There is  a lot of fantastic entertainment coming up this week in Lethbridge.
 But first L.A. Beat congratulates Deb Rakos, who won the first L.A. Beat Blue Man Group giveaway. Deb won a pair of tickets and a DVD  to the Blue Man Group’s Megastar World Tour at the Enmax Centre, Oct. 11 by   reading L.A Beat, www.labeat.ca. and correctly identifying that the two big projects I was involved with over the long weekend were the Three Day Novel competition and the In the Shadow of the Bridge Festival. I have another prize package to give away closer to the date of the show so keep reading.
 The Blue Man group are a legendary energetic percussion and drum ensemble who tour all over the world.
 This performance introduces a  satirical workshop about how to create the  “perfect rock concert experience.”
 In the process they celebrate, skewer and deconstruct narcissistic rock  stardom and all of its trappings. It expands on their  last concept tour “the Complex Rock Tour.” The show has been described as uniquely clever, interactive and hypnotic. Tickets for it cost from $63.50 to $90.50 for the show, which begins at 7:30 p.m.

This week, there are a lot of great shows.
The official CD release party for Dave McCann and the Firehearts new CD, “Dixiebluebird” happens at the Geomatic Attic. McCann and his band  the Firehearts are a welcome addition to Lethbridge’s alt-country music scene since McCann moved here last week. Advance tickets cost $20 until Sept. 9, then the price increases to $25. Doors open at 7 p.m. with the music beginning at 8 p.m.. Contact Mike Spencer at the Geomatic  Attic for tickets at 403.380.0283.
 In Cardston, on Sept. 12 Acoustic fingerstyle guitarist Trace Bundy is performing at the Carriage House Theatre. Bundy was named most promising new talent by Acustic Guitar  magazine in 2008. This will be his third visit to Cardston. Tickets cost $15. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Some of the coolest shows of the week take place mid week.

To paraphrase one of the band’s songs, White Cowbell Oklahoma have been tearing the music scene a new one for 10 years.
So who or what are White Cowbell Oklahoma? Fact: They are playing the Slice, Sept. 14. Fact: they are a Toronto based sextet known for resurrecting the spirit of old school ’70s style, riff heavy, harmonized guitar soloing, sex, drugs and rock and roll themed music of the ilk of Kiss, Lynard Skynard and Aerosmith especially on their latest, third CD, Bombardero. Fact: They are known for incendiary live  and loud shows,  which on occasion have included strippers, chainsaws, cowbells and assorted household tools and have even drawn protesters in Lethbridge. They may also be residents of another galaxy, here to divide and conquer the Earth or, on the other hand, they may just be clinically insane. Either way, talking to lead singer Clem Clemsen makes for an interesting trip into a dark, twisted mind.
“Sarge (White Cowbell Oklahoma’s former lead singer who left after contributing a couple songs and vocals to the new CD) left to start a helicopter business in the mountains of Burma. Actually that’s a lie, we had him cryogenically frozen along with the 573 former members of the band after consulting  our numerologist and soothsayer before starting our infernal third CD and they told us six was our lucky number,” explained Clemsen over the phone from Victoria, pausing to dodge a cup of coffee dumped from third floor hotel balcony by the band’s drummer. They started a massive western Canadian tour in Victoria, Sept. 4.
“You can read about it in the papers, we’re going to leave smoking craters all over the west coast. We’re going to sink Vancouver Island like Atlantis, except it will be called Pacificis, because we’re on the west coast,” Clemsen enthused, adding the band is enjoying playing as a sextet, as they usually average 10 members in the band at a time including two drummers, two keyboardists and countless guitarists.
“Sextet is just as sexy as it sounds. Plus we are 33.3 per cent more efficient as a band. And it makes lobby calls 33.3 per cent more efficient,” he continued, adding they are looking forward to returning  to Lethbridge.

It’s the long weekend, but thanks to all of the great music, art and drama happening this week, you can start celebrating Labour Day early.
A couple big festivals mark the weekend. The “In the Shadow of the Bridge festival”  dominates Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Numerous local acts beginning with  the LCI Jazz band  at 10:45  will be playing next to Fort Whoop Up.
 Other popular acts include  the Hungarian Trio, Leon Barr, Joshua Fritz and Bridgett Yarwood, plus David Renter, the Ammena  Dance company, Leah Sadler and O’ Reely. Dave McCann and the Firehearts are also on the bill as well as the Lethbridge Fire Spinners, Hippodrome and Soup of Flies who wind things up at 10:15. After that, The Slice is hosting an after party with several local acts including Treeline, the Shaela Miller Threesome, Planet Telex, the Skilletlikkers and the New Weather Machine.
But things start early this week with the Dave Renter quartet hosting the Slice’s open mic tonight (Sept. 1). The next day, Sept. 2 the Slice welcomes East Coast Music Award winning folk/ country singer Christina Martin and East Coast Music Award nominee  Steven Bowers.
And Beija Flor returns to Lethbridge to play Henotic,  Sept. 4, which is also the day local classic rockers the Chevelles open up a new pub called Squeaky’s, located where O’Riley’s used to be at 411 3rd Ave South.
Popular pop/rock singer Ben Brown begins a regular Thursday night gig at Ric’s gig this week as well.

Lethbridge finally got a visit from The JPS Trio, Aug. 29 at Henotic, including John Paul Smith best known for playing with punk-new wave band Sleeping With Tuesday,” who joined forces with Lethbridge drummer Kyle Harmon and multi-instrumentalist Dino Scavo.
“My other band, Sleeping With Tuesday is still a band, but they don’t really tour. We tour all over Western Canada. And we’re more diverse,” Smith said, whose band, which combines everything from jazz, reggae, funk and punk,  will be playing this coming Friday at the Bigwood music festival, which will be taking place at the end of the Research Station Road featuring several acts including the Skilletlikkers, Treeline, The Phantom Creeps and the Dirti Speshuls plus Randy Shaver. The music begins at 4 p.m., admission is a $10 donation.