Big Sugar Live in Edmonton February 12th 2026

  Last Thursday my buddy A-Bomb, Buzzard and I went to see Big Sugar at what used to be Union Hall but has now been re-branded as the Pawn Shop Live. The band is on the road doing an evening with Big Sugar where they play the Hemi-Vision album in it's entirety for the first set and then a bunch of other songs for the second set. I guess you would call it a 30th anniversary tour for the Hemi album. Hard to believe it's been thirty years since that album came out.

 No opening act, just an evening with. So nice to see Big Sugar back as a three piece rock n' roll band. Gordie Johnson on guitar, Anders Derup on bass and holding down the beat is Root Valach. The band opened with "Diggin' a Hole" the opener of the Hemi-Vision album, and of course a rockin' fucking tune. the into "Opem Up Baby", cool, they aren't doing the album from start to finish in order of the album. I liked that. After playing all of that album. There was a short intermission, then another set in which they mixed it up good.

 I was very happy to hear four or five songs from their 2001 album Brothers & Sisters, Are You Ready?. I've always loved that album, it came out at a time where I was going through some shit in my life and it really resonated with me. Would love to see them tour for that album and play it in it's entirety. Anyways, it was awesome to hear "All Hell For A Basement", "Red Rover", "So Not Over" and "Nicotina (She's All That)". I was surprised though that they only played one song from their album Five Hundred Pounds, that song being "Ride Like Hell".

 A great evening of loud rock n' roll. It had been a while since I have paid to see Big Sugar, they've done lots of free shows in the city over the years, but with them back to a three piece and rocking like they are. I'd certainly pay to see them again.

 And the show being at the newly branded Pawn Shop Live bar formerly Union Hall, nothing has changed there, same old set up. A decent crowd for this show, not sold out by any means, the upper deck of the bar was closed off. But the main floor was quite full. All and all a great show. Good times!!!

Big Sugar.

 Having seen Big Sugar 17 times, it got me to thinking of all the different venues I have seen them play at. And these are just the Big Sugar shows, not including Gordie's solo shows and with his band Grady. all shows in Edmonton unless otherwise noted.

Edit: I've decided to add the Gordie and Grady shows too.

March 15th 1994 at People's Pub

July 15th 1994 at People's Pub

July 16th 1994 at People's Pub

October 12th 1996 at The Rev

February 14th 1997 at Edmonton Convention Centre

June 26th 1998 at Northgate Industries Hangar

July 29th 1998 at Shaw Conference Centre

November 14th 1998 at Shaw Conference Centre

December 31st 1999 at Shaw Conference Centre

July 13th 2001 at the Camrose Regional Exhibition Grounds (part of the Stage 13 Music Fest)

October 6th 2001 at Shaw Conference Centre

April 11th 2002 at The Joint

December 31st 2003 at Shaw Conference Centre

November 27th 2010 at Sir Winston Churchill Park ( part of the Grey Cup Festivities)

July 24th 2011 at the Telus Stage at K-Days

September 2nd 2012 at the Legislature Grounds

July 17th 2025 at Sir Winston Churchill Park (part of the Taste Of Edmonton fest)

February 12th at Pawn Shop Live

Gordie Johnson.

December 14th 2000 Gordie Johnson and Kelly Hoppe acoustic show at the Myer Horowitz Theatre

November 24th 2010 at the Varscona Hotel Conference Room a guitar clinic put on by Avenue Guitar

Grady.

March 9th 2005 at Cook County Saloon

July 15th 2005 at Cowboys

October 28th 2005 at Red's

December 5th 2007 at Jet Nightclub

October 21st 2009 at the Pawn Shop

April 17th 2010 at Starlite Room

February 20th

  It was on February 20th, 2016 that I saw the all 80's metal female triple bill of Lita Ford headlining with openers Vixen and Femme Fatale at the River Cree Casino in Edmonton. A very good show, and after the show I got my ticket autographed by all the members of Vixen. Super cool!

Cedric Burnside Live in Edmonton February 6th 2026

 

 Last Friday my buddies A-Bomb, Buzzard and I saw blues-man Cedric Burnside from Memphis, Tennessee play the Temple here in Edmonton. The ticket and poster said the show was at the Starlite Room which is the bigger room in the same building, but was moved to the smaller room the Temple.

 Cedric Burnside is the grandson of Mississippi blues legend R.L. Burnside. I never got to see R.L. in concert, having passed away in 2005, so this was going to be the next best thing.

 Opening the show was a local band called You Me & Zach a five piece rock band. It was about three songs into their set that someone in the audience yelled "what's the name of the band?". That was when they finally told us who the hell they were. The ticket and poster didn't say who the opener was. They were alright, nothing special.

You Me & Zach.

  By the time Cedric hit the stage the small room was packed, my guess would be around a 125 people. I had never seen Cedric before and was really looking forward to seeing him live. Burnside won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album in 2022 for his album I Be Trying.

