Can we still listen to Michael Jackson? Short answer – No
Anyone who made it all the way through HBO’s harrowing four-hour Leaving Neverland documentary might have a tough time hearing Michael Jackson music now. Not everybody feels this way, of course, and let’s not judge, but to hear such sickening detail of how Jackson secretly abused and used little boys removes any shred of doubt […]
What happened to VUE Weekly?
Stop the presses – for good. That may or may not be part of the last rites for VUE Weekly, the city’s venerable alternative newsweekly that lasted nearly a quarter-century. It drops its final issue on Nov. 29. In a city that used to support at least two rival publications until seven years ago, the […]
Edmonton lights up with legal marijuana
So, like every media outlet in Edmonton, I go to cover the first day of cannabis being legal in Canada – and literally the first guy I run into is Ibrahim Shurie, a youth worker with the Somali Canadian Cultural Society of Edmonton. He wants to know why there’s such a big line-up in a […]
A Visit with the Puppet Master
Some puppets broke the (local) internet recently in what appeared to be a professional television commercial for the Bear’s Worst Show Ever, starring puppet versions of Scott McCord and Yukon Jack. It turned out to be one amazing contest entry for the “Worst Ad Ever.” It didn’t win the $10,000 prize. Puppetsmith Trevor Duffy says […]
Vancouver brain drain Edmonton’s gain
Back in the day, artists left Edmonton in droves for the literally greener pastures of Vancouver – but now some of them are coming back. Two good examples, anyway. It counts extra if they’re women, right? “Yeah, of course it counts!” says stand-up comedian Kathleen McGee (above), who after four years living in Vancouver has […]
INTERVIEW: Nunavut singer inspired by #MeToo
Evidence that the #MeToo Movement has reached almost every corner of the globe can be found in Riit – aka Rita Claire Mike-Murphy, a recording artist from Panniqtuuq, Nunavut. The Baffin Island hamlet is closer to Iceland than to any major Canadian city. Music on Riit’s debut EP she accurately describes as “dreamy folk pop,” […]
So a Geologist Walks Into a Creationist Museum …
Alberta is a land of opposites: Wide-open prairies set against foreboding mountains, liberal city centres and conservative countryside. Hell, even our winters and summers are like Jason Kenney and Rachel Notley. For me, as a geologist who’s worked for 10 years in Canada, the Middle East and the UK, the biggest contrast this province has […]
FOOD: River City Revival House serves rock ‘n’ roll
Rage Against the Poutine made me angry. Instead of the expected cheese curds that squeak on your teeth (indicating freshness) was the surprise appearance from homemade Thanksgiving stuffing – which, like grandma on family holidays, dominated the otherwise perfectly-cooked house-punched French fries drizzled with rich bacon gravy, backed up by succulent flakes of pulled pork. […]
WHO NAMED THE BAND: Scenic Route to Alaska beautiful and mysterious
With their abundant talent, deep Alberta roots, strong work ethic and a career on the rise, Scenic Route to Alaska is the perfect subject for Who Named the Band – an ongoing series of essays in which much more than just the unusual or ridiculous band name is examined. Scenic Route to Alaska plays the […]
RIP Tommy Banks: Godfather of Edmonton music
“I can’t wait to read it” is the last thing Tommy Banks said to me a few months ago – in anticipation of the book I’m struggling to finish about the history of the Edmonton music scene. He’s a key chapter. What a sad deadline to miss. Tommy never got to read it. He died […]
INTERVIEW: Brothers Grim representing North Side
Apparently Edmonton has a hip hop scene large and diverse enough to accommodate rival factions – for where would rap battles be without opponents? Perhaps in a sideways mirror of the American “East vs. West” thing, Edmonton pits its North Side against the South Side. Witness a new venom-filled track and video called Snakes in […]
Colin MacLean: Best theatre of 2017
This was the year of Kate Ryan – she probably sprang from her show-biz mother’s loins singing show tunes and grew up as a child of the theatre. She’s the artistic director of the Plain Jane Theatre Company, and this year branched out in a series of outstanding productions. The spring began with Ah, Romance […]
