Reading a right at Edmonton Remand Centre

Imagine if you had weeks, or months, or possibly years to go by, sitting in a tiny room with little else to occupy your time except read – but your selection of books was bought for $10 per box on the last day of an Edmonton Public Library book sale. Books for prisoners at the […]

WHAT’S SO FUNNY: Bonfire Improv Festival opens Tuesday

Without Canadian comedy, American comedy would consist of Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. And Dennis Miller on Fox. And without Edmonton comedy, Canadian comedy wouldn’t have SCTV, Kids in the Hall (to an albeit small extent) or the rich legacy of comedy improv forwarded by the redoubtable Rapid Fire Theatre company. Conclusion: Edmonton […]

WEEKEND MUSIC PREVIEW: No strings on Real Boys

While the weekend’s biggest name is undoubtedly the underground Brit-rock band Kasabian, which plays Edmonton Event Centre on Friday night, the best bang for your live music dollar may be at Wunderbar, where The Fight perform Saturday night for the tidy sum of $7. On Easter Sunday, Abbotsford’s Real Boys perform alongside one of Edmonton’s […]

REVIEW: Titanic, the musical, sinks

The Titanic will go on forever as a symbol of European industrial arrogance. It was – according to lyrics in a musical about the greatest nautical disaster in history – “the largest moving thing on Earth.” Its designer, owner and captain all thought it too big to sink, and thus deemed it unnecessary to provide […]

More than I could possibly ever put up – says Mike the Posterman

More than I could possibly ever put up – says Mike the Posterman

Mike Wellensiek – better known as Mike the Posterman – estimates he’s popped off 10 million staples in 25 years of gig postering on the front lines of Edmonton’s entertainment scene. Do the math: At 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 staples per poster … I admit I had trouble counting while watching him work during […]

Locals stage Paul Simon Graceland tribute Saturday

When life hands us lemons, we make lemonade. To put it another way: when seasons, economy and remoteness conspire to give area musicians a feeling that they don’t have enough work, they declare, “Let’s put on our own show! I’ve got some curtains, my father has a barn …” and hold to that old saying […]

Ann Vriend splits herself in two to render ’80s rock in a jazzy vein

Having more than one personality can be challenge in real life, but it can be a real asset for a professional musician. Ask Ann Vriend, whose alter ego “April Valiant” and her band the Valiant Thieves perform Thursday at the Blue Chair Cafe: covers of ‘80s songs rendered in a jazzy vein, Madonna’s Material Girl […]

Russell Peters plays Rexall Place June 21

There aren’t a lot of stand-up comedians who can play the hockey arenas. Russell Peters has to be doing something right. Performing June 21 at Rexall Place as part of the Notorious World Tour – tickets going on sale April 14 – the Indo-Canadian comic is known the world over for his good-natured “racial” humour. […]

Titanic, the musical: Too soon or just in time?

A dramatic feature film that ends with Leonardo DiCaprio sinking to a watery grave is fine, but is it poor taste to stage a MUSICAL based on Titanic? Even after 100 years? Comedians often ask the same question about their jokes: how soon is too soon? Imagine a musical about the Japanese Tsunami or, perhaps […]

Kirk or Picard? Nerd or geek? It’s all good at Edmonton Toy & Comic Show

It’s the age old debate: Kirk or Picard? It’s been the “tastes great-less filling” argument of nerds for the last 25 years. Or is “geeks” the preferred nomenclature amongst sci-fi and comic book aficionados? “There’s been a bit of an argument about it,” says Shane Turgeon, director of the Edmonton Collectable Toy & Comic Show […]

WEEKEND MUSIC PREVIEW: Take a Swig of Alberta!

Folk rock takes centre stage this weekend, with the extraordinary Rose Cousins performing Friday night, followed up by Philadelphia’s Good Old War on Saturday and a plethora of artists performing during the “Swig Of Alberta” traveling road show on Sunday night at the Wunderbar. Friday Alan Frew – This five-time Juno award winner, perhaps best […]

WHO NAMED THE BAND: Christian Hansen inspired by people with autism

You can read a lot into a good band name, especially when there’s a good story behind it. Take, for example, Christian Hansen – who simply would not have had the courage to name his band Christian Hansen and the Autistics if he hadn’t been teaching music to actual autistic people. Wrap your head around […]