Rebuild/Repair at war with stupid
We can argue about the dumb things the City of Edmonton does until we’re blue in the face – but sometimes all it takes is a song to cut through the BS. Such a song is Suicide Fence by the band Rebuild/Repair, referring to the anti-suicide barriers installed on the High Level Bridge that screwed […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
Maybe it’s time for a little distraction – and so we can look forward to a visit from one of weirdest and most wonderful artists in Canadian rock: Brad Roberts from the Crash Test Dummies. At the Almanac on Friday as a duo, with guitarist Stuart Cameron, Roberts and his old band reigned supreme for […]
NOFX a madhouse in Edmonton
Fat Mike is an unlikely catalyst for the furious blast of disturbing male energy that greeted NOFX at the Union Hall Monday night. He’s so laid back – but he seems to be holding a lot of anger inside. Turning 50 in January, Mike Burkett is a big hairy tattooed guy with a disheveled Mohawk […]
Color My Boogie Wonderland
Hey, if all you guys take a solo, we’re going to be here all night! The crowd at Rogers Place wouldn’t have minded a bit on Saturday night. They’d come for a marathon mash-up of two of the greatest bands from the Easy Listening Era: Chicago and Earth Wind and Fire. At last count, for […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Holy Hannah
As talented with her voice as she is on guitar and bass, Ontario-born Hannah Georgas has earned a solid and devoted fan base from coast to coast, an seen her share of critical acclaim, with nominations from both the Junos and Polaris panels. She plays the Myer Horowitz Theatre Saturday night. The indie songstress is […]
Bring out your Dead Merch
Imagine you used to be in a band – because everybody used to be in a band. You practiced in a garage, played a second hand guitar, a Stratocaster with a whammy bar. (Through a cheesy little amp, a Fender Champ.) You picked out a stupid name, had some cards printed up for a couple […]
Million Dollar Quartet comes to life
Jukebox Musicals have been all the rage on Broadway. Examples include Buddy (Holly), Jersey Boys (about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons) and the godmother of them all, Mamma Mia (ABBA). Included in that list is the current attraction at the Citadel Theatre, Million Dollar Quartet. This production is simply superb. It was assembled by […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Local folk teen turns to rock
Edmonton artist Rebecca Lappa has put a lot of points on the scoreboard of her career so far – two albums, two EPs, three original folk operas, three major awards, and a claim of more than 200 songs written. And she’s only 19 years old. Are they all good songs? That’s for the fans to […]
Thieves try to sell Alfie Myhre back his own instruments
This one is going into the Dumbest Crooks file. The home of Edmonton music legend Alfie Myhre was broken into last week. Among the items stolen was a fiddle worth $12,000 and his 1929 banjo worth about $7,000 – two of his favourite instruments. It was a devastating loss. Fortunately, in a stroke of brilliant […]
Stiff Little Fingers fires up old punks in Edmonton
The day the Stiff Little Fingers 2016 Canadian tour was announced on social media was an incredibly happy day for thousands of Canadian punks, old and young. The notion of the Belfast band playing anywhere in Canada other than Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal never came up. It was just silently assumed it would never happen. […]
Turandot is one messed up love story
Puccini’s Turandot is a maddening, brilliant mess that goes against every shred of decency, logic and common sense – but that’s opera for you. It was a crazy old story seen at Edmonton Opera’s spectacular season opener Saturday night: A strong-willed princess whose best friend was murdered by a man takes revenge against an entire […]
OLP + IME = the new classic rock
Late 1990s nostalgia has struck with a vengeance with the return of Our Lady Peace and I Mother Earth. At this rate, we’ll be reminiscing about the 2000s, and sharing fond memories about the day before yesterday. It doesn’t feel that long ago, but it’s actually been 20 years since these two bands turned up […]
