Calgary Day Four: Two For The Show

Day Four was the day we had the least planned for.  We were going back to the Stampede grounds late in the afternoon for a concert, but didn't have much on the agenda for the day. In the morning, we walked over to St. Francis of Assisi Church, about a half-mile away. The vintage A-frame sits at the edge of Chinatown not far from the skyscrapers of downtown. The parishioners are mostly East Asian: Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipino, and more. The choir was all female, and all Asian, and sang very sweetly. This is a parish of young and old. Their pastor, Fr. Joseph Canh Vu, is from Viet Nam. He gave a fine sermon on the Gospel reading, the famous parable of the Good Samaritan. The sermon emphasized that we must love each other though we are all different, something especially true of this very mixed parish.

St. Francis of Assisi Church in Calgary

After we walked back to the AirBnB, I decided to go for my last run in Calgary. I knew the days ahead would be a lot of one-night stays with long drives during the day. I'm usually not in the mood to run on such days. But the Calgary island park was my idea of a nice place to run. So I put on my running shoes, headed over the bridge, scared a few geese out of my way, and headed around the park.

The big event was the evening concert. Vicky and I decided to save a few bucks (actually, $16.50 Canadian) and  walk to the venue, on the near side of the Stampede grounds, about a mile and a half from the AirBnB.

We had bought tickets to a long show featuring five acts. The headliners were Steve Earle and the Dukes, and the Mavericks, but there were three openers we'd never heard of. Actually, we'd never heard of the Mavericks, either. Apparently they were a big country act in the late 80s and 90s. We really came to see Steve Earle. 

I was a little insistent that we get to the venue for the 3:30 door opening and it was a good thing. It was choose your own seating once you got in, so it paid to be up in the line. When we got there, we were in the first hundred in line, but by the time the doors opened, there were 400 or so behind us. So we spent time chatting with the people around us. The family in front of us was there to see the daughter of one of the couples who was part of the first opening act. Most of the people in line were middle age or older. One thing I found was that if you asked people who they were going to the show to see, it was about an even split between Steve Earle and the Mavericks. Some were familiar with both, but it was usually one or the other. As I said, I'd never heard of the Mavericks. When we got in, we made a mad dash to get our seats at a table. Those back of about 150 or so in line were going to stand all night.

Here's the thing with our Steve Earle fandom: We've followed him for a long time. Now, that's not what you think it means. It's more like we've been chasing after him. I wasn't familiar with Earle and his music until maybe 10 years ago, but he was a big deal in country music much earlier, in the late 80s and 90s. What I mean is that we've been trying to see his show for a long time. Several years ago, we saw his very talented (and now tragically deceased) son Justin Townes Earle play a show in Rochester, NY.  We had tickets to see the elder Earle in State College two years ago, but that show got canceled due to COVID. He booked State College again on his current tour, but the show was the night before we left. We didn't want to go to a show the night before we'd be driving over 400 miles. But we saw that he'd booked the Stampede and bought tickets. Though the tickets for the Calgary show were a lot more expensive, we'd be seeing five acts. A deal (so we thought). In a funny coincidence, when we were in Deadwood, we saw that he'd be playing there about a week after we left! 

One thing I'll tell you about multi-act concerts is that they get you with the ticket price, then they get you with the food and beverages. A few years ago, we saw Willie Nelson, Allison Kraus, the Old Crow Medicine Show, and several other acts at a venue near Pittsburgh. The tickets were an arm and a leg, but the food and drink were another set of limbs. We were at the Calgary show for about 6 hours and (spoiler alert) we didn't even stay for the last act. A man can't go that long without some food and a beverage or two, but the beer ran $10 Canadian a pop, so we sipped.

The other thing about the multi-act concerts is that they're a long slog, especially if you're not familiar with all the acts. The first act didn't even start until 20 minutes late. Lucette was that first act, and she was fine. Not too loud. Interested the audience enough to break them from their conversation a bit. Didn't embarrass her parents. She and her band were just happy to be there. Then, the 30 minute set change. 

The second act, Whitehorse, was a lot more interesting. A band fronted by a couple from eastern Canada. Both had their own bands and played in each other's until they decided to link up, in more ways than one. They are in their 40s and true pros. Good musicians, good singers, very good songwriters. They also did a really cool cover of Summer Wine. All around good stuff. If we didn't have to go as far as Hamilton, ON to see them, we'd probably catch their act again. They kept referring to and deferring to the next act up, so we thought we were in for something. But first, the 30 minute set change...

That next act was Matt Mays and his band. Matt's a big feller with a big voice. Great stage presence. Tight band. But TOO EFFING LOUD! Vicky and I have been to several shows where the band, talented as it might be, just doesn't get it. You can play "loud", but LOUD is not allowed! LOUDER doesn't mean better, grittier, more "rock 'n' roll". It's just too loud.  First, no band needs 3 guitarists. Nobody can separate out that distorted mess in a live show. Second, even if they could, you don't to have them all cranked up to 11! Vicky said the band had more talent than what they displayed. They covered up what they had with too much volume. Thankfully, Mays' act was short, shorter than the previous two. The show's managers were catching up with the fact that the acts were pushing the show time way past Mom and Dad's bedtime. So, after a 30 minute set change...

Steve Earle came out and did not disappoint. Earle has been in the music business for decades. The Dukes (the current line-up) are pros. The band is tight, and plays just loud enough. They played a lot of their hits. Steve told a few stories. Kept the audience in tow even when he went off on one of his eye-rolling, and thankfully short, commie rants. We all wanted him to play longer, but there was another act (and 30 minute set change).

Steve Earle and the Dukes

We'll definitely go to see Earle again. But next time (hopefully) at the State Theatre in State College, PA, where it will cost us less than half as much to get in, there'll be maybe one 30 minute set change, and the beer will be five bucks.

Vicky and I figured we'd head out while it was still light out (the sun goes down late in Calgary in the summer), so we skipped the Mavericks. I haven't had time to check them out on YouTube, so I still don't know what they sound like. We stopped by the merch table and Vicky got herself a Steve Earle shirt with the current tour on the back. A lot of shows. A lot of time on the road. Made us grateful we were only going six or seven thousand miles...