Joyce Manor, Militarie Gun, Teen Mortgage and Combat Live in Edmonton May 9th 2026

  Last Saturday my buddy A-Bomb and I went to see Joyce Manor with opening acts Combat, Teen Mortgage, Militarie Gun and Joyce manor at Midway Music Hall here in Edmonton. This was my third night in a row going to a show, something I haven't done in a while.

 My buddy had asked me if I wanted to go to this show just a few days before the event. Tickets were only 30 dollars all in as part of the Ticketmaster Summer Ticket Sale. I didn't know a single band on the bill, I didn't commit right away, I had to look into who these bands were. And what better way to do that then check with my brother Captain Citrus, the punk rock guru. he said he wanted to see this show as well in Vancouver especially for Teen Mortgage but wasn't going to pay the $70 it costed there. He mentioned that Teen Mortgage is a band he had told me about before that I would probably like. I don't recall him telling me that, but I took his word for it. I got back to A-Bomb and said I'm in. I hadn't been to a show with my friend in a while and we always have a great time together. So off to the show we were.

 First band of the evening was Combat out of Baltimore, Maryland. They were alright, kind of a emo/pop punk sound, at times reminding me of a heavier Weezer. The drummer was an animal on the drums and very entertaining. We were off to a pretty good start. Those that were there early for the show were already moshing and getting in to it.

Combat.

 Next up was the band I was excited to see after my brother telling me that they were a great band. I can usually trust my brother as he has a good knowledge of what kind of music I am in to. This band, second on the bill was Teen Mortgage a two piece band out of Washing, D.C.

 Teen Mortgage is made up of guitarist/vocalist James Guile and drummer Ed Barkauskas. A few people I had talked to in the smoke pit were also there for this band, so that was reassuring. It wasn't just my buddy and I. And holy shit did they come out rocking, a lot of noise for a two piece band. You could tell right away that lead singer James was English by his accent. Apparently he had started this project while living in Liverpool, England. Their music is kind of a stoner rock garage feel with some political lyrics. I didn't know their music well enough to know the words, but I would at least understand them. They sure had the crowd going too, the moshing started right off the start and the crowd surfing soon followed, it was endless with the amount of people that were crowd surfing. Been a while since I've been to a show with that amount of surfing. A great band, the drummer was so chill too, rocked like a motherfucker but his demeanor was so chill. I'll certainly be picking up their albums and look forward to seeing them live again.

Teen Mortgage.

 Third band of the night was Los Angeles band Militarie Gun. Again, another band I knew nothing about but they were obviously very popular with this crowd as I saw lots of kids sporting their t-shirts and long sleeve shirts. Their music I guess I would describe as a post hardcore style of music. Again, the crowd were losing their shit to them, moshing and crowd surfing like crazy. I do have to give a big shout out to the security and bouncers in front of the stage and how they handled all the moshing and crowd surfing, they were great, helpful getting the surfers over the barriers and getting them landed on their feet, no aggressiveness, actually helping with smiles on their faces, very impressive guys! as for the music, I got bored quickly. Not my kind of tunes.

Militaire Gun.

 The headliner of the evening was Joyce Manor a band out of Torrance, California. A band that has been around since 2008 apparently. Never heard of them before, but it looked like they have a big following as the majority of the audience seemed to be there for them. Their music is pop punk but to me it was more like pop punk pablum. It did nothing for me at all. After about six songs my buddy A-Bomb and I looked at each other and were like, I've seen and heard enough. Maybe they were having a bad night, it just felt like they were mailing their performance in. Not a lot of energy and just felt like they weren't in to it. Or maybe it was just me being not in to it. Oh ya, what a dumb name for a band. Overall though it was a fun night out and we felt like we got our moneys worth with Teen Mortgage alone. Good times!!!

Joyce Manor.

The Accused A.D. Live in Edmonton May 8th 2026

 

My buddy Nazz and I went to see The Accused at the Dive Bar here in Edmonton last week. This show was a disaster in booking. When it was first announced my buddy asked if I was interested in see The Accused. I didn't really know much about the band, I recall seeing their albums back in the late 80's early 90's, had a listen once, probably my brother Citrus playing it for me, and it wasn't for me. But this Edmonton show had a local metal band called Powerload opening, a band I have wanted to see for a while, so hell ya, I'll go.

 We bought our tickets, and I started listening to The Accused prior to the show. I liked them more now than I did years ago. So I was excited to see them. Now from what I understand now, there are two versions of The Accused on the road, each version has some original members. The version of The Accused we were going to see has original lead singer Blaine Cook and guitarist Alex Sibbald. So this show was booked as The Accused A.D.

 But then a few weeks after buying our tickets, we got notified that the show had been cancelled and got our money back. Seemed odd as the Calgary show was still a go. A couple weeks later, the show is back on but billed as Martha's Revenge with different opening acts this time. Martha's Revenge is what they call the mascot on their album covers. So we decided to buy tickets again as I was now very interest in seeing The Accused live. By the time the show a week away I started seeing posters for The Accused. I know, it's all very confusing, but the show was going to happen, so that was good. With the cancellation and all the confusion for the show, it wasn't a very well attended show, my guess would be maybe 70-80 people.

This was my first time seeing a show at the Dive Bar in downtown Edmonton. And it is what it's called, basically just a dive bar with live music. I actually quite liked the venue and look forward to seeing more show there.

 We were there early and caught the opening bands, both local bands. First one up was Messor. This would be my second time seeing them. and again, didn't do much for me.

Messor.

Next up was a band from Calgary called Sick Ritual. This would be my second time seeing them as well. And again, not terrible but not really to my liking.

Sick Ritual.

