A Calgary Summer

After many posts from the diverse, cultured centres of urbanity on the European continent, the travel bug is not quite out of my system. As I have used up all my vacation time -and then some - for the remainder of 2014 and I should probably attempt to stay employed for a while, my options for travelling abroad are limited.

Lucky for me I live in the most diverse, engaging and fast-changing city this side of the Rockies and before Montreal: Calgary!

I hope this will give a taste to some of my new friends around the world of what my city is like. Perhaps even a few locals might learn a thing or two as well. Let us begin!

Mural on 4th Avenue Bridge pier into Downtown Calgary, near the East Village District

Calgary is the largest city in the province of Alberta, and 4th largest in the country - behind Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Founded in the late 19th century, the city has grown quickly into a modern cosmopolitan city over the past 120 years. As of 2014, the city is  home to 1.2 million people, with several smaller satellite cities immediately surrounding the city, bringing the metropolitan area to nearly 1.5 million. It wasn't always this way: Calgary has doubled in size since 1980. An oil-fuelled economic boom is responsible for making Calgary the largest city within 700 kilometres.

Condominium towers in East Village, a redeveloped area of parking lots and empty fields a few blocks from the major business district of Calgary. Over 1,000 condos/apartments are being constructed here, with some 8,000 under construction elsewhere in the city centre in the next few years.

Calgary's Downtown is dominated by office towers; most of these built in the last 30 years as the economic boom continued. Calgary has more office space in the city centre than many larger cities: nearly twice as much as Vancouver, a city of more than 2 million people.

The Calgary skyline is below. The Calgary Tower no longer dominates the skyline, the office buildings around it reach up to 60 storeys and top out at 230 metres high, the tallest in the Canada outside Toronto. The towers in the foreground are residential towers in the Beltline district, the urban hub of Calgary where thousands of apartments, hipsters, bars and restaurants serve as the beating heart of the city:

The skyline from Ramsay, a inner city neighbourhood in south-east Calgary. The Saddledome was built of the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, an now hosts the professional hockey team the Calgary Flames. Noted for it's curved roof, the design was meant to reflect the western / cowboy history of the city (saddle) and save energy heating the arena in winter - yes it gets that cold here that we need to heat our hockey rinks in the winter.

An criticism that is often levied on urban Calgary is that as a business-only town everyone goes home after-working hours and the city centre is quiet in the evenings. While there may have been some truth to this statement in the 1980s or early 1990s, it could not be farther from the truth in 2014. The city centre has many lively and diverse districts, with bars and restaurants teeming with thousands of people to the early morning hours in areas like the Beltline, Mission, Stephen Ave and Chinatown amongst others.

Stephen Avenue during Sled Island, a indie-music festival of 200+ bands spread over 30 venues in the beginning of the summer. Sled Island celebrates urban life, music, bicycles and the arts; a true gem on Calgary's diverse and busy festival scene. Check out my daily play-by-play during Sled Island 2014 for more details.

Immediately surrounding the business core is where all the action is. In addition to the Beltline, popular districts include Mission, Sunnyside, Bridgeland and Inglewood. All are within a few minute walk of the largest office buildings that dominate the skyline and are home to thousands of Calgarians.

Mission neighbourhood, 15 minute walk south of the city centre on 4th Street SW. The Mission Diner is a popular breakfast place, one of several local favourites. Cafes, shops, bars and restaurants line this neighbourhood strip. 4th Street connects to the infamous 17th Avenue in the Beltline. 17th Avenue is long known as Calgary's prime night spot and is home to dozens of bars and restaurants.

My old apartment in the Cliff Bungalow-Mission area - looks like a house, but is restructure inside as 6 apartment units. The house was built in 1911 by the Canadian Pacific Railway for railway workers as the area was first being settled. Long before the oil industry, railways dominated the western Canadian prairie provinces. Calgary was a railway town much like places such as Brooks, Red Deer and Medicine Hat. Unlike places like Brooks, Red Deer and Medicine Hat, Calgary out-competed similar railways towns and became the predominate urban centre of the the prairies.

