THE SHEEPDOGS: On the cover of the Rolling Stone, at Starlite Dec. 17

If you liked the Sheepdogs when they opened for Kings of Leon the other night, prepare to like them a second time when the Saskatoon band headlines its own show at the Starlight Room on Saturday, Dec. 17. Tickets are a mere $20 and go on sale Friday at Ticketmaster (here). Along with the hit […]

Weekend Music Preview, Sept. 30 – Oct.2

Another incredible weekend awaits live music fans in Edmonton, with everything from buzz bands, to metal, to country and jazz. While the biggest name of the weekend is undoubtedly Kings of Leon, who perform at Rexall Place on Saturday night along with The Sheepdogs, lesser known but still extraordinary music will emanate from performances by […]

Pains of Being Pure at Heart earns buzz from fuzz

The New York indie pop band whose name is so long its acronym is still longer than most other band names – Pains of Being Pure at Heart, or POBPAH – is being talked about non-stop not only in the Blogosphere and Twitterverse, but in some of the largest music magazines in the world like […]

Kings of Leon and the price of fame

If the band Kings of Leon didn’t exist, some hack showman would have to invent it, pump it up until its name was writ billboard large, then prick it with a hypodermic full of fame and insecurity and watch it blow away. It’s become such a rock stereotype, in another era we’d have nicknamed it […]

WHO ANGERED THE BAND: Uproar Festival to rock Rexall Thursday

There is no evidence that the Rockstar Energy Drink causes anger – so why is the popular super-caffeinated beverage the title sponsor of the Uproar Festival on Thursday at Rexall Place? Could be a coincidence. There are a lot of angry bands playing here, on two stages, “main” and “Jager outdoor,” from early afternoon to […]

Ninjaspy creates its own scene

It only makes sense that unconventional music should be released in an unconventional fashion. Ska/metal band Ninjaspy’s upcoming EP No Kata, a 10 ½-minute piece of music employing its trademark genre-hopping and warped time signatures, will feature an accompanying graphic novel in which the song’s lyrics make up the narrative and dialogue. The effort is […]

Big Sugar returns to play EEC Nov. 3 – is this a Canadian reunion trend?

OK, now it’s an epidemic. Another noted Canadian band from the mid-’90s is coming back from self-imposed hiatus – Big Sugar. Gordie Johnson’s first claim to fame will return to town to play the Edmonton Event Centre on Thursday, Nov. 3. With Wide Mouth Mason opening – with Gordie on bass – Big Sugar is […]

The Tea Party to rock Edmonton Nov. 18 – the band, not the political movement

No politics … just rock and roll. That’s what it says on the Tea Party’s website, so as not to cause confusion with the American right-wing political movement that’s sprung up since the last time the popular “Moroccan-roll” band toured Canada and which apparently wants the teaparty.com domain in the worst way. The Tea Party […]

City and Colour brings Little Hell to the Jube January 25

Going unplugged turned out to be a great career move for Dallas Green, who became “City and Colour” (Dallas = City, Green = Colour) for a solo career that one could argue far outshines his work in his punk band Alexisonfire – or at least opened up his songwriting gifts to a new audience. Said […]

WHO’S IN THE BAND: Bachman & Turner tonight at the Jube

It’s all well and good if you’re Pearl Jam and stay together 20 years before some bigshot Hollywood director makes a movie about you. That’s easy. Twenty? Try 20 DIFFERENT bands over 50 years, Sonny Boy, when you’re actually entitled to be called “classic rock” and you argue about who was in the room when […]

CONCERT REVIEW: Pearl Jam rocks Twenty out of Ten

This concludes Pearl Jam Week in Edmonton. We hope you enjoyed the band’s spectacular show at Rexall Place on Friday night, and the Cameron Crowe documentary about how it all came to be so spectacular, Pearl Jam Twenty, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Ten, the band’s breakthrough album. Some numerology is at work here. The […]

WEEKEND MUSIC PREVIEW: Edmonton goes retro

I don’t think there’s any doubt what the biggest show of the weekend will be, with the raucous Pearl Jam playing Rexall Place on Friday night. But there’s some retro performances as well, from such artists as the Irish Rovers, the Headpins and Lee Aaron, and Art Garfunkel scattered throughout the days. The Edmonton International […]