May 3rd

  It was on this day May 3rd, 1999 that I saw Motorhead play Cowboys here in Edmonton. This show was insanely loud!

May 2nd

  On May 2nd, 2000 I saw the Violent Femmes with opener Hawksley Workman play the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton.

Sam Roberts Band Live in Edmonton April 18th 2026

  My buddy Buzzard and I went to see the Sam Roberts Band at the Jubilee Auditorium here in Edmonton. This would be my 7th time seeing them in concert. This time around Sam Roberts was touring for the 20th Anniversary of the Chemical City album, which was their second release as a band. Blows me away that it's been out for 20 years already. They were only playing five cities across Canada for this tour, and lucky for us Edmonton was one of them.

 The band started the show doing the Chemical City in it's entirety. S of course starting the show with the song "The Gate" which was one of three singles that came from the album. The followed up by "Bridge To Nowhere" and "With A Bullet" which were the other singles from Chemical City. The fourth song "Mind Flood" was heavy as hell and very psychedelic. As Sam mentioned, it felt weird for him to playing the song so early in the set as a lot of times that song is a closer of his shows. Hard to song to follow up, but of course they played the other ten songs from the album just as it is on the record. After playing all of Chemical City it was on to the second set, except it really wasn't a second set, there was no intermission, it was just on to playing a shit load of hits from other albums of theirs. Starting with the song "We're All In This Together" from his 2014 album Lo-Fantasy.

 After that it was just hit after hit playing songs such as "Them Kids" from the Love At The End Of The World released in 2008. Then it was the big hits from their second album We Were Born In A Flame, "Don't Walk Away Eileen", "Hard Road", "Where Have All The Good People Gone" and closing out the night of his two hour long show was "Brother Down". After doing all of Chemical City which was great and the three quarters full Jubilee (my guess is 1800 in attendance) liked, it was the second half of the show that the crowd really ate it up. People were singing along, dancing in their seats and the aisles, a really good vibe through out the venue. all and all a really good show. Every time I see the Sam Roberts Band I always leave impressed by how good of a live band they are. Good times!

Sam Roberts Band.

April 30th

  It was on this day April 30th, 2018 that I saw Uriah Heep in concert at Union Hall in Edmonton. This was a great show!

Record Store Day April 18th 2026

  So another Record Store Day has come and gone. When I saw the list for this years releases there were actually quite a few that Ii was interested in. Unlike last year, there wasn't much. But because there was some I wanted, I was going to have to line-up. My buddy Nazz decided he was going to line up at Blackbyrd this year, as he usually lines up at Freecloud Records in downtown Edmonton. And he always lines up super early. Well with him lining up at the record shop close to me I told him I'd line up with him as I didn't want to miss out on the Ween release. That was a must have for me. Well holy fuck, 4am is mighty early to line up when the shop doesn't open until 10am. But there I was at 4, and we were tenth in line, I really thought we would be first, but nope! At least hanging with my buddy Nazz for six hours is a lot of fun, the wait still felt long, but it was great company with awesome conversations and laughs.

 The only excitement in that six hour wait was when we spotted smoke and flames shooting out from behind The Buckingham, a live music venue/nightclub/restaurant that we were standing right across the street from. We decided to cross the street and investigate. Sure enough there was a small fire beside the dumpster behind the venue. Luckily it was just a paper fire and we were able to stomp it out quickly and pissed on it just for good measure. Not sure if it was maybe a homeless person that started the fire to stay warm or what, but when we got there, there was no one around. An unattended fire by a dumpster is not good. 

 Ten o'clock finally rolled around and it was time to pick up some new releases. This years list was a good one for me. Here is what I managed to pick up this year.

 The first one and a must have for me, and one of the main reasons I lined up so early.

Ween - Europe "90"

A 3LP set with previously unreleased Eindhoven studio sessions from Christmas 1990 on LP 1 and a double live album LP 2 & 3 The Reality Of Brown: Live In Basel "1990". Limited pressing of 7000, which is a lot, so I'm sure you will still be able to find this at select record shops.

Neil Young was another must have for me. All the other albums I got were bonuses. I made sure to make the best of waiting in line for six fucking hours.

Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts - As Time Explodes Recorded Live on the 2025 Tour. On clear vinyl. Limited pressing of 6000, another one that you can probably still find kicking around.

The Muffs - Live At Fort Apache recorded during the Blonder and Blonder Tour June 1st, 1995. A live broadcast presented by WFNX-FM, Boston. A limited pressing of 1000 on opaque yellow vinyl.

Weezer - 1192 The first Weezer studio recordings on grey vinyl. Demos from their 1994 debut album. Pressing of 3000.

Against Me! - New Wave B-Sides an album of B Sides from their 2007 New Wave album. Pressed on vinyl for the first time on pink vinyl. Limited pressing of 3000.

Dallas Good + Richard Reed Parry - Were "The Watchtowers" the final recordings of Dallas Good of The Sadies before his passing in 2022. An album the duo had been working on for over a decade whenever they had time to record. A limited pressing of 1000 on white vinyl. 

John Prine - Found Dogs This album is an archival release celebrating the 30th anniversary of Lost Dogs & Mixed Blessing taken from the original recording sessions of that album with demos and five previously unreleased songs. Each album has a foiled  numbered LP. My copy being #720. Limited pressing of 2000 on caramel coloured vinyl.

Pavement - Perfect Sound Forever this ten inch release is the first repress of this 1991 EP. Pressed on white vinyl a limited release of 2000 copies.

Judas Priest - Live In Los Angeles '90

 A live album from the Painkiller tour previously only available on CD as part of the 50 Heavy Metal  Years Of Music box set. Recorded at the Foundations Forum in Los Angeles on September 13th 1990. Limited edition of 4900.

