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.
Sunday, August 23, 2026
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!
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!!!
T-shirt front.
T-shirt back.
Wednesday, August 19, 2026
August 19th
The gig poster from the August 19th, 2006 Yesterday was Everything Festival held at the Powerplant in Edmonton. This was a festival held in memory of Jordan Wodehouse and Daniel Langlois, two members of the local hardcore band Compromise who died in a vehicle accident after being hit by a drunk driver while on tour in the United States.
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
August 12th
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with opening act Steve Winwood at Rexall Place in Edmonton. This was such a great double bill.
Monday, August 3, 2026
The Bouncing Souls Live in Edmonton July 14th 2026
My buddies Nazz, A-Bomb and I went to this show at Midway Music Hall headlined by The Bouncing Souls with opening bands The Drowns, Death By Stereo and The Suicide Machines. A damn good bill of punk rock.
The first band of the night and one of the main reasons I went to this show was The Drowns from Seattle, Washington. My brother Citrus introduced me to this band and have been waiting to see them live for a while now. I was finally getting my chance to see them, so we made sure to be at the venue early.
The Drowns did not disappoint. They were loud, they were punk and they were exactly what I was hoping to see and hear. A three piece band that rocked for the whole half hour set. I was hoping to hear lots of songs from their album Blacked Out, as that is the album I have listened to the most. They only did one song from that album, that being the rocking "Ketamine & Cola". They played some new songs from their up coming new release Harsh Reality songs titles I recall were "Relentless", "Vengeance" and "Hellish Tattoo". An awesome band, I look forward to seeing them again, hopefully headlining.
Next up was Orange County, California's hardcore band Death By Stereo. This would be my 3rd time seeing them in concert, it had been 25 years since the last time I saw then live. While I'm not the fan of hardcore music as I once was they put on a good show. Lead singer Efrem Schulz is still a very intense lead man. On this tour Efrem mentioned they had a local bass player filling in as their usual bass player couldn't get across the border. I didn't catch his name but he did a great job. Overall it was good to see Death By Stereo again.
The third band of the evening was The Suicide Machines a ska punk band from Detroit, Michigan. This would be my second time seeing the band in concert. On this tour the band was playing their debut 1996 album Destruction By Definition in full.. Out of all the bands at this show, they were my least favourite. My buddy A-Bomb said they were his fave. I'm just not into the ska thing like I was in the late 90's. They were good and do what they do well. Just not my thing.
Next up was headliners The Bouncing Souls from New Brunswick, New Jersey. This would be my 4th time seeing them in concert. The last time being in 2003, so it was a long time coming to get to see them again. I did see lead singer Greg Attonito do a solo acoustic show last summer at The Buck here in Edmonton, that was a cool show to see.
The Bouncing Souls have been around since 1989 and other than the drummer it's all still original members. They are still a great live band, playing for an hour and a half with a selection of songs from almost all their albums. Opening the set was the song "Kate Is Great" from their self titled 1997 album. So many good songs I can't remember all of them, here are what I do recall, hell this show was almost a month ago now, so the memory of what was played is a little fuzzy, that and I had a few beers in me by the time The Bouncing Souls came on. Songs played "East Coast, Fuck You!" a great sing along song short but fun. Others played "The Ballad Of Johnny X", "Kids And Heroes", "Hopeless Romantic", "I Like Your Mom", "Here We Go" and of course the song that had everyone singing along "Lean On Sheena". The band sounded great, a very fun show. Good times!!!
T-shirt.
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