Legend has it: John Legend in Edmonton this summer
Before Auto-Tune made legends of us all, there was John Legend – one of the finest voices on the modern R&B scene who has yet to get his due. The Ohio crooner, who had been signed by Kanye West’s label, won a pile of Grammys before most people had ever heard of him, on the [...]
MUSIC: Ann Vriend the next big thing – or is she already?
Ann Vriend sounds like Loretta Lynn singing Aretha Franklin songs written by Marvin Gaye and produced by Mitchell Froom. It is that weird – and wonderful. The sound of the Edmonton singer’s new record, For the People in the Mean Time, owes a lot to her Italian producer Tino Zolfo, whose Froomish style with all [...]
Queen + Adam Lambert better than no Queen at all
Of course it’s impossible to fill the shoes of the late, great Freddie Mercury – but the flambouyant Adam Lambert gets the ultimate endorsement from the surviving members of Queen: They’re touring together as Queen + Adam Lambert, playing Rexall Place on June 24. Tickets go on sale next Friday, March 14. The unlikely combo [...]
SkirtsAfire to burn glass ceiling
Whatever you think of grouping artists by gender first and by their art second, consider the all-female SkirtsAfire “herArts” festival – playing March 6-9 at venues around Alberta Avenue – as “theatrical affirmative action.” The stats on theatrical sexual equality in Canada are “grim,” says festival director Annette Loiselle, citing a 2008 study done by [...]
Nobility in Defeat: Where are they now?
Kerry Diotte has popped back up on the radar. The former Ward 11 councillor and failed mayoral candidate announced on his birthday – Feb. 26 – that he will seek the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in the new federal riding of Edmonton Griesbach. That’s right. He’s baaaaack. After Don Iveson surged into the Edmonton [...]
COMEDY: Brent Butt ALMOST a movie star
The great thing about being a stand-up comic who gets a TV series is that you have a pretty sweet gig to fall back on once the series – inevitably – ends. A lot of comedy actors who try to be comedians after their television careers end aren’t so lucky. Ask Michael Richards. Brent Butt [...]
MUSIC: Fools Tongue channels Peter Gabriel
What a world where musicians can make music as progressive as the proggiest of prog-rock – in an Edmonton basement. Fools Tongue’s new album “New World” sounds like Sting meets Peter Gabriel in, er … words fail, a home recording studio. Don’t get that every day around these parts. “That’s our world,” says singer Luke [...]
INTERVIEW: Sass Jordan on Canadian Idol, short attention spans
There is no alternate reality where American Idol and its ilk did not exist so we could all say, “See? Look how great popular music is without all these deluded show-offs to ruin it for everyone!” The Idols would’ve shown off anyway. These sort of TV talent shows just put inner workings of the pop [...]
Has Black History Month lost its meaning?
The trouble with Black History Month isn’t over the fact that it happens to be the shortest month of the year. It’s the word “black.” Does it mean African, and if so what part of Africa? It’s a big continent. It could mean Caribbean or American, descendents of American slaves. And what about black people [...]
Happy Valentine’s Day! Yanni’s coming, hint, hint
Hey Ladies! Who loves you? That’s right, Yanni loves you. Do you know who loves you even more? The man who buys you tickets to Yanni, who returns to the Jubilee Auditorium on Tuesday, Sept. 9. Tickets go on sale Friday – Valentine’s Day. Hint, hint. And this should really be directed at the men [...]
Astounding CKUA changes: No one gets fired!
For more proof that the CKUA Radio Network is unlike almost any other radio network on Earth, look no further than the station’s impending “shake-up” that takes effect Feb. 18. They didn’t fire anybody! What’s a “change in direction” if they don’t ambush and heave overboard at least one notable radio personality? It happens all [...]
Young Frankenstein the Musical a no brainer
Can anything be made into a musical? The short answer is yes. The more difficult question is why. You don’t have to dig far to see that musical theatre has wormed its way into all orifices of popular culture. When rock stars and the guys from South Park and Family Guy and Disney start getting [...]