Guns N' Roses & The Black Crowes Live in Edmonton August 26th 2026

 

 When this show was first announced I didn't think I'd bother going as I have seen Guns N' Roses more than a few times. But then Ticketmaster had their May summer ticket sale and I was able to get tickets for $30. The seats were way up in the boonies, but what the hell, all you need to do is get in the door. And for that price why not. Then a few weeks later they announced the opening act for the Edmonton show and it would be The Black Crowes. Holy fuck, yes! Now I was totally stoked about this show and tickets were cheap.

 I went to this show with Janis, Erin, Nazz, Buzzard and Cuz. Another stadium show at Commonwealth Stadium, my second show at this venue in a matter of weeks, and the weather cooperated again, with the shitty summer we had we got lucky weather wise for the two outdoor shows I attended.

 We got there plenty early as there was no way I was going to miss The Black Crowes, that was the big draw for me. And just days before the show I had won tickets for the show from Blackbyrd Myoozik, and the seats were supposedly better than the seats I previously had. Seats in the lower bowl next to the stage and 21 rows up. Sweet! I sold my other tickets and Nazz and I went to the seats before The Black Crowes came on, which was an early start with the band hitting the stage at 6:25pm. Well, these seats sucked, sure we were closer to the stage, but you couldn't see the back drop and the sun at that time of the evening was directly in our eyes, having no sunglasses or ballcap, I had to put my hand above my eyes in order to actually see the stage.

 This would be my 7th time seeing The Black Crowes and first time since 2008, so this show was long overdue. And with The Crowes getting back together (ok it's just Chris and Rich Robinson as originals) in 2019 and putting out two great albums in recent years Happiness Bastards (2024) and A Pound Of Feathers this year 2026.

 The band sounded great and Chris Robinson still has a great voice and looks great as well. They opened with "No Speak No Slave" from their 1992 album The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, the band actually played three songs from said album including "Sting Me" and closing out their set with "Remedy". Being the opening act there weren't any deep cuts maybe other than "Go Faster" from the 1999 album By Your Side. They did a big selection of songs from their debut album 1990 release Shake Your Money Maker probably their most successful record. Those that were their for them would most certainly recognize "Hard To Handle" which is a Otis Redding song, "She Talks To Angels", "Jealous Again" and "Twice As Hard" and man these songs sounded terrific. I was surprised they only played one new song that being "Cruel Streak" from A Pound Of Feathers. But only playing a 40 minute set I thought their choice of songs was excellent. I really hope The Black Crowes come back to Edmonton for a proper headlining show in the near future.

The Black Crowes.

 This photo courtesy of my buddy Nazz.

 Next up was Guns N' Roses, this would be my 6th time seeing them in concert, and coincidently it was 39 years ago to the day that I saw Guns N' Roses for the very first time.

 For Guns N' Roses set Nazz and I left the seats we had next to the stage and met with Janis and my buddies at the back of the stadium, at least there we could see the whole stage. With the venue only half full, my guess would be about 35,000 people, a guy could move around the place and find a seat you liked.

 GNR opened with "Welcome To The Jungle" which is the song I guessed they would open with. This song was a good test to see if lead singer Axl still had the vocal range he once did, while it sounded good, he just can't hit the high notes like the old days, totally understandable. 

 The next three songs played were "Bad Obsession" nice to hear that one live, followed by "It's So Easy" and "Mr. Brownstone", we were off to great start, with Axl's vocals sounding good, as did Duff on bass and Slash on guitar, the only remaining original members still in the band. After those first four songs, it was "Chinese Democracy" who fucking cares about that song. Then they did a Velvet Revolver song, a band that Duff and Slash played in when GNR broke up way back when. 

 A few songs that did surprise me in their three hour long show was the Black Sabbath cover "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath",  "Double Talkin' Jive", "New Rose" a The Damned cover sung by Duff. Then their was the song "Patience" that saw Slash on an acoustic guitar for that one. They closed out the show with "Paradise City". I thought it was a pretty decent show. With the venue being only half full and a three hour show, a guy could move around the stadium taking pictures from different vantage points. And thank goodness the weather gods were on our side as it was a beautiful night for an outdoor show. Good times!!!

Guns N' Roses.

Black Crowes t-shirt.

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.