Archive for February, 2010

Chow Down in Cowtown is an (almost!) weekly account of Calgary’s most awesome eats from Ceci n’est pas un food blog.

I’m not the type of foodie who watches for restaurant openings and races to be the first at the door. There’s certainly no reason to be – there are lots of great restaurants in Calgary that I have yet to try and with every new restaurant you always want to give them some time to get on their feet wet and get into the flow of things. However, I couldn’t pass up an invitation from Amber, one of the managers at the newly opened Tango Bistro for a free meal in exchange for a review. So last week, I invited my cousin Kevin (of the Sherm’s Ultimate Gripper challenge fame) to come out for dinner with me as thanks for providing me with the hookup.
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Got an awesome dog? EMAIL in their name, breed, favorite treats, other information you want to include and pictures to have your pal featured on CalgaryisAwesome!

Today’s dog featured on BLOG YOUR DOG is Den’s (other) BFF- Buddy! Here is what he has to say about him:

NAME: Buddy BREED: Australian Sheepdog FAVORITE SNACK: Peanut Butter OTHER INFO: Buddy is Lucky’s brother! He is 5 years old and his claim to fame is he pee’s like a girl!! Ive never seem him lift his leg?? Buddy loves anything that involves being right next to me. He loves our Cat Jude the Dude who occasionally takes one for the team. Harmless fun really! Who says Dogs don,t like Cats??

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After you are done watching the intense Gold Medal Hockey game, come on down to Cantos Music Room to help us celebrate two amazing artists in Calgary Music, Lauren Mann and Sable Island. Tickets are still available at Megatunes, and at the door. It will be an incredible night to remember, with great music, refreshments provided by Vendome Cafe, and an atmosphere that only Cantos is famous for.

I can safely say that most of us here in Calgary love to travel.  We will work two jobs, save up for months and then go on an adventure somewhere in this world.  Well, let me tell you about a new kind of travel that an Aus man is doing.  His name is Will Dayble AKA Bankai.

Bankai is an Australian Electro DJ who is seeing the world and showing off his creations while he does it.  There is no denying of this man’s love for music.  And you may say, every DJ or musician that travels loves music, but do they love traveling?  Will built his tour schedule to explore Canada.  He will make sure if he’s in Kelowna, he will see the mountains of Kelowna, if he’s in Vancouver, he will see the parks of Vancouver.

I was able to catch up with him on the phone, while he was snowboarding in BC.

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What does Calgary think of it’s All Ages Scene?

The last All Ages concert I went to was Cat Empire at Mac Hall and I have to say it was not my favourite Cat Empire show.  At most shows I like to loosen up and dance and, well, get a little sweaty, but sometimes it takes a couple of beers for me to do so.  But because this show at Mac Hall was All Ages the beer drinkers were fenced in like cattle and forced to wait in huge line ups to be served.

If this is consistent with Calgary’s perception of “All Ages” we are in deep trouble.  If you talk to people who are driving the All Ages community in Calgary you’ll find this culture is a different scene and is a vibrant community focused on the music.

One of these fine people is Zak Pashak [link] who founded Sled Island [link].

Zak has said, “in my mind there could be nothing more important for the arts than an all ages venue/recording studio that operates after school programs for youth who are otherwise unable to afford access to musical instruments.” [link]

have heard Zak speak about giving under 18 bands a place to play being important because it does nothing but create a richer and more vibrant music culture here in Calgary.  If you think about it, you don’t just get great local talent popping up as soon as they are 18… they’ve got to start somewhere, right?

The all ages venue/recording studio that Zak mentioned above was in fact started here in Calgary; it’s called New Black [link].  These guys have big hopes for Calgary’s All Ages scene but are finding major limitations from the City of Calgary.

So Calgary,
How do we feel about an All Ages scene?  Is this something we are willing to fight for?

One U18 band that is doing great things in town is Random Task Collective [link].

RTC is all about making music, but they are also pretty driven for a bunch of kids still in High School.  This year they have teamed up with Zak and are running the “Young Buds” stages for Sled Island.  They are working on three All Ages stages around Calgary to show Calgarians that All Ages means all people, young or old, anyone who loves music.  RTC also does Collective on Sundays [link] each month at Cantos Music Studios[link] where they put on an All Ages show, give up and coming U18 artists a chance to play for an audience, and even have “Guru Talks” to help these kids set up a successful music career.

If you’re looking to check out the All Ages Scene in Calgary, this is a good place to start.  If you know of some kids playing in their garage be sure to tell them about it!  You can find them at Cantos this Sunday doin’ their thing.  Check out the promo video here:

[youtube W6g3V5qKKX8 nolink]

Email Patti if you have any questions for the band or the All Ages scene in Calgary:  randomtaskmusic@gmail.com

A couple of weeks ago, my good friend Michael Bernard Fitzgerald called me up about a great charity event happening at the Jack Singer Concert Hall. It was Musicians Care for Kids, an event to help raise funds for some amazing local charities such as The Boys and Girls Club of Forest Lawn, Patrick Airlie School, and the Highbanks Society. The event included some unreal local talents from close by, and a far coming together in a very unique jam session as a circle of friends. The night was filled with laughter, clapping, and story telling. From artists like our very own Dan Vacon of the Dudes, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Cam Penner, Karla Anderson, Kris Demeaner, and Juno award winners Russell Broom and Tomi Swick, it was a night to remember. The concert hall was filled with an energy so bright, that it tingled your ears, and warmed your heart.

Thanks to the people involved with the show, Load Music Canada, and The Calgary Entrepreneurs Organization, this event helped hundreds of kids here in our city, and that is truly awesome!

Hey Calgary, we will be giving away some awesome tickets to see Postdata at The Republik on March 18.  Enter your name and number now to events@calgaryisawesome.com!!   If you are the lucky winner, grab a cute date, come on down and be wooed by Paul Murphy (Singer&Co-Writer of Wintersleep).  He will be performing his critically acclaimed debut self titled album.

100′s of critics have given statements to Postdata such as ‘Simply Perfect, 5/5,’ and  ‘The raw product of the unapologetically honest words of Paul Murphy. Don’t let the band name fool you; Postdata are not your typical electronic loving affair, but rather an acoustic heavy offering with the barest of human emotion fueling Murphy’s memorable vocal melodies and lyrics.’

Enter now Calgary!!

Thank you to everyone who entered the draw. Shot at the Dark is happy to announce Daniel Hsu as our ticket winner. Thank you again for all the support! Tickets are still available at Megatunes for fifteen dollars for our second installment of SHOT AT THE DARK LIVE at Cantos Music Room.

Photo: KevinDM

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mercury-rising/

Submit to our flickr pool for your chance to be featured on POTW!

We would like to thank all our contestants for the entries over these past weeks!  The winner of the Chic Gamine tickets goes to ‘Dare Maurik.’ Congratulations!!  There are still tickets available for Chic Gamine at Ironwood Pub and Grill, March 2, come on down Calgary!