Bigfoot tales make big impression on impressionable readers
Move over, vampires, or fly away, or whatever. “Sasquatch Chic” may be the next big trend in pop culture. A Pixar animated 3-D blockbuster would be a just reward for Edmonton writer Marty Chan, who releases “A Hairy Tangle,” the second rollicking adventure in his Barnabas Bigfoot series of young adult novels, this weekend. He’ll […]
HISTORIC EVENT: Oprah Winfrey to inspire Edmonton in January
You thought McCartney was huge? Oprah Winfrey is coming to Edmonton – and right soon! The talk show queen will appear for an “inspirational evening event” on Monday, January 21 at Rexall Place. She’ll share her stories, and she’s got a few, with an overriding theme to “illustrate ways attendees can take control of their […]
Tegan and Sara bring Heartthrob to Edmonton in March
Of all the labels that get attached to the twin sister singer-songwriter politically active folk-rock duo Tegan & Sara, it might be time to take back the word “indie.” They’re mainstream cool now. The duo returns to Edmonton this spring for a show at the Shaw Conference Centre, part of a tour to give fans […]
Marilyn Manson returns to shock us again in February
Speak of the devil, and he will come. Speak of Marilyn Manson, and he will come back – eventually. Our favourite shock rocker returns to play the Shaw Conference Centre on Saturday, Feb. 9, touring behind his latest album, Born Villain. Tickets go on sale Friday. It’s been three years since Mr. Manson came to […]
YEAR IN LIT: The bad, the good, and the wickedly sweet
The world is supposed to end in 2012 – and for a moment in late September, the world seemed like it was ending for Edmonton’s literary community. After 30 years of selling books and generously supporting local writers, Greenwood’s Books shut down. It was a devastating loss to the local community from an Edmonton institution […]
WEEKEND MUSIC PREVIEW: This Lund is your Lund
Pop quiz: Can you … Break a horse? Light a fire? Gut a fish? Read the sky? Track the deer? Dig the well? If you answered yes to at least four of the above, then you may just have a chance to be a lucky survivor when the oil runs out and there’s a “rip […]
TRUE TALES OF CHUTZPAH: Geoff Berner wields mean accordion, satire
Geoff Berner got banned from the Chutzpah Festival for having “too much chutzpah” – is that Jewish enough for you? The gig in question was at a Jewish community centre in Vancouver in 2004, where Berner brought up a guest rapper who happened to be a member of “a peace group” that the Chutzpah Festival […]
Parts greater than the sum: Fleetwood Mac returns to Edmonton in May
Continuing the ongoing rock concert series dominated by Legendary Baby Boomers comes the return of Fleetwood Mac in 2013. Featuring most of its key original members, the band plays Wednesday, May 15 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, part of an extensive North American tour announced Monday. Tickets go on sale Monday, Dec. 17 at Ticketmaster, […]
WHO NAMED THE BAND: Mother Mother a double threat
Mother Mother started out as a single “Mother” – a word frontman Ryan Guldemond picked it for its “ominous yet benevolent connotation.” He’s just described the sound of his own band, known for a song called Hayloft, with its spooky chorus: “My daddy’s gotta gun, you’d better run!”; or more recently Let’s Fall In Love […]
TV: Tiny Plastic Men a kids’ show for grown-ups
Tiny Plastic Men isn’t just another little TV comedy – it’s an important signpost to a modern world where grown-ups have refused to grow up. The Edmonton-produced sitcom-sketch comedy series – premiering Monday at 8 p.m. on Superchannel – stars the local writer-creators Mark Meer, Chris Craddock and Matt Alden as a trio of numbskulls […]
WEEKEND MUSIC PREVIEW: Every day is Movember!
As Paul McCartney Week draws to a close, it behooves us to remember that he wasn’t the only seminal influence in modern pop music – just a very, very big one. This is true whether modern musicians even know it or admit or not. Burton Cummings knows. Playing Saturday night at the Winspear Centre, the […]
Billy Talent brings Dead Silence to Edmonton this spring
Billy Talent is one band that has lived up to its name – well, half of it, anyway. They’ve been artfully injecting pop sensibility and compelling stories into a branch of rock ‘n’ roll they used to call “screamo.” You know, where the singer screams instead of sings? Billy Talent’s lead singer, whose name is […]
