Edmonton Fringe wins national honour from playwrights
This year’s edition hasn’t even kicked off yet, but the Edmonton Fringe fest is already getting plaudits. In this case, it’s for its long service to the theatre community and to playwrights, more specifically. The Playwrights Guild of Canada has granted the Fringe an honorary membership, the first time the award has been given to […]
Handsome Furs show the love for good Szechuan at Starlite
Anytime a band ventures outside the traditions of pop music structure, it automatically faces the prospect of being declared more interested in the art than the entertainment and, therefore, pretentious. Broad social disinterest ensues. It’s often a crock of crap, of course. Most artists I’ve ever met are just as apt to be entertained by […]
Tragically, times change, but The Hip are forever
The Hip? An outdoor show in the middle of summer? Shards of memories, flitting around at the mere thought of it, of bad acid and good mushrooms, dehydration and mass hysteria. These days, the venue will be somewhat more subdued. The Tragically Hip headlined an outdoor show at Northlands Park tonight, with Broken Social Scene […]
Brent Irving does some soul searching at the ARTery
There is a risk of ovexpectation inherent to greatness, but whether you think the new Art Gallery of Alberta is great or aren’t the fan of post-modern L.A. architecture, there’s no denying that so far, the new AGA has impressed. Edmonton is a great arts town even when the building isn’t the centre piece; there’s […]
REVIEW: Five guys, two dishes, one hell of a burger
FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES 993 Fir Street, Strathcona County, AB 780. 416.7710 Many years ago, a hamburger was different than today. Today, no matter where you go, you get something else that is supposed to be “special.” You get chopped sirloin, or you get “grade a beef” but the patty is prefrozen; or […]
Should AGA kids camps tackle street art?
When Gig City recounted the tale of a local artist whose graffiti mocked Oilers owner Daryl Katz, it got some strong reactions from Edmontonians – mostly opposed to using public space for political street art, good intentions notwithstanding. It raises an interesting debate then, with respect to the Art Gallery of Alberta’s summer camp series […]
LIVE TONIGHT: Steve Earle’s optimistic take on dependency
It’s only in those little moments when our mortality is brutally exposed – those short, often painful moments of life – that we really get to see how humanity puts the best of itself into art. Steve Earle knows it as well as anyone. Playing The Jube on Monday night with his full band and […]
PREVIEW: The Devil’s Music gets right with the Lord at Edmonton church benefit
Jack Semple, playing hot electric blues to a liquor drinkin’ crowd …. in a church? No, it’s not the closing guitar duel scene from a Ralph Macchio blues flick. Surreal as that sounds, it’s what you’ll get this Friday night when the Saskatchewan blues guitar maestro cooks up some bid’ness at McDougall United, with proceeds […]
THEATRE: Freewill Shakespeare Fest offers you Moor
Usually in Shakespeare, the less-reputable characters are the bloodsuckers. At the Freewill Shakespeare Fest this year? Well, it’s in Hawrelak Park, so you…(bzzz)…do the (thwack!) math on (smack!, damn skeeters!) that one. Oh, get over it. Bring bug juice to the shows from June 30 to July 24 and revel in the one reason good […]