Only 3 minute walk from 17th Avenue, 15 minutes from the main office core. Most other houses like this have long since been replaced by apartment or condominium towers. Notice that the new tenants are not as cool as we were with the lack of vintage yard-sales and front-yard neighbourhood barbecue parties in this picture.

surrounding the city centre are two rivers: the Bow and Elbow. They are popular destinations for joggers, cyclists, walkers and general recreation activities. Unlike many cities, Calgary never had a large industrial base that polluted and channelled the local rivers into concrete canals. The result of minimal industrial usage, the length of the river valleys are filled with a series of pedestrian and bicycle pathways connecting many kilometres of parks and public spaces. Most parks place priority on preserving the natural look and environment of the riverbank. Natural enough that birds, muskrats, deer and beavers are common sights all along the river park system. Every once in a while even a moose makes it into the urban core of the city!

The East Village Plaza, connects to a new pedestrian bridge - opening Fall 2014 - to St. Georges Island, home of the Calgary Zoo. The Plaza hosts events year-round, currently the Calgary Opera in the large white tent in the centre is doing a summer series. This picture is only a few metres from the large condo projects in the earlier East Village picture.

Prince's Island is Calgary's "central park" and is one of the most loved public spaces in the city. Today it was hosting Carifest - a celebration to Caribbean-Canadian culture. Unfortunately it was a cloudy and cold day so it was otherwise quite quiet. On sunny days you will see thousands of people slack-lining, unicycling, sun-tanning, frisbee-ing and generally loving the outdoors in this pristine park at the heart of the city:

A new addition, but quickly becoming the place to see in Calgary is the Peace Bridge, a designer pedestrian bridge spanning the Bow River between the Sunnyside neighbourhood and Downtown. Wedding parties, buskers and photo-takers are always out in number here. It actually doesn't function well as a bridge because too many people stand in the way trying to get the perfect picture in the middle of the bicycle lane. I can't argue with them though it is an amazing bridge:

Inner-city Calgarians are typically a fashionable bunch but not this fashionable: this is definitely a prom/graduation photo-shoot. Picture from June 2014.

The view from the north bank of the Bow River. The Peace Bridge is a single span, gracefully crossing to the south bank with no support columns. A new landmark of the inner city:

One thing that these pictures cannot describe is the attitude of the city. While Calgary lacks the history and some of the human-scale elements I noted during my European urban posts, it makes up for it in the way that citizens deem their city. Unlike some of other places I have visited, Calgary is a place where people believe that they can change their city for the better. There is no stagnation here only relentless progress; the city changes faster and more extensively in a few years than many cities will change in a lifetime. Everything is renewed, questioned and challenged in the name of improving the city that so many here love. There are many challenges that come with the speed that Calgary changes, but many opportunities too.

Sunset at Olympic Plaza, during a concert for Sled Island. In the winter the Plaza hosts a skating rink.

Calgary made the transition from being a shabby fort of a few dozen settlers in the frontier of western Canada to a modern, diverse metropolis of a million people in 120 years. There are entire quadrants in Vienna, Amsterdam and countless other European cities that do not have a single building that was built after the first European settler stumbled across the intersection of the Bow and Elbow Rivers.

At this pace, imagine where Calgary will be in another 120 years?

This is only the summer: there is another whole season here called winter. That post might be a little bit longer :)

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BONUS PICTURE: Hello friends from Munich! Guess what I found on the Bow River today?? Turns out the 2013 floods were not all bad when they diverted the river in unexpected ways. Bring your boards and come for a visit!

This is along the Bow River pathway system, looking across to Sunnyside from Downtown near the Louise Bridge.

Silence & Noise

Travelling alone allows you to disconnect from your regular life in a way nothing else does - to spend days in a city that you never planned to visit, that you barely know anything about, and with people you never expected to meet is an incredible feeling.

Have you ever been in a city where no one you have ever known knows you are there? You are free in a way that you cannot get in your regular life; even if you switch wholesale careers, friends, families or apartments. You still know the streets of your city, you still know the culture, and you still have all the memories of events and people in your life that have defined you. In this strange new city there is nothing; no expectations, no memories and no one to connect you to the world you are from.

One of the most subtle - yet most important - feelings when travelling is the feeling of silence. When you are in a country where you do not speak the language or understand the cultural norms, even the busiest city squares seem strangely peaceful. Your ears and brain have been acclimatized to your native language so all the sounds of other ones tend to blur together if you don't know them. The sounds of thousands of people chatting, yelling and screaming all around you begin to gently fall on your ears as your brain gives up searching for something familiar to interpret and understand in your own tongue.

