Classic Carousel colossal challenge
When it debuted in 1945, Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel reset the bar for musical theatre. Up until then, most Broadway shows featured flimsy plots on which to hang great songs by Cole Porter or Rogers and Hart. R & H turned to Liliom, a serious 1909 play by the Hungarian Fernec Molnar. Molnar’s dark tale […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Blitzen Trapper keeper
While tagged with a variety of labels, from alt-country to indie folk, Blitzen Trapper has been going strong since the turn of the millennium, and seem to get stronger with every album. The Portland quintet self-released its first three albums, including their opening salvo, an eponymous release in 2003. After their most recent effort, 2015’s […]
REVIEW: Tool plays it cool
Tool is one of those shows where you feel like you saw the music and heard the lights. In other words, it was an amazing psychedelic rock concert at Rogers Place on Tuesday night, even if it took time to get there. The concert felt underwhelming at first, and not much different than Tool’s last […]
PLAYBILL: No rewrites at Improvaganza
We’re all just making it up as we go along. Every moment of life is an act of spontaneous creativity, and every creative action starts with a decision made in the moment, which leads to another decision, and then an action and so on and so forth, until voila! Congratulations, you’ve written Les Miserables. Improv […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Tool time!
Tool is a good example of a band that doesn’t particularly care if people like them or not, yet they stick to their guns so hard it’s impossible to turn away. Therein lies the secret of art. Do it for love. Or hate, or whatever. Just make it a STRONG emotion. Please don’t bore us. […]
Punk artist reveals deep roots
The Blueberry Bluegrass & Country Music Festival is lucky to own the latest creations from Edmonton artist Spyder Yardley-Jones: a mandolin bigger than a bull fiddle, a towering acoustic guitar and a Brobdingnagian banjo. The fiddle next time. The heavy plywood sculptures will be paraded around Parkland County in an antique truck before being put […]
PLAYBILL: One Pride, many voices
It is that time of year again, when a young man’s (or young woman’s) fancy turns to love – even love that does not hesitate to dare to speak its name, to modernize an old saying a bit awkwardly. In our free country, of course, so many are daring, which is why we have the […]
Folk fest to maximize ‘patron comfort’
“We’re really going to try not to annoy people this year.” That’s the word from Terry Wickham, longtime producer of the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, whose annual press conference happened Wednesday. The performers for Aug. 10-13 were announced: The Decemberists, Brandi Carlile, Ricky Skaggs, Valerie June, City and Colour (pictured), and more, 64 acts in […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Surf from turf
There’s a somewhat surprisingly good surf rock scene burgeoning across the Canadian provinces – and one of the cities leading that charge is Saskatoon. One of their notable surf acts, the Garrys, will be playing Mill Creek Café (aka Sewing Machine Factory) this Thursday. Interestingly enough, the reverb-soaked trio doesn’t have anyone named Garry in […]
Beck coming to Edmonton
We’ve been waiting for this guy for a long time – the one and only Beck is finally coming to Edmonton. The allegedly eccentric artist whose anthem Loser catapulted him to instant cult stardom in another age will play the Jubilee Auditorium on Tuesday, Aug. 22. Tickets are $59.50 to $89.50 and go on sale […]
PLAYBILL: Nnnnnnnnext!
Here’s a fun tip for budding artists, a little “life hack”: The concept of “spring” may be used as metaphor for birth. You see, old life must rust or burn out or fade away to make room for new life, for the next, smarter generation to come. It’s the circle of … er, life! In […]
Chili Peppers keep it fresh in Edmonton
When a band on its day off in Edmonton hangs out on Whyte Avenue, instead of, say, West Edmonton Mall, they’re more likely to get a favourable review. It’s a FACT. Because Anthony Kiedis and Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers were spotted in our city’s arguably coolest district on Friday (on their way […]
