boat trip through the Great Barrier Reef. The hangover and ensuing plane ride that day probably didn’t help. But it was fitting that when I arrived to see Norwegian rock ’n’ roll cult heroes […]
Two Edmonton writers score publishing deals on the same day
The date 12/12/12 was supposed to be a day of luck or a day of doom, depending on which numerologists you decided to talk to. For the Edmonton literary community, it was a day of celebration. On that day, two local writers, Michael Hingston and Thea Bowering, were offered publishing deals for their first books. […]
HISTORIC EVENT: Oprah Winfrey to inspire Edmonton in January
You thought McCartney was huge? Oprah Winfrey is coming to Edmonton – and right soon! The talk show queen will appear for an “inspirational evening event” on Monday, January 21 at Rexall Place. She’ll share her stories, and she’s got a few, with an overriding theme to “illustrate ways attendees can take control of their […]
Marilyn Manson returns to shock us again in February
Speak of the devil, and he will come. Speak of Marilyn Manson, and he will come back – eventually. Our favourite shock rocker returns to play the Shaw Conference Centre on Saturday, Feb. 9, touring behind his latest album, Born Villain. Tickets go on sale Friday. It’s been three years since Mr. Manson came to […]
COMICS: Gritty ’60s, lousy ’80s fuel super-powered noir
If the ’80s hadn’t sucked so very, very much, it’s quite possible Bob Prodor wouldn’t have drawn his dark, expressive noir crime comic Road To Ruin. The Edmontonian’s 128-page graphic novel, featuring a gang of Rat Pack-style crooks in the 60s with “limited” superpowers, is on sale now, published by Rosencrantz Comics. There will be […]
WHO NAMED THE BAND: Mother Mother a double threat
Mother Mother started out as a single “Mother” – a word frontman Ryan Guldemond picked it for its “ominous yet benevolent connotation.” He’s just described the sound of his own band, known for a song called Hayloft, with its spooky chorus: “My daddy’s gotta gun, you’d better run!”; or more recently Let’s Fall In Love […]
Billy Talent brings Dead Silence to Edmonton this spring
Billy Talent is one band that has lived up to its name – well, half of it, anyway. They’ve been artfully injecting pop sensibility and compelling stories into a branch of rock ‘n’ roll they used to call “screamo.” You know, where the singer screams instead of sings? Billy Talent’s lead singer, whose name is […]
RAP MUSIC: Edmontosaurus stalks the Earth with smart new CD
Omar Mouallem wrote a number of those “Top 40 Under 40” profiles for Avenue magazine in his former gig as associate editor – but he’s a worthy contender for the honour himself. Hell, he’s top 30 under 30. Yet the 27-year-old, recently married Edmonton native is humble, saying, “I have not chosen to fill out […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Journey treats fans to ’80s delights
The last time Journey played Edmonton, Wayne Gretzky was 21 years old and the Oilers were two years away from winning their first Stanley Cup. Thirty years later, both Gretzky and the Cup are long gone, but ‘80s rock is still going strong. Just ask the 11,000 people who came out for Tuesday’s night show […]
What to expect when you’re expecting Paul McCartney
Edmonton is on the brink of full-blown Macca Mania, a frenzy of celebrity excitement not seen since Bieber Fever – except with Baby Boomers instead of teenage girls in their own rush of blithering Beatlemania 50 years later. Wow, man, circle of life. Leading up to Paul McCartney’s sold out shows at Rexall Place Wednesday […]
