MUSIC PREVIEW: Sonic Boom blows up real good
The last of the city’s big music festivals takes over Edmonton this weekend, with the ever-expanding Sonic Boom spanning Friday to Sunday at Northlands. Friday the music gets underway at 5 pm with the Mounties (you may remember them from the hit Headphones in 2013). The beloved New Pornographers, who have a new album ready […]
Sound of Edmonton like one hand clapping
The problem with calling your music documentary Sound of Edmonton is that there isn’t one. No one sticks around long enough. Is there hope in the next generation? Most of the subjects in Evan van Ramshorst’s low budget short film are in their 20s: The oldest is probably Wunderbar owner Craig Martellica, and he’s over […]
FRINGE: Revenge of the Reviewed!
Fringe artists have had a tempestuous relationship with their critics since there was Fringe. It’s symbiotic. Artists need critics. Critics need things to criticize. As local theatre guru Kenneth Brown says, “Intelligent criticism is a vital part of theatrical culture.” Artists court the media’s favour to drum up ticket sales. They depend on favourable reviews […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Beverly to party like it’s 1929
Pull up a stump, children, grandpa’s got a story for you! Why, I remember back in Olde Towne Beverly on summer weekends, when after a hard week of lubricating coal seams, me and the boys would treat ourselves to a Carling Black Lung Label at the local speakeasy. The women could shop for frilly niceties […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: One Fringe to rule them all
There is a condition unique to Edmonton – or any other winter city, for that matter – called Seasonal Hyperactive Festival Exhaustion Disorder, or SHAFED, that results in such a manic rush of summer fun that events that would normally merit full attention get shafted. Such is the case with the Fringe – the biggest […]
Doug Jenson one of the good ones
Doug Jenson: To know him was to love him – unequivocally. The longtime Edmonton singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer and frontman of local rock legends Jenson Interceptor died on Aug. 6 after a battle with Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He was 59 years old. Doug touched a lot of people in his time, not just with his […]
Which Tom Petty song are you?
If you’re a chronic midnight toker considering teetotalment due to dementia or emphysema, or maybe dementia, Mary Jane’s Last Dance could be your anthem. Tom Petty’s 1993 hit starts by sketching the purported titular character as an independent, wanderlust-ridden woman who grew up tall and straight among Indiana boys and nights despite being effectively motherless, […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: All hail the folk fest!
This weekend’s live music lineup is of course dominated by the biggest and baddest of all of the city’s music festivals. Well, OK, the biggest at any rate. It’s Folk Fest Weekend in Edmonton, and while some may lament the “old-school” direction the lineup’s gone the last few years, there is certainly no debate that […]
No shame in One Hit Wonderland
Hey, rock and roll fans: Coming to Edmonton soon is INSERT NAME OF ONE HIT WONDER HERE, known chiefly for THAT ONE SONG. (Suggested insertions: Kongos, Soul Asylum, Gotye, the Stray Cats, refer to WIKIPEDIA for more.) I didn’t have the heart to even attempt to request an interview with said artist to explore the […]
Edmonton animator scores dream deal
Fans of Riley Beach’s award-winning cartoons on the Superchannel series Tiny Plastic Men will be seeing a lot more subversive hilarity where that came from thanks to his new deal with the creators of Adventure Time. It’s his favourite show. “It’s almost as if a grown-up has harnessed a kid’s way of telling a story, […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Feast of fests in the West
Music festival season continues this weekend around the Capital Region, as we stroll right into Bermudafest, after last weekend’s great Interstellar Rodeo, Taste Of Edmonton, and K-Days’ lineups. The multi-venue Bermudafest gets underway Thursday with a pair of gigs. Rich Aucoin headlines at The Pawn Shop, while Wunderbar hosts a trio of local bands – […]
AW, SHUCKS: Corb Lund seizes his Day
Fitting for a day named in his honour in the City of Edmonton, Corb Lund laid down a righteous old school country shitkicking at Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park Monday night, as part of the re-scheduled Interstellar Rodeo Festival itinerary. Starting with set-opener Hurtin’ Albertan, Lund played with the spirit of a reincarnated Wilf Carter, […]
