Major Love takes the scenic route
Sometimes great things happen by accident. Singer-songwriter Colleen Brown was recently touring Europe by herself – again – and had been feeling a touch of “ennui,” as Europeans say, about her chosen career path. One night, at a club in London, England, Brown found herself quite by chance on the same stage as fellow Edmontonians […]
INTERVIEW: Brothers Grim representing North Side
Apparently Edmonton has a hip hop scene large and diverse enough to accommodate rival factions – for where would rap battles be without opponents? Perhaps in a sideways mirror of the American “East vs. West” thing, Edmonton pits its North Side against the South Side. Witness a new venom-filled track and video called Snakes in […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Local talent thrives
As dark as Jason Kenney’s alleged soul is Edmonton’s live music scene on Christmas Day. Not a creature is stirring. Yet there are something like nine new movies out, including the new Star Wars, with three films opening specifically on Dec. 25. Who goes to see movies on Christmas?! Why can’t one go see a […]
PLAYBILL: Time travel terror
The trouble with Christmas spirit is that it only seems to come at Christmastime. For many people it’s just an expensive annual festival of indulgence in favourite sins – sloth, gluttony and lust, not necessarily in that order – in the company of loved ones, if you’re lucky enough to have any. You help the […]
Epic song battle erupts in House of Commons
Let’s take a closer look at Kerry Diotte’s Christmas song – for when Honorable Members start singing in the House of Commons, it behooves the nation to take heed. It doesn’t happen every day. Diotte (MP for Edmonton-Griesbach) wrote a version of Jingle Bells he sang on Dec. 13 during the last House sitting before […]
Colin MacLean: Best theatre of 2017
This was the year of Kate Ryan – she probably sprang from her show-biz mother’s loins singing show tunes and grew up as a child of the theatre. She’s the artistic director of the Plain Jane Theatre Company, and this year branched out in a series of outstanding productions. The spring began with Ah, Romance […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Time to give
This weekend features a pair of fundraisers fitting the Christmas season – both for good but very different causes. On Friday night, it’s “X-MUZ Part 1” at Brixx in the Starlite Room – a fundraiser supporting the Aviary group, which is nearing the very last stages to get their Norwood-area venue up and running. The […]
PLAYBILL: The 12 Plays of Christmas
OK, so now we’re in the mood for some sweet holiday entertainment fruitcake. Twelve sleeps till Christmas, which is the number of days in the 12 Days of Same – and the proper amount of time left to catch some of the best Christmas theatre in town. If you play your cards right, you could […]
Jay-Z bares his soul in Edmonton
Jay-Z knows he screwed up. After admittedly cheating on his wife, the rap superstar brought honesty and humility to Edmonton on Saturday night – and entertained a full Rogers Place to roc nation and redemption. He kicked off Saturday’s show fittingly with the opening track of his intensely personal new album 4:44 – Kill Jay-Z, […]
6 Edmonton arts scandals of 2017
There hasn’t been a year like this for controversy in the Edmonton arts and entertainment scene since, well … ever. Here are six unpleasant stories that riled people up in 2017: 1. The Needle and the Damage Done One of Edmonton’s premiere live music venues came crashing down barely 24 hours after an employee accused […]
REVIEW: Shatter goes behind Halifax Explosion
Early in the morning of December 6, 1917, the residents of Halifax were awakened by steam whistles hooting loudly in the harbour. The French cargo ship S.S. Mont-Blanc was slowly approaching the Norwegian vessel the S.S. Imo. Neither would give right-of-way. The inevitable collision, as if in slow motion, happened at 8:45 am. The Mont-Blanc […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Jay-Z state of mind
News that Jay-Z has finally admitted he cheated on his wife Beyonce has us all thinking of how we can possibly separate artists from their art in this day and age. Musical artists might get more of a pass than actors or media personalities, because their art – their songs – sometimes becomes so disconnected […]
