The Jesus and Mary Chain strangely Canadian
Maybe we were wiping away our tears after burying Gord Downie. Or maybe we’re still rolling our eyeballs over cowering in the shadow of Trump as NAFTA negotiations evaporate. Or maybe we’re just resigned to a fate of frozen sphincters on those ice floes that millennials threaten will make for a fitting farewell to those […]
REVIEW: Halloween Scream a place of belonging
The sidewalks along Jasper Avenue were alive on the night of Scream Edmonton – one of the biggest Halloween raves in Western Canada. The line-up for entry to the sold-out Shaw Conference Centre on Saturday night was long, and you could sense that everyone was preparing themselves for the night of their lives. The fans […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Depeche Mode the best mode
Someone recently posted on social media: “You wanna go to Depeche Mode?” “Depends what year it is,” went the response. “Is it 1989? Am I in college? Am I high on ecstasy? Was ecstasy even invented in 1989?” Or words to that effect. See, now this is the sort of shade a cult favourite like […]
Rogers Waters the real Pink Floyd
It was an adorable but edgy piece of political theatre. A group of schoolkids from the Boys & Girls Club of Edmonton joined Roger Waters on stage at Rogers Place on Tuesday night to perform in Pink Floyd’s biggest hit – the one that goes, “We don’t need no education! We don’t need no thought […]
REVIEW: Lilies bloom in gay opera
The list of successful Canadian operas is a short one indeed. It is a pleasure then to note the emergence of Les Feluettes (Lilies), a full-length, fleshed-out Canadian production in the grand opera tradition, a work that shows all the signs of becoming a major hit. This superlative production by Edmonton Opera at the Jubilee […]
Opera creator speaks of forbidden love
People who’ve never seen opera before are being drawn to Lilies (Les Feluettes) – maybe because it’s billed as “Canada’s first gay opera.” But in the upcoming Edmonton Opera production based on Michel Marc Bouchard’s 1987 play, the opera’s creator isn’t making a big deal about the gay thing. It’s an opera. As such, it […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Deep Waters runs still
One could easily, and most happily, write pages and pages about the career of Roger Waters, never mind his personal challenges and triumphs – but here is what you really need to know: He’s taking no prisoners on his edgy new tour US + Them, which lands at Rogers Place next Tuesday and Wednesday. Donald […]
REVIEW: Pop just the tip of de Burgh
Chris de Burgh doesn’t get all the credit he deserves. A lot of people tend to focus on his saccharine love songs of the ’80s, particularly Lady in Red – ignoring the fact he also has a proven track record of powerful songs about social issues, both present and past. But this wasn’t news to […]
REVIEW: alt-j weirdest band in the universe
If there is such a thing as being the exact opposite of “radio friendly,” the band alt-j would win the prize. Thank God! Radio is getting too friendly as it is. This trio of British nerds have decided to take the rock ‘n’ roll rule book, throw it out the window and reinvent the art […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: alt-j a Delta Force
Just curious: What happens when you actually press “alt-j” on a computer keyboard? Hmm, nothing. Or wait. What’s this: ∆ … is the actual name of the band. It’s Delta, the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, and it refers to the discriminant of a polynomial equation, among other things. Does that help? Right. So […]
Arcade Fire meekly mesmerizes millennials
They came, they saw, they conked the much-despised Boomer generation on their collective noggins with the ferocity of a barbed-wired baseball bat on a hapless Walking Dead captive. OK, the jury’s still out on that third assessment, but it was all to the delight of the devout 10,000 or so hipsters at a pilgrimage showcasing […]
Imagine Dragons breathes fire at Rogers Place
“We will never be stopped!” Take heed of the inspirational rallying cry from the Las Vegas band Imagine Dragons in the wake of the horrific mass shooting in their hometown. The show must go on. They pretty much had to bring it up during their concert at Rogers Place on Tuesday night, especially seeing as […]
