The National Music Centre (NMC) recently celebrated a groundbreaking event for its new location on February 22, 2013. It hosted a night full of music, food trucks, drinks and impromptu blackout bingo at the Golden Age Club in the East Village, Calgary’s renewed vibrant community.
Doors were open at 6:30pm and the place was already in full swing when I arrived at 7:15pm. Streets were lined with parked cars, and as I ambled my way to the doors I noticed a Blues Can food truck outside. A few kids ran up to me offering me a free key chain in the shape of a guitar pick, and I took my swag and wandered inside.
The hall was already packed but I found myself some space near the stage and watched the Bobby Kork Orchestra woo the crowd. Kids were rocking the dance floor while people of all ages chose tables or standing space in the hall. A patron of the musical arts stated, “it’s a very European atmosphere.” The lighting was ambient with hues of red and blue setting the mood. The floor had shuffle board lines painted on, and in the right corner of the stage bingo lights flashed.
The Bobby Kork Orchestra had a sultry singer dressed in the style of Bettie Paige 50s pin-up, and 6 members playing a variety of instruments. The stand-up bass player doubled as a singer, covering The Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” and the band consisted of a guitar, trumpet, alto and tenor saxophones, and a keyboard. The band then led into Blue Moon as a request for an audience member and this drew everyone onto the dance floor, setting the tone for the rest of the night. Their last song created a sense of longing, with the vocals lingering across the hall and leaving us all wanting more.
Changing the scene entirely, the Highkicks came up next. The energy in the crowd increased and the area in front of the stage filled up. The Highkicks are a duo member band, with singer/bass guitarist Danny Vacon and drummer Matt Doherty. They started playing and I was smacked in the face with some rarely seen true rock and roll. Some may think not much melody could be provided with only a bass guitar, but the Highkicks quickly could prove those people wrong. The set stayed heavy into rock and roll, with lyrics addressing love, being a man, and a true passion for music. Even though the audience had already fallen for the Highkicks, they serenaded us with “Hello Calgary,” hooking everyone in before they ended with a song of their own, and opened the stage for Matt Masters and the Gentlemen of the Rodeo.
Matt Masters and the Gentlemen of the Rodeo played with a combination of acoustic, electric and bass guitars, soft drums, pedal steel and a harmonica. They were an excellent selection for the evening as the crowd was up and dancing throughout the entire set. The band played fast songs to get the crowd pumping, and then slowed it down for some two-stepping all over the shuffle board floor. The ones who weren’t on the dance floor swayed together while Matt Masters westernized vocals and localized lyrics created a sense of prairie nights and warmer times.
Matt Masters and the Gentlemen of the Rodeo were the last band I saw for the evening. I unfortunately missed the King Eddy Blues All Stars, but judging from the twitter pictures posted, I missed out on a lot of fun!
NMC provided a shaker that roused the East Village and left echoes for future celebrations to build on.