Depth from the heart of darkness for Tom Olsen

Depth from the heart of darkness for Tom Olsen

There’s a new alt-country star emerging in Edmonton – from a most unlikely place. Leading to a gig with his band The Wreckage at the Almanac on Friday, April 21, Tom Olsen has been a noted journalist – he was the legislature bureau chief for two major Alberta dailies (Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald) – before […]

Those who can do, teach – Kevin McDonald shares his comedy secrets

Everyone’s a comedian – that’s one cliche come true in the age of the internet. What will NEVER become a famous saying, according to Canadian comic actor Kevin McDonald, is this: “Everyone’s a GOOD comedian.” But he’s here to help. The Kids in the Hall member perhaps best known as the “Slipped My Mind” Guy […]

COMMENTARY: Oscars like cheese from a can

The Oscars make us wince, generally. Oh, there are those moments, like Octavia Spencer being genuinely overwhelmed, a character actress with a so-far background career, suddenly achieving the pinnacle of her craft and getting a standing ovation for giving a damn. Christopher Plummer finally getting the recognition he deserves at 82, and bringing best supporting […]

CONCERT REVIEW: Peter Case shows roots far deeper than punk

The only sign of Peter Case’s punk background was the fact that he wore a denim jacket underneath his pinstriped blazer. That, and some well-chosen anecdotes from back in the day. No surprise, really: the veteran songwriter has four entire decades of material to draw from – which fans heard just a slice of when […]

Local trio puts local music scene above becoming rock stars

Sure, hitting it big would be nice. That’s what all musicians dream of, after all, whether their definition of “big” is stadium tours with U2 or a loyal cult following of Pitchfork readers. Local grunge trio Diehatzu Hijets is more concerned with taking care of business in its hometown. The band’s singer-guitarist Layne L’Heureux says […]

DREAM GIG: Edmonton metal singer joins Into Eternity

Amanda Kiernan has landed her dream gig as the new lead singer of one of her favourite bands, Into Eternity, a globally renowned progressive metal act she’s looked up to since her teens. They’ll be on stage at the Pawn Shop Monday night. Into Eternity picked Kiernan as its new touring vocalist after watching an […]

REVIEW: Cats stinks outside the box

Let’s not pussy-foot around. Cats is designed for one purpose only: It’s theatre for people who normally don’t go to the theatre. This statement will anger and offend some, but it’s true. Want proof? The only recognizable Edmonton theatre regulars amongst a crowd of 2,000 at opening night at the Jubilee Auditorium Wednesday were the […]

MUSIC: Women of Folkways to tell their side of the story first

At this point in human development, one hopes that the idea of grouping female singers by gender alone is simply a “celebration” of said gender and its music, rather than a novelty or political statement or some vague but marketable combination of both. But enough about Lilith Fair – Women of Folkways is a different […]

AVANT-GARDE ALERT: Bob Wiseman walks line between art and entertainment

In world where artists and entertainers have been ordered to stay at least 50 metres from each other lest one corrupt the other in a co-dependent spiral of mutual destruction, Bob Wiseman has been happily breaking the restraining order for years. To say this former Blue Rodeo keyboardist’s solo career has been “out there” is […]

FILM REVIEW: Oscar shorts show brilliance in brevity, on screen at the Princess Theatre

It’s astonishing how much sentiment a few well-paced moments can command. For all the hype that surrounds the big-budget entries at the annual Hollywood love-in that is the Oscars, there’s something special about the nominations for shorts. Few of these cartoons and live-action films will ever get much attention, compared to their longer brethren – […]

MUSICIANS: Want to get paid fairly? Learn your business!

All this grumbling about how unfairly musicians get paid should sound awfully familiar to anyone who’s been working in the Edmonton music scene longer than 10 years – but no old-timer will disagree that musicians get paid a lot less than they did “back in the day.” Many feel that something has changed, that something […]

DUB’S PUB: Alberta Hotel bar will also be restored

Edmonton architect Gene Dub is so keen to preserve the bar in the newly reconstructed Alberta Hotel on Jasper Avenue that he’s made it a condition for his sale of the building to CKUA that he can lease the bar space from the radio station. The bar, which Dub says he hopes will be open […]