After a while you realize it is not just the sound itself. Your own sound is quieter. With few people to talk to, words become scarer and more valuable. Cultural expectations and norms soon melt away; you are too far removed from the only place you truly understand thousands of kilometres away. You eventually lose the voice in your head trying to figure everything out to not seem out of place or commit some horrible cultural faux-pas; you just live in this strange world without thinking. That doesn't mean you know all the rules, it means that you don't mind that you don't.

Soon even the loudest voice in your head starts to quiet as well. All the ideas, schemes and concerns of your regular life are slipping farther and farther away.

They don't even know where you are.

This peaceful bliss can envelope you in a cloud of silence for days or weeks; only pierced by the excitement of a new and confusing place or meeting an interesting travel friend along the way.

It all comes to an end rather abruptly. One day you are at the base of the Eiffel Tower watching the dazzling light show with a girl from Texas and an Austria body-builder with such a focus to reach the perfect viewpoint for the 10 PM light show there is nothing else in your mind. Even one of the busiest places in the world seems calm and quiet:

The next day you are in a crowded Toronto Pearson International Airport seating area waiting for a delayed connection home, surrounded by a cacophony of people chatting, people complaining and intercom announcements. Your brain must now switch back into listening mode and interpret this loud and chaotic world as fast as it can. Your brain doesn't have a choice; five weeks off will not undo 25 years of conditioning to activate to familiar sounds.

Noise - like silence - is neither good or bad; but I think it is important to realize whether it is noise or silence you have more of in your life.

You should experience the other one from time to time.

Innsbruck, Austria - Sophistication in the Alps

After Vienna, I travelled three hours by train to the smaller city of Innsbruck in the Austrian Alps. I enjoyed two melanges on the train, the traditional Viennese coffee that is the regular cup of expresso with a milk foam of sorts poured on top. I had been warned that this was a specifically Viennese drink and would be cut off from it in most other places even within Austria. I went for the second cup and arrived in Innsbruck a bit more jittery and sweaty than normal.

Train-travel sophistication. A cup of melange at 240km/h:

A city of some 120,000 people, Innsbruck is the smallest city since Arras, France I have stayed in - a pleasant change from the big cities of the past few weeks.

The city sits in a very low valley at an altitude of some 500m. The mountain ranges on all sides aren't particularly tall by Canadian Rocky standards, however they have almost twice the prominence (look bigger) than the mountains around Canmore, Alberta because the valley is so much lower. They are quite striking - but often shrouded by cloud.

Think of Innsbruck as much like Canmore, but with no pick-up trucks, no million dollar McMansions and a public transit system that rivals Vancouver:

A problem soon emerges: due to the size of the city, I vastly underestimated the ease of finding a hostel without a reservation. A few tries at ones near the central station were greeted with laughter, not a good sign for the wayward  traveller. I walked nearly 30 minutes to the edge of the city to find a hostel that was full as well. I met two Spainards in the same situation and between the the three of us we convinced the staff to allow us to convert the luggage room into a temporary dorm for a paltry (or expensive depending on how you look at it) 12€ / night. Problem solved!

The view from the hostel makes it all worth it:

After a good nights rest - a debatable fact due to being forced to eat dinner with my new Spanish friends at the "regular" 11pm followed by a lengthy argument about which type of bears are the best with some Koreans (hint stop what you are doing and google Korean Bears, they are the best) - I was ready to tackle the mountains the following morning.

This being the Alps, most of my choices allowed easy cable car access to aid my decent. Again, Europe doesn't know how to do anything without sophistication.

I chose to tackle the Hafelekarspitze, a 2,300m mountain to the north highly visible from Innbruck.

Here it is from the bottom. You may just be able to make out a small white chalet three-quarters of the way up the mountain, that is a cable car stop:

Access to the base of the climb is granted from the centre of the city by an underground funicular railway - specially designed to handle steep slopes - that is an impressive work of engineering and architecture for a city the size of Red Deer. Red Deer barely knows what a bike-lane is, let alone a tram and funicular- filled rapid transit utopia like Innsbruck. Perhaps I'll finish slamming Red Deer in a future post.

