Young Frankenstein: It’s alive! It’s alive!
Except for the venerable Walterdale Theatre, ELOPE Musical Theatre may be the oldest amateur theatrical production entity in Edmonton. For 35 years the company has been scouring the community for talent, holding auditions and mounting productions of Broadway musicals. In the past few years they have featured such shows as Guys and Dolls, Sweeney Todd […]
REVIEW: Ministry shoots easy targets
Al Jourgensen is “tired of it” – a sentiment emphasized on the song of the same name taken from AmeriKKKant, the latest album by Ministry, the industrial band he’s led on and off since 1981. But you never would have known it when the seven-piece leftist congregation entertained a rabid following of some 900 strong, […]
REVIEW: Robyn Hitchcock still surreal
If the name Robyn Hitchcock is mysterious to hit parade stalwarts, don’t worry – it’s not likely his rabid legion of followers quite “get” him, either. That didn’t stop some 70 devotees of the surrealistic singer-songwriter from trying to unravel the Matrix-like yarns he spun in song and banter on Sunday night in Sherwood Park’s […]
REVIEW: Santana parties like it’s 1969
It’s been 50 years, or close enough for rock ‘n’ roll, since Carlos Santana played Woodstock – and you get the feeling it’s just been one long glorious guitar solo ever since. This 70-year-old Latin-rock legend still likes to have fun. It sure looked like Santana and his stellar band were having a blast at […]
Children of God an intensely powerful experience
The Citadel Theatre’s production of Corey Payette’s new work, Children of God, is the most unusual musical you’ve ever seen. It is a noble and surprisingly successful, an effort at marrying two of theatre’s most widely divergent aspects – the musical and a social drama so raw that it has traumatized an entire country. It […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Tears mix with laughter in remarkable one-man show
The one-person stand-up show is a staple of theatre – but you’ve never seen one like this before. Empire of the Son, on stage at the Citadel’s Club theatre until Feb. 18, is the work of the much-hyphenated (writer-comedian-filmmaker-movie-TV star-radio host) Tetsuro Shigematsu. He has co-starred in a sci-fi film with George Takei, was a […]
RIP Tommy Banks: Godfather of Edmonton music
“I can’t wait to read it” is the last thing Tommy Banks said to me a few months ago – in anticipation of the book I’m struggling to finish about the history of the Edmonton music scene. He’s a key chapter. What a sad deadline to miss. Tommy never got to read it. He died […]
