Selena Gomez a star above her music
In a world of love songs about love and dance songs about dancing, Selena Gomez is a pop star about being a pop star. They spent a lot of money and energy making her look great at Rexall Place Monday night – more effort than was spent on the songs themselves, so great was the […]
The Who bids farewell to Edmonton Coliseum
It almost escaped me that The Who on Sunday night was likely the last time I’d see a band at Rexall Place … or rather, the Coliseum. It’s always been the Coliseum to me, regardless of whatever corporate entity owned it. I’d been going there since I was a kid, when my mom would take […]
Rihanna shines bright like a diamond
Funny how Rihanna didn’t talk about playing Edmonton on 4/20 – seeing how it’s no secret she’s into weed. Maybe because in such a tightly-scripted Cirque du Diva spectacular there’s no room for empty patter about ridiculous redundant weed holidays. Maybe for some people, every day is 4/20. Who cares? Can’t we be mature about […]
Iron Maiden blows mighty wind in Edmonton
Aside from sports, there is no better place for male bonding than a heavy metal concert – and there is no band with a bigger testosterone cult following than Iron Maiden. Why this is so remains a mystery. Perhaps it has something to do with nerd culture. Maiden is basically a horror comic set to […]
Family business: The Raven Age opens for Iron Maiden
Let’s get this straight off the top: The Raven Age would not be opening for Iron Maiden if guitarist George Harris weren’t the son of Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris. This is rock ‘n’ roll nepotism at its finest. The proper response is: Yeah, so what?! “Of course that’s how we got on the tour,” […]
Marianas Trench not so deep
Hearing the high-powered candy-coated pop-rock-hyphenated anthems of Marianas Trench at Rexall place Friday night and finding it all so strangely familiar, it’s easy to imagine there exists a sinister cabal of songwriters responsible for every hit you hear on the radio. Not so far fetched, is it? Linda Perry, Max Martin, Paul Anka, and Diane […]
Metric makes manic musical magic
Metric has become a strangely serious band since its roots in the fun times – when the new wave of the old new wave was new again, back in the good old days of the late 1990s, before 9-11, before radio hits thrust this Canadian synth-rock band to medium level stardom. They were merely giddy […]
REVIEW: Megadeth makes manic metal magic
Megadeth has been cranking out its brand of speed metal for so long that there’s no way they can mess it up, as long as they still have the stamina to pull it off. It’s like cooking a good hamburger: Well done, burned on the outside, a little blood in the middle. Served fresh and […]
REVIEW: Black Sabbath goes out like a lion
Is there a man whose heart beats so cold that he cannot cheer the lion in its final victory lap? Something poetic is called for to honour The End of Black Sabbath – witnessed in Edmonton by more than 12,000 fans at Rexall Place on Wednesday night. They will never come again. Some bands wait […]
REVIEW: Drinking has a country music problem
Making a drinking game out of one of these pop country fun concerts would be redundant – but commercial country music is nothing if not redundant. So down the hatch! Especially when Brad Paisley had an actual functioning bar at Rexall Place on Friday night. Lucky fans sat right there on stage drinking beer, watching […]
Ozzy better, Black Sabbath coming back
Good news: Ozzy is feeling better, and Black Sabbath will make-up for the show they had to cancel in Edmonton. The new date is Wednesday, March 2, at Rexall Place. Tickets held for the original date of Jan. 30 will be honoured, and some tickets are still available; if you cannot attend the show, refunds […]