A brisk four hour walk led me to the top just as the clouds and mists parted:

Innsbruck:

To the north:

An excellent coffee at the summit cafe (see sophistication) and I was down by a very expensive cable car ride of 19€. No discount for the 1,400m I climbed to get here unfortunately:

Innsbruck is quite sleepy as one would expect. I used the tram to get around, a brilliant idea in every city. I have seen few that are better setup than Innsbruck's due to it's simplicity.

Take the stations for starters. Simple, effective and cheap. Nothing more than a next stop time display, seats and a ticket machine. The design shares the stop with buses and is the only part of the network that prohibits cars from driving on the tracks:

It's the small details that set it apart. One thing is the off-board ticket machines. 1.60€ for a 90-minute ticket while 2€ if you buy from the driver on-board. It encourages efficiency and makes all but the most clueless tourists buy from the machine instead of the driver, allowing her to continue driving, speeding the journey up dramatically. Think how much faster taking the bus in Calgary would be if everyone could board at any door, and the ticket prices encourage you to buy off the vehicle allowing the driver to proceed to the next stop very quickly instead of hand out transfers. Currently there is no discount of buying off vehicle in Calgary, nor is all door boarding allowed, creating unnecessary long queues to jam into the single door on front and each pay the driver individually. 

The trams are about half the size of a three-car LRT in Calgary, but hold substantially more people than even an articulated bus. The have next stop information displays, live maps and notifications on which side the tram's doors will open at the next station. A view inside the tram:

The 30 minute walk from the central station to the hostel takes 7 minutes on the tram - and the vehicle never exceeds 30 - 40 km/h. It is able to achieve this by using these low cost, efficiency improvements everywhere it can, rather than the traditional and expensive way of separating the transit line from everything else. It is also quiet enough that it runs down narrow residential streets and navigates tight turns of the inner city as easy as any bus, giving it much better access to where people actually live than a station built in a freeway median like many in Calgary.

The tram arrived every 5-10 minutes throughout the day and evening, providing rapid transit to this tiny city. As if that wasn't enough night service is provided. Here is a excerpt from the transit company's website:

"Round-the-clock operations for you:

For all those who are on the move through the night or who have late work shifts, there is an IVB night service. The Nightliner, the ASTI telephone group taxi and the Women’s Nighttime Taxi bring you home quickly, safely and inexpensively, no matter what the hour."

Imagine any transit organization that puts that much effort and focus on individuals of all demographics and needs; not just the regular 9-5 crowd.

Sophistication. In a city the size of Red Deer. Amazing.

Now I won't have to slam Red Deer in a future post. 

Lessons from Dublin - Chaotic Harmony

I landed in Dublin at 5am July 3rd after the 6-hour red-eye from Toronto. As my flight helped the earth spin a little faster beneath my feet my 11pm was Dublin's 5am. A long day awaits.

Dublin's airport is located to the north of the city and is a quick 20 or 30 minute double-deck bus ride into the heart of the city situated around St Charles Street and the River Liffy.

After some bleary-eyed wandering in the dead-quiet early morning I stumbled upon the hostel. As is common in old cities, hardly a road sign or length of road exists that doesn't change names, curve or dead-end within a block or two; creating the perfect hostel-hiding environment.

Once found it offered a nice view of a typical Dublin street, a few blocks north of the River:

For a Calgarian - or a citizen of much of the world - driving on the left in Dublin creates mental chaos as your brain comes to terms with a new reality. Even more problematic is the complete inconsistency with roads and intersections, a myriad of one-way alleys and streets intersecting at weird and random angles. Yet it works:

I am unsure if pedestrians are an afterthought or completely in charge of what happens. Many streets have pedestrian signals; while on no street does anyone (including police officers) obey them if there is even a slight gap in traffic. People are expected to cross as soon as possible, not based on the signalling. Throw in a surprisingly abundant cycling population and bike share program - Dublin has many bike lanes squeezed into everywhere of varying lengths, widths and consistencies - and driving, walking or cycling is a shockingly chaotic experience.

Dublin also has several modes of public transport. Most obviously is the public bus, consisting of obvious bright-yellow double decker vehicles. It's a great view from the second level, but good luck navigating the chaotic system and the Gaelic-language stops and instructions.

