I Heart Edmonton

Downtown's Artery set the stage for a memorable night of indie melodies and torrid compositions by way of Sid York, et al BY EMIL TIEDEMANN The Artery T HERE were two curious bright red doors that seemed painted onto the back wall of The Artery , decal'd in what some might suspect is alleyway graffiti. I entered through the left one, enticed by what was on the other side. A pretty, young woman greeted me from behind some counter, and then put a checkmark beside my name on the guest list, confirming my arrival. But I had to wait for my cohort to show up before I could probe the rest of this rooted-yet-new-to-me venue I'd been invited to before, though had yet to accept. When he arrived we shuffled along some sort of plywood(ish) floor, making our way past a quasi-make-do bar with a limited option of hootch. But what mattered was that they served my option of hootch. We made our way into this comparably-spacious room with a ready-to-go stage, a booth for the lig...

Thousands revel in the scorching sun as downtown parade kicks off Edmonton's thriving Pride Week celebrations BY EMIL TIEDEMANN T O kickoff Edmonton's steadily growing Pride Week ( June 11-20 ), the City shut down several downtown streets yesterday (June 12) to allow for the coinciding Pride Parade . The weather was prime as locals filled a stretch of Jasper Avenue for about an hour to take in the drag queen floats, queers in sequined tighty whities, and leather-bound bears ( back off PETA, not that kind of bear! ). This was my inauguration to the (30th) annual Pride Week festivities in Edmonton, so I was at least surprised at how many gay or gay-encouraging locals we have, according to the queen-sized (pun fully intended!) crowd yesterday afternoon. My good friend Amanda suggested I tag along with her to the parade in between errands, and how can you turn down someone so damn pretty?! The colourful and (mostly) sparkling floats--as well as the cast of Rent --began treading d...

Not for the weak or squeamish, local comics took turns offending everyone in their paths... wouldn't expect anything less! BY EMIL TIEDEMANN B EFORE you read on I must WARN you that I'm about to get all crude up in here! That's right, foul and lewd language will run amuck, so if you're the sensitive type you might want to skip this entry and come back tomorrow. Seriously, I'm gonna go George Carlin on your ass! But to be fair, it's only because I have to. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to properly tell you about last week's 'Fuck You Comedy Show' (Tuesday, June 1) at The Hydeaway (10209-100 Ave.). See, it's already begun! Like last Thursday's 'Pecha Kucha' event, this very different night out was a last minute decision. My good friend Karen and I made plans just hours prior to head downtown to the Hydeaway, the upper room of the Jekyll & Hyde Pub , to see our mutual friend Kelly Soloduka (pictured bottom left) headlin...

Passionate Edmontonians gathered at the Citadel for a night dedicated to envisioning our future as a vibrant and opportunistic city BY EMIL TIEDEMANN T HE sound of chit-chat. That's what the Japanese term pecha kucha (pronounced 'peh-cha koo-cha') translates into; a unique style of socializing that has caught on around the world, and right here in Edmonton. In fact, more than 300 global cities have adopted the conversation! Pecha Kucha was pioneered in 2003 by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham , of Tokyo's Klein-Dytham Architecture . They devised a way to gather locals at their new experimental event space, the Super Deluxe, and invited a wide range of guest speakers to fill the time. But these time slots were precise, as each participant would have just 6 minutes and 40 seconds to offer their presentation, as a slide show paralleled their speech behind them, each of the 20 slides running just 20 seconds. This allowed young professionals to share and exchange their ideas,...

