In true Mail-it-in-Friday, here’s yesterday’s column from the Medicine Hat News.
It’s my opinion that a single glass of lemonade is all the world needs to decipher what kind of outlook a person has on life. While the easy path may lead you to that half empty jug of lemons and sugar, it’s much more fulfilling to travel down the road less traveled where that same pitcher of lemonade is waiting for you except now you’re looking at it from a hall full point of view. I bring this up after speaking with a local citizen whom I wouldn’t exactly call a team motivator. Their concern was a lack of live music that’s graced our city in the past couple of years and it makes me question if this individual has the word ‘music’ confused with the phrase ‘living under a rock’.
My Back-to-the-Future Delorean is in the shop but my Chevette time traveler is working well enough to head back to 2008 which marked my very first permanent stop in the Gas City. While I can’t recall all the concerts I attended that year, a few definitely stuck out as highlights. I’m reminded on a weekly basis courtesy of the Lawdy Mama how she missed out when the Queen of Rock hit up the Forgotten Corner, namely Pat Benatar. And unless I consumed one too many Lucky Lagers that summer, I also recall 54 40 strutting their stuff with a free outdoor concert thanks in part to the Medicine Hat College. Personally, 2008 got even better when the dude with the talking guitar, a.k.a. Peter Frampton performed to a sold out theatre. Our little area of Canada may have been deemed the Forgotten Corner last spring but 2009 and 2010 wasn’t worth forgetting about from a musical standpoint. A symbol of Canadian rock, Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip did his thing in town last summer and then after that Lil’ Ole Band from Texas got their 2 foot long beards through customs, ZZ Top brought their boogie rock to the Medicine Hat Arena. If the new generation of rock didn’t do it for you with Billy Talent and their collection of 16 music awards, maybe a little bit of Rhinestone action was up your alley when Glen Campbell played the Stampede. Here we are, not even halfway through 2011 and the likes of Buckcherry and Papa Roach roared into town, providing some exercise for the ears and a welcomed distraction from the spring that never happened. Two weeks ago and with only two stops in all of Alberta, Grammy Award winner Chris Cornell brought his one of a kind voice to town. And while there’s more rumours of musical acts making their way to a city that obviously appreciates it’s live music, I once again question that certain person who feels there is a lack of auditory culture in our backyard. I guess if you don’t buy the ticket, how can you take the ride? And now if you’ll excuse me, I have to re-introduce myself with my Charlie Daniels Band collection because in case you’re unaware, that’s a little bit fiddle action I don’t plan on missing.