Several distinct advantages that are low cost and obvious improvements that Calgary Transit should emulate immediately: Off-vehicle ticket purchases at key stops preventing confusion and wasted time, automatic transfer/receipt printing on the bus vs. Calgary's archaic small-town paper transfer system, real-time bus stop screens at all stops and -most significantly - bus lanes. Essentially every street has them and they are obviously marked and not infringed on by other traffic. Even a city like Dublin with no reputation for transit service in Europe blows Calgary away with these steps. Buses and the people that ride them are treated as second class citizens in every way in Calgary by comparison. So far it appears Calgary Transit has little appetite, enthusiasm or mandate to mimic easy-win improvements which is mind-boggling considering how readily available examples are of them in a similar sized city like Dublin.

Dublin also has a new train that stands in stark contrast to the millenia-old city:

The tram runs through the heart of the city a block or two north of the River Liffy connecting the north side of the River to Heuston Station , the main intercity and commuter rail hub on the edge of the inner city. Several other lines exist but they don't connect; one stops a few blocks south of the River from this picture.

My favourite thing about it: simplicity. Minimal station infrastructure - essentially just a slightly sloped sidewalk and a few ticket machines - and a dedicated right-of-way through the most congested place in the city. No barriers impede pedestrians from walking along and across the track, the low-profile trains are quiet and efficient while never fast enough to pose a safety risk to pedestrians crossing all along the track everywhere. 

In all the chaos and all the energy of central Dublin there still seems to be a sense of calm. It works. Cars, buses, pedestrians, bicycles and trams crowd everywhere with almost no effort applied to containing or controlling any of them in any consistent way. 

It seems that this chaos is precisely why it works: no one mode of transport dominates the other; cars must watch for pedestrian constantly behaving erratically and even suicidally; pedestrians must watch for cars flying around blind corners; double-decker buses must whip randomly around curves far tighter that were designed without buses in mind.  Cyclists squeeze every possible space being passed within a few centimetres by cars, trucks and buses.

The River Liffy:

In all this, no anger and no horns in three days of Dublin life. The city learned many generations ago that space is shared and that this is the way it is. No one honks if someone behaves out of line or crosses the street when they shouldn't. Drivers, buses, cyclists and trams simply slow down to wait for the careless individual to pass. They are never going of a speed where this is a difficult task.

Perhaps all cities have an adolescent phase of whining and anxiety that is shown every day in downtown Calgary. For all our signage, rules, controls and limits in Calgary - many, many times over more prevalent in our city than Dublin - our streets are far more dangerous and far more aggressive than chaotic Dublin's.

Perhaps the adolescent should learn from the elder. It saves a few steps that Calgary would have to fumble through on its own to achieve a similar level of efficiency, safety and attractiveness of our streets as Dublin.

The reality is we will find these solutions eventually anyways  as we are forced to adapt and be more efficient as Calgary grows. 

It would just be nice to using solutions that are blindingly obvious and proven effective rather than having to wait our own 1,000 years to come to this chaotic harmony.

Urban Lessons from Ottawa to Calgary

The first part of my journey to Ireland and the green-fields beyond was a 6 day stretch in Ottawa for weddings, relatives and Canada Day festivities.

A few thoughts on my impression of Ottawa and what a city like Calgary can learn from it:

Parliament Hill preparations for Canada Day

One of the first feelings I have when arriving in Ottawa from Calgary is the change of pace. Calgary has progressively gotten busier, faster and louder. Ottawa doesn't share this rush. Everything from traffic, to construction projects, to the way that people move around in the city seems to be paced a notch or two below Calgary. Even though the two cities are of similar size, Calgary is noticeably more focused on change where Ottawa's change appears to happen gradually and almost imperceptibly.

That is not to say Ottawa is sleepy; it still after-all is the seat of the federal government, and centres a urban region of a dozen or so fringe cities equalling well over 1 million inhabitants. It is clear that the population and economic growth factors that are so often the principle factor influencing changes to the built form and urban environment are significantly less boom-and-bust than Calgary.

View of new downtown condo projects from the popular high-street, Elgin Street

Like many cities in Canada, the renewed focus and interest in living in the urban centre of Ottawa is very present. New condominiums, restaurants and shops are sprouting throughout the core and other increasingly popular urban strips such as Westboro.

