Press >> Calgary Sun 2001

U2's performance in April was just one of many highlights of live music in Calgary in 2001.

The eventful 12 months featured a number of firsts, some excellent shows, some duds, local success stories and enough notable happenings to keep the scene hopping.

A good indication of what was to come was the early January announcement that Irish rock act U2 would be making its first stop in the city -- and only Alberta date -- as part of the band's tour to support its latest album All That You Can't Leave Behind.

When tickets for the April 9 show were snapped up immediately, an extra date was added, with that selling out as well.

Both shows proved to be worth the hype, as Bono and the boys gave the city something to remember, thanks to a stripped-down stage show, a plethora of hits both new and old, and a sense of intimacy that is rarely found in a big rock show.

Of course, U2's visit was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to international touring artists coming through town.

In fact, for a while it seemed that every day brought a major announcement.

Some of the biggest names include: Classic rockers AC/DC, as well as Aerosmith with opening act The Cult; Canadian legends The Guess Who; boy bands O-Town, and the Backstreet Boys, whose original dates had to be rescheduled because of member A.J. McLean's addiction problems; rising Canadian star Nelly Furtado; rock act matchbox twenty; hot R&B dance divas Janet Jackson and Destiny's Child, who also had their date rescheduled due to the Sept. 11 tragedies; Spice Girl Mel. C; aging icon Rod Stewart; punk acts The Offspring and blink-182; blues legends Buddy Guy and B.B. King; American heartland rocker John Mellencamp; Canadian pop bands Sloan and Barenaked Ladies; and new smooth jazz queen Diana Krall and country legend Merle Haggard.

Calgarians also benefited from a promoters' war during the Stampede which saw Cowboy's and Desperado's bringing in such diverse acts as Blue Rodeo, Snoop Dogg, Tanya Tucker, Ted Nugent and Dwight Yoakam, as well as the Stampede's sub-par roster that featured names such as Collective Soul, The Tea Party, BR549, Farmer's Daughter and, before they broke it huge in the States, Nickelback.

On the festival scene, the fortunes of the Calgary Folk Music Festival and Jazz Festival Calgary continued to travel in separate directions.

Thanks to its best lineup ever -- David Byrne, Buckwheat Zydeco, Billy Bragg, Kathy Mattea, The Waifs and others -- as well as some great weather, the city's folk fest is fast becoming one of Canada's finest.

And despite a cool and diverse list of participants -- Buddy Guy, John Hammond, Bullfrog, Bela Fleck & the Flecktones and Metalwood, to name a few -- the local jazz showcase sunk further into the red, thanks to cancellations, public apathy and a squabble with sponsors of the Edmonton event which threatened to shut down Calgary's fest.

Other notable Calgary festivals were: The windy punk Vans Warped Tour featuring Alien Ant Farm, Rancid, NOFX and Pennywise; the terrible Edgefest with headliners blink-182 and Sum 41; the beer-shilling Snow jam with Social Distortion, Bif Naked and Chixdiggit; and, of course, annual community-centred events such as Carifest, Afrikadey!, and Expo Latino.

Another big-time musical happening was Canadian Country Music Week, which settled into its permanent digs in this city.

The event wrapped up on Sept. 10 with the all-star CCMA award show at the Saddledome, showcasing the cream of Canadian country, including Albertans Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Terri Clark and Paul Brandt.

Two days later, many of those same artists were back on a local stage, this time for a less celebratory event -- the hastily arranged, wonderfully executed fund-raiser for the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Thrown together by Tom Jackson, the show raised more than $65,000.

Local artists also had an eventful year in 2001.

Jann Arden, for example, took home the Juno for best female artist, appeared in stage productions of The Vagina Monologues, acted in the film White Lies, performed on Live! with Regis & Kelly, mounted a Canadian tour, released Greatest Hurts, and changed the menu in her diner.

Other notable happenings in the Calgary scene were: Rock band Flu's inclusion on shows such as Edgefest and Snow Jam, and their current wooing by major American record label DreamWorks; Catch & Release Recording Collective released the superb local rock compilation Southern Invasion featuring bands The Red Hot Lovers, The Jalopies, Agriculture Club, The Dudes, The Cripple Creek Fairies and The Neckers; and new albums also hit the shelves from Calgary musicians such as Karl Roth, Belvedere, Steve Pineo, Paul Forest, Grilled Snapper, Mike Stack, Tariq, The Jack Union, DJ Polare, The Rooster Blues Band, The Rembetika Hipsters, Summerlad, YVR3, Hot Little Rocket, Downway, The Mocking Shadows, Supernal, Mico, rayovaq and a host of others.

Here's hoping this year is just as memorable.

• Best concert: U2 at the Dome
  Either show -- take your pick. Both allowed me to do something I haven't been able to for more than a decade, which is to like them. Opener PJ Harvey also turned in a pair of entirely memorable sets.
• Best club show: Preston School of Industry at the Warehouse
  A handful of lucky individuals took in this brilliant gig by former Pavement member Spiral Stairs. Opening acts The Shins and The Standard rounded out one of the most solid indie rock lineups this city has seen since the Republik's heyday.
• Best show by local musicians: CCMA Gospel Show
  An early afternoon of sensational non-traditional gospel performances from predominantly local artists such as Steve Pineo, Tom Phillips, Julie Kerr & Craig Korth and the heart-skipping Jane Hawley.
• Worst concert (tie): Janet Jackson, Rod Stewart both at the Dome
  Though a fan of Jackson's last couple of albums, her show was a huge disappointment and illustrated what's wrong with big arena concerts. Stewart, on the other hand, sounded terrible -- why would anyone pay to see a singer who can no longer sing? -- and acted with all the class of a sleazy old man in a brothel.
• Worst opening act: b4-4 opening for Destiny's Child
  The saddest part is, I got my first death threat for slamming these fake-n-bake losers.
• Best festival: Calgary Folk Music Festival
  The annual Prince's Island event celebrated its best year ever with acts such as David Byrne, Billy Bragg, Rheostatics, Carolyn Mark and Bocephus King.
• Worst festival: Edgefest
  You couldn't even really call this poorly attended indoor event featuring blink-182, Good Charlotte, Sum 41 and others a festival. It was more like one long, dull after-school punk rock show that was thrown together at the last minute.
• Oddest local story: Orb impersonator
  Canadian promoters thought it was too good to be true when a man claiming to be Dr. Alex Paterson, founder of the popular British electronic act The Orb, offered to spin several shows, including one at the Warehouse.

It was.

After fooling clubgoers, owners and even friends of the real Paterson in Toronto, London, and Victoria, the man was confronted a day before he was to play Calgary -- with the allegations he was a fake and the ruse was revealed.