RAP: Shad’s true tale from the weird road

A week before Shad’s concert in Edmonton at Brixx  recently, the artist, whose album TSOL won the 2011 Juno for Best Rap Recording, was performing at one of the weirdest shows in his life. He hadn’t even gone up yet, but just the fact that he was in ultra-Mormon (read: ultra-white) Salt Lake City, Utah, […]

NEW MUSIC: Fusion in sound and pictures from Art Brut and Moby

How often do you get amazing art, and amazing music, from one album? Twice in one week! Art Brut will release its fourth studio album, titled “Brilliant! Tragic!” (Cooking Vinyl), on May 23. The English/German indie rockers take life as it comes to them, are known for their humorous lyrics and antics, and fill each […]

TONIGHT: Geek Burlesque, Rap Battle and Accordion Concerto

“Twelve fabulous girls in a tribute to geekdom.” Yeah, baby – now we’re talking. There’s nothing sexier than a geek … said the geek. A local troupe of plucky young girls who dance for the entertainment and titillation of the gentlemen – and ladies, depending – Capital City Burlesque is premiering a new show called […]

Rammstein: Lieben sie ein gutes metallband!

Welcome to Fraulein Boomer’s German School of Rock! Repeat after me: Rammstein! Rrroll your R’s, get some phlegm in your throat, that’s right. Good. Again! RAMMSTEIN! Feels good, doesn’t it? This band makes Kraftwerk look like Flock of Seagulls – and they were in town on lucky Friday the 13th to destroy Rexall Place, second […]

Into Eternity tests its mettle

You have to admire Into Eternity guitarist Tim Roth for not losing sight of the fact that it’s the music that’s important. If he didn’t have that focus, going through a complete band membership turnover — and then some — could make even the most commited metalhead hang up his axe. The latest change has […]

Alberta Ballet does Sarah McLachlan

If there’s any pop star whose music is better suited to the ballet than Sarah McLachlan, we’d like to know. That’s right, another musical challenge is ON – inspired by the Alberta Ballet’s production of Fumbling Toward Ecstasy, tonight and tomorrow (May 13-14) at the Jubilee Auditorium. Odd to include the word “fumbling” in a […]

Politics without preaching on new Ben Sures album

Ben Sures would like people to know that he is not some angry protest singer, though he still wants to spread an important message: ‘We are all in this together.” This obvious but often forgotten truth could be the theme of his new album Gone to Bolivia – the CD release tonight at the TransAlta […]

YOU SAID IT: System of A Down in Edmonton

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Lucinda Williams brings Blessed to Winspear July 6

As folk spreads its wings far beyond the place where it was put – the Edmonton Folk Music Festival – folk fans can look forward to high-octane folking almost every month of the year. It’s all thanks to folk fest producer Terry Wickham, also producer for the “Winspear Presents” series, which has just announced Lucinda […]

Captain Tractor returns, one McDade to the good

Local Celtic-rock heroes Captain Tractor have had a love-hate relationship with the Internet. In the mid-90s, the band was hailed for getting online before its peers. Four years later, they were thrown into a sea of debt, thanks in part to illegal downloading. Today, as the sextet readies the official release of its new disc […]

Men Without Hats dream of aliens

The road tales were fun. Now it’s time to conduct another microscopic examination of another seemingly trivial matter in the world of rock bands – the band name. This week’s guest: Men Without Hats, a new wave blast from the past this Friday at the Century Casino. The very process of naming a band goes […]

Santana comes to Rexall Aug. 30

If anyone can think of another guitarist you can instantly recognize from a single note other than Carlos Santana, we’re all ears. Can’t do it? That’s because there isn’t anybody else with such a distinctive, passionate tone as Carlos. It’s as if his soul is coming out through his guitar. Consider this remarkable trait while […]