MUSIC PREVIEW: K.Flay cuts deep
Kristine Flaherty isn’t the only artist to reference self-harming in a song. From Alessia Cara’s Scars to Your Beautiful to Linkin Park’s Breaking the Habit, to Johnny Cash singing about hurting himself with Nine Inch Nails, it’s a thing. Blood in the Cut is just the latest self-harming hit to strike a nerve. Playing the […]
New Year’s Eve Music Preview
From cover bands to original bands – and is there anything else? – the city’s favourite local venues have a little something for everyone this New Year’s Eve. Of greatest interest to Edmonton music fans might just be a couple of bands that have started gigging again after a bit of a hiatus. Calgary’s Chixdiggit […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Dallas Smith not wasting time
Musicians who make the leap from mainstream rock to mainstream country have only served to illustrate how similar these two genres of music can be in the right (or wrong) hands. That “leap” feels more like a hop across a dried-up creek-bed these days. Dallas Smith has been a country guy since 2011, a steady […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Depeche Mode the best mode
Someone recently posted on social media: “You wanna go to Depeche Mode?” “Depends what year it is,” went the response. “Is it 1989? Am I in college? Am I high on ecstasy? Was ecstasy even invented in 1989?” Or words to that effect. See, now this is the sort of shade a cult favourite like […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: alt-j a Delta Force
Just curious: What happens when you actually press “alt-j” on a computer keyboard? Hmm, nothing. Or wait. What’s this: ∆ … is the actual name of the band. It’s Delta, the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, and it refers to the discriminant of a polynomial equation, among other things. Does that help? Right. So […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Jaunty Plume array
The Prodigal Son returns! After a long sojourn in Nashville, Mike Plume has moved back to Edmonton. He’s from Bonnyville, actually, but close enough for rock ‘n’ roll. At the Almanac Saturday night, the singer-songwriter has been keeping a fairly low profile since he and his family moved back last summer. Why? “Trump,” he explains. […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Garth still here
Unbeknownst to many (ha ha), Garth Brooks continues his epic stand in Edmonton with more shows this weekend, including gigs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Rave reviews abound from anyone and everyone who saw any of last weekend’s efforts, not only for Garth himself, but the entire band as well. Check for ticket availability here. For […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Stumbellas sellout
It’s no surprise that one of Ontario’s hottest folk-rock bands is playing a sold out show at Winspear Centre this Thursday night – when just four years ago they were playing Wunderbar. The Strumbellas’ 2012 album titled My Father and the Hunter was one of the year’s very best, featuring their epic song The Sheriff, […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Country rockets launch Rogers Place
What we have here is a “perfect storm” of Big Gigs occurring on one weekend. Something’s gonna blow. Could Rogers Place have picked a better headliner for its opening concert on Friday night than Keith Urban? He’s a favourite in this market, and a hunka hunka burnin’ love to women the world over. Fun fact: […]
WEEKEND MUSIC: Big hand for Fitz
In the middle of festival season, a rare weekend without one finds Edmonton with a cadenced assortment of gigs both big and small. From Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas, and Volbeat, at Rexall Place, to a couple of gigs at the River Cree, to the smaller but equally vital smaller venues, there’s a little something […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Golden age of music venues
It seems like not all that long ago the local music scene was in disarray, with venue after venue closing within a very short span. And now here we are in the middle of 2016 and there’s a plethora of new and cool stages around the city to check out the rich tapestry that makes […]
Cheap Trick review: We’re all alright
Rock ‘n’ roll took a devastating blow a few days ago, leaving fans heavy with sadness at the abrupt shock of it all. But, the rock has got to roll. For a couple of hours Saturday night at the River Cree Casino, fans respectfully traded purple for black and white checkerboard – because Cheap Trick […]
