McDades speak out: You will practice your fiddle and you will love it!
It must be hard to rebel against your parents when your parents are folk musicians. It’s pretty much the most rebellious form of music known to man outside of punk rock, which is really just folk music writ large. But rebel one must. As a teenager, Solon McDade actually experienced a crisis of fashion that […]
WRITER CITY: Marv Machura on Truth/Beauty
Dubbed “Edmonton’s hottest folk rocker” by a local radio station, Marv Machura is also one of the smartest. He’s not only been a working musician for the past 30 years, he’s also a teacher and a public speaker with a fascination for Marshall McLuhan. Machura’s first book of poetry, Wonder, 30 years in the making, […]
THEATRE: Bus ride finds true meaning of Edmonton
If you’re lacking either Edmonton or Christmas spirit or both, a ride on the magic bus could do wonders. And no, its not the No. 5 on the last Friday of the month. “Birdie on the Wrong Bus” is billed as a heart-warming slice of Edmontonia, making its world premiere at the Show Globe Festival […]
TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS: Toys, candy, family, four ghosts
If you haven’t found the true meaning of Christmas by now, you’re probably not going to find it in a Christmas show – but that doesn’t stop them from trying. Edmonton sees the same set of Christmas shows every year, year after year, in one similar form or another, and people keep flocking to them […]
Bigfoot tales make big impression on impressionable readers
Move over, vampires, or fly away, or whatever. “Sasquatch Chic” may be the next big trend in pop culture. A Pixar animated 3-D blockbuster would be a just reward for Edmonton writer Marty Chan, who releases “A Hairy Tangle,” the second rollicking adventure in his Barnabas Bigfoot series of young adult novels, this weekend. He’ll […]
Tegan and Sara bring Heartthrob to Edmonton in March
Of all the labels that get attached to the twin sister singer-songwriter politically active folk-rock duo Tegan & Sara, it might be time to take back the word “indie.” They’re mainstream cool now. The duo returns to Edmonton this spring for a show at the Shaw Conference Centre, part of a tour to give fans […]
YEAR IN LIT: The bad, the good, and the wickedly sweet
The world is supposed to end in 2012 – and for a moment in late September, the world seemed like it was ending for Edmonton’s literary community. After 30 years of selling books and generously supporting local writers, Greenwood’s Books shut down. It was a devastating loss to the local community from an Edmonton institution […]
TRUE TALES OF CHUTZPAH: Geoff Berner wields mean accordion, satire
Geoff Berner got banned from the Chutzpah Festival for having “too much chutzpah” – is that Jewish enough for you? The gig in question was at a Jewish community centre in Vancouver in 2004, where Berner brought up a guest rapper who happened to be a member of “a peace group” that the Chutzpah Festival […]
Parts greater than the sum: Fleetwood Mac returns to Edmonton in May
Continuing the ongoing rock concert series dominated by Legendary Baby Boomers comes the return of Fleetwood Mac in 2013. Featuring most of its key original members, the band plays Wednesday, May 15 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, part of an extensive North American tour announced Monday. Tickets go on sale Monday, Dec. 17 at Ticketmaster, […]
TV: Tiny Plastic Men a kids’ show for grown-ups
Tiny Plastic Men isn’t just another little TV comedy – it’s an important signpost to a modern world where grown-ups have refused to grow up. The Edmonton-produced sitcom-sketch comedy series – premiering Monday at 8 p.m. on Superchannel – stars the local writer-creators Mark Meer, Chris Craddock and Matt Alden as a trio of numbskulls […]
DAY 2 REVIEW: Paul McCartney does it again!
Edmonton hasn’t seen a spectacle like this since the Oilers were last in the Stanley Cup Finals. The crowd at Rexall Place for Paul McCartney’s second show on Thursday night was perhaps even more boisterous, with a wave going around the arena before the show even started, the noise approaching near deafening levels waiting for […]
Eight surprising things about Paul McCartney in Edmonton
Never let it be said that Paul McCartney didn’t have the element of surprise on his side for his historic first appearance in Edmonton. He played the crowd at Rexall Place like a violin on Wednesday night – kept his fans guessing from start to finish. Here’s a quick look at some of the surprising […]