Much more present than in Calgary is bicycle infrastructure and subsequently cyclists. There is clear support for cycling in Ottawa and it does not consist of just the beautiful Ottawa River pathways and Rideau Canal. Lanes, signals and spaces are designated throughout the city, on major arterial roadways and downtown roads. It is clear that the idea of cycling for transportation is considered on far wider swaths of the city than Calgary. Simple, cheap - and most importantly - present infrastructure is key to win public support for cycling initiatives. It is impossible to drive in Ottawa without seeing multiple pieces of cycling infrastructure. It legitimizes cycling in a way that Calgary is only just starting to with its own cycle-track network.



Segregated bicycle lanes on Laurier Ave in Downtown Ottawa. The simplicity and lack of frills is present throughout the cycle network; meaning more lanes and more kilometres of infrastructure; albeit less fancy than Calgary.

Patios are built for the summer along the Rideau Canal, immediately offering life and energy into the park setting. I passed this one on a rented bicycle at 9:00am, hence the lack of "life or energy" in this picture below.

Calgary should absolutely emulate this on every available space in summer months along the Bow River:

Summer patio setup on the banks of the Rideau Canal. The direct Calgary analogy would be temporary patios and beer gardens lining the Bow River Pathway from Kensington to Montgomery. A great idea to better utilize green space in sunny months that sit empty.

 As the capital, it is not surprising that Ottawa has clearly invested in parks and other institutions that are second-to-none in the country:

 

The Rideau Canal is one of the most beautiful waterways in Canada. A web of locks, parks and multi-use pathways stretch from the outskirts to Central Ottawa, a block from Parliament Hill.

 All of the focus on beauty and architecture gives Ottawa a much more romantic and personal side than the average Calgary experience. A lock-bridge has formed spontaneously over the Rideau Canal. The symbolism of connection that a bridge provides is combined with the symbolism of a lock's permanence. The key is traditionally thrown in the canal. Note the plethora of combination locks, suggesting that not all Ottawaians are convinced in the romantic side of the city:

A lock bridge forming over the Rideau Canal near University of Ottawa. A great way to add interest to an urban space.

Ottawa offers many vantage points to reaffirm it's commitment to being beautiful:

The view from behind the Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill. The structure ahead is the National Gallery of Canada along Sussex Drive, also home to the trendy Byward Market area as well as numerous embassies and the Prime Minister's residence. 

Calgary and Ottawa offer a significant contrast for two cities relatively close together in size. Ottawa's offerings of architecture, bicycle infrastructure and park space is something that should be envied and emulated by any city that wants to attract people to it. It has a quiet confidence that hums along in the background, slowly changing the city and reaffirming it's own identity. As Calgary has grown so fast, it will need to come to terms with a new and ever-changing identity that has grown along with it.

Ottawa offers many ideas of how urban identity and our built environment are connected. I hope that Calgary can use some of the lessons Ottawa provides to strengthen it's own image, ideas and offerings as we continue to develop. There is much here that would be incredible to have in Calgary.

Also Ottawa has formal military marching bands all over the place, which never hurts a city's charm:

Sled Island 2014 - Day 4: A Festival, A Finale & A City

Saturday (June 21) started off slow. My feet were sore, my voice non-existent and many of my favourite frequencies replaced with a heavy case of (hopefully) temporary tinnitus. We took the bikes out again to make our way down to Olympic Plaza for the last big day of Sled. How did it go? This was taken towards the end of the night around 11:30pm. Bicycles and youth everywhere. A truly big city evening that Calgary is getting very good at:

But first:
We arrived at Olympic Plaza mid-afternoon. The rain-soaked splash-pool of the previous night's Joel Plaskett miracle was gone, replaced by beautiful sun and a few small puddles. The tinnitus was then replaced with The Shivas, our second helping of Sled 2014. Amazing surfy, momentum music building up to some seriously positive vibes: 

Next up was the White Lung. Very cool and punky, heavy rock. Not my cup of tea - the fact I use that expression gives you an idea - but I can see why so many others do. The crowd filled out immediately with the high-energy set. Watch for these gals (and a guy) because they are clearly onto something the people want: 

It was now early evening and Olympic Plaza was buzzing. Thousands of people were milling about and afforded some fascinating shots of urban life Calgary. The relaxed attitude of all-ages but beer(!) allowed kept things mellow and relaxed. A perfect scene in the centre of the city:

