Matchbox Twenty and Counting Crows meet in the middle
“Wow, I got totally out of control at the Matchbox Twenty concert last night!” is probably not something you want to admit today. This is not a band – like White Zombie or Insane Clown Posse or something – whose music you’d think would incite uncontrollable behaviour. Unless you count 40-year-old guys dancing in the […]
Duran Duran wows Edmonton moms
Someone once said that video killed the radio star – and that Duran Duran was the first pop group to prove it. They were pioneers of MTV. Now the British group is a nostalgia act, while YouTube killed the video star and little kids are asking, “What’s MTV, Mommy?” But Mommy wasn’t listening. Mom was […]
Adam Lambert gives new life to Queen
Queen is never going to replace Freddie Mercury. He was one of a kind. But what about the rest of the guys in the band? What do they do when they want to keep the band going after their lead singer died? Life isn’t fair. And so, in their desire to give these great songs […]
REVIEW: Ryan Adams the real deal
Ryan Adams may be too country for rock ‘n’ roll, too rock ‘n’ roll for country and a bit too much of both to properly fit into the dreaded “alt-country” genre, but you’ll rarely find a more genuine personality on the whatever-you-want-to-call-it scene today. For an enthusiastic, beered-up crowd at the Jubilee Auditorium Friday night, […]
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 […]
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 […]
REVIEW: John Mayer no one trick pony
John Mayer has turned self-indulgence into an art form. This is the whole point of being a rock star, isn’t it? To “indulge yourself.” It’s one of the seven deadly virtues of rock ‘n’ roll. Self indulgence is not necessarily a bad thing. It only means that you will do only what you love to […]
BRIAN WILSON: Sand, sun and golden adolescence
He stopped touring with his brothers and cousins long before the Beach Boys were a nostalgia act at Klondike Days – but Brian Wilson is known as much for his elusive eccentricities as his musical genius. He is the stuff of legend. The median age for his show at the Jubilee Auditorium Wednesday night was […]
REVIEW: The Lumineers light up Edmonton
The Lumineers sure have matured since they came up with the big Ho Hey that launched their folk-popping star just five years ago. They’d have to – they’ve been working non-stop ever since. The proof was in their stomperific, strumtacular show at Rogers Place on Friday night. It was puzzling to see some 14,000 hip […]
Chris Stapleton shows his love in Edmonton
In true country music fashion, many of Chris Stapleton’s songs are about drinking – which resonated with the crowd at Northlands Coliseum on Saturday night because everywhere you looked there was beer in hand. Except for the underage fans, of course. Being 17 years old and just 3 months away from the legal drinking age […]
Blood in the Cut: Pop music gets edgy
Before a beautiful rock show by Mother Mother at the Shaw Conference Centre on Thursday night was an opening act that has really hit a nerve. K.Flay’s Blood in the Cut has been all over the radio lately, a song about a woman who deals with a heartbreak by expressing ideas of self harming. It’s […]
Eric Church stages epic bender in Edmonton
It was rather fitting to have outlaw country artist Eric Church perform at Northlands Coliseum rather than Edmonton’s shiny new Rogers Place on Friday night. This self-proclaimed outsider has an affinity for the good ol’ boy Albertan stereotype of the hard-workin’, beer-swillin’, truck drivin’ bro rather than the slicked up executive suits of downtown. Operating […]