 By the time The Accused A.D. hit the stage everyone there were ready to let loose. Beers were going down good and I was ready to check this band out. While I may not have understood a single lyric all night, I loved Blaine's vocals, very very unique. The band were super tight and full of energy, as was the crowd. Most at the show knew the band much better then I and were singing along and banging heads and moshing. All and all it was fun night out and am glad I got to see the Accused live. Their brand of music dubbed by themselves as Splatterpunk is a great mix of thrash metal punk crossover music. Good times!!!

The Accused A.D.

 The afternoon of the show I stopped by my favourite sandwich shop Cheese Louise YEG for a grilled cheese sandwich and who do I run into, none other than the members of The Accused A.D., got to talk to them a bit, shake their hands and the guys were nice enough to pose for a picture with me. Super nice guys. Thanks guys!!!

T-shirt.

May 16th

 On May 16th, 2018 I saw Paul Simon in concert at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

Triumph Live in Edmonton May 7th 2026

  Last Thursday my buddy Nazz and I went to see Canadian classic rockers Triumph at Rogers Place here in Edmonton.

 We weren't too sure about buying tickets for this show as the Triumph we grew up on just wasn't going to be the same this time around. Their first tour in decades, but they aren't the power trio they used to be. Original bass player Mike Levine isn't on tour with them as he is dealing with health issues (here is hoping he will be alright), so no Mike, plus they were touring with another drummer and guitar player. So instead of the three piece they were, they were now a five piece band.

 This whole Triumph reunion got started last year during the Stanley Cup playoffs when Triumph were booked to play a pre-party before an Edmonton Oilers game. I believe they only did three songs, I didn't go, so I could be wrong there. But this show they played got the ball rolling on this 50th Anniversary Tour.

 Opening the show was April Wine another Canadian classic rock band originally based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

 Thanks to my buddy Nazz who won tickets to the show courtesy of Cruz FM, we were going. Even though a day before the show he asked if I was still in to going to the show. Because I had booked the following day off work, I was in. Neither one of us had high expectations for this show, but we were going.

 We met for a few beers before the show at a local pub, therefore we only caught a little bit of the April Wine set. Which wasn't a big deal as we both didn't really care about seeing April Wine. Without lead vocalist and guitarist Myles Goodwyn is it really April Wine. Myles passed away in 2023. With Myles blessing he handed over the name and vocals to Marc Parent who now leads the band. Keeping the music alive, I guess. So without Myles there are no original members in the band anymore. The longest standing member of the band is guitarist Brian Greenway who has been in the band since 1977.

 Of all the shows I have been to over the years I had never seen April Wine live before, which seems odd with them being a Canadian band and how many times they have played Edmonton, but nope, never saw them before. What we did catch of them, they were alright but it's just not the same without Myles. The songs we heard that I recall were "I Like To Rock", " Just Between You And Me", "Sign Of The Gypsy Queen" and "Roller". All big hits for the band back in the day and still get lots of airplay on Canadian radio.

April Wine.

 It was now time to see Triumph, celebrating being a band for 50 years. This was my second time seeing Triumph in concert. The last time I saw them was New Years Eve 1986. Forty years since the last time, wow, how time flies.

 Like I mentioned earlier, this time around Triumph was a five piece band. No Mike Levine on bass, instead it was Todd Kerns filling the position, Todd has played in a shit load of band like Age Of Electric, Slash's band, Toque among others. Also joining Triumph this time around was Brent Fitz on drums, Brent has played inn a shit load of bands as well, like Slash's band, Gene Simmons band, Econoline Crush and also Toque among many others. Both these guys are veteran musicians. And on guitar joining Triumph was Phil X who has toured with Triumph before back in 1992, Phil has also been on Bon Jovi's band. So all three of these members joining Triumph are Canadian musicians.

 And unlike April Wine, Triumph at least had original members Rik Emmett on guitar and vocals and drummer Gil Moore. Sure they weren't the power trio that I grew up on but there they were playing the classic hits of Triumph to a crowd of my guess about 7,000.

 There set opened with the song "When The Lights Go Down", great song to open with. And just like when I saw them in 1986, the light show and stage set up was awesome. And from there it was one great song after another. I forgot how many classic songs they actually have. Second song in was "Somebody's Out There" from the Sport Of Kings album. The band played songs from their whole catalog "Spellbound" and "Follow Your Heart" from the Thunder Seven album and oldies like "Fight The Good Fight"," Magic Power" and "Allied Forces" from the 1981 album Allied Forces. The title song from their 1977 album "Rock & Roll Machine". Of course they had to play the song "Lay It On The Line" a song I couldn't care if I ever heard again after they ruined the song last year during the Stanley Cup Playoffs when the song was used in a Rogers commercial that was played during every commercial break. Ughhhh, I hate when radio or TV kill a good song. So when they played that song it was my cue to go buy a beer and t-shirt. Triumph also did "Rocky Mountain Way" in which drummer Gil Moore came out from behind his drum set and did lead vocals on. I forgot how many song Gil Moore sings on, so I can see why they had another drummer playing in the band. Can't be easy at 73 doing vocals and drumming. Rik Emmett (72) was great on guitar and vocals for the songs he did sing. Every member of the band took turns on vocals. I didn't realize what a great guitar player Phil X is. All and all the whole band was great. The stage show and light show was amazing. They ended the night with a two song encore of "I Live For The Weekend" and "Fight The Good Fight". I went into this show with low expectations and left the show very pleasantly surprised! Everyone I talked to at and after the show said the same thing. Way better then they were expecting. If you have the chance to see Triumph on this tour, I highly recommend going. Good times!!!

Triumph.

T-shirt front.

T-shirt back.