Hey, Hey, Hey!

Some observations of Albertan concerts vs. the Rest of the World (London, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa)

- People dress the for the weather (There were not one skimpy outfit in the place, no bare shoulders even!)
- People do NOT dress up
- There WILL be cowboys
- The cowboys DO dress up for gigs, spurs, leather boots and all
- The cowboys are in fact, REAL and apparently like Indie music
- You’ll have the sudden urge to yell out ‘yeehaw’ when surrounded by said cowboys
- Age doesn’t matter! Just wear a tuque and you’ll fit in!
- They do not abide by the rule, don’t wear the t-shirt of the band you’re seeing (nerd alert!)
- The concert WILL stop to ask the score of the hockey game


So as you can tell, I went out to a concert last night. We saw folk-rock/blue-grass/R3 indie sweethearts Elliott Brood at the Starlite Room on the Jasper side. We learned quite a bit about indie shows here in Alberta. First we were told that we couldn’t enter the club until we bought a ‘membership’ which is just overt capitalism considering we spent so much just to get the tickets, but once we got in we had a security body –pat down which in ALL of the concerts I’ve been to ALL over the world, has NEVER happened. (What’s up, Edmonton?)

I also learned that unlike Ottawa or montreal, there is no bylaw in place to make sure the event is over by 11 pm. (truthfully, I’ve always liked that in that it meant I could always be home in time to get at least 6 hours of sleep). So when we showed up 9.30 we were convinced we’d have missed the opening band.

This place was in fact a HOLE in the WALL (no not an ATM, my British readers) but you walk down a dodgy back alley, up stairs and around some brick industrial area to find a hipster or two hanging out front. Interesting.

All that being said, it was a good show. I ran into a co-worker that introduced us to some friends. Again, such a different feel from all the pretensious hipster gigs I’ve been to. It’s nice though as going to live music has always been where I feel most comfortable no matter where I am. The place actually reminded me of Rescue Rooms, for those of you that know what Rescue Rooms is. (I miss it!)

Elliott Brood have this song called ‘oh, Alberta’ with lyrics that celebrate going out West but missing ‘back home, Ontario-oh-oh-oooooooooooo!’ I listened to this song a lot while packing up to move and always felt a special connection and couldn’t help but to sing along loudly. “How I long for my home, sweet, home…’


…and then the pots and pans came out. Ashton and I were right up front and so despite the purpose of the pots, pans and wooden spoons as makeshift percussion immediately after the song Ashton was like, ‘FREE KITCHENWARE!!!’ I don’t think you could have thrown out anything, save for Communist manifestos, that would have made him happier . He waved his wooden spoon gleefully as we raced out of the club to catch a cab to the other city divided.

On to other non-concert related things,

I’m fighting something right now. I woke up yesterday with the sniffles and they haven’t gone away yet. It could be because it’s SO cold here and I’m not used to such dramatic temperature changes. As I write this, the forecast says it’s likely to snow today. NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As my stepfather would say, I have to make sure I’ll not leave my ‘snotrags’ around the flat. That would be such a mood killer for poor ashton!

Work is ok, I’ve had a little more to actually DO this week, but that’s not stopping me from looking around still.

I’ve agreed to be the Festival Director of the University of Alberta’s Film Festival, happening this March. This is not a paid position, but I’ve got a really fancy looking card with my name on it that got me into ALL the EIFF Film fest exclusives last weekend! I’m hoping that doing this opens a lot of doors. As it is, I’m attacking this project with intense verocity and am making some major changes. I’m hoping to make it a three-day event and have abolished the entry fee for artists. As well, I’m opening up categories to encourage new work including documentary, aboriginal, queer/GLBQT, experimental/avant garde and will be seeking beyond Canada for our ‘foreign’ film category. More to come on this still, but yes, I would be interested in doing events management as an actual career, and have since I put on my first concert.

Anyways, long post, and yet I still feel I have more to share. Email me if you want to know more!

Love and miss you guys, xo

(p.s. this post means I've officially made it one month in Cowtown!)