PLAYBOT: Fallen Angels high class comedy
It’s becoming clear in hindsight that women had a raw deal in the 1920s. Expected to be obedient housewives and mothers, they were assailed by prejudice and hobbled by double standards, and that wasn’t the worst of it. On the plus side, women just won the right to vote, so everything was about to change […]
What happened to VUE Weekly?
Stop the presses – for good. That may or may not be part of the last rites for VUE Weekly, the city’s venerable alternative newsweekly that lasted nearly a quarter-century. It drops its final issue on Nov. 29. In a city that used to support at least two rival publications until seven years ago, the […]
Hannah Moscovitch birth control drama a wrenching reality show
The title of What a Young Wife Ought to Know may read like one of those bogus pseudo-righteous early 20th Century self-help pamphlets given to prospective brides. In the hands of playwright Hannah Moscovitch, the latest Theatre Network play is anything but a tract against “unnatural means” (read: birth control) to prevent having babies. It […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: USS growing on us
From humble origins as a two clever dudes from Toronto who were hated for daring to mix alternative rock with electronic dance music, USS is starting to grow on us. The signs are all there: Cool hits in high rotation on the radio, on Sonic 102.9 at any rate, and a show at the Ranch […]
Captain Tractor sails into classic rock waters
The lingering question of why on Earth an Edmonton band would channel sea-faring hootenannies 700 miles from the nearest ocean has a simple answer. “I’m probably mostly to blame for a lot of it,” admits Scott Peters, a charter member of Captain Tractor who was “born and raised” in Nova Scotia. He came to Edmonton […]
PLAYBOT: Theatre Network tackles birth control in edgy new play
It’s hard to believe that with the continuing struggles for women’s rights, there are still politicians who preach abstinence as the best form of birth control. Also Popes. Would they have us go back to the Stone Age? Or the 1920s, say, when women would have many unwanted babies; some mothers and their babies would […]
Fleetwood Mac cancels Edmonton concert due to illness
There are a lot of concerned and disappointed Baby Boomers in Edmonton tonight: With just hours to go before they were to hit the stage at Rogers Place, Fleetwood Mac has canceled both of its Alberta shows, including Monday, Nov. 12 in Calgary. “Due to a band member illness,” the press release reads. No word […]
Take off, eh – to the Mayfield’s best, most Canadian jukebox musical!
Be prepared for a warm bath in nostalgia – and Canadian nostalgia at that. The Mayfield Dinner Theatre has achieved notable success with its jukebox musicals – at least judging from its unending Niagara of tribute shows. Over the years they have mounted British Invasions, various appreciations of Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, pop […]
Backstreet Boys back in Edmonton, never really went away
If music trends move in generational cycles, we’re back to the era of boy bands and girl groups again. In the wake of the Spice Girls reformation, the Backstreet Boys are back, though they never really went away long enough for us to miss them during the entirety of their remarkable 26 year career – […]
Why is Iron Maiden such a guy thing? Find out in Edmonton next year
There is no band with a bigger testosterone cult following than Iron Maiden. Seriously, it’s almost all guys in black shirts at their concerts – the same expected when the legendary British metal band returns to Edmonton next summer. Tickets to their Rogers Place show on Friday, Aug, 30, 2019, are $45-$125 and go on […]
Michael Buble, not retiring, brings Love to Edmonton
All this business about Michael Buble quitting music turned out to be FAKE NEWS. He says he was misquoted in The Daily Mail – kind of the Fox News of the UK. He recently quashed the rumour with a statement: “I’ll keep going until the news of my death comes out, which will probably be […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: 4/5 of Fleetwood Mac better than no Fleetwood Mac at all
Fleetwood Mac rolls into Rogers Place on Saturday night – on the band’s first tour without Lindsey Buckingham since 1995. He allegedly wanted to delay the tour, while the others wanted to go ahead – well into next year. We can be thankful the latter crew won, because even though Buckingham won’t be on stage, […]
