Favourite Concerts of 2025

  So another year has passed us by already, where the hell is the time going. I had pretty damn good year for going to shows in 2025, one of the better years for me. I made a decision at the start of the year that I wanted to see more shows, depending of course who came through town instead of buying more records. It's nice to own records that you can have for your collection, but with the price of records nowadays, it's getting tougher to afford them, and I'm running out of room for vinyl. So, I went with making memories and experiencing the thrill of a live show over buying more music. Don't get me wrong, there were still records bought, but not like I used to.

 So here is my top ten list of favourite shows of 2025.

1. Neil Young & The Chrome Hearts, September 6th @ Deer Lake Park in Burnaby, BC

 This show was a must see for me and Neil did not disappoint. His back up band The Chrome Hearts were awesome and brought a lot of energy to the show. A great venue for the show too.

2. Jon Spencer, March 1st @ Red Room in Edmonton

 To see Jon Spencer again was a treat especially in a small venue, surprisingly small crowd too, but so fuckin' good!

3. Kerry King & Municipal Waste, January 23rd @ Midway Music Hall in Edmonton

 Kerry King of Slayer fame with his own band in a club, wow. A heavy metal show that kicked ass, Municipal Waste was awesome too.

4. Drive-By Truckers & Deer Tick, June 12th @ The Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver

 This was worth the trip to Vancouver, two great bands at an awesome venue.

5. Weezer & Sam Roberts Band, July 12th at the Rockin' Thunder Music Festival @ Exhibition Lands Race Track in Edmonton

 A fun outdoor festival, great weather and to see Weezer again after 30 years was sweet, Sam Roberts Band was excellent as well. 

6. The Wallflowers, June 6th @ Midway Music Hall in Edmonton

 To see Jakob Dylan perform in a bar setting was very cool. Great show!

7. Mike Campbell and The Dirty Knobs, June 20th @ Midway Music Hall in Edmonton

 Mike Campbell the guitarist of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers playing a bar, very cool, weird that they had seating at this show, still a very fun show.

8. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, May 11th @ The Winspear Centre in Edmonton

 Jason at the Winspear, the sound was amazing and what a show he put on.

9. Mike Plume, March 17th @ Temple in Edmonton

 If  i see Mike play, his shows are always going to make my top ten. Such an amazing songwriter and performer.

10. Modest Mouse, July 3rd @ Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton

 A band I had never seen in concert before, and man were they good, way heavier than I was expecting. Amazing show!

So many good shows, it was hard to list my top ten without naming some honourable mentions, like, Wilco, Jr. Gone Wild, Corb Lund, John Garcia, Lee Aaron, Altameda, Headstones, Big Sugar, Western Death Ballads. 

2026 is shaping up to be another great year for shows. Three big stadium shows already announced for Edmonton, Foo Fighters, AC/DC, Guns N' Roses.

Wishes for 2026.

A healthy year.

A Ween reunion would be awesome.

Being able to afford to travel to a concert outside of Edmonton.

New Mike Plume music and tour.

Favourite Concert of 2024

 

 My top ten favourite shows of 2024 in no particular order, except for the first one. That was definitely my favourite of the year.

 Again, like last year, I didn't get out to as many shows as I would have liked to, but it was better than 2023. Money being an issue held me back, but the shows I did see were damn good and a lot of fun. Not many club shows this year, hopefully more in 2025.

 Without further ado, my list of faves for 2024. all shows in Edmonton unless specified.

* Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at Rogers Place November 19th.

 A spiritual experience to be sure. A three hour plus show of awesomeness.

* Robert Plant with Alison Kraus at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival August 11th

So awesome to see Plant and Krauss perform outdoors on a beautiful summer night. Hearing Plant belt out some re imagined classic Led Zeppelin on the hill was amazing.

* Metallica at Commonwealth Stadium August 25th

The second night of two sold out shows with 55,000 Metallica fans. Both nights were a lot of fun, but this one extra special as I ended up winning Snake Pit Passes for this show. Being in the middle of the stage watching Metallica up and close was a very cool experience.

* The Rolling Stones at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver  July 5th

It had been 30 years since I had last seen The Stones in concert, and who knows if I will get another chance. But then I said that 30 years ago too. So good to see Mick, Keith and Ronnie put on a spectacular show.

