Posted on May 20, 2011
By Albert Smith
Front Slider, Music
Entertainers are in the unique position of being able to help others by doing exactly what they’d be doing anyway – entertain. Most civic-minded citizens volunteer for jobs that they don’t do every day, or aren’t necessarily qualified for, such as serve on the board of a community league or, say, grab a shovel and […]
Posted on May 18, 2011
By Albert Smith
Comedy, The Latest
Maybe it’s his tough Brooklyn accent. Maybe it’s because he’s large and hairy and releases a record called “Sneezes, Farts and Orgasms.” But Brian Scolaro seems to have suffered far too many hecklers for a guy who’s been on TV and is not known for “working the crowd.” Most comics we interview usually come up […]
Posted on May 13, 2011
By Albert Smith
Front Slider, Music
Welcome to Fraulein Boomer’s German School of Rock! Repeat after me: Rammstein! Rrroll your R’s, get some phlegm in your throat, that’s right. Good. Again! RAMMSTEIN! Feels good, doesn’t it? This band makes Kraftwerk look like Flock of Seagulls – and they were in town on lucky Friday the 13th to destroy Rexall Place, second […]
Posted on May 10, 2011
By Albert Smith
Comedy, The Latest
Funny, we don’t get many comediennes for Giggle City – mainly just comedians. In fact, Jen Grant – at Yuk Yuk’s this weekend – is the first female comic we’ve interviewed for this series, not counting the fabulous Stephanie Wolfe from the Die-Nasty soap opera. Stand-up is a male-dominated industry, with only a few notable […]
Posted on May 9, 2011
By Albert Smith
Culture, The Latest, Visual Arts
It might be time to play a new game: Are You a Better Artist Than a Fourth Grader? From the impressive results of ATB Financial’s first annual Young Artists Competition, the short answer is “probably not.” Winners of the province-wide art contest were announced today, unveiling original, Alberta-themed artwork from 31 Grade Four students from […]
Posted on May 5, 2011
By Albert Smith
Front Slider, Music
Now here’s some kind of crazy hip-hop you’re not going to hear on Virgin Radio’s Booty Countdown – Tzadeka is off the charts in more ways than one. Performing tonight at the New City Legion (8130 Gateway Blvd.), Tzadeka is the latest hip-hop handle for Edmonton vocalist Maigan van der Giessen, whose music with her […]
Posted on May 3, 2011
By Albert Smith
Music, Theatre
Look on the bright side – at least there won’t be another election for the next four years. Even so, a number of Edmonton arts people are deeply bummed today, for some reason. Some of the usual suspects chimed in on Facebook: Music promoter John Armstrong: “So what’s next? Can we impeach him? Are there […]
Posted on May 2, 2011
By Albert Smith
Front Slider, Theatre, TV and Radio
I’m sensing a windowless booth. A curtain. A long line of grumpy people waiting for something they don’t enjoy. In a bread line? Flu shots? Is this the Great Depression? Communist Russia? Yes! Someone named Steve. The colour orange. I see a lot of long faces, some people crying – could it be a funeral? […]
Posted on May 1, 2011
By Albert Smith
Family, Music
Don’t know if this is just a generational thing or not, but a lot of working Edmonton musicians are reproducing at an alarming rate. And now some of their spawn are old enough to be working musicians, too. Consider Luke and Tess Pretty, aka the Pretty Kids, whose father is local drummer Greg Pretty; or […]
Posted on April 30, 2011
By Albert Smith
Front Slider, Music
These kids today … with their “fire” and their “wheel.” Old-timers shouldn’t grump. Twitting and textering are just different tools with which to communicate, like the telegraph wire or smoke signals, and stars like Tiesto and Lil Wayne merely represent the latest examples of musical expression, as they are artists that will prove to be […]
Posted on April 28, 2011
By Albert Smith
Front Slider, Music
Are you feeling it? The excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain? Then you must be ready for Lil Wayne at Rexall Place tonight – on the “I Am Still Music” tour. There is of course nothing more street credible in […]
Posted on April 26, 2011
By Albert Smith
Comedy, Front Slider, Theatre
Got a Jackie Harvey scoop for ya: The swarthy, supposedly Italian Susanna Patchouli, hostess of the Oh Susanna variety-talk show once a month at the Varscona Theatre – as it is this Saturday at 11 p.m. – is none other than Edmonton thespian Mark Meer in women’s clothing! He doesn’t even try to deny it. […]
