Peter Gabriel and Sting make magic
This was a match made in heaven – and the result was a religious experience. So it works out. Two British rock Gods, Sting and Peter Gabriel, have put their own great music above rock star ego to perform together in what will surely go down as the best collaboration of the decade. At their […]
Chris Cornell unplugs grunge at the Jube
It’s official: Generation X has entered middle age. No better proof could be found than the fact that one of its rock ‘n’ roll heroes was playing the Jubilee Auditorium on Saturday night. The Jube! Where Engelbert Humperdinck played. It turned out to be the perfect venue for Chris Cornell, the 52-year-old former frontman of […]
REVIEW: One drummer down, show must go on
The Lamb of God concert in Edmonton was a classic demonstration of how the show must go on – even with one drummer short. Shortly before opening band Corrosion of Conformity was set to take the stage at the Shaw Conference Centre Sunday night, drummer Reed Mullin reportedly suffered a seizure after “prolonged, extreme and […]
Twenty One Pilots a stress relief in Edmonton
The huge impact Twenty One Pilots has made on young people was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in Edmonton on Thursday night. These guys are the new real deal. It behooves old people to pay attention. A full house of teenagers and 20-somethings at the Jubilee Auditorium know this music by heart and […]
Smalls film reveals drama, joy
The argument is well made in The Smalls: Forever is a Long Time that this weird and amazing band could only have come from Edmonton. This city loves weird, thrives on it, breeds it. Just look at our architecture. And the homegrown smalls were one of the strangest, and most original rock bands ever seen […]
REVIEW: Megadeth makes manic metal magic
Megadeth has been cranking out its brand of speed metal for so long that there’s no way they can mess it up, as long as they still have the stamina to pull it off. It’s like cooking a good hamburger: Well done, burned on the outside, a little blood in the middle. Served fresh and […]
REVIEW: Drinking has a country music problem
Making a drinking game out of one of these pop country fun concerts would be redundant – but commercial country music is nothing if not redundant. So down the hatch! Especially when Brad Paisley had an actual functioning bar at Rexall Place on Friday night. Lucky fans sat right there on stage drinking beer, watching […]
REVIEW: 54-40 gets intimate
I guess I picked the right (if differently spelled) Osbourne to go see on Saturday night – Neil Osborne, that is, from 54-40, leading his band in an acoustic show at Festival Place. Black Sabbath, meanwhile, was forced to cancel its Saturday show in Edmonton, and also Calgary Feb. 1, because Ozzy is suffering from […]
Striker skewers status quo
In the verdantly-bearded acoustic guitar-strumming Edmonton indie music scene, Striker sticks out like a sore thumb. “I sure hope so!” says guitarist Tim Brown. “We’re trying to do own thing,” he explains, “and the big thing about that is just love. We love what we’re doing, and so it’s authentic. I think people are starting […]
Booze laws will not help live music!
Legalizing live entertainment in licensed beverage rooms is NOT the answer to Saving the Edmonton Music Scene! It will foster an infestation of “cover bands,” choking off the artists who write and perform their own music. Art will be judged on how much alcohol it sells. It will herald a hegemony of dreaded “booking agents” […]
10 Edmonton Bands Pushing the Envelope
The Top-10 list is a little different this year. Rather than extolling the virtues of the best albums, we’re tackling a list of a different sort – the who’s who of the Edmonton scene that’s pushing the limits of normal, tackling the experimental and laying down glorious chaos for the rest of us to follow. […]
Local Canadian folk award winner busts genres
The evidence is piling up – that Rebecca Lappa is at the top of the class of great new artists from Edmonton. Now what to call her? The 18-year-old singer-songwriter was the only local winner at the Canadian Folk Music Awards held in Edmonton on Nov. 8. She was named Young Performer of the Year. […]
