An old buddy of mine and fellow journalist who now lives in Calgary, Alta. saw Nova Scotia’s own The Trews at the Calgary Stampede last weekend. He sent in a review of the band’s show …
The Trews @ the Calgary Stampede, – July 5,2008
It’s billed as the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, but the Calgary Stampede is more than a celebration of rodeo skills, Cowboyography and beef. The annual event is the Alberta city’s chance to showcase its cultural diversity and live music plays as much a means to that end as cotton candy or chuckwagon races.
When The Trews took to the outdoor Coca-Cola Stage on Saturday night for a free concert, a sun-baked audience was waiting to party hard, prairie style. And while said audience sported more cowboy hats than in every episode of Bonanza combined, the lads from Antigonish weren’t about to ride off into the sunset accompanied by a harmonica’s mournful wail just yet. Instead, The Trews burst out of the gate and took the party from the bunkhouse to the kitchen, Maritime style.
Opening with “I’m Not Ready To Go,” followed by “So She’s Leaving,” the band hit full stride in seconds, forcing a handful of crowd surfers to form instantly, many able to stay afloat for the mandatory eight seconds a bull rider requires. Others didn’t fare as well, as one participant went down faster than an extra vying for a role on Brokeback Mountain, prompting lead vocalist/guitarist Colin MacDonald to plead for compassion.
“Be careful, be gentle with him,” MacDonald urged the outstretched mass of arms. “He’s a child.”
With plenty of tartan shorts and an occasional Alexander Keith’s T-shirt visible in the crowd, the band gave a neighbourly nod to its Atlantic Canadian roots via a rousing version of “I Can’t Stop Laughing,” co-written by Newfoundland legend Ron Hynes. “Paranoid Freak,” another cut from the band’s latest album No Time For Later, came next, followed by vintage Trews’ tunes “Tired of Waiting,” “Confessions” and “Yearning.”
“This is the 27th time we’ve played the Calgary Stampede,” shouted MacDonald. His obvious exaggeration did, however, carry a faint ring of truth, as Trews music is essentially a retooled hybrid of timeless Who, Faces and Rolling Stones riffs. The band acknowledged as much by working the latter’s “Gimme Shelter” into “Fleeting Trust.”
With nary one strong wind blowing, let alone four, MacDonald later thanked the audience for staying around through the muggy night, noting the nearby diversions of concession stands and midway rides.
“We’re as least as much fun as the Ferris wheel,” he offered.
The Trews closed the regular set with a 12-minute rendition of “Poor Ol’ Broken Hearted Me” and finished up with a three-song encore, including “Hold Me In Your Arms.” On this evening, the new blended seamlessly with the old as The Trews won over the West, burning its own brand of rock and roll into the fabric of Stampede folklore. Anyone hearing otherwise got a bum steer.
- Ian Scott for East Coast Noise. Scott is a former New Brunswick journalist, music writer and radio personality now living in Calgary.
