Frank and Debby are a great folksy couple in Coaldale with a couple horses for sale, two dogs, some chickens and a nice farmhouse. They’ve lit up a Christmas tree out front for tonight’s show and I pull up next to the prettiest sunset I’ve seen the whole trip. Bright reds and oranges splash across the clouds and I remember again why, to quote Blue Rodeo, I miss those Western skies.
Coaldale, I find out, is a bedroom community of Lethbridge. It’s in the same desert areas as Medicine Hat and it’s much warmer than Calgary or Cochrane, where it felt like I was much farther north. Coaldale is known for its Birds of Prey rescue centre – which explains their tagline “The Town that Gives a Hoot.” Coaldale also recently prides itself on delivering the latest Canadian Idol, giving Medicine Hat’s Kaylan Porter a run for his money.
Frank and Deb’s place is great for shows, with two level audience seating, most on the main floor, but some up on the balcony above watching me through the railing. The audience arrives and seats themselves. The audience includes a fair number of church choir singers, so the sing alongs sound lovely. Apparently we’re in the bible belt of Alberta and I worry a bit again about “My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish-Wiccan Wedding”, but it goes over fine – or at least, no one runs me out of town.
I have to constantly remember to sing up to the balcony above me, tilting my head every second line. I ask everyone’s advice on how to get out to Vancouver and everyone agrees I should fly. I’m now a bit freaked out about the 2-day drive from Moose Jaw to Vancouver (with a show on the 2nd day) – in the little Suzuki Swift with no snow-tires.
The most awkward part of the show is when the door in the front hall next to me opens suddenly and I end up making conversation with the new guests who have joined us, clearly taking off their coats and shoes, only to find out from the audience, who can see into the front hall, that no one is there and the door just blew open by itself. The crowd forgives this though and by night’s end gives me the best encore clapping an cheering yet. I’m never prepared for encores, so I give them a choice of songs and they pick both. Nice.
Afterwards, one of their guests, a police officer in Lethbridge tells me that he really likes that my songs are all about real things and real people – he gives me a Lethbridge police pin that he designed and invites me to come on a “ride-along” with him, hoping that I’d write a song about the experience… I can’t wait – very cool.
Once almost everyone has left we do another jam – pulling out more guitars, songsheets and wine. A lovely end to a lovely evening.
