Cures for the February blahs.
Wow! After an entertainment overload in January, February’s looking like a bit of a comedown.
Last month, Edmonton had a jam-packed concert schedule, including shows by A-listers like Pink, Justin Timberlake and Keith Urban. It was exhilarating and exhausting (and expensive).
February, by comparison, is looking mighty chill. There are no major shows at Rexall Place this month, though granted, maybe we needed a bit of a break.
“In terms of touring artists, we’re dark in February,” said Adam Cook, Rexall’s venue director and general manager. “This year, it just sort of worked out that way. We’ve got some incredibly busy months — January, four great shows in a row; April, five major shows back to back. It ebbs and flows in terms of entertainment.”
The Winter Olympics in Sochi (Feb. 7-23) are partly to blame. All of the biggest venues in the country are fairly quiet this month — probably the artists didn’t want to compete with the world’s best athletes for fans’ attention.
Other than Monster Jam event Feb. 8-9, the Oil Kings and the Edmonton Rush, Rexall is going to be a lonely place in February.
“If I could book the building every day of the year I would,” said Cook.
Don’t fret. There’s still oodles to do this month, including a multitude of concerts in other venues, quirky visual art, opera and theatre.
Here are just some of the highlights:
❚ Bringing his killer voice to the Winspear on Thursday, Feb. 6 is Matt Andersen, a singer-songwriter and blues guitarist from New Brunswick.
❚ Opening on Saturday, Feb. 1 is the Edmonton Opera production of Die Fledermaus, a romantic comedy by Johann Strauss II starring Betty Waynne Allison, Gordon Gietz and Gerald Thompson. The show happens at the Jubilee Auditorium, and continues Tuesday Feb. 4 and Thursday Feb. 6.
❚ The Pulitzer Prize-winning play Clybourne Park continues at the Citadel Theatre until Sunday, Feb. 16.
❚ Victoria-based tenor Benjamin Butterfield will perform at Muttart Hall, Alberta College on Wednesday, Feb. 12, as part of the Edmonton Recital Society’s mainstage series. On piano is Peter Dala, who is also conducting Die Fledermaus.
❚ Roots/folk artists Blackie and the Rodeo Kings play at Festival Place on Saturday, Feb. 8, and country music heartthrob Dean Brody brings his Crop Circles and Tractor Beams tour to the Shaw Conference Centre on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
❚ There are heaps of other good music shows in Edmonton and area, among them Detroit rapper Obie Trice at Union Hall on Valentine’s Day, Ottawa blues band Monkeyjunk at Festival Place on Friday, Feb. 21 (they just cleaned up with five awards at the Maple Blues Awards) and Montreal folkie Mark Berube on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at the ARTery.
❚ Dance theatre company Ailey II will be in Edmonton Feb. 14 and 15. The American group merges the talents of emerging dancers and choreographers with stunning effects. They’re a guest of Alberta Ballet.
❚ The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra will bring your favourite Looney Tunes to life at the Winspear over the Family Day long weekend with Warner Bros. Presents Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II. There are three shows on Feb. 15, 16, 17. Cartoons are projected on a big screen while the ESO performs the original scores.
❚ Edmonton artist Lyndal Osborne’s solo show Bowerbird: Life as Art opens Saturday, Feb. 1 at the Art Gallery of Alberta. The show is a survey exhibition of this nationally renowned sculptor’s nearly 40-year career, and runs until April 27.
❚ Broadway classic West Side Story, a contemporary retelling of Romeo and Juliet with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, opens at Jubilee on Tuesday, Feb. 18. This touring production and dance extravaganza is arguably the best love story of all time.
❚ For more outdoorsy fun, check out the Silver Skate Festival, which runs Feb 14 to 23 in Hawrelak Park.