REVIEW: Something wickedly funny this way comes in Wyrd Sisters

It’s not easy to successfully transform a fantasy novel for screen or stage, as the elements that create the fantastical world are often far more convincing in a reader’s mind. Add the reverence for the writer and you might just be setting yourself up for disaster. “Wyrd Sisters,” which runs through Dec. 12 at the […]

THEATRE: New couple cooped up in The Survival of Pigeons

Nothing tests a love affair like moving in together. Just ask the characters in Surreal Soreal Theatre’s new play “The Survival of Pigeons As Studied By Human Lovers,” opening Thursday at the Varscona Theatre. “The play really speaks to moving in with another person and the deepening of that relationship as you discover who they […]

FILM: Ornery buffalo roam, tobacco tastes funny in A Legend of Whitey

“You like FUBAR? How about a gay Western?” This is the offer from Dave Lawrence, who is perhaps better known as “Terry” in FUBAR and FUBAR II, on the release of his new film “A Legend of Whitey,” beginning a weeklong run at the Garneau Metro Cinema on Friday. It is his directorial debut. With […]

MUSIC: Polkadot Cadaver straddles line between gloom and comedy

Don’t let them scare you. Polkadot Cadaver’s eccentric mash-up of rock, metal, dance, polka and everything in between is accompanied by some downright twisted lyrics that sometimes make strangers apprehensive about approaching the band. Take the chorus of lovably eerie ballad Chloroform Girl, for instance, on which singer Todd Smith croons, “It’s been three years […]

GIGGLE CITY: Mike Dambra plays Pickle

Edmonton comedians Mike Dambra and Drew Behm suffered minor injuries over the weekend when they were assaulted by two disgruntled hecklers in Rimbey. We can laugh about it now. Or is it … too soon? Mike Dambra doesn’t seem to think so. Doing the emcee gig at the Comic Strip this weekend (for headliner Daniel […]

B.B. King, a real bluesman, returns to Edmonton May 14

There are few guitarists who can be identified by one note and B.B. King is one of them – and he only plays one note! Ha! Just kidding. He plays three. The point being that the blues legend is a master of understatement. He’s 86! Wouldn’t you be? No need to show off anymore. And […]

Heaviest winter on record as Deep Purple comes to Edmonton Feb. 21

Slowhand Walter, fire in this guy? No, it’s just one of the most famous misheard lyrics from one of the most famous rock classics ever pressed into service – Smoke on the Water – and soon we’ll get a chance to mishear it again live when Deep Purple comes to Rexall Place on Tuesday, Feb. […]

Don we now our gay apparel – in Darrin Hagen’s new comedy With Bells On

Most guys don’t start their day expecting to be trapped in an elevator with a giant transvestite – nor realize that he and “she” are not so different after all. That’s the premise of Darrin Hagen’s new play With Bells On, opening Tuesday at the Roxy Theatre. It’s based on a real life experience – […]

TRUE TALES OF THE ROAD: Harlequin blows up good

One of the most powerful figures in the Canadian music business was once arrested for trying to bring explosives on an airplane. Oh, my, that doesn’t sound good, does it? Just imagine if that had happened today – and not in 1978, when airport security wasn’t so serious. “He’d probably still be in jail,” says […]

Lady Antebellum to Own the Night at Rexall March 27

The South lost, didn’t it? Maybe not. A little country group calling itself Lady Antebellum – its last name usually used as a reference to pre-Civil War southern U.S. during the era of slavery – is taking the world by storm. The Grammy-winning band will play Rexall Place on March 17 as part of its […]

WEEKEND MUSIC PREVIEW: Kyuss lives! Old school rules!

One of the last weekends of live gigs before the Christmas lull features two old-school rock bands every night of the weekend – as well as some eclectic bands from Western Canada. Enjoy. Friday Prism – How far back can Century Casino go to find old-school rock bands that are still touring? This band, originally […]

Gordon Lightfoot keeps moving forward

When Gordon Lightfoot showed up at the Occupy movement in Toronto to support his protesting daughter, a lot of people jumped to interesting conclusions about the man. Internet boards were full of Canadians either decrying him as an aging hippie, or cheering him … as an aging hippie. It was selling the man a wee […]