Maria in the Shower release CD at the Artery
It almost feels wrong to write about Maria in the Shower for an online-only publication. The “folk cabaret” band would probably prefer to see this article in typewriter font on aged yellow paper. “We wish there could be a time without electricity,” says drummer Todd Biffard, noting singer/trumpet and accordion player Jack Garton always brings […]
Edmonton’s smallest festival is a family affair
Almost a week after the Edmonton Folk Music Festival wrapped up, the love lived on at a south-side park on Saturday where Edmonton’s Littlest Folk Festival marked two decades of celebrating its founder’s birthday. Dave Cunningham, who many people know as the interim executive director of the Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta, hosts […]
TONIGHT: Taylor Swift to pluck our heartstrings a second time
A dad I know is afraid of Taylor Swift. He doesn’t put it that way of course. He goes at if from a backdoor approach. “Have you listened to that tune “Picture to Burn?” he says. “Her boyfriend breaks up with her for another girl, so she trashes his house. And she’s a kid.” This […]
NEW MUSIC: Features, Cancer Bats release are better late
Two U.S. artists – The Features from Tennessee, and the folkier Fruit Bats from Chicago, have recently released seasoned albums in what are exceptionally long paths to their musical fulfillment. Will they fulfill you enough to earn your hard earned cash as well? Tennessee rockers The Features are probably better known in the United Kingdom […]
PREVIEW: Shake your marimbas at Edmonton’s Second Annual Latin Fest
So you’re Fringed out — or even, perish the thought, think live theatre is like watching paint dry. Or darn it, you just need a change of pace for a few hours. You have a few choices: self-flagellation with the limb of an Olive Branch to celebrate the birthday of The Blessed St. John of […]
TONIGHT: Chamber of Commerce Prez’s alter ego drums for Jefferson Starship
Classic rock fans ought to be used to that vague feeling of confusion seeing a favourite band that’s been around since the ‘60s – man, who the HELL is in the band now? The surprising answer for Jefferson Starship, playing Saturday at the Edmonton Rock Festival in Hawrelak Park, is this: the PRESIDENT OF THE […]
TRUE TALES OF THE FISH: Country Joe and the F***
Country Joe McDonald does not over-estimate his place in the pantheon of Voices of a Generation, as a leader in the Peace Movement of the 1960s, as a martyr for the cause of free speech in America, as a counter-culture hero for the great censorship debate that would lead us into a new golden age. […]
William Shatner to sing at the Shaw Conference Centre Oct. 23
SHATNERRRRRRRR! Yea, hear the cries from on high and upon on-line chat rooms across the realm – William Shatner is coming to the Shaw Conference Centre on Sunday, Oct. 23. What will the legendary Lord of the Boards be doing, you ask? Why, nothing! Nothing that scads of celebrities before him haven’t done, that is. […]
TRUE TALES: Sex with Janis and the Edmonton Rock Music Festival
The question must be asked: What was it like making love to Janis Joplin? Her one-time creative partner Sam Andrew replies, “Feathery, light and very feminine – way more feminine than I would’ve thought. I knew her really well. It wasn’t surprising, though. She was definitely all woman.” It was just the one night of […]
PREVIEW: Michael Rault’s funky journey heads to the ARTery
Michael Rault seems a little amused by the idea that the 50s/60s r-and-b/British Invasion fusion that marked his first CD sets him apart from…say, Luke Doucet and White Falcon, for whom he recently opened in Edmonton. Perhaps in part that’s because the latest of the local Rault clan to build a career on blues and […]
REVIEW: 2011 Edmonton Folk Music Festival a blast and a gas
Too big? Stop whining! The Edmonton Folk Music Festival isn’t big enough. We won’t be satisfied until they annex a block of Cloverdale and tear down the homes to make room for another stage, until they expand the beer garden all the way into the Dawson Forest, until they extend the event to 1,000 performances […]
Tim Robbins honks the good fight
I wish I could tell you that Tim Robbins fought the good fight, and the critics let him be. I wish I could tell you that – but the folk fest is no fairy-tale world. Folk fest life consists of routine, and then more routine. Every so often, Tim would show up with a fresh […]