Violent Femmes - The Blind Leading The Naked

 The 40th anniversary reissue of their long out of print third album. This pressing is on translucent yellow vinyl. Limited pressing of 1350.

John Prine - BBC Sessions

 A live recording from his 1973 BBC Sessions featuring songs from his first two albums. Limited edition of 7100.

 So I had a good haul at this years Record Store Day. Now for a little rant. It seems to me that Record Store Day has lost it's shine. RSD started in 2008 as a way to celebrate independent record shops around the world. It was a way for the record shops to bring in some much needed extra money for the stores and a way to get people out to the shops. Back in the day some of the stores would have live performances from local bands, door prizes,commemorative t-shirts and posters, ticket giveaways for upcoming shows, coffee and donuts for their customers, after parties. Not sure about record shops in your area. But here in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada none of the shops here that I know have any such thing. Which is a shame. I used to make a day of visiting all the record shops and buying something at every store just to support the places and enter draws to win prizes, see some live music and just celebrate these awesome people that own these stores. Now I just go and line up at one shop and buy over priced records and call it a day. I miss the days when it was like Christmas for me and I made a day of it. It's great to see the shops have a good sales day. Hell, after 5pm I was on my way to see Sam Roberts Band play at the Jubilee Auditorium here in Edmonton and decided to walk by Blackbyrd  and there was still a line up of a dozen people to get in the store, that blew me away. Good day for the store. I miss the old days!

April 25th

 On April 25th, 2009 I saw the legendary Canadian singer/songwriter poet Leonard Cohen at Rexall Place in Edmonton. This show was so good!

April 22nd

 

 My ticket and the reviews from the local newspapers for the Black Sabbath concert at Rexall Place in Edmonton on April 22nd, 2014. Opening the show was Reignwolf. Awesome concert!

April 21st

  The ticket stub and full page ad for the Steve Miller Band and Peter Frampton double bill I saw on April 21st, 2018 at Rogers Place in Edmonton. A great 70's era classic rock show!

April 16th

  It was on April 16th, 2016 that I saw Edmonton punk rockers No Problem play the Record Store Day after party for Blackbyrd Myoozik here in Edmonton. This was a good day and ending the day with this live performance was a nice way to bring it to an end. Good times!!!

April 15th

  On April 15th, 2003 I saw this awesome show of Rocket From The Crypt with openers The Spits and The Bronx at New City in Edmonton. An excellent triple bill.

Kathleen Edwards & Altameda Live in Edmonton April 2nd 2026

  My buddy Buzzard and I attended the Kathleen Edwards and Altameda show at the Winspear Centre last week. The main reason we went to this show was because of Altameda, a band we have both seen many times, but will always support as they are an awesome band and great guys as well.

 We got to the venue early as we didn't want to miss Altameda and we wanted to get a few beers and sometimes the line ups for drinks at this venue is a nightmare. But because we were their fairly early there was no line ups for drinks and as we entered, the staff asked us where our seats were. We had tickets in the upper deck of the venue. They offered us upgraded seats on the floor, and hard copy tickets at that, which is rare these days, so of course we accepted. So obviously the show was far from sold out. We grabbed a couple of beers and went to our new seats. They were good seats but we were in the middle of the aisle and as per usual the guy in front of me had a big head blocking my view. Thanks for the upgraded seats but we decided to go to our original seats. By the time the show started I would say the venue was half full, so about 900 people would be my guess.

 Altameda hit the stage precisely at 8pm. This would be my 16th time seeing them in concert and my third time seeing them perform as a duo. That being lead singer-songwriter and guitarist Troy Snaterse and Erik Grice on vocals and guitar as well. When they play as a full band, Erik is on drums and vocals. Originally from Edmonton Troy and Erik are now based in Toronto, so they perform as dup quite often out east. To see these two perform as a duo in a venue like the Winspear Centre was a treat with the awesome acoustics in the venue. Both are vert talented on guitar and their harmonies are so damn good. 

 The duo opened their 40 minute set with a brand new song that had just been released that day, a song called "Tracing" which was a song recorded during their Crazy Blue album recording. Troy and Erik's set on this night consisted of songs only from their last two albums 2025's Crazy Blue and 2022's Born Losers. Which was fine by me as I love both albums. Some of the songs played were, the title song "Crazy Blue", "Stuck In Your Ways", "Faint Of Heart" and "Sweet Laredo" all from said album. One surprise was they didn't play "Body Spray" from that album. And from Born Losers they played "Neon (And That's Why)", "Everybody's Gotta Bleed", "Dead Man's Suit" and there were others but I can't exactly recall all that was played. Their set was awesome, I just wish they had played longer. Hopefully one day they will headline the Winspear Centre.

Altameda.

 Headlining the evening was Canadian artist Kathleen Edwards. This would be my 5th time seeing her in concert. I've never been a huge fan, but have to say every time I see her perform I enjoy her music that much more. She's got a great voice and is also a great songwriter. Her latest release Billionaire was actually produced by Jason Isbell. She has made some inroads across the border with her Americana sound. 

 Some of the songs I recognized in her hour and half long set were "Little Red Ranger", "Say Goodbye, Tell No One" and "When The Truth Comes Out" from her Billionaire album. I've listened to that album a few times before the show. It's quite good. A couple other titles I knew were "Six O'clock News" and "Hockey Skates" from her Voyageur album. I found Kathleen to be very engaging with her audience, telling some great stories. Her band is kick ass too!

 To close out the night, for her encore, she brought out Troy and Erik of Altameda to do an awesome version of Neil Young's "Powderfinger", that was super cool. A great night of music. Good times!!!

Kathleen Edwards.

T-shirt.