Pressure-wash graffiti gets a free pass
Fans of street art in Edmonton are accusing the city of hypocrisy over a decision to allow Octane Motorsports to promote the Indy with graffiti-style stencils on city sidewalks. The stencils aren’t made with paint. Rather, they were done with a pressure washer which blasts hot water over the stencils, effectively cleaning the message into […]
TRUE TALES: Edmonton’s Cap Ex, Wide Mouth Mason, and a Billy Gibbons bender
When Wide Mouth Mason opened for ZZ Top in 1997, they were treated as little more than fans granted a photo op at the backstage meet ‘n’ greet. It was a little different when the two bands toured together last summer. They went on a bender – which is the spark that created Wide Mouth’s […]
GIGGLE CITY: Comedian Paul Sveen helps those battling cancer
The healing powers of humour are well-documented. Laughter releases endorphins, nature’s opiates, and allows humans to face tragedy with a little less fear. It’s a cliché to say that comedy is just tragedy plus time, but like a lot of cliches, it’s true. Of the various “types” of comedy gigs Paul Sveen does, that every […]
Scalping tickets legal in Alberta, government has no plans to stop resales
Two years ago a firestorm erupted in the concert ticket business when complaints alleged that Ticketmaster, which had recently purchased the online ticket reselling business TicketsNow, was automatically diverting customers from its own website to the scalping one. The outrage over the perceived conflict of interest grew so loud that new legislation was drafted in […]
Living With Lions tells FACTOR where to stick their 13 grand
Now this is fortuitous. We were just having a friendly debate about government arts funding and along comes Living With Lions to play the Pawn Shop on Friday night. This is the Vancouver punk band at the centre of the storm of controversy surrounding its new CD, “Holy Shit” and its allegedly blasphemous artwork, which […]
Brent Irving does some soul searching at the ARTery
There is a risk of ovexpectation inherent to greatness, but whether you think the new Art Gallery of Alberta is great or aren’t the fan of post-modern L.A. architecture, there’s no denying that so far, the new AGA has impressed. Edmonton is a great arts town even when the building isn’t the centre piece; there’s […]
EDMONTON RADIO: Holy S***! Pepper & Dylan win!
And the funniest morning radio show in Edmonton is … (drum roll, hush from audience) The Pepper & Dylan Show on Virgin Radio 104.9 FM! (Cough, wind blowing) Surprised? Me, too. I thought Garner Andrews from Sonic 102.9 FM would win, or maybe Terry, Bill and Steve from K-97, but nope, it’s THOSE two guys […]
REVIEW: Jerry Seinfeld’s best bits
Mankind is Jerry Seinfeld’s business. His mission is to explore tiny human stupidities, leaving the larger idiocies to other comedians. His tool is a microscope. His result is universal humour. EVERYBODY’S done the dumb little things he talks about, we’re all guilty of the trivial human mistakes he’s built a career on – even Jerry […]