The Bow building a few blocks away looks unbelievably large from the Plaza. At a healthy 58 floors, The Bow represents the largest building outside of Toronto in Canada, 235 metres tall. My friend @bt04ku says hi:

The first head-liners of the evening re-focused attention onto the stage. Rocket From the Crypt makes live music look easy. These guys are pros at working the crowd with weird, nonsensical stories of being inadvertently aroused by the sound of babies crying during the night through the wall of their hotel. Strange, but their set was pure party-rock goodness that couldn't be stopped:

The finale featured a fire-work/light show capped, perfect set by Spiritualized; a super "big-noise" sound where it feels that a whole orchestra is delivering sound to you in huge sweeping 15-minute rock ballads:

We skipped the big-ticket St. Vincent concert of evening a few blocks further down on Stephen Ave, the buzzing pedestrian strip of downtown Calgary in favour of Outer Minds - again at Bamboo / Drum & Monkey . The loudest set I have ever seen in the tiny, tiki themed club featuring a set of four alt-electro-rock bands with Outer Minds capping the night and festival at close to 2am. Beautiful finish and definitely a band that Sled is perfect at showcasing:

Outer Minds - Give Me a Reason

My Sled 2014 Statistics in four days of music, urban bliss:

• Number of shows: 30 shows
• Number of bands: 27 bands (Mark Mills x 2, The Shivas x 2, Outer Minds x 2)
• Venues Visited: 9
• Estimated distance by foot: 25 kilometres
• Estimated distance by bike: 32 kilometres
• Number of Big Rock Saaz drunk: 21
• Favourite Moment: Lightning Bolt - Joel Plaskett @ Olympic Plaza
• Favourite New (to me) Band: Outer Minds
• Runner Up Favourite New Band: The Shivas
• Most hip-thrusts per show / Best Local Act: Mark Mills
• Runner Up Best Local Act: Samantha Savage Smith

See you at Sled Island 2015. I need some sleep.

Sled Island 2014 - Day 3: An Emergency Solved by the Joel Plaskett... Emergency

Day 3 was a bicycle-powered adventure. In more than one way. We ditched walking for the day and switched to two-wheels to get further afield. A gorgeous sunny day (to start at least).

First up! A quick stop at Local 510 early afternoon. A favourite, 510 has the perfect look and atmosphere for some indie music. A shockingly solid set by Outer Minds, a kind of electro-psych rock that is impossible not to enjoy. Seeing them again at Bamboo on Saturday, an incredibly engaging sound: 

Using our wheels, no problems making it over to Containr, a weird shipping container art-park in the ever-hip Sunnyside / Kensington area of Calgary. A very beautiful day. Bicycles, rock music, skyscrapers, reused shipping containers, and a constant stream of C-Trains cruising by. The music was even partially powered by bicycles, through a innovative idea by Open Streets for pedal-powered festivals. The scene was truly a Calgary urbanist's dream: 

Highlight of the Night: It was about that time that the news broke: Neko Case cancelled at the last minute for her headlining show at Olympic Plaza set to go early evening. In a surprise twist, Joel Plaskett Emergency stepped up. One of the festival's biggest draws was replaced with a free show by the festival's biggest draw. Huge!

One problem: Joel Plaskett is cursed. His much anticipated 2013 headliner show was a victim of Sled Island's cancellation due to the flooding that crippled the festival and the city. As soon as news broke a dark cloud appear over the city and on-again, off-again monsoon rains coated downtown as we made our way to Olympic Plaza for with 9pm show.

By the time we made it during a lull in the rain, Blitzen Trapper was rocking the rain-soaked plaza, now covered in about 2 inches of water:

But the word had gotten out, the city was decending on Olympic Plaza for crowd-favourite Plaskett. As Sled Island keeps saying, no one rains on our parade:

Except it definitely did. Joel Plaskett opening with one of his biggest hits, and a never-more-perfectly-timed-tune Lightning Bolt just as the skies opened up and thunder and lightning exploded across the sky. 

The crowd went into euphoric, ecstatic uproar that kept going the entire set of soaking-went, crowd-surfing goodness as the sunset illuminated downtown Calgary and the lightning storm above.

This will be the classic Sled Moment of 2014.

The adventure didn't end there on Day 3, but that's a moment I don't want to cloud with other awesomeness. 

Pun definitely intended.