Sounds of Old Strathcona Fest, Edmonton, Part 2
Sounds of Old Strathcona Fest, Edmonton, Part 2
The first day of festival came with a darkening of the skies. I was just arriving to the ave. when the winds began to pick up, and people on the street were running for shelter. Not one to be left out, I ducked into the first restaurant I saw, just in time to escape the torrents of rain the clouds decided to let loose on the unsuspecting masses that had gathered below. In seconds the streets looked more like rivers, the storm drains over flowing, and people struggling to find shelter. I on the other hand tucked into a sandwich and french fries, with a side of lager. The perfect escape.
After the skies let up their fury I made my way to Blues on Whyte for Lex Justice and Ras’Pect, but unfortunately I didn’t get to see this band, and discovered the only flaw in this freshman outing for the festival. A timing error in the festival program said the band would take the stage at 8, but in fact they wouldn’t be playing till 10. This was still a good opportunity to have a cheep beer in a great bar. Blues on Whyte is in the Commercial hotel right on the Whyte ave strip. Those who have been there will know that this is one of the best blues bars in Western Canada. Instead of being frequented by young suburbanites, and university students, like the rest of the Whyte ave bar scene it’s a broader demographic of a blue collar, working city. Bikers, and old men with scruffy beards, sit around little tables and drink cheap beer, while burly men talk about women and women talk about burly men, and when the show does start there will be dancing. It would be overly simplistic to compare Blues to the Yale, and it would be unfair, because in comparison Blues on Whyte still caters to the working man, the decor is perpetually stuck in an era far gone, it’s always been a little run down, but always wholesome. When talking about blues bars, Blues on Whyte is the real deal.
Disappointed by the schedule change I headed over to the Cook County Saloon for some local folk-rock. The saloon itself has been around since 1981 and has been voted on numerous occasions the best country bar in Canada. The picture conjured up when thinking of a country bar is exactly what you get. Neon Jack Daniel’s signs, lots of wood, a board walk, a hitching post, dance floor for two steps and line dancing, servers in shirts unbuttoned just enough to make you want to leave an extra tip, Cowboy hats, and tight denim, and a mechanical bull for some drunken danger. It’s also a proper venue for live music, a good stage, and a good sound system, make this the country party spot on the prairies, and this night was no exception.
Taking the stage were local institution Captain Tractor. Forming in 1993 Captain Tractor are purveyors of fine folk-rock party songs. The band now consists of 6 members, 2 guitarists, a bass player, a keyboardist/accordianist, drummer, and a fiddler. It’s obvious they’ve been at this for a while now. They came off sounding solid and tight, playing mainly original songs interspersed by some traditional folk songs and the odd cover. They made many calls for the audience to drink, and would join in with them, and drink they did, but the audience had one thing on their minds. “Play the pirate song” someone shouted, the band laughing and saying “you’re not ready for the pirate song”. The song in question being The Last Saskatchewan Pirate, a superior version of a song originally done by the Arrogant Worms, it is Captain Tractors best known tune, and the song that everyone wants to hear. The audience was fine to sit and listen up to this point but now that their favorite song was being played they could no longer resist the urge to dance. Captain Tractor also took some time to dedicate a couple songs to Joe Bird, a local actor, and musician who passed away in April of 2009, and someone who would have surely been part of this new Edmonton Festival, as he seemed to be part of all the festivals in Edmonton I can remember, and to me it was not only touching but helped to provide a fitting opening encounter to this new festival.
I left the cook county saloon and headed home, satisfied, and convinced it was just the start to an amazing weekend.
