Flashback

Edmonton Folk Fest 2006: I discovered two new artists I adored

---

Calgary Folk Fest 2007: Adored artists revisited

Well for the past four days I've been hiding away at the Calgary Folk Fest. It was amazing! I saw some of my favorite artists like Hawksley Workman and Geoff Berner (meeting the former, which was definitely one of the highlights). I also rediscovered some acts I'd forgotten the talent of like Chumba Wumba, and was exposed to those I wasn't really aware of, a perfect examples being Brett Dennen or T.O.F.U.. For four days Prince's Island Park was my home, as I spent most of my time there, and the environment was suited perfectly for contemplation and just relaxing to some beautiful music.

And then it came time to return to my regular home 3 hours north, where I write this now. I'm happy to see my family again, as I miss the fun we have when I'm away (we put the "fun" in dysfunctional :P)... but I just remember last year at the Edmonton folk fest I thought those women sitting nearby were crazy for being so upset when it was all over. Now I understand them a lot better, I was one of them.

"[In Edmonton] everybody's almost oppressed, so you rally together."

That's Chris Connelly of Deadmonton's own Hot Panda, commenting on the city's certain je ne sais quoi. Believe me, his attitude is not unlike most of those I know, including myself.
Whether one's a worker here due to the boom, who only stays because of the wages, or a long time Edmontonian, who's aggravated by the new traffic, suburbs and ridiculous housing prices, this isn't exactly the place most people choose to stay too long.
Not to say that it doesn't have any redeeming qualities. It does have a great, be it small, underground community, not to mention an astounding river valley. But outside of our sliver of the city, it's pretty bleak.
And that's what Connelly's talking about. We all band together and make the location a bit more bearable. Whether it be the Folk Fest, the Fringe, or tuning in to CJSR every once in a while, there's something that makes one feel that there's a little less oil-worker-Klein-junkie in the town.
Besides, lefty Albertans always have a fun time bonding with their jokes on the subject.
What can I say? I'm a Klein kid.

Something seems wrong here...

I was at the City airport dropping off my sister Wednesday, when I saw this. Something struck me as strange about it.
Maybe it's the raw stereotypes... not only of the usual victims such as India, England, etc., but the fact that the first thing people see when they come to this city is a billboard telling them we're all white, beer-guzzling, not-too-bright men.
Huh.