May Days
Don’t let your seasonal allergies get you down, Edmonton. There’s plenty to do out there! (Ignore that if I am the only one suffering from season allergies.)
There’s some great music around Edmonton this weekend. Tonight…Old Man Luedecke is at the Blue Chair Cafe…Cameron Carpenter plays the organ with the ESO…Jeremy Fisher at Haven Social Club…Carrie Day at The Carrot… and Freshman Years at Wunderbar…
Saturday…Raygun Cowboys are at the Starlite Room…The Provincial Archive plays at the Provincial Archives (they play the Pawn Shop on Thursday, before heading out to play more Canadian archives, libraries, and concert venues)…The Sumner Brothers are at the Haven Social Club…One Way State plays Filthy McNasty’s…
In theatre…Chris Craddock’s one-man play “Public Speaking,” finishes its run at the Roxy…”True Love Lies,” is at the Citadel, as is the musical version of “Little Women.”
Writers are learning about publishing in the digital world this weekend, at the “At The Edge of Print” conference.
HIV Edmonton has a fundraiser called Artists for Life, at the Catalyst Theatre.
The summer blockbusters have begun! There’s also the Reel Waste Film Festival.
Bouncing of Reel Waste, there’s a Reuse Fair in my neighbourhood; at the Strathcona Centre Community Hall. And the City’s Big Bin Events begin this weekend. So dump that couch.
Biff! Saturday is Free Comic Book Day. Bam! Sunday is the Pop Culture Fair. Pow!
You can find six different “Jane’s Walks” in three different Edmonton neighbourhoods this weekend. The walks are named for urbanist Jane Jacobs, and are about exploring and talking about what makes neighbourhoods tick.
And if you’re into basic cable you can watch episode 2 of the edmontonian presents this Sunday at 9pm (again at 9:30) on ShawTV (channel 10 on Shaw cable). We’re also in iTunes.
One Way State Giveaway
Do you guys remember One Way State? We met them last May; since then, they’ve put out a new record and are about to embark on their second tour – it kicks off this Thursday at Brixx.
“This is our second tour since we’ve been a band,” says lead singer Cody Mack. “After our first tour in November 2010, we were already itching to get back on the road.”
“We seriously can’t wait to hit the road again. We’d love to do this full-time, but day jobs get in the way. Nick is a supervisor in a warehouse, Charley works in television, I’m a server, and Brandon is a mechanic, which comes in handy on the road. All of us would quit everything for a chance to make a living playing music.”
Cody explains that their first tour was paid for by money from past shows and ticket and merchandise sales – and they’re hoping to do the same this time around.
Anyway, despite the fact that, as Cody explains, “Each t-shirt sold is 1/4 tank of gas, so touring bands like ours REALLY appreciate it when you buy their merch,” One Way State is giving away a t-shirt AND a pair of tickets to their tour-opening show this Thursday. To get into a draw for the t-shirt and tickets you just have to leave a comment naming a One Way State song.
“Edmonton has been very kind to us…we know that Edmontonians love live music and love supporting homegrown talent. We’ve been very fortunate to have the family, friends, and fans that we do. They’ve all been very supportive, and we are in deep appreciation if this.”
Snowbound Events
Sure, that snow is flying and it’s supposed to get cold. But you follow the Long John Index and are prepared.
The music is IN the piano?
And, this being Edmonton and all, I know you’re ready to head out into winter and have some fun. This weekend you could go up to Alberta Avenue and kick off Edmonton’s Winter Light Festival with the Deep Freeze Byzantine Winter Festival. They’ve also got some indoor events when you need to warm up.
If you’re not all that concerned with warming up, how about you take your pants off and ride the LRT. Yeah, that’s right.
The Oil Kings are home to the Regina Pats on Saturday.
In music…MacEwan is showing off its musical student talent…95.7 The Sound (Edmonton’s newest radio station, and fast-becoming a favourite of mine) begins an Edmonton series at The Haven Social Club…The Haven’s got a good show Saturday too, with Daniel Moir, Trevor Tchir, and Greg Amundsen. BTW, Haven is now serving up Pharo’s pizza. Samantha and Emily Schultz play the Blue Chair Cafe (we saw Samantha last summer at SOS Fest, she’s really good on the guitar)…One Way State is at the Pawn Shop…and on Sunday, Jenie Thai brings a jazzier style to Blues on White.
Oh, the things you’ll do
I’m not messing around when I say there is a lot of stuff to do in Edmonton over the next three days.
There is A LOT of stuff to do in Edmonton over the next three days.
Tonight, I’m making it about music. And you could too.
I’ll be at the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (9:30), taking in a “Late Night” performance. Tonight is Late Night Paris. After the performance there’s live jazz in the Winspear.
(There’s more Parisien Charm Sunday afternoon.)
The Late Night series is another way the ESO is trying to reach new audiences. They’ve got the Symphony Under the Sky in Hawrelak Park for the Labour Day weekend, matinees, pops, Broadway, kids’ shows, and the classics. A performance at 9:30 on a Friday night makes it feel like a real night on the town.
As the season winds down (it’s over in mid-June) I applaud the ESO for their versatile lineup and can’t wait for 2010-2011 to kick-off in the park.
If you don’t want to spend the evening at the Winspear Centre you can still make tonight about music.
We mentioned earlier that One Way State is playing Friday night with Maurice. Too Slim and the Taildraggers are still at Blues on Whyte too.
Our old pal Jerrold Dubyk is playing this weekend. He’s got a show tonight, at 6:30, at Victoria School. Then The Jerrold Dubyk Quartet takes to the Haven Social Club stage Saturday night with Althea Cunningham and Dawn in the City.
Dance!
Back to Friday music…You could see The Neil Young Trunk Show over at Metro Cinema. Or catch punk legends The Buzzcocks at New City. The U of A’s Convocation Hall has Classic Broadway via Opera Nuova.
And Disney’s Beauty and the Beast finishes its Edmonton run this weekend.
Now…what about the rest of this busy weekend?
Did somebody ask for a Dance-a-Thon? Good. Because Mile Zero Dance is doing just that, Saturday night. It starts at 7:30 and while it says it ends at 1:30 am, I hope it goes until the last dancer drops.
It could be a weekend of shopping for new things. You can swing by Make-It Edmonton! and buy some cool, handmade goods. If you quickly find yourself with buyer’s remorse you can get over to the Winspear and trade that stuff away at the Over the Top Swap, which also happens to be a spa for the day.
You can celebrate videogames with local podcast User Created Content. They’re throwing a 2nd birthday party Saturday. It starts at HiTech Gaming (15219 Stony Plain Road) and finishes at Union Hall (Argyll and 99 Street).
If you’re still in the gaming mood, Sunday sees the monthly GamePub over at Original Joe’s Varsity.
Edmonton’s own Ann Vriend is playing the Myer Horowitz Theatre Saturday night. She’s kind of a big deal.
We are in the midst of summer movie blockbuster season. I think Sally is trying to drag Gregg Beever to Sex and the City 2. I feel bad for him.
Our event-loving friends over at Share Edmonton have something to say about the next few days too. Share has also teamed up with YEG Live.ca to keep us all updated on live music!
They’ve got details on all the running around you could be doing at the Little Big Run and the Subway Coronation Triathalon. I wonder if everyone eats a giant sub after the race?
Saturday sees a Highlands Street Festival over on 112 Avenue.
And don’t forget the Edmonton Energy play at the Butterdome tonight, they’re hosting the Bellingham Slam.
Don’t tell me you can’t find something to do.
