GIGGLE CITY: Lars Callieou and the battle of the sexes

As Edmonton’s own Lars Callieou awaits his first Comedy Network special, Friday, June 10 at 10:30 p.m., there’s only one thing he’s nervous about: “I haven’t see it yet. When you guys see it, it’ll be the first time I see it. I’m not nervous. Maybe I should be.” He’s too busy to worry. Having […]

Supertramp to play Concert of the Day on Sunday at Rexall

So long, U2. Thanks for the “concert of the decade.” Now it’s time for the next concert of the decade: Supertramp at Rexall Place on Sunday night (June 5). We need another decade. Tell you what: Let’s consider 2011 up to U2 in Edmonton on June 1 the ‘10s, and everything here and after as […]

NextFest celebrates growth of Edmonton’s arts community

With local outfits like U22 Productions and Next Gen and events like NextFest and Pecha Kucha, Edmonton has an explosive arts vibe these days. Maybe it’s the social networking or the sense of appreciation for the important things that sometimes comes about after a recession, but hardly a night goes by in E-town without a […]

U2 IN EDMONTON: Where the streets literally have no name

It’s a beautiful day in Edmonton when love comes to town, where anticipation wasn’t better than the real thing – in a place where the streets literally have no name. Just ask the people walking down 82nd Avenue, or “Whyte,” as some folks insist on calling it. Perhaps Bono and the Edge and the Other […]

TRUE TALES OF THE ROAD: Tea with Bono

Before the concert of this decade – tonight at Commonwealth Stadium – there was the concert of the last decade. It’s 1997 (we seem to be missing a decade) and U2 comes to Edmonton to play not one, but two shows at the stadium on the band’s Popmart tour. Local media greet the band on […]

U2 fever sweeps Edmonton

The floodlights are on at Commonwealth Stadium. They’re building something that looks like the timewarp machine from Contact. Is Jodie Foster coming? Something’s going on. You can feel the excitement in the air, the local media has gone on full paparazzi alert, fans are staking out the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, the TV weather forecasters are […]

REVIEW: The misadventure of Lauryn Hill

Free advice for Lauryn Hill: Fire your soundman. Fire your bass player. Fire your drummer. Keep your backup singers. And for God’s sake, please chill out just a wee bit. These are really the only conclusions a discerning music fan can draw from Hill’s terribly disappointing show Saturday, May 28 at the Edmonton Event Centre. […]

Andrew WK recruits an X-Man

Andrew WK has a new partner in partying. Gig City caught up with the Party Hard hitmaker backstage at the Pawn Shop Friday night as he rolled through with his mysterious new protégé/collaborator Aleister X to give Edmonton a show like no other. Flashing a warm smile, Wilkes Krier assures us he still loves to […]

Aboriginal Slave Lake benefit to raise spirits at Legislature bandshell

When Ron Walker isn’t pow-wow dancing, he’s a youth worker who specializes in easing aboriginal kids through the culture shock of moving from small towns to the big city. More than 10,000 Slave Lake residents were put in that situation rather suddenly last week when a terrible forest fire destroyed a third of the town. […]

THEATRE: Love Song a rom-com for the lonely man

Perhaps you or someone you know was once in danger of becoming … chronically single. You’d get set in your ways, get a cat, maybe surf for porn a bit too much for your own good and often have dinner at the houses of friends who now all seem to come in pairs. They’d occasionally […]

TRUE TALES OF THE FOOD: Switchfoot meets the balut

It would’ve been nice to talk about the whole Christian rock thing with the Grammy-winning Christian rock band Switchfoot,  which played at Rexall Place May 27 as part of YC Alberta , the annual Christian youth conference – but sadly, like the Rapture, it was not meant to be. The good news: One of the […]

NEW MUSIC: Ben Harper, The Trews and getting to a point

Completing an album that’s solid from front to back, stays true to your artistic vision… but also pushes some musical boundaries to garner new fans? It’s an incredible challenge. Are Ben Harper and The Trews up to it? Two time Grammy winner Ben Harper released his latest album, “Give Till It’s Gone”, last Tuesday (May […]