By Kenzie Love and Kyle Francis
A title like Urinetown is sure to attract attention, no matter what it’s attached to. Those who like to be peed on may raise an interested eyebrow, wondering where they could find such an Oz-like locale. Stodgy old people may react similarly, wondering instead what the damned liberal media has cooked up this time. With… Continue reading Theatre’s golden thread
Officially, parents tell their children they have to go to university to make it in the real world. Students tell their parents they’re going to learn. But everyone knows university is for keeping the kids busy and out of the house so ma and pa can make up for 20 years of missed bondage. With… Continue reading Under new management
By Alan Cho
Shooting a demon in the face with a double-barreled shotgun once evoked a wonder misplaced amongst the post-Christmas tangle of wrapping paper and tinsel. The thrill of the wind as your bike escapes the shackles of training wheels. The moment before abbreviating the flaming dots on a birthday cake. What sad times we live in… Continue reading Painkiller soothes no one
By Kyle Francis
Whether it’s a dust-up over the last Cheetoe in the bag or making eyes at your fourteen year old sister, everyone has wanted to shoot their friends with a manner of different assault weapons. While EA Games’ Battlefield series of on-line blast-a-thons certainly weren’t the first games to let you exact this fantasy, they’ve been… Continue reading Shooting your friends
By Kate Foote
Having attended the Warped Tour for the past five years, I’ve found the Boy Scout adage “always be prepared,” couldn’t be more fitting. At 15, I learned that ‘preparing’ best not involve chugging a mickey of Sour Puss en route if one hoped to avoid throwing up before an audience of jaded punks. At 18,… Continue reading Warped Tour
From Finnish hoers down to spangled hippies with hula hoops, Calgarians flocked to Prince’s Island Park for this year’s Calgary Folk Music Festival. The fans who made it out were treated to stellar performances from the likes of Feist, Broken Social Scene and Kathleen Edwards. Those lucky enough to catch legend-worthy performances from Kris Kristofferson,… Continue reading The Calgary Folk Music Festival
By Ken Clarke
Thousands of blues lovers from around the city united in a three day celebration of live outdoor blues music for the second year running. The festival is run under the auspices of the non-profit Calgary Blues Music Association and featured over 23 local and international bands–more than 100 musicians. The weather was hot and the… Continue reading Blues festival retrospective
By Ken Clarke
Like many “revived” bands, The Cars may not have needed it, but this time there’s a twist that makes it worthwhile. Musical prodigy Todd Rundgren is at the wheel of the New Cars, replacing former front man Ric Ocasek. No self-respecting Todd fan would have seen that coming. The band consists of only two original… Continue reading Spun: The New Cars
By Jeff Clemens
Obie Trice is a man who’s lucky to be alive. The past New Years’ was a near-fatal one for Trice when he was shot in the head by an unidentified assailant. This was followed up a few months later with the shooting death of his friend and fellow rapper Proof. This prompted him to record… Continue reading Spun: Obie Trice
By Jon Roe
When a drunken man argued that the band Poison–best known for their weak love ballads such as “Talk dirty to me”–was metal, Jesse “Boots Electric” Hughes responded that Poison were “the Eagles of death metal.” Thankfully, the Eagles of Death Metal sound nothing like Poison, the Eagles, death metal or any combination thereof. The duo… Continue reading Spun: The Eagles of Death Metal