SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL: Stephen Harper the Julius Caesar of his time?
Et tu, Ignatieff? Well, they don’t stab kings anymore. They just assassinate their character. But politics has changed little since politics was invented. Actor Kevin Sutley – who plays the titular character in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar at the Freewill Shakespeare Festival – puts it like this, “This play is incredibly political, and it’s about […]
COMEDY: Sterling Scott to hit the next level with DVD taping
The allure of the professional stand-up comedy trade is powerful when you’ve become hooked on making people laugh. It can happen as early as childhood. Some call it a sickness, others an addiction, and there is no known cure, no comedic “methadone.” There is often nothing for it but to … become a professional stand-up […]
Sunday steampunk bike ride embraces apocalypse with style
Steampunk is first and foremost a literary genre, a 19th Century view of the future – steam powered, mechanical and pre-electronic. And everyone dresses well. “It’s like Mad Max meets Marie Antoinette,” explains Cory Richards, a salesperson at Sanctuary Curio Shoppe (10310 81 Avenue), which is hosting Edmonton’s first steampunk bicycle ride on Sunday, June […]
Painter Arlene Wasylynchuk wins new $10,000 arts prize
Edmonton’s newest arts award went to painter Arlene Wasylynchuk as she won the first $10,000 Eldon & Anne Foote Edmonton Visual Arts Prize, presented by the Visual Arts Alberta Association (VAAA) on June 20. “I’m really honoured,” said Wasylynchuk. “It was a great group to get short-listed with and it’s great for the city to […]
Roots rock weirdo Mike Plume finds the sweet life in Nashville
Mike Plume illustrates the dilemma of a lot of guys in his situation – as a recording artist who decides to retreat behind the scenes to make a living as a professional songwriter in Nashville. We’ve heard rumour of these songwriting factories down South that churn out bushels and pecks of radio ready hits for […]
WHAT’S SO FUNNY: Arena comics risk Nickelback syndrome
There’s something strange that happens in the course of a stand-up comedian’s rise to success. While moving up from nightclubs to theatres is celebrated, prompting pats on the backs and kudos all around, hitting the next level – arenas – seems to result in a wee bit of a backlash. Consider that racist puppet guy, […]
Summer Solstice offers world-class chamber music lineup
Three of the continent’s finest classical musicians will grace the lineup of the Edmonton Chamber Music Society’s 2012 Summer Solstice Festival, running Friday through Sunday at Convocation Hall in the Arts Building of the U of A. Joining the three-day event will be Edmonton-born violinist Jessica Linnebach, currently associate concertmaster of the National Arts Centre […]
REVIEW: Bryan Adams takes fans back to ’80s
Escapism comes in many forms: rom-coms, daydreaming…. And Bryan Adams. With the Canadian icon’s endless list of sticky-sweet, hook-laden hits, listening to him is just like reading a good novel or eating half a pumpkin pie in one sitting. It just feels good. Adams passed down that comfort-zone spirit to the crowd at Rexall Place […]
TEDESCHI TRUCKS: Marriage like a band, band like a marriage
We’ve beaten to death this idea that being in a band is like a marriage – but what about a band that literally is a marriage? The Tedeschi Trucks Band – at the Jubilee Auditorium Friday night – is centred around Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, a power blues couple if there ever was one. […]
Apocalyptic Pagan rock opera to premiere at North Country Fair
Here’s a devilish scenario: What if – of all religions – Paganism turns out to be the correct one? Like, hey, didn’t see that coming. Imagine: The Mother Earth Goddess, aka Gaia, has been beaten and raped by humanity. Her husband, meanwhile, doesn’t know because he’s been asleep for several hundred years following an epic […]