Cover to get into the Avenue for 'Funky vs. Fresh': $10. A four-hour musical hybrid of local endowment: priceless! BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I RECOGNIZED him the moment I walked into the men's room at the Avenue Theatre ( 9030-118 Ave. ) last Friday night (May 7) for the all-ages "Funky vs. Fresh" concert. And I know there are all kinds of dirty thoughts & images popping up in your head right now, but let me finish before you jump to your perverse conclusions. The Joe (a.k.a. Joe Gurba) stood at the mirror, trying on his new cap, clad with the words Gateway Screen & Press . I fleetingly debated whether or not to say something like "hey, I know you." As I stood at the urinal, my back to the charismatic local rapper, I bit the proverbial bullet: "I just bought your CD last weekend," I joyously admitted. I wasn't lying either. In fact, I was listening to Ut Oh in my car on the way to the Avenue. "Oh, really?!" As I wa...

Quick-witted rock star was tight-lipped, heavy on guitar tracks for Rexall's best concert so far this year BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I T might've been the complimentary Bacardi & Jack's in the luxury suite. It could've been the luxury suite itself. Or perhaps it was that customary spliff I choked back before I left my Westend apartment for Rexall Place on the evening of Easter Sunday (April 4). Whatever the reasoning, the Northside arena played host that night to one of the most refreshing shows I've seen in years. That's quite a shift from when I tolerated the overpraised Motley Crue back in January. In fact, due to a string of upsetting Rexall-induced experiences of late, I nearly backed out of the John Mayer concert that night. As it turns out, that would've been a big mistake. I was a little surprised when my boss' wife answered my incessant knocking at the door to suite 114 at Rexall. It was 8PM and opening act Michael Franti & Spearhead ...

MBF & the Loud Love Choir reminded me of just how much I love music...and they couldn't have come at a better time! BY EMIL TIEDEMANN T WO weeks ago I didn't even know who Michael Bernard Fitzgerald was. Fast forward to last Thursday night (Feb. 11) and I can tell you what kind of beer the man drinks (his concert-sponsored Big Rock , for the record), the names of at least three of his former loves ( Maxine , Suzie & Caroline ), and that he autographs his CDs with an accompanying heart. That's quite the transition! Now let's just rewind back again to a time when I lived in a world without Fitzgerald, MBF for short. All the regulars would take turns singing comparable melodies whenever I turned on the radio, so I stopped turning on the radio. And all the CDs in my car had overstayed their welcome. Then, about two weeks ago, I recieved an email about some "folksy" musician named Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, 23, and that the next stop on his 5-city tour o...

EIFF '09 has come and gone, but organizers are already looking towards 2010 BY EMIL TIEDEMANN I T'S been a month and a half since the 2009 Edmonton International Film Festival came to an end, but that doesn't mean that we can't still check in. After all, the EIFF recently issued their latest newsletter, declaring the '09 season a success! Attendance for the 23rd annual EIFF (Sept. 25-Oct. 3) was up again, and the festival experienced even more interest in their programming streams, which included " Sobey's Lunchbox Shorts " and " In Our Own Backyard ." The EIFF is already accepting submissions for its 2010 edition, but films must have been produced AFTER April 1, 2009. There are four categories to consider when submitting: Narrative Feature (75 minutes or more), Documentary Feature (60 minutes or more), Short Films (30 minutes or less), and Documentary Shorts (30 minutes or less). In addition to films, the EIFF is also on the look out for b...

Local alt-rockers give Dylan & Young a run for their money?! BY EMIL TIEDEMANN F OR someone who has seen icons Bob Dylan and Neil Young in concert in the last year or so, I can honestly say that I had a better time listening to the alt-country rock sounds of local band Jeff Stuart & the Hearts , who hit up the Pawn Shop Tuesday night (Nov. 10) for their anticipated CD release party. Dylan & Young went through the motions of another arena concert, pushing through their catalogue of classics like they had better things to do. I guess I can't blame them for showing a lack of enthusiasm for what must've been their gazillionth show, but what the hell ?! I expected more outta these legends of rock, and yet got more than expected from Stuart and his squadron of multi-instrumentalists. Almost makes me hope Stuart & the Hearts fail to hit it big! But not really. My sister Carrie and I arrived fashionably early to locked doors at the Pawn Shop on Whyte Ave. , but rig...