September 5th

 

 My ticket stub and concert reviews from the Pearl Jam show at Rexall Place in Edmonton on September 5th, 2005. Opening the show was the Supersuckers.

Soul Asylum Live in Edmonton August 25th 2026

 

 A few weeks ago my pals Buzzard, Cuz, Nazz and I attended the Soul Asylum show at Midway Music Hall here in Edmonton. This was a show we had all talked about going to but hadn't bought tickets until a few weeks before the show. I was going to buy tickets on the Friday of the August long weekend but decided to wait until Saturday. Glad I did, as on the Saturday, and all August long weekend, tickets were BOGO (buy one get one free), great fucking timing. So I got four tickets for the price of two, which came out to about $32 a ticket, well worth it. Especially because this is a band I have always enjoyed and had yet never seen live before.

 We got to the show early so that we could catch the opening band. A band from Los Angeles called The Props, an alternative rock band I guess you would call them. I had never heard of them before but thought I'd check them out. Well that was a waste of time. More like The Plops. Not a fan!

The Props.

 It was now time for Minnesota band Soul Asylum. Again, another band I had never seen live before but have been a fan of since the early 90's, though they have been around since 1984. The last time the band had played here was in 2014 at K-Days.  To be honest I didn't even realize they were still a band and touring and had put out an album a few years ago. The two albums that I liked back in the day were 1992;s Grave Dancers Union and the follow up album Let Your Dim Light's Shine released in 1995.

 I wasn't sure what to expect for this show, did lead singer Dave Pirner still have a voice, what would his back up band be like, what would they play, who knew? That's why you go to the shows, to find this shit out.

 Well much to my surprise, Pirner still has a great voice, great on guitar and lots of energy and his band were stellar as well.

 I was surprised to see Soul Asylum open their show with "Somebody To Shove" from Grave Dancers Union. The second song into the set was a new song called "The Only Thing I'm Missing" from their newest album Slowly But Shirley, the only reason I knew it was a new song is because I had listened to the album on Spotify the day before the show. I think it was the third or fourth song of the night was "Misery", hell that was two of their biggest singles within the first four songs. That surprised me. But as the show went on you forget how many big hits they had from the two album Grave Dancers Union and Let Your Dim Light's Shine. Songs such as "Black Gold", "Runaway Train", "Bittersweetheart", "Without A Trace", "Just Like Anyone", plus another new song called "Suckermaker", the new songs fit really well with the older ones. The encore was two songs, again hits "String Of Pearls" and "April Fool". It was great to see lead singer in such a good mood as well, not only sounding great but looking to have fun, even telling jokes between songs. At one point I said to my buddy Nazz, I came for the music not a comedian, I said it not to put Pirner down, but just to point out how loose he was performing. One of the jokes he told, which made me laugh and that I still recall was him saying...

"I met a drug dealer outside the venue tonight, he sold me these shoes, I don't know what they were laced with, but I've been tripping all day"

 There wasn't a very big crowd for this show, mu guess would be around 250-300 people, but what a great show, this might even make my top ten of the year. Good times!!!

Soul Asylum.

 When the show was over as my buddies and I were standing close to the stage my buddy Nazz looked down and found this guitar pick, which he gave to me for my collection. Thanks Nazz!

September 4th

 

 It was on September 4th, 2015 that I saw Edmonton cow-punkers Jr. Gone Wild play the Mercury Room in Edmonton. Opening the show was Lethbridge musician Ryland Moranz.

September 2nd

 

 The concert ad for the free Big Sugar show I saw at the Legislature Grounds in Edmonton on September 2nd 2012 as part of the Centennial celebration.

August 31st

  

It was on August 31st, 2001 that I saw The Black Crowes play the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver. the band were on the road in support of their album Lions.

August 23rd

 

 The gig poster and ad for the Maximum RNR show at the Sidetrack Cafe in Edmonton on August 23rd, 2005. Maximum RNR were a great punk band from Toronto. Great show with some great opening acts too.

AC/DC Live in Edmonton August 9th 2026

 

 So AC/DC came through town again, and again playing Commonwealth Stadium, this is the third time the band has played this 60,000 capacity outdoor stadium. I was interested in going but tickets were incredibly expensive. Upwards of $400 for seats in the boonies. Way too expensive for me, and I had seen the band more than a few times, so it was a pass for me. But the day before the show, out of curiosity I checked to see if ticket prices had dropped at all. Much to my surprise, I could get tickets for a hundred dollars. My partner Janis had never seen the band in concert before, so I bit the bullet and got Janis, Buzzard and I tickets. Shitty that the show was on a Sunday night, but we were going regardless.

 With the summer we have been having you never know what the weather would be like for this outdoor show. I'm happy to say that it ended up being a beautiful night for the show.

 Opening the show was a band called The Pretty Reckless from New York City. I'd heard the name before but never listened to them. Much to my surprise they were a great opening act. Their music would be best described as hard rock. They had the crowd rocking out. Lead singer Taylor Momsen has a great voice and her band rocked hard too. I just learned that lead singer Taylor was a teenage actress having acted in the show Gossip Girl as Jenny Humphrey and also played Cindy Lou Who in the 2000 movie How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Who knew? I sure didn't!

The Pretty Reckless.

 By the time AC/DC hit the stage, the crowd had grown to 50,000 plus, the weather was perfect and the crowd was ready to rock the fuck out! And rock out we did! From the first note of the Bon Scott era song "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" to the closing notes of "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)" everyone at the show got a damn good loud rock n' roll show. I was very surprised to hear them open with "If You Want Blood", I was not expecting that. This was my fifth time seeing the band in concert.

 While lead singer Brian Johnson may not have the voice he once did, but at the age of 78 the guy is still up there giving it his best. And Angus Young, what can ya say, he is the riff master, he didn't stop moving around the stage slaying it out on guitar, doing his duck walk and just looking to be having a really good time, as did Brian. I though the song selection was strong "Back In Black", "Shot Down In Flames", "Hells Bells", "Have A Drink On Me", "Highway To Hell", "Sin City", just so many classics. Of course they had to play "Thunderstruck", a song I just don't like. That's when I stepped away for a quick smoke. Other classics player "Jailbreak", "Shoot To Thrill", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", "Whole Lotta Rosie" an extended version of "Let There Be Rock" where Angus must have done about a fifteen minute guitar solo, that got a little boring after a while but you gotta give it to the man that at 71 years old, he still fucking rocks!

 What a super fun show this was, I'm so glad that I went and Janis got to see them for the first time. This show was way better than I was expecting. Good times!!!

AC/DC.

T-shirt front.

T-shirt back.