 I didn't know what to expect other than a great blues show. Cedric Burnside came out on stage and sat on a stool with an acoustic guitar opening with the song "The World Can Be So Cold" from his Grammy Award winning album. The crowd was hanging on every note and word he sang. His guitar picking was amazing as was his voice. In the words of Cedric, you are in for a night of Hill Country Blues music. he also did a few R.L. Burnside songs one of which was "Mellow Peaches" and "He Ain't Your Daddy", he told a great joke that R.L. used to tell before this song that got a big laugh from the crowd.

 After about four or five songs on the acoustic he brought out a drummer and bass player for an electric set. Now things were going to get really interesting, I'd been happy with just an all acoustic set, so this was a nice surprise. He played for about an hour with the band, rocking it up, and still picking on the guitar, no guitar pick for Burnside, a few of the songs had him playing slide which sounded amazing. he seemed very laid back and looked to be having fun on stage. The only problem during the show was when the stage lights went wonky and then losing the front stage lights which left him and the band playing on a darker stage for the last four songs.

 All and all a great blues show, it had been a long time since I have been at a blues show, and to be at this venue was a surprise. Great show and good times!!!

Cedric Burnside.

January 31st

 It was on January 31st, 2020 that I saw Amy Helm (the daughter of Levon Helm) play the St. Basil's Cultural Centre here in Edmonton. Opening the show was local artist Leo Martinez.

Fear Live in Edmonton January 24th 2026

 Last Saturday night my buddy Nazz and I went to see the legendary Los Angeles punk band Fear at the Starlite Room here in Edmonton. We had hemmed and hawed about this for a while, but decided to go just days before the show. Fear were one of the headliners for this years Winterruption Festival here in Edmonton. Am I ever glad we went, as who knows how many more chances one will get to see Fear.

 The first band of the evening was local band called the Cutoffs. This was my second time seeing the band live. High energy rock with punk elements with two EP's available on bandcamp. Led by lead singer Bob Prodor on vocals and guitar, my brother (Citrus) reminded me that Bob used to play in a band called Unsound way back in the day, a band I had seen ages ago. For being the opener, they had a small turnout, part of that was because so many people in the merch line-up. Great band and look forward to seeing them again.

Cutoffs.

Next up was a band out of Calgary called Cat Piss. Had no idea what to expect from this band as I had never heard of them before. their set started with a lady on the drums standing playing a very tribal beat, and then all hell broke loose with an industrial noise sound, lots of synth and heavy guitar, she then got from behind the drums and started to scream like a fucking banshee. Now, I like weird music, but this was too much for me. I couldn't understand a word she was screaming and it was just loud noise to me. That was my cue for some fresh air and smoke. To checkout their music, click here. Not a fan!

Cat Piss.

 Second last band of the evening was another local band called L.A.M.S.  This band has been around for ages, yet I had never seen or heard them before. That all changed on this night. By the time they hit the stage, the place was packed, and for good reason. These guys are fucking awesome! A four piece band led by Tavis Edwards on vocals, Bryan Moisan on bass, Carmen Jak on guitar and rounded out by Shawn Thompson on drums. Their music would be best described as a thrash, metal skateboard band along the likes of D.R.I., Municipal Waste and Suicidal Tendencies. These guys were so much fun, a tight band yet loose and having a whole lot of fucking fun up on stage. Some of the song titles that I heard and played  were "Old School", "We Want Your Beer" and "Party Song", these guys are all about having a good time. Their 35 minute set went by way too quick. I was very impressed and will be sure to be seeing them live again.

L.A.M.S. 

 And to close out the night and one of the big headliners of the festival was Los Angeles punk legends Fear, a band that has been around since 1977. Most infamous for being banned from the television program Saturday Night Live in 1981 when they performed on the show, at that performance John Belushi who pulled some strings and got them booked for the show invited a bunch of punks to the show. Well, from there everything went off the rails. To hear about how it all came together checkout the video by clicking here. And to watch the performance, click here.

 In the words of lead singer Lee Ving who at the age of 75 and still has a great voice 1,2,3,4, woah doggieeee!!!

 Am I ever glad that Nazz and I decided to go to this show. The venue was packed and ready to party with Fear. It was cool to see drummer Spit Stix (70 years old) on drums. This was an old school crowd for this show and everyone was having a damn good time. Their hour long set was punk from start to finish playing such songs as "Fuck You Let's Rodeo", "The Mouth Don't Stop (The Trouble With Women Is)", "Do Me Some Damage", "Responsibilities", "Beef Bologna" and of course the triple punk of "Have a Beer With Fear", "More Beer" and "I Believe I'll have Another Beer", yup the beer was a flowing among the crowd now. Closing out the show with "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones". I don't think anyone left this show disappointed. A great show and really good time!!!

Fear.

T-shirt front.

T-shirt back.

 

January 23rd

  It was on January 23rd, 2017 that I saw Joel Plaskett perform with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at the Winspear Centre in Edmonton. Such an amazing show, wish this could be a live album.

January 20th

  My ticket stub from the January 20th, 2018 Metz concert at the Starlite Roomm in Edmonton. Opening the show were two great local act, Slates and Dead Fibres. Wicked triple bill.