Pampered at Pampa … but that was the upside
Pampa Brazilian Steakhouse 9929 – 109 Street 780.756.7030 Expectations were high for a trip to Pampa, Edmonton’s new Brazilian steakhouse. A week after its opening, it has received overwhelmingly positive buzz online. Unfortunately – particularly given the high sticker price – that buzz seems somewhat premature. Perhaps it was simply one of those occasions when […]
Roots and Blues Roundup II in full swing this weekend
If you want to know where we’re going, we have to know where we’ve been. So take heed, all your alt-country punks and neo-folkies – some originators are coming to show us how it’s done at the Winter Roots and Blues Roundup II. Running at venues around town until Monday, this five-day multi-media festival features […]
MUSIC: For Sister Gray, girl power’s just downright shrewd
It’s a good thing the three male members of Sister Gray aren’t starved for attention. Because when your band is fronted by two fetching fashionistas in their early 20s, you’re not going to get much of it. When the indie-rock quintet takes the stage, all eyes are on lead sisters Jenesse and Brittany Graling. “They’re […]
Oh, Brothers – The Black Keys play Rexall June 29
Now that the Black Keys are officially awesome, who do they have to thank for being the first to recognize it? That’s right: It’s Canada, baby. We are the first country in the world to have given the Ohio band a platinum record, for its critically-acclaimed Brothers – which won best rock performance at the […]
MUSIC: Portrait of the artist as a young mogul
“It’s going to be a crazy year,” promises Joe Gurba of his plans for 2011 for his not-quite-fledgling label Old Ugly Recording Co. That isn’t to say that it hasn’t already been exciting; his profile around Edmonton has been elevated through the last two months as he’s celebrated and promoted the release of his alter […]
THEATRE: A Smurftacular look at tragedy, loss, and the unanswerable questions
Tragedy strikes everybody from time to time and we all have our own ways of coping. In Trent Wilkie’s Gargamel, he takes a humorous slant on misfortune. Wilkie, a founding member of Edmonton’s Mostly Water comedy troupe, found inspiration in the calamity the was inflicted upon his inner circle. “My brother was in a nasty […]
REVIEW: A lot of love in the room for Melissa Etheridge
I have a confession to make: I used to have a crush on Melissa Etheridge. It was a little disappointing when she turned out to be gay, but then I’d just fantasize I was a lesbian and the infatuation continued. She is beautiful inside and out. Basking in her warm, open-hearted presence and grooving on her formidable […]
Morning man on a mission: Terry Evans takes on censorship
Terry Evans has worn many hats in his long radio career in Edmonton. Wasn’t he a clean-head for a while there? Maybe it was a shave-your-head-for-cancer-awareness thing. He even tried stand-up comedy (he wasn’t very good, sadly) but says he hasn’t had an act since 1993. He’s far too busy. In addition to wearing his […]
REVIEW: The sun never sets on decent fish ‘n chips
BRITS FISH ‘N CHIPS, 11603 104 Ave NW Edmonton, AB T5K 2R1 780.452.7000 $$ For a country in which celebrity chefs seem as common as bad weather and football fans, England is the perennial whipping boy when it comes to haute cuisine. Long-standing aspersions: English food is bland, boiled, grey and stodgy. If it is […]
Snooki and the cult of the suitably vacant
What: Snooki Polizzi hosts a long weekend party Where: Union Hall, 6240 99 St. Tickets are $20 at the door, $40 for VIP access. There’s little doubt that, had Nicole Polizzi hit the airwaves of a U.S. Network in 1985, protests would’ve formed outside the station, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission would’ve been hauled in […]
HOBBIES: Any spokesperson will tell you, you can’t beat a beater
Notorious film director John Waters was once asked why, with his reputation for making movies described as everything from offbeat to obscene, he drove such an ordinary car as an Oldsmobile. His answer was that if he ever committed a crime, he didn’t want to be driving anything that witnesses might remember. And the odds […]
Art ala carte: Edmonton restaurants provide captivated audience
It’s a more common complaint than you might realize. You love food because it tastes good and feeds your body, but you crave art for the way it nourishes your soul. Some restaurants, with the way they cover their walls with mass-produced stuff? It’s enough to make you lose your appetite. But then you go […]
