Record Store Reunion to celebrate coolest job ever
Like steam locomotive repairmen, harpsichord tuners and silent movie title card calligraphers, record store clerks are nearly extinct. People of the future will look back upon four decades, the 1960s to the 1990s, and no doubt have a few questions: What were “albums?” What’s a record store? Why was being a record store clerk such [...]
Brad Paisley, Accidental Racist, plays Edmonton in October
Oh, man, we’re going to have some fun with Brad Paisley when he comes to Edmonton this fall on his “Beat the Summer” tour. The proudly redneck country singer – a mean guitarist and clever songwriter who knows how to push people’s buttons – plays Saturday, Oct. 26 at Rexall Place. Tickets go on sale [...]
COMMENT: Why Mayor Kerry Diotte would be good for Edmonton
That Kerry Diotte is running for mayor of Edmonton is exceedingly good news. He threw his hat into the ring for the Oct. 21 civic election at hastily assembled press conference Thursday. Full disclosure: I know the guy. I worked with him for more than 15 years at the Edmonton Sun, where he was one [...]
WEEKEND MUSIC: All that glitters is Gold and Youth
Within the next week Edmonton plays host to three major sold out shows: Carrie Underwood, Mumford and Sons, and Imagine Dragons. And while all will undoubtedly be extraordinary, one of the more intriguing live music options will happen at the Pawn Shop on Monday night – and you can still get tickets! Vancouver alternative band [...]
Fringe festival to tee off on James Bond
And the Fringe theme of the year is … Bond, James Bond. Doesn’t “From Fringe With Love” open a whole can of fun and adorable worms – the classic Bond film from 1963, made at the height of the Cold War. Fringe themes rarely coincide with actual content of the plays – but the fact [...]
Goddo finds muse, falls in love, settles down – in Calgary
Fact: Hot young women fall for wrinkly old rock stars all the time. It’s not just the rock stardom itself. It’s the character and stamina and ego required to become a rock star in the first place that’s so attractive. It’s obviously hard-wired. One so rarely gets a chance to explore this topic, so it’s [...]
Iron and Wine to play Winspear in September
Iron & Wine was alt-folk before alt-folk was cool – so it’s no surprise that the band, which is actually just one talented guy named Sam Beam, marks its return to Edmonton with a bigger room: The Winspear Centre on Sunday, Sept. 22. Tickets go on sale Friday. Emerging on the Sub Pop label in [...]
Bay City Roller comes out clean
That Les McKeown of the Bay City Rollers could admit to being bisexual on the British reality show “Rehab” four years ago and suffer no apparent backlash from his loyal female fans is a sure sign of progress in society. “I would imagine that would’ve been completely taboo back in the ‘70s,” the 57-year-old singer [...]
EXIT INTERVIEW: Outgoing EAC boss still curious
John Mahon says he’s “probably going to go back to music” after leaving his post as executive director of the Edmonton Arts Council. “That’s where I go when I empty my mind. That’s where I drift.” Makes perfect sense. He was a classically trained musician before taking the city’s most high-profile arts administration job in [...]
WEEKEND MUSIC: Third time a charm for MGMT?
The band MGMT – coming to play two shows at the Starlite Room Saturday night – may be a classic case of the infamous “sophomore jinx.” Formed by Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden, who met as students at the private liberal arts college Wesleyan University in Connecticut, the band’s first album won critical and popular [...]
PARKING METER FAIRY STRIKES EDMONTON!
“Am I too late to save him?!” The breathless Parking Meter Fairy runs to catch a parking enforcement officer about to ticket an illegally parked car. The officer stops writing and mutters, “You could.” Oh, thank you, Parking Patrol Officer. Clink, clink, clink, clink go four magic quarters into the expired parking meter – good [...]
