Yukon Blonde
Entering the Castle and Falcon I was surprised to hear live
music emanating from the back room ahead of the venue’s own set times. Sure
enough, Yukon Blonde must have gone on early and were playing to a surprisingly
well-filled room. Surprising only because I’d never seen any advertising for
anything at this pub before this show and only noticed this gig because I knew the bands. The
five of them, with a sideways, side stage drum kit and a female tucked in back
were jamming out their throwback guitar rock. Besides the vocals being
occasionally flat, whether due to singing or sound system I couldn’t quite
tell, they were pretty tight. Playing a lot of new tunes from their last release, .. On Blonde (get it), I didn’t recognise as much as I expected, with Saturday Night being a
highlight. The new single Crazy came across well and they excelled when jamming
out loudly. Heads were bopping and toes tapping throughout.
Rural Alberta Advantage
I forget just how good The RAA are. Despite having seen them umpteen times it has been awhile; this the first time since the release of The Wild and it all came flooding back when they hit the stage. As an additional bonus I was stoked to see Barefoot Amy back in the fold after a departure for the recording and original tour of The Wild. The crowd were obviously here for this and rocked out right along with us up front, some more determined than others to get individual band members attention (in the form of fist bumps.) I don’t blame them too much as Paul Banwatt is still one of the best in the biz, as exhibited right in front of me, also with a sideways kit. I can’t even keep track of the rhythms and changes and he’s the one playing them. Nils brought his signature nasal to the table, slightly toned down perhaps due to sickness or maybe just evolution. While Amy was her regular geeky self, trying to impress with awkward yet endearing banter about slimy feet and all age shows. The music drew on the entire catalogue, with love throughout, though earlier tunes seemed to get a bigger reaction (perhaps that’s a personal bias though.) Don’t Haunt this Place got things revving a couple tracks in while mid set In the Summertime was beautiful as ever. For the much deserved encore Nils returned alone and rather than his old go-to of Eye of the Tiger he played an acoustic rendition of North Star that definitely mixed things up a little. He introduced it as being written about an encounter with a crush while watching a Stars gig at an Ontario festival. Finally they all came out for Deathbridge in Lethbridge for us to leave it all on the floor. I’d have liked Four Night Rider but besides that I was thoroughly pleased!
Rural Alberta Advantage
I forget just how good The RAA are. Despite having seen them umpteen times it has been awhile; this the first time since the release of The Wild and it all came flooding back when they hit the stage. As an additional bonus I was stoked to see Barefoot Amy back in the fold after a departure for the recording and original tour of The Wild. The crowd were obviously here for this and rocked out right along with us up front, some more determined than others to get individual band members attention (in the form of fist bumps.) I don’t blame them too much as Paul Banwatt is still one of the best in the biz, as exhibited right in front of me, also with a sideways kit. I can’t even keep track of the rhythms and changes and he’s the one playing them. Nils brought his signature nasal to the table, slightly toned down perhaps due to sickness or maybe just evolution. While Amy was her regular geeky self, trying to impress with awkward yet endearing banter about slimy feet and all age shows. The music drew on the entire catalogue, with love throughout, though earlier tunes seemed to get a bigger reaction (perhaps that’s a personal bias though.) Don’t Haunt this Place got things revving a couple tracks in while mid set In the Summertime was beautiful as ever. For the much deserved encore Nils returned alone and rather than his old go-to of Eye of the Tiger he played an acoustic rendition of North Star that definitely mixed things up a little. He introduced it as being written about an encounter with a crush while watching a Stars gig at an Ontario festival. Finally they all came out for Deathbridge in Lethbridge for us to leave it all on the floor. I’d have liked Four Night Rider but besides that I was thoroughly pleased!
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