October 31st

 It was on Halloween night October 31st, 1992 that I saw Edmonton's metal band Mary Prankster play the Golden Garter here in Edmonton.

October 29th

  The ticket stub, reviews and concert ads from the time I saw Bob Dylan on October 29th, 2008 at Rexall Place in Edmonton.

October 28th

  On October 28th, 2005 I saw Grady play at Red's in West Edmonton Mall. With the Murder City Sparrows opening. This was a rocker of a show for sure!

October 26th

  It was on October 26th, 1992 that I saw Jethro Tull play at the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton. A great show!

Yukon Blonde & Altameda Live in Edmonton October 10th 2025

  A few weeks ago my buddies A-Bomb, Buzzard and I went to see the Yukon Blonde and Altameda show at the Double Dragon here in Edmonton. Our main reason for going was to see Altameda again, Yukon Blonde was an added bonus. With both bands having just released new albums in the previous few weeks, we were going to hear some of their new music live for the first time. And with the show being at the Double Dragon a new live music venue that I hadn't been to yet, I was interested in seeing the set up. Having said that, the Double Dragon is actually the same venue that was previously the Needle Vinyl Tavern and the Station On Jasper. The set up from them previous venues really hasn't changed a whole lot other than you enter the venue from the back alley.

 The first band of the evening was the local band Sam The Living (Dylan Greenhough). Their music was a mix of 70's rock and folk. I had never heard them before but thought they were alright. Playing a 45 minute set, started strong but after about a half hour found myself getting bored, overall though not too bad.

Sam The Living.

 Next up was Altameda who are on the road in support of their fourth album and latest release Crazy Blue. Their new album which came out just weeks before their show here. An album I was really looking forward to hearing, and was not disappointed. Like their 2022 album Born Losers, it is an album that grows on you with every listen, I absolutely love it! What I do find very odd about the last two albums is that nowhere on the album does it mention the band members names or who wrote the songs, makes no sense to me. Anyways, a little about the show.

 This would be my 15th time seeing Altameda live. What was different about this show was that they performed as a duo, just lead singer/guitarist Troy Snaterse and Erik Grice who is usually on drums both playing acoustic guitars for this show. When Troy and Erik moved to Toronto in 2020 the rest of the band stayed in Edmonton. So quite often they only perform as a duo, but every show in Edmonton is always full band. The bass player had broke his foot prior to the Edmonton show so they only performed as a duo, which was cool to see. I had seen the as a duo once before back in 2019 when they did a free in-store performance at Blackbyrd Myoozik.

 Their set on this night was about an hour long with all the songs performed on this evening being from their last two albums only. Which was cool by me as I love both albums. They played a half dozen songs from Crazy Blue including the album title song as well as "Body Spray", "Alexander", "Life Is A Desert" and "Stuck In Your Ways", at least I believe those are the ones they did, I could be wrong, after all the show was a few weeks ago now. There was also songs from Born Losers, again, I believe they played "Neon (And That's Why)", "Everybodys Got To Bleed", "Nightmare Town". They even through in a cover of the Big Star song "Thirteen". I loved the harmonies between Troy and Erik, don't always get that as strong when Erik is on drums and with the full band, but this show it really stood out. Just an awesome set by Altameda. Canada's Simon and Garfunkel. 

Altameda.

 Headlining the evening was Vancouver's Yukon Blonde who are on the road touring for their latest release Friendship & Rock 'N' Roll which came out in late September, not only are the promoting the new album but also celebrating their 20th anniversary as a band. This would be my second time seeing Yukon Blonde live, the last time being in December 2012 when they played a free in-store show at Permanent Records here in Edmonton.

 While I don't know their tunes all that well, the band played a solid show with the crowd dancing and singing along. I did listen to their latest release prior to the show and think it is a damn good record. I'll be honest and admit I did spend a good portion of their set at the back of the venue chatting it up with Troy and Erik of Altameda.

 What I did see and hear of Yukon Blonde's set it was rocking with the band looking to have a lot of fun up on stage. The band took turns sharing lead vocals on some songs, all were strong on vocals and their instruments. I wish I could tell you more of what songs they played and such, but I can't. For the encore Troy and Erik of Altameda joined Yukon Blonde for a great version of the T Rex song "Get It On (Bang A Gong)" a great ending to a very fun night. Good times!!!

Yukon Blonde.

October 25th

  October 25th, 2011 I saw the legendary guitarist Jeff Beck with opening act Tyler Bryant play the Winspear Centre in Edmonton.

Western Death Ballads Live at Bunkers in Edmonton Sept.26th 2025

  My buddies A-Bomb, Buzzard and I made our way to Bunkers Live a venue I had never been to before way the hell on the north east side of Edmonton to see the local Edmonton band Western Death Ballads.

 We got there plenty early to checkout the three opening bands. Let's just say there is nothing to write about the openers. It did give us plenty of time to drink our fair share of beers though before the headliner.

 It was almost midnight by the time Western Death Ballads hit the stage. This would be my second time seeing them live in as many months. This time with them headlining we got an hour plus show and damn were they ever good. Western Death Ballads play a mix of country, folk, punk with some twisted lyrics. With Cam McDonnell on guitar and vocals sounding amazing, on stand up bass Christi Mac and rounding out the band James Mullet on mandolin, so sound issued this time around. The band played a great set with mostly originals with an Iron Maiden cover thrown in for good measure playing a fucked up version of "Run To The Hills" that sounded great and a lot of fun. Those that were still in the audience seemed to be getting into the music big time. This show was a hell of a lot of fun. The band has 2 EP's and a full length album under their belts all available on Spotify they have a great catalog of songs to choose from. What songs they played that night, good question, the show was a month ago now, and with all the beers drank that night, I don't recall, I do know that is a great fucking show. I highly recommend checking out their tunes and catching them live of you get the chance. Good times!!!

Western Death Ballads.

T-shirt.