EIFF REVIEW: The Swell Season and the not-so-swell season after that
The Swell Season is a story about the frailty of relationships, of trying to balance the expectations of others against one’s own needs. It’s set against the backdrop and influence of fame, with an Oscar-winning songwriting duo at its heart, but it could well be about just about any couple you might know. Ultimately, that’s […]
Awolnation gets real at the Starlite
There’s a lesson to be learned from Aaron Bruno’s success as Awolnation: stick with what you love, and eventually that passion will be rewarded. Awolnation had a surprise hit this year with the dark song “Sail,” selling more than 80,000 downloads in Canada alone to date. But it came after a marked change in direction. […]
EIFF ENCORE: Bob and the Monster turnaround
Bob Forrest is one brilliant guy. He’s funny, compassionate, talented, magnetic. Unfortunately, he credits all of it to the comfort he feels when he’s drunk or high. It’s not an uncommon story. But surviving it when you also happen to be a minor-league rock star with a big budget and lots of time on your […]
Pearl Jam vs Foo Fighters: the rivalry continues
Related: Pearl Jam Twenty digs deep at EIFF Related: It’s Pearl Jam week in Edmonton! Related: Mudhoney is twenty, too! Back in 1991, the music world was taken by storm by the Seattle “grunge” scene, as the two frontrunners of the sound – Nirvana and Pearl Jam – released their pinnacle albums within one month […]
Cameron Crowe’s Pearl Jam documentary digs deep
Pearl Jam, has it really been 20 years? The latest film from director and former Seattle music journalist Cameron Crowe, Pearl Jam Twenty, recounts the story of the ‘90s grunge group’s origins and staying power. Crowe’s film is more than a documentary, more than a concert film – it’s a personal portrait and an unabashed […]
INTERVIEW: Mudhoney also celebrates ‘Twenty’
It’s been 20 years since Seattle’s grunge scene hijacked the North American pop charts. Tributes have been pouring in all year for Nirvana’s iconic 1991 album Nevermind, while the documentary Twenty (which screened Thursday at Garneau Theatre as part of the Edmonton International Film Festival) celebrates the two-decade anniversary of Pearl Jam’s debut Ten. The […]
LMFAO returns to make us laugh f***ing a** off a second time Dec. 21
Somebody has to say it: LMFAO blew Ke$ha off the stage. The wacky song and dance collective fronted by a couple of afro-ed dudes named Redfoo and Skyblu delivered a tremendous display of fun, groove, style, explicit sex, some nudity, giant blow-up animals and no redeeming lyrical content whatsoever. It’s all about partying. And the […]
Simple Plan brings romance to Rexall Place Feb. 14
The plan was simple: Form a simple band that plays simple music – and then call that band Simple Plan. It sure worked wonders for these Montreal titans of emo. Now you can mark your calendar – buy a 2012 calendar and mark that – for Feb. 14 when Simple Plan brings its zippy romantic […]
Pearl Jam Week declared in Edmonton – on screen and stage
The new Pearl Jam documentary Twenty is opening the Edmonton International Film Festival (EIFF) on Thursday – which just happens to be a day off for the band before they play Rexall Place on Friday. Coincidence? Probably. Will members of Pearl Jam actually show up at the screening? Probably not. Sources close to the band […]
EDMONTON RADIO: Up! Yours!
After a summer of no radio whatsoever – except for a sample in Montana where I learned that things could be much worse – I tortured myself by listening to nothing but Up! 99.3 FM for two entire weeks. This is the worst radio station in Edmonton. It contains the highest ratio of bad songs […]