* Metallica at Commonwealth Stadium August 23rd

The first night of the Metallica weekend takeover was awesome too. With two great bands opening Mammoth WVH and Pantera.

* Trans-Canada Highwaymen at Pure in the Yellowhead Casino March 8th

A super group made up from Canadian musicians Moe Berg (The Pursuit Of Happiness), Steven Page (ex Barenaked Ladies member), Chris Murphy (Sloan) and Craig Northey( Odds). Each member doing some songs from their respective bands and some cover songs of old 60-70's classic FM radio songs. A really fun show.

* Boy Golden at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival August 11th

A musician from Winnipeg that I just recently discovered and am really digging him and his band. Getting to see him play one of the side stages at the folk festival was amazing. He had the audience on the hill up and moving through out his whole set. 

* Dave Hause at The Buck October 12th

Always great to see Philadelphia singer-songwriter play live. At the time I wasn't really connecting with his last album, but seeing him perform the songs live and hear the crowd singing along has changed my mind. another great show by Dave.

* Violent Femmes at the Winspear Centre May 8th

It had been 24 years since I last saw the Violent Femmes, so I was excited about seeing them again. This show was the band performing their first two albums in their entirety and then some classics after. A great show.

* Booker T Jones at the Edmonton Blues Festival August 16th

So cool to see the legendary Book T of Booker T & The MG's fame. This show was A Stax Revue and a  Journey Thru Soul, Blues and R&B. An hour plus of classic songs.

Ok, maybe they are in order of faves. Regardless, a great year of live music. Hoping in 2025 I can afford to get out to more shows and hopefully more club shows that aren't quite as expensive. All and all a fun year. Good times!!!

Favorite Concerts of 2023

Not much of a list of favourite shows for 2023 this year. It was an extremely difficult year financially, so I didn't get out to near as many shows as I would have liked. But on the bright side, I did manage to get out to a few. And even one show out of the city. all shows in Edmonton unless otherwise noted.

 So here is my top 7 shows of 2023 in chronological order.

* March 2nd - Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit with opener Kathleen Edwards at The Northern Jubilee Auditorium

* March 10th - Altameda with opener Shaela Miller at 9910

* March 24th - Ryan Adams at McDougall United Church

* June 3rd - The Queers at Union Hall

* September 7th - Mike Plume Band at the Starlite Room

* September 9th - Corb Lund & The Hurtin' Albertans & Mike Plume Band and others at Ross Wells Ballpark in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

* October 12th - Elliott Brood with Shred Kelly at the Starlite Room

 I missed some great shows this year unfortunately, the biggest disappointment was missing KISS play their last show in Edmonton. That sucked. Hoping 2024 is better for me and everyone else too of course. Happy New Year all!!!

My Top Ten Concerts of 2022

Well 2022 sure beat the hell out of past couple of years. So nice to have shows happening again and to get out to a few. Nice to have something to look forward to. Live music keeps the heart beating and helps with the economy and so much more. So here I will list my favourite shows of 2022, in order by date.

But now having said that. I do have a little rant I'd like to get off my chest. This would go out to booking agencies, concert promoters, venue owners and bands. It's bad enough now that you can't get a hard copy ticket, hell some shows now you can't even print off your tickerts, it's going more and more digital everyday, and that sucks! Not everyone has a computer or smart phone. I know, because I have a few friends that don't own either and friends that want nothing to do with social media. So it's getting harder and harder for fans of live music to know what shows are going on. We need more postering around town for all shows. There was a time when you could have a poster and a ticket stub for the shows you attended, that's not the way anymore, and I miss that. Sure postering costs money but I believe in the long run you will reach more fans. I know when I post about shows on social media that I have been to, I sometimes get comments back saying "I had no idea that show happened" and why is that. Well, I believe because part of the reason is no postering and also we really miss the weekly entertainment papers like Vue and See Magazine. Sure there might be a few websites that advertise the shows and such, but again, not everyone has or uses the internet. And if you don't know about the site, well you are shit out of luck. Hell, the local newspapers The Sun and Edmonton Journal don't even have concert listings anymore. It used to be every Friday you could ckeckout what was happening around town. Again, that isn't happening anymore either. So what I am saying is, and maybe I'm just gettimg old, but I and others miss having hard copy tickets, posters and reading material. I have had this conversation with othets and they tensd to agree with me that there needs to be more postering done for shows in the city. So venue owners, promoters, booking agencies, bar owners and bands please bring back gig posters.

