Truth trumps special effects at Global Visions Film Festival
If there seems like there’s more interest in documentaries these days, it’s because there is. Hey, it’s either that or another damned Batman movie – in 3D, of course. “In an era when the major studios are really just concentrating on action or effects-driven superhero franchises, audiences are turning to documentary for real storytelling,” says […]
OSCAR FILM: Searching for Sugar Man about art for art’s sake
Imagine you wrote and recorded a couple albums only to find them with $1.99 tags in the delete bin at the old A&B Sound a couple weeks later. Now imagine finding out 20 years later that you were bigger than Elvis Presley in some country on the other side of the world. It’s hard to […]
Motley Crue to commandeer Edmonton in April
Edmonton has a special place in its collective heart for Motley Crue, and while it’s certainly no surprise the boys are back in town – playing Sunday, April 28 at Rexall Place – they’re in for a warm welcome. With Canada’s own reformed rock Gods Big Wreck opening, tickets go on sale Friday. Crue has […]
FILM: Musicians under the influence of Reefer Madness
You don’t have to be high to enjoy “Reefer Madness” ironically – but it helps. Or does it? There are a number of misconceptions about the famous 1936 anti-marijuana film, according to Edmonton musician Gene Kosowan, who has created a live “electro-acoustic” reinterpretation of the movie being presented at Wunderbar on Sunday night. “There’s something […]
WEEKEND MUSIC: DOA Hardcore to the end
DOA is thought of as one of the founders of hardcore punk along with Black Flag, The Germs and Negative Trend. While singer-guitarist Joey Keithley is the only founding member remaining from those early days, the 1970s, the band’s ethos and bone-crunching sound remains as hard as it ever was. That being said, their recordings […]
Bruno Mars announces world tour: Edmonton in July
Bruno Mars has revealed the dates on his extensive Moonshine Jungle World Tour behind his second studio album “Unorthodox Jukebox” – which will include Edmonton, at Rexall Place, Thursday, July 18. With British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding opening the show, the ticket on sale date will be announced shortly. Mars, aka Peter Gene Hernandez, is considered […]
The Dead live again at Winter Roots Roundup
It’s more than just a touch of grey – it’s an entire head of whatever hair is left, a Grateful Dead kind of weekend. The centrepiece of this year’s Winter Roots Roundup at Festival Place will be Mickey Hart, one of the two drummers – the “rhythm devils” – of the Grateful Dead. He and […]
Comedy poker tournament honours Andy Ferguson
Most people spend Family Day with their families. Comedians spend it sleeping off a night spent with their extended family – other comedians. And what do they do? They play poker, of course. A who’s who of 24 Edmonton comedians gathered on Feb. 17 for the First Annual Andy Ferguson Memorial Comedians Poker Tournament, and […]
MUSIC: From punk to politics, Joe Keithley rocks the vote
Joe Keithley knows there’s no sense trying to hide 35 years of punk rock fury. When the legendary D.O.A. frontman announced last fall that he would run for the N.D.P. nomination in B.C.’s Coquitlam-Burke Mountain riding, he was well aware he had a spectacular rap sheet ripe for potential mud-slinging opponents to pick from. Keithley, […]
Stewart Lemoine values his Diamond Jubilee Medal
Stewart Lemoine has to be the most decorated playwright in Edmonton. The founder and chief creative force of the Teatro La Quindicina company based in the Varscona Theatre recently received the Diamond Jubilee Medal, honouring “significant contributions and achievements by Canadians,” on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s 60th anniversary. It should go well with […]
Nude burlesque show canceled for lack of exotic dance permit
The line between art and erotic entertainment appears to be as thin as the pasties covering the performers’ nipples. A nude acrobatic burlesque show called Cirque De L’Erotique that was supposed to have taken place this weekend in Edmonton has been cancelled because promoter Jade Janvier doesn’t have an exotic entertainer license – “despite the […]
WEEKEND MUSIC: Masterful Lindi Ortega returns
Does it seem like sometimes bands avoid this city in January and February? This weekend’s biggest names are undoubtedly no strangers to the cold of Alberta that we usually see at this time of year. Seems a little unfair in some way, but it’s not like tour schedulers can re-book based on changes in climate. […]
