Sledding down the Legion

The Shiverettes at Legion No. 1, June 21, 2019. © J. Ashley Nixon

With no Sled Island festival this year, I am looking back at previous events over the last four years. During that time, I photographed 66 bands, solo musicians and stand-up comedians at ten venues across the city. My book Sledding: Sled Island Music & Arts Festival 2016-19 was published on June 23, 2020. Here is an excerpt from the gig I covered at Legion No. 1 on Friday, June 21, 2019:

The Royal Canadian Legion Calgary (Alberta No. 1) Branch, with its high stage, open hall design and good lighting is one of the best venues to see and hear live music in the city. I got my opportunity to photograph a gig there on a Friday night full of musical excellence enjoyed by a hugