DAY 2 REVIEW: Paul McCartney does it again!
Edmonton hasn’t seen a spectacle like this since the Oilers were last in the Stanley Cup Finals. The crowd at Rexall Place for Paul McCartney’s second show on Thursday night was perhaps even more boisterous, with a wave going around the arena before the show even started, the noise approaching near deafening levels waiting for […]
RAP MUSIC: Edmontosaurus stalks the Earth with smart new CD
Omar Mouallem wrote a number of those “Top 40 Under 40” profiles for Avenue magazine in his former gig as associate editor – but he’s a worthy contender for the honour himself. Hell, he’s top 30 under 30. Yet the 27-year-old, recently married Edmonton native is humble, saying, “I have not chosen to fill out […]
Eight surprising things about Paul McCartney in Edmonton
Never let it be said that Paul McCartney didn’t have the element of surprise on his side for his historic first appearance in Edmonton. He played the crowd at Rexall Place like a violin on Wednesday night – kept his fans guessing from start to finish. Here’s a quick look at some of the surprising […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Journey treats fans to ’80s delights
The last time Journey played Edmonton, Wayne Gretzky was 21 years old and the Oilers were two years away from winning their first Stanley Cup. Thirty years later, both Gretzky and the Cup are long gone, but ‘80s rock is still going strong. Just ask the 11,000 people who came out for Tuesday’s night show […]
Fort Saskatchewan gets first radio station, lots of Bon Jovi, with Mix 107.9
Tucked away at the end of the radio dial, waaaay up at 107.9 FM, is Fort Saskatchewan’s very first radio station – which launched Tuesday morning as Mix 107.9 FM with a format that could only be described as “Somewhat Contemporary Hits Radio.” Once CFKT’s big-ass 20,000 watt transmitter is fired up, we’ll be able […]
What to expect when you’re expecting Paul McCartney
Edmonton is on the brink of full-blown Macca Mania, a frenzy of celebrity excitement not seen since Bieber Fever – except with Baby Boomers instead of teenage girls in their own rush of blithering Beatlemania 50 years later. Wow, man, circle of life. Leading up to Paul McCartney’s sold out shows at Rexall Place Wednesday […]
Sexually exploited women share their stories in disturbing documentary
The trick in making a good documentary is knowing when to stop. The story that continues after the end of Rosie Dransfeld’s disturbing new film “Who Cares?” – a stark look at street prostitution in Edmonton – is just as tragic and touching as anything in the documentary itself. One of the main subjects, Shelly, […]
Are the Chili Peppers modern age Beach Boys?
Not since the Beach Boys has there been a band that’s as all about California as much as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Playing Wednesday and Thursday at Rexall Place, these keyed-up Angelinos are the quintessential modern Golden State rock band. Thanks to a wonderfully raucous cover of Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground in 1989, they […]
REPORT: Taboo takes sexual marketing to a new audience – women
If we had a time machine, a young Ron Jeremy would’ve experienced an existential crisis at this year’s Taboo: Naughty But Nice Show, which wrapped its three day run in Edmonton on Sunday. The world’s most famous porn star likely would have been wandering around the Edmonton Expo Centre in a daze, wondering where the […]
CONCERT REVIEW: Leonard Cohen class all the way
In the Internet age, when success is so often determined by slick branding and youthful imagery, it’s telling that Leonard Cohen’s cheekily titled 2012 album “Old Ideas” is far and away his highest-charting record, in a career spanning 12 studio albums dating back to 1967. Cohen stepped out onto the Rexall Place stage Sunday night […]
Leonard Cohen the Godfather of great singers who can’t sing
The Return of Leonard Cohen Sunday night reminds us of a very special class of singer-songwriter for whom the art of singing is secondary to the art of songwriting. Let’s just say that Len – like Neil Young, like Bob Dylan, like Tom Waits, like Lou Reed, like Nick Cave, name your legendary croaker – […]
It’s funny because we all do it – the magic of relationship comedy
If we’ve learned anything about comedy, it’s that the more universal the topic, the better. As an astute observer of comedy once said, “Everybody knows what a vagina is.” You sniggered there, didn’t you? Of course you did. “Vagina” is a funny word. So is “penis,” for that matter. There’s a lot of material there. […]
