Year of the Dragon to be a good year for China, Edmonton
The dragon is the only creature in the Chinese Zodiac that isn’t real. What does this mean for the year ahead? Who knows? Celebrants attending this weekend’s Year of the Dragon Carnival at City Centre Mall and in Churchill Square should at least know this: China itself IS the dragon. The new year begins Monday, […]
Risky business at play in Canoe Theatre Festival
In a society that values safety so much, it’s funny how the word “safe” is such an insult when applied to the arts. In Edmonton, for instance, there is a surfeit of “safe” theatre – Cats, The Sound of Music, anything put on by the Mayfield Dinner Theatre – standing in stark contrast to the […]
Alberta country singer Gord Bamford scores a big deal
Some good news on the Albertan country music front, for a change: Lacombe, Alberta’s own Gord Bamford has finally earned the big country deal – a record contract with Sony Music Entertainment Canada. His Sony debut album, Is It Friday Yet?, comes out March 6. Well played, Alberta boy. But what does all this mean? […]
Wild West Saloon is history – and so is Edmonton country bar band scene
The closing of the Wild West Saloon is one of the last nails in the coffin of Edmonton’s once thriving country bar band scene. After 30 years of live music, the North Side bar shut down two days before Christmas, according to entertainment booker Ray Woodward, who hired bands in the room for the last […]
Edmonton visual artists debut shows at Latitude 53, AGA
It’s hard not to be amazed – or sometimes amused — by the manner in which visual artists try to convey their intent. After all, many of them are typical introverted artsy types at heart, as Ursula K. Le Guin once accurately noted, and not prone to self –promotion. So sometimes the descriptions are as […]
New Trevor Anderson film The Man That Got Away to premiere this fall
With the release of the trailer for Trevor Anderson’s new film, The Man That Got Away, we can at last get a peek into the life of his mysterious Great Uncle Jimmy – an Alberta farm boy turned Broadway dancer who became friends with Judy Garland while the two were in rehab together. The Man […]
CONCERT PREDICTIONS: Black Sabbath, Van Halen, Red Hot Chili Peppers – no Beach Boys
Who needs Kreskin? You can predict the future simply by studying the events of the past. For example: Beyonce won’t be coming back to Edmonton because promoters lost their shirts the last time she was here. Simple economics. Ozzy Osbourne and Van Halen, on the other hand, did great business in this town. So it […]
TRUE TALES OF THE ROAD: Hugh Dillon and the Headstones return from the brink
Hugh Dillon figures the lowest point in his life occurred in Edmonton – no fault of Edmonton. Hugh loves Edmonton. The Headstones wouldn’t be back to play the Shaw Conference Centre on New Year’s Eve if he didn’t. We just happened to be the town where the singer took a flying leap off the wagon […]
Brian Setzer never strays far from his rockabilly roots
Brian Setzer …. musical legend ? A case can be made for the rockabilly mainstay and guitar guru, who plays the Edmonton Events Center tonight. (Tickets here, or at the box office.) You can list on two hands the number of guys who transcend their genre, who aren’t just stars, or superstars, but legends. B.B. […]
2011, REAREND IN VIEW: Comedy thrives in Edmonton
In almost a year of deep explorations of stand-up comedians and their comedy, two themes emerge: 1. Geez, what a dirty job. 2. But somebody’s got to do it. Yes, somebody has to tell the truth out there. We get lied to on a daily basis by the government, by corporations, by the media, by […]
