Katy Perry whips up a little mindless fun in Edmonton

The stark reality of the debate over pop and culture and folk like Katy Perry is that framing it in terms of arguments about quality is…like…soooo stupid. Cue gum chewing and snapping. But as much as people worry that cookie cutter pop is somehow destroying culture, they’re usually missing an important half of the equation: […]

Inspired by CFL star, Kenny Chesney preaches work ethic

In a sense, Kenny Chesney owes his success to a CFL all-star. When he was a kid, Chesney wanted to be like then-Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Condredge Holloway (below left), who football fans up north remember as a Toronto Argonauts great and hall-of-famer. In fact, Chesney later produced a documentary on Holloway, his conference’s first-ever black […]

EPL screens Stones doc on Altamont, the death of a fan and the end of an era

The Rolling Stones do not come off well in “Gimme Shelter,” the documentary by Albert and David Maysles about the band’s infamous free concert at the Altamont Speedway in San Francisco in 1969. You can cast judgement for yourself when the Edmonton Public Library screens “Gimme Shelter” at the Stanley A. Milner branch on Saturday, […]

Tragically, times change, but The Hip are forever

The Hip? An outdoor show in the middle of summer? Shards of memories, flitting around at the mere thought of it, of bad acid and good mushrooms, dehydration and mass hysteria. These days, the venue will be somewhat more subdued. The Tragically Hip headlined an outdoor show at Northlands Park tonight, with Broken Social Scene […]

Entertainment Today for Thursday, July 14

Gig City rounds up the top Entertainment headlines twice daily, so check back for updates. Harry Potter’s final outing casts a magical spell – Globe and Mail [New Window] The spell is cast, the spectre is summoned: the final Harry Potter movie, the culmination of film history’s most lucrative franchise ($6.3-billion at the box office), […]

Living With Lions tells FACTOR where to stick their 13 grand

Now this is fortuitous. We were just having a friendly debate about government arts funding and along comes Living With Lions to play the Pawn Shop on Friday night. This is the Vancouver punk band at the centre of the storm of controversy surrounding its new CD, “Holy Shit” and its allegedly blasphemous artwork, which […]

Beer drenched, nation’s biggest outdoor festival doesn’t disappoint

It was surreal. Rain had poured relentlessly through Wanda Jackson’s outdoor set at a stage nestled in the heart of Quebec City last Sunday during the massive 11-day Festival D’ete. And then, as the 73-year-old legend broke out her fiery 1958 hit Let’s Have a Party, the downpour ceased almost simultaneously. Umbrellas closed one by […]

NKOTB/BSB turn back clock in Edmonton

[View the story “NKOTB/BSB turn back time in Edmonton” on Storify]

WHO NAMED THE BAND? Idyl Tea returns

There was only one downside to a band name like Idyl Tea – no one could spell it right. Idol T, Idle Tee, Idyll Twee, the permutations and combinations of nomenclatural mangling were numerous, if not endless, as was a low-level confusion among Canadian rock fans at the time thinking they were going to see […]

NYC’s Pains of Being Pure At Heart adds Edmonton show

There was no press release. There was no announcement on a local radio station. But one of the biggest buzz bands of the year – The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – added a number of dates to an already lengthy tour late last week, and one of those is in Edmonton. The New […]

SOS Fest to close down Whyte for Indie band street party

There are people who will argue that the point of any communal gathering – this Sunday’s SOS Fest included – is the sense of community itself. And let’s face it – it’s hard to dispute when you see a few blocks of Whyte Avenue blocked off so that folk of all ages can boogie to […]

FULL DISCLOSURE: Colleen Brown vs. Ezra Levant heats up arts funding debate

Well, this is awkward. I’m at a fancy dinner party for the Royal Newlyweds and I’ve got Ezra Levant sitting to the left of me and and Colleen Brown to the right. Or maybe it’s the other way around. Ezra is a Sun TV commentator who criticizes government arts funding. Colleen is a local recording […]