Finest of Strangers the finest of Lemoines
A new play by Stewart Lemoine is something to celebrate. For some 36 years – since his debut at the first Fringe – he has prolifically turned out play after play, over 70 of them now. The amazing thing about all this is that the playwright has managed to maintain an innate curiosity in a […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Weird Al dares to be original
Here, finally, comes the true test for “Weird Al” Yankovic – an entire concert based on his own songs. Wait, what? He has his own songs? A whole show? Like that polka medley he always does? More than that. True fans know Weird Al composes his own music – quirky stylistic homages that might as […]
FOOD: River City Revival House serves rock ‘n’ roll
Rage Against the Poutine made me angry. Instead of the expected cheese curds that squeak on your teeth (indicating freshness) was the surprise appearance from homemade Thanksgiving stuffing – which, like grandma on family holidays, dominated the otherwise perfectly-cooked house-punched French fries drizzled with rich bacon gravy, backed up by succulent flakes of pulled pork. […]
PLAYBOT: The Importance of Being Lemoine
In Upside Down World, while all other Edmonton theatre companies have ended their seasons and are resting up for the Fringe, Teatro la Quindicina is just getting started. It has been said – by PlayBot™ – that Teatro’s permanent resident playwright and artistic director Stewart Lemoine is the Oscar Wilde of Edmonton, so it fits […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Bon Iver Voyage!
Bon Iver makes a triumphant return to Festival City on Monday. Although not running amok under an frenzy of hype this time around, the indie folk act fronted and founded by Justin Vernon now has a weighty catalog of material underneath him, and curates his own annual music festival in his hometown of Eau Claire, […]
Slayer kills at farewell show in Edmonton
Springtime in Edmonton. The trees are blooming, grass is growing, birds are singing, and the locals have shed the many layers to hit the great sunny outdoors. What better circumstances for this year’s metal juggernaut tour to roll through town? The four bands on stage at the Shaw Conference Centre on Sunday night have all […]
David Byrne doesn’t stop making sense
If the live concert experience has to be reinvented, and maybe it does, David Byrne is just the guy to pull it off. He’s got the credentials – a weird New York art-rock cat who became the intelligent face of the new wave movement with the Talking Heads. Ever since, he tries to do something […]
TV: Raise a little Hellfire Heroes
It makes sense that what may be Canada’s first firefighter reality show is set in Alberta. Lord knows the province has suffered trials by fire. Hellfire Heroes, an eight-show documentary series (don’t call it a reality show) premiering May 22 on Discovery Canada, follows teams of firefighters working in two rural Alberta communities. With more […]
Absurdist ‘anti-play’ explores meaninglessness of life
Eugene Ionesco is a polarizing playwright. Along with Samuel Beckett (Waiting For Godot), he is the prime exponent of Theatre of the Absurd – an existential form of theatre that tells us that your life has no inherent value, other than what you impose on it. You’re on your own – and besides, we’re all […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Which side are you on?
We can’t ignore the connection – and friendship – between Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and Jesse Hughes from Eagles of Death Metal. Hughes got into hot water recently because of some things that he said. Homme and Hughes co-founded Eagles of Death Metal in 1998. After QOTSA got big, Homme played […]
