REVIEW: Pop just the tip of de Burgh
Chris de Burgh doesn’t get all the credit he deserves. A lot of people tend to focus on his saccharine love songs of the ’80s, particularly Lady in Red – ignoring the fact he also has a proven track record of powerful songs about social issues, both present and past. But this wasn’t news to […]
THEATRE: Evil rises again in Bright Room
Back in 1985, American playwright Tony Kushner launched a new work called A Bright Room Called Day. He went on to write the two-part Angels in America that became one of the most highly regarded pieces of theatre of the 20th Century. You can certainly see elements of the genius that Kushner was later to […]
Imagine Dragons breathes fire at Rogers Place
“We will never be stopped!” Take heed of the inspirational rallying cry from the Las Vegas band Imagine Dragons in the wake of the horrific mass shooting in their hometown. The show must go on. They pretty much had to bring it up during their concert at Rogers Place on Tuesday night, especially seeing as […]
Miranda Lambert a shining light
At her concert at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton on Tuesday night, Miranda Lambert alluded to the Las Vegas mass shooting. Due to the recent tragic event that took place right here in our own city, these attacks were on everyone’s minds. She told the crowd, “There’s so many heavy hearts here tonight so I just […]
REVIEW: All hail Coldplay
Coldplay gave everybody a free LED wristband, so the audience could become a spectacular part of the light show at Rogers Place on Tuesday night – and then they blew off the confetti cannons in the first song. Usually that comes at the end. It figures. Coldplay has always set the bar high for themselves. […]
Shakespeare in Love a hit! A most palpable hit!
Despite its origins as an Oscar-winning movie, the stage version of Shakespeare in Love is a smart love story as well as a witty love letter to the collaborative nature of theatre. At the Citadel Theatre through Oct. 8, it’s set in the dynamic, productive theatre scene of Elizabethan London. Even the Queen is a […]
Sharp Dwarvish Axe hews Expo media
Sam Maggs had the toughest job in Edmonton on Tuesday night: moderating a question period with John Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli in The Lord of the Rings. At a media preview for the sixth annual Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo running Friday through Sunday at the Edmonton Expo Centre, the English actor talked for an […]
Protest erupts at BreakOut West
It’s interesting to reflect on the slow and steady increase of how often and in how many ways musicians have been convinced to perform for free – for “exposure.” On the flip side, shouldn’t they be free to do so? The music business is a different beast than it used to be. So here we […]
REVIEW: Guns N’ Roses best cover band ever
Here’s a sign you may be about to see a good concert – when the band rehearses in your town the day before the show. What an honour. People living in the Commonwealth Stadium area were reportedly treated to the echoing din of Guns N’ Roses running through Glen Campbell and James Brown tunes on […]
MUSIC PREVIEW: Die Antwoord heel vreemd!
Now that the showman of showmen Beck has departed the city, there’s a bit of a let-up in the gig schedule for the weekend as the city steels itself for its next big show, next Wednesday’s Guns N’ Roses gig at Commonwealth Stadium. Tickets still available. There are a handful of interesting gigs around our […]
REVIEW: k.d. lang soars in Edmonton
The entire run-through of Ingénue, k.d. lang’s seismic-shifting album that propelled her from prairie good ol’ gal to Grammy-winning superstar didn’t exactly rock the house at the Jubilee Auditorium on Saturday night. It didn’t need to. Despite lang’s powerful voice, put to great use during her roughly 80-minute set, the former Edmontonian stuck to the […]
Ghost of Joe Bird in new Fringe play
It would be disrespectful to the memory of the late Joe Bird to show respect to his memory – according to his best friend and longtime comedy partner Wes Borg. Or words to that effect. It should be obvious that Borg’s new Fringe play Get Me The F#ck Out of Edmonton may contain salty language. […]
