I SURVIVED THE FOLK FEST (almost)
Whoever came up with the saying “If you don’t like the weather in Alberta, just wait 10 minutes!” must have been at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival. Diehard festival fans all have stories about the erratic weather over the years, some which resemble battlefields. They make sure they have all the necessary gear and protective […]
REVIEW: Heat on the hill at folk fest
Thursday evening at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival was likely one of the hottest folk fests on record. There was a heat warning as temperatures hit 34 degrees, and an air quality advisory due to drifting smoke from B.C. wildfires. There may have been discussions about climate change among the sweaty (but happy) crowd – […]
PLAYBOT: 30 mini Fringe reviews
A marvelous thing happened at the Fringe HQ today – 30 different theatre companies each presented one-minute scenes from their upcoming Fringe plays. At the end of the strictly-timed event – those going over getting “played off” by an air horn – tickets went on sale for the 37th annual theatre festival, Aug, 16-26 in […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: 4 folk fest acts expected to ROCK
You know how it is. You look forward to seeing a “buzz” act at the folk fest, perhaps a legend of folk music, or maybe one of these mighty famous new bands the kids today are into, what with their fancy “fire” and their “wheel.” But then it turns out he – or she or […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Deathcore takes a holiday
This weekend features two evenings of deathcore bands whose itineraries find them in our fair city. The first is Thursday night, when the Massachusetts band The Acacia Strain (above) lands in town at the Starlite Room. Ably supported by Left Behind, I Am, and Arrival Of Autumn, frontman and leader Vincent Bennett’s band has an […]
PLAYBOT: 2 Amigos live for comedy
“When Marty and I fly together,” says Steve Martin of his friend Martin Short, “we save a lot of money because Marty fits conveniently in the overhead bin.” Short says, “You look like Anderson Cooper frozen to death on New Year’s Eve.” Steve plays his banjo and sings, “Let’s count the awards you have won: […]
Carmen in the Badlands a mammoth undertaking for one night at the opera
Opera buffs have seen La Traviata in Chez Pierre, heard Nessun Dorma in a subway station, Un Bel di Vedremoon from a flatbed truck, and a full-blown Pagliacci at the Coney Island amusement park. Now it is time for another grand opera from the adventurous Mercury Opera company – in a location to end all […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Give K-Days a break!
Citizens of Edmonton have been bitching for decades about K-Days and how it sucks your wallet dry. It does. In these modern times, a family of four can blow $300 easy – and have nothing to show for it at the end of the day but another Pikachu stuffie crusted with cotton candy and grime, […]
First Nations acts big at stormy Interstellar Rodeo
Most of the people who attend Interstellar Rodeo are not fair-weather fans. They know that Mother Nature may not be on their side. Indeed, this year the festival almost lived up to the dreaded “Friday night curse” – as some call it – hearkening back to an earlier year when the Friday night had to […]
