Calgary Concerts
After being decimated for almost 2 years, The Cult ignites the live music and concert scene in Calgary which has been rather slow to get up and running anywhere near where it was previously before travel restrictions, border lock downs, and social distancing rules. Of course local artists have remained active where they can, even though those options also disappeared for a long time, but touring artists and non-Canadian acts have been completely absent.
The covid pandemic restrictions are hard on every restaurant, club and pub, but the ones who relied upon live music for their business were hit harder than most. A few of the long time staples of the Calgary live music scene closed and will not reopen. This has left a void in the nightlife industry that might never recover. As fans of live music, it’s important we patronize the few live music clubs remaining as much as possible if we want that community to survive. This is true for all forms of art, but particularly all live performances of any size.
The Cult Rains Peace and Sanctuary on YYC
One sign of the industry recovery is to finally see internationally popular bands touring through Calgary again. You can now see cross Canada tour stops being scheduled in YYC in the months ahead on your favorite concert and musical artist websites. The calendar for 2023 looks even better and I am optimistic our market and the industry will fully recover. Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the concert by The Cult at the Grey Eagle Casino Event Centre. It was a great show for many reasons and I am a big fan of the venue. They always seem to host a decent show and I have little that I think needs improvement there.
The set list for the show was good. It included some of their biggest and most popular hits (Edie, Revolution, Rain, She Sells Sanctuary, Lil Devil), their latest single from earlier this year, and a brand new song that they had never yet performed live. I love it when a band debuts a brand new song like this premiere performance I just uploaded to my YT Channel of The Cult – A Cut Inside. (Pls Like & sub kingcalgary.com to hear more EXCLUSIVE content). Similar to the big premiere song by Aaron Goodvin and Meghan Patrick we premiered last week.
The crowd was not quite sold out, which was surprising but I think Grey Eagle isn’t the best at marketing their shows and most of Calgary has no idea what good artists come through that venue. Still it was 90% capacity and the crowd loved the set list. Surprisingly there was no opening act, not even a local band. I would have liked to see one, but the rest of the crowd didn’t mind that at all though.
If you haven’t been to this Calgary concert venue before, parking is about the only complaint you will have. The parking lot gets pretty full before any big show and is equally crowded by the rush of cars leaving afterwards. Currently they are constructing more parking and better roads at the Tsu T’ina owned facility and it will be much better next year.
Other than that, the inside of the auditorium is much like a gymnasium. It has bleacher seating along the back wall facing the stage, a decently high enough ceiling to not feel claustrophobic, and adequate infrastructure for good lighting and sound. The entrance and lobby are large enough for the crowd who likes to stand around and chat with a beverage, and there is both a concession stand serving snack food and a large corner bar serving beverages.
Ian Astbury performed well, his voice seemingly unchanged from 35 years ago when many of these songs were first recorded. Duffy on guitar was the highlight to me, he was good and I wish he could have been given more solo time in the show. Jones on bass was ok, but no shining moments. Current keyboardist was a Canadian from BC, he put in his best effort and did well, I didn’t catch his name but did get several images of him playing.
The Grey Eagle Casino is overall a good sized venue for shows, you get to sit close enough to the stage to see the artist and its not small that it doesn’t feel like a rock show. The sound in the event center isn’t the greatest, the acoustics leave a bit too be desired and there are definitely some dead sound spots in the room. For this show I sat stage side which isn’t where most would want to watch a performance unless like me you enjoy more aspects of the show than just the music itself. I enjoy the entire production and technical components that go into making it happen, so for me this was ideal.
Live music in Calgary continues to rebound with The Cult on stage at the Grey Eagle Casino Event Centre.
Here are a few more images from the concert, hope you enjoy. Please like or sub to help support and grow our local audience. ~ King Calgary
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King Calgary: I am a living in Calgary, enjoying exploring and experiencing the city and sharing it with others through words, photos, and videos. I like to write about the places I visit, the venues and businesses I go to, and the things that give Calgary its own unique character. With your support and suggestions I will continue to document cool things in the YYC area. Please help a local guy out by hitting the like or share button on any content you enjoy.