My top 10 shows of 2022. All shows were in Edmonton.

* Wednesday March 23rd The Darkness with The Dead Deads @ Union Hall

* Thursday March 31st Altameda with Eamon McGrath @ Starlite Room

* Saturday April 2nd Starcrawler @ Foundry On Whyte

* Saturday April 9th Jr. Gone Wild @ Rocky Mountain Icehouse

* Friday May 6th Corb Lund with Mike Plume @ Starlite Room

* Friday September 2nd Dirty Honey with Mac Saturn @ Starlite Room

* Tuesday September 13th Roger Waters @ Rogers Place

* Friday October 21st Dave Hause with Ben Sir @ The Buck

* Saturday October 22nd The Sadies with Kacy Anderson

* Friday October 28th and Saturday October 29th Starcrawler @ Foundry On Whyte

My Favourite Shows of 2020

Time to do my top ten lists for the year of 2020. Going to start with my top ten shows of the year, and as we all know what a shit show of a year for live music. The year got off to a great start and was looking to be a stellar year for concerts. But then the pandemic hit in mid March and shut down everything for live music for the year. Ya there were a few outdoor curbside shows which was good. Musicians had to find a way to get out play their music but it just wasn't the same as being in a club, stadium, arena or an outdoor festival. By the first week of February I had been to six shows already and had a fist full of tickets for upcoming shows, this was going to be a great year but to no avail. I ended up only going to seven shows all year, so needless to say my top ten list is only going to be seven. And ya all seven shows were great. So here is my list in chronological order. All shows were in Edmonton.

* January 23rd - The Denim Daddies, The Nico Tobias Band and The Bobby Tenderloin Universe at the Buckingham. A great triple bill of local bands. Denim Daddies and Bobby Tenderloin were incredible and am looking forward to seeing these two bands again in the near future I hope.

* January 31st - Amy Helm and Leo Martinez Project at St. Basil's Cultural Centre. Amy Helm playing an acoustic show to a sold out crowd. Great show, opener Leo Martinez was a pleasant surprise too.

* February 1st - Tommy & The Commies, No Problem and the Real Sickies at 9910. A high energy triple bill of punk rock, the two opening bands No Problem and Real Sickies are local bands that kick serious ass, headlined by Tommy & The Commies out of Ontario. What an amazing show this was.

* February 6th - Dan Bern and Orit Shimoni at Station On Jasper. Dan Bern always puts on an entertaining show and this again was a good one.

* February 8th - Christone "Kingfish" Ingram at Blues On Whyte. Nice to see this venue starting to book some different acts instead of the usual circuit blues bands. This show with Kingfish was for sure my favourite show of the year. An absolute rocking blues show, Kingfish knows how to put on a show. An amazing guitar player, great stage presence, great back up band and a whole lot of fun. This show was the second of two sold out shows. I can't wait to see Kingfish in concert again. Then it was a long haul before I got to see another show, six months to the day to be exact. * August 8th - Mike Plume a curbside concert held in the neighbourhood I grew up in (Hazeldean). A friend of Mike's put this show on. After six months it sure felt good to see and hear some live music again, and especially from one of my favourite artists. It was a chilly August night but still so much fun. A decent crowd of neighbours sitting around on lawn chairs and the curb drinking beers and catching a great show by Mike Plume.

* Sept.19th - Mike Plume at Festival Place in Sherwood Park. An actual concert at an actual venue, though it was outside and socially distanced as to keep within the rules, it was still nice to be at a show where you are supporting a venue and an artist. This was Mike Plume's first real concert in support of his newest album "Lonesome Stretch Of Highway" that came out in May. Had so much fun at this show swilling beers and listening to great music. What a fucked up year this has been. This is the least amount of shows I have been to in a calendar year since 1986. What a shame, I really missed getting out and seeing live music, supporting local and touring bands and musicians, miss supporting live music venues, miss the comradarie of being in a club with friends and strangers all there for the same reason. Lets hope 2021 is better, though it seems it may be late in the year before anything gets anywhere near back to normal. In the meantime if you can support your local artists and venues, do so. We will need these places and bands when things are up and running again. Here is a list of shows that I had tickets for that either got cancelled or postponed. Black Keys, Roger Waters, Joel Plaskett, Chris Holmes (ex WASP guitarist), Misery Signals, James Taylor/Bonnie Raitt, The Darkness and the Blues Fest. So ya, it was shaping up to be a great year of live music. To say it was a disappointing year would be an understatement.

My Favourite Shows of 2019

Got out to a few shows again this year. Here is a list of my favourite shows of 2019. All shows in Edmonton unless otherwise noted.

* Mike Plume Band @ The Starlite Room June 14th
My favourite show of the year for sure. An evening with the Mike Plume Band. An epic three hour show that rocked from start to finish. What really made this show special was this was the only the second show (having played Calgary night before) that Mike and his old band had played together in 19 years. They didn't miss a beat. This show was a treat and hope to see this line up play together again in 2020, and rumour is, that will happen. Amazing concert!

* Thrush Hermit @ Starlite Room October 11th
Wow, this show was a rocker. Joel Plaskett's old band put on a hell of a show. Would love to see this one again.

* Outlaws Music Festival @ Budweiser Stage in Toronto June 21st
Not only did we get to see Willie Nelson in concert, the whole festival was just a lot of fun. Outdoor amphitheatre, weather was awesome, took Janis and the kids with us and their partners. Atmosphere was excellent as well. Decent line up that included Allison Krauss, Avett Brothers and Matt Mays.

* Perry Farrell @ The Mod Club in Toronto June 25th
Never thought I'd see the lead singer of Janes Addiction play a small club. I loved his new album and this show was awesome.

* Asleep At The Wheel at Interstellar Rodeo @ Hawrelak Park July 28th
A big surprise for me how good Asleep At The Wheel were. Old school country. Only went to one night of Interstellar this year, but I picked the right day to go. RIP Interstellar, you will be missed.

* Jason Isbell at Edmonton Folk Fest August 9th
Isbell was amazing, it's just too bad about the rules at the Folk Fest. Would have been nice to have a few drinks on the hill. Isbell sounded great.

* Leeroy Stagger and Altameda @ Henry Martell Park June 15th
Two great Alberta bands playing back to back at a little park by the river valley. A community run event, we were able to sit in this park, brought our own beers and swilled. Very relaxed atmosphere. A really good time.

* Judas Priest with Uriah Heep @ Rogers Place June 11th
An awesome double bill. Priest were in fine form as were openers Uriah Heep. And all for 20 dollars.

* The Pursuit Of Happiness at Edmonton Rock Fest @ Hawrelak Park August 17th
This was my first time going to this festival. TPOH was the only reason I wanted to go, but we had a blast at this all day festival. TPOH were excellent.

* Elton John @ Rogers Place September 27th
A last minute decision to go to the show. Tex were super expensive but we managed to get decent priced tickets. I'd never seen Elton in concert before. Sure glad I went. This was a great concert.

* Def Leppard and Tesla @ Rogers Place July 29th
This was a really fun show. Have always been a big fan of Tesla, and Def Leppard were actually a lot of fun too.

* Fleetwood Mac @ Rogers Place November 12th
After two cancellations and having our tickets for over a year by the time the band finally played this show. Although Buckingham is no longer on the band, still a good show.

* Horse Feathers @ Station On Jasper May 5th
A band I had just got in to. I was surprised to see them come through town. Great show and super good guys to meet and have a few drinks with. Hope to see them come through town again soon.

* Real Sickies and Napalmpom @ 9910 March 15th
A great double bill of full on rock!

A pretty good year for shows. 2020 is shaping up to be a good year as well already! Support your local music scene. Good times!!!

Favorite Concerts of 2018

Went to 47 concerts this year and tried to come up with a list of my top ten.

My top ten, ok eleven concerts I saw in 2018. I had an extremely hard time picking only ten shows. But this is what I came up with. All shows in Edmonton unless otherwise noted.

* Apr.4th - The Bronx and No Parents @ Starlite Room
* Oct.19th - Mike Plume @ Loulou's in Vancouver
* July 22nd - Courtney Barnett @ Interstellar
* Feb.15th - Dan Bern @ The Almanac
* May 16th - Paul Simon @ Rogers Arena in Vancouver
* Sept.30th - Paul McCartney @ Rogers Place
* May 20th - David Byrne @ Jubilee
* Nov.2nd - Jack White @ Rogers Place
* Aug. 11th - Ry Cooder @ Folk Fest
* Oct.17th - MC50 & Starcrawler @ Commodore in Vancouver
* Sept. 14th - Leeroy Stagger @ The Station

So many other great shows like TPOH, Mac Sabbath, Altameda, Jr.Gone Wild, Dave Hause, Uriah Heep blah blah blah, the list could go on til I've named them all.

Top Ten Concerts of 2017

Well it's that time of year again to list my top 10 concerts of the year. I got out to a lot of shows this year which is making it tough to make a top ten list. I've been thinking of this list for a while now and have decided I can't list them in order of best, instead will just list my favorites in order of date. All shows were in Edmonton unless otherwise noted.

* January 23rd Joel Plaskett with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra @ The Winspear Centre.
Wasn't sure how this show was going to be but Joel pulled it off incredibly well.

* April 6th The Bronx with opener Dave Hause & The Mermaid @ The Brixx.
An awesome double bill. The Bronx killed it and Dave Hause was really good too.

* June 23rd Bash & Pop @ The Brixx.
This show was a last minute decision. Rushed out to this show right after seeing Ryan Adams in concert. I am so glad I decided to go. This show was everything I like about live performances. Intense, loud, sweaty, full of attitude, drama and most of all great rock n' roll. Tommy Stinson ex of The Replacements was in fine form, or maybe not fine form, depending how you look at it, as he was obviously tipsy yet still put on a great show.

* August 17th Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers in Vancouver, B.C. @ Rogers Arena.
This show was incredible. Petty on his 40th Anniversary Tour. So full of energy, great setlist, sounded great. And then six weeks later Tom Petty is gone. RIP Tom Petty! So glad I got to see him one last time.

* August 22nd Beck @ The Jubilee Auditorium.
An artist I have had on my bucket list for many years. And he didn't disappoint. A wicked show.

* August 30th Guns N' Roses @ Commonwealth Stadium
This show was so much fun and reminded me of my teenage years. A three and half hour party, with the venue selling beers through out the entire concert. The show started on time, Axl and the band sounded amazing. Just a fun, fun show.

* September 23rd Gene Simmons Band @ The Expo Centre.
Being a huge KISS fan this was a once in a lifetime chance to see Gene Simmons play a solo show with the rest of KISS. Great song selection, Gene was in fine form and best of all myself, my Cuz and my buddy RCD managed to score backstage passes and meet Gene Simmons. An incredible night that I will never forget.

* September 27th Lowest Of The Low with openers Jr. Gone Wild @ The Needle Vinyl Tavern.
A great double bill of two awesome Canadian bands. Wicked show.

* October 24th Roger Waters @ Rogers Arena.
An amazing show as usual from Roger Waters. Classic Pink Floyd songs mixed with new material that worked really well. Worth every penny.

* December 10th Mike Plume @ The Almanac.
One of my favorite singer/songwriters ever in a small intimate venue and a local artist at that. Mike's shows are always so much fun, full of great songs and lots of laughs. I never tire of seeing Mike Plume in concert.

So hard to pick my favorite shows this year as there were others that could have made this list, but I wanted to keep it to my top ten. Honourable mentions go to Leeroy Stagger, Blitzen Trapper, Diamond Head, Elliott BROOD, Nik Turner of Hawkwind and Parker Millsap.

Looking forward to a busy 2018 concert schedule. Good times!!!

My Top Ten Concerts of 2016

This is always tough to come up with my favorite live shows of 2016. But here we go. All shows in Edmonton unless otherwise noted.

