Jack Semple channels B.B. King
The late B.B. King revealed more personality in three notes than all of those wankers who made it to the cover of Look At Me I Play Guitar magazine. There was even a rumour going around that B.B. didn’t actually know how to play chords (like Thelonious Monk didn’t know how to play the piano). […]
PLAYBILL: La Traviata in Chez Pierre
The adventures of Edmonton’s “other” opera company – Mercury Opera – often feel like an old Mickey Rooney-Judy Garland movie. By golly, we’ve found a barn, you’ve got some singers, Joe has some lights – let’s put on a show! In the past, Mercury Opera has staged operas in LRT stations, at circus sideshows in […]
Mamma Mia! How can I resist you?
It would appear that we can’t get enough of Mamma Mia! Large theatrical productions of the show have played the Jube at least three times now. For a while, before Beauty and the Beast and The Greatest Showman came along, the movie was the biggest grossing musical film of all time. And, bets the Citadel […]
EPS poet promotes positive proactive policing
The discovery of a Twitter poet at the Edmonton Police Service opens a fascinating window into the way police can engage with the community in these modern times. Recently tweets include this ode to home security: “Cold temps got you down, heading out of town? Take proactive steps to ensure your return doesn’t leave you […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Get your headphones on!
A couple of local well-heeled promoters – Mangled Tapes and Sweaty Palms – are putting on an intriguing little affair on Saturday night that will likely be the talk of the city’s core music scene for a good long while. Taking place at the Bleeding Heart Art Space (9140 – 118 Avenue) beginning at 7 […]
REVIEW: Anthrax just wants to have fun
Anthrax is one of the founding fathers of the thrash movement that had its birth in the early ’80s, and reigned for at least a decade after that. Blending the speed of Motorhead with the melodic twin guitars and vocals of Iron Maiden and a huge dose of groove, Anthrax stood apart from the rest […]
Laugh, cringe and think: Metis Mutt a triumph over racism
“My name is Sheldon Elter and I’ll be your native comedian for the night” – and thus the Edmonton-based actor-musician-comic (and a whole pile of other talents) launches into Metis Mutt, his semi-autobiographical one-man show at Theatre Network until March 4. Be prepared to be immediately outraged. We live in an age where various ethnic […]
REVIEW: Janes stage another successful rescue musical
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a daunting musical for even so fruitful a production company as Plain Jane Theatre. The play started life as a 1988 Pedro Almodovar film – the Spanish director’s first successful international hit. Now regarded as a classic, its track record as a stage musical has been […]
Avenged Sevenfold an amazing metal mash up
Avenged Sevenfold comes off like this superhuman Frankenstein monster made of body parts of other hard rock bands – and you better get out of its way if you know what’s good for you. Specifically, it’s Metallica stitched together with AC/DC plus Black Sabbath and Soundgarden and a small piece each of Pink Floyd and […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Frequency off the dial
Can a DJ be a rock star when all they apparently do is push the “play” button, and then dance around waving their arms and looking fabulous, while thousands of equally fabulous fans dance their brains out for nine straight hours? It is the age-old argument. Headlining Boodang’s annual Frequency rave at the Shaw Conference […]
