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 […]
WEEKLY PLAYBILL: ABBA cadabra!
November is a huge month for live theatre in Edmonton – almost a dozen openings, at last rough count. At the top of the list of the songs you can’t get out of your head this week is Mamma Mia, at the Jubilee Auditorium for five shows Nov. 11-13. Short run, big bang. What’s this […]
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 […]
SHOCKER: Teen sexuality on Scona stage!
German theatregoers discovered sex in 1906. And boy, were they stirred up. The good Burghers of the time were horrified (and delighted) by a new work called Spring Awakening, from playwright Frank Wedekind. This provocative play dared to suggest that adolescents discover their sexuality. In the early years of the 20th Century, the heady rush […]
Sister Sister takes sibling rivalry to torturous new level
Northern Light Theatre is often way out there on the edge. Under the adventurous guidance of its artistic director Trevor Schmidt, it has become Edmonton’s most challenging theatre company – constantly probing human relationships and demanding intelligence, commitment and an open mind. It hasn’t always worked, but mostly it has – winning awards and giving […]
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 […]