1. The Tragically Hip @ Rogers K-Rock Centre August 20th in Kingston, Ontario
What can I say about this show other then I was a very lucky guy to be able to attend what may be The Hip's last show ever, in their hometown to boot. An incredibly emotional show.

2. The Tragically Hip @ Rexall Place July 28th
Again this show was super emotional. I scored row 6 on the floor for this show the day before the event. An amazing performance by Gordie and the boys. Have never shed so many tears at a show in my life.

3. The Tragically Hip @ Rexall Place July 30th
Yes, the top three shows of the year for me were all Hip shows. This show was extra special because not only would or could be the last time The Hip play Edmonton. But I also had some great friends travel from BC to attend this show. Good times!!!

4. The Yawpers @ Freemason Hall October 7th part of the Up and Downtown Music Festival
This is a band from Colorado that I have been listening to for just over a year and finally got the chance to see them live when they opened for Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Plant. The Yawpers were so amazing live, full of high energy and gritty rock n' roll. So good!

5. Fantastic Negrito @ Heritage Amphitheatre July 23rd in Hawrelak Park part of the Interstellar Rodeo Festival.
A band I knew very little about before this show. Fantastic Negrito were the first band to hit the stage on day two of this festival. Am I ever glad I got there early as this band was the highlight of the festival for me. Xavier Dphrepaulezz whom fronts the band was very entertaining and full of energy. An amazing live band.

6. Jason Isbell @ Edmonton Folk Fest August 5th in Gallagher Park.
Have been a huge fan of Jason for years now and he blew me away closing out the Friday night of the Folk Fest. He rocked the hell out of the venue. Great great show.

7. The Temperance Movement @ Union Hall March 1st
A British blues/rock band, who rocked Union Hall. Reminded me of Free, Black Crowes and Rolling Stones old school classic rock sound. Lead singer Phil Campbell has a great voice and full of energy, kind of like a spastic Joe Cocker. Loved their show.

8. Mike Plume @ The Almanac March 24th
A great show by local singer/songwriter in a small intimate venue. Mike always puts on a great show. This show was special to me because it was the day before my birthday and I got to take my Dad to the show as well. An amazing solo show by Mike.

9. Sturgill Simpson @ Union Hall August 14th
An old school country show with lots of soul and attitude.

10. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds @ TD Echo Beach in Toronto, Ontario July 10th
Because I never got to see Oasis in concert this was going to be the next best thing. I really enjoyed the show, it was at a great outdoor venue and the price was right too. Good times!!!

This was tough picking my top ten shows of 2016. I usually just list my favorite shows in no particular order, but changed it up this year. It was fucking hard to pick just ten and in order.

Here are other bands I saw this year that deserve a shout out too.
Black Sabbath, Joel Plaskett, Danny Michel, Fred Penner, Voivod, Jr. Gone Wild and Margo Price.

Looking forward to a busy concert year in 2017. Good times!!!

Favorite Concerts of 2015

Well I guess I should get around to my top ten concert of 2015 before this years shows start. It was hard to pick my top ten, but here it is, all shows were in Edmonton unless otherwise noted. Here we go!

This list is in order by date.

* Elliott BROOD Feb.18th at The Starlite Room

* Joel Plaskett May 9th at Union Hall

* Queensryche June 7th at Marriot Ballroom at River Cree Casino

* Mike Plume July 2nd at The Mercury Room

* Elle King July 25th at Interstellar Rodeo at Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park

* Father John Misty July 25th at Interstellar Rodeo

* Buffy Sainte-Marie July 26th at Interstellar Rodeo

* Faith No More and Refused August 7th at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario

* Canned Heat August 23rd at Edmonton Blues Festival at Heritage Amphitheatre in Hawrelak Park

* Steel Panther November 22nd at The Ranch Roadhouse

Good times!!!

Wish list for 2016!!!

* Ween to play Edmonton or anywhere in Canada for that matter.
* Lucero to play here as well.
* Drive-By Truckers to play Edmonton.
* Guns N' Roses all original line up to play Edmonton would be fun.

Edmonton has a new Coliseum (Rogers Place) being built right now. It is to open in September in time for the 2015-16 NHL season. So the question is, who will be the first band to break in the new building. I am going with Bruce Springsteen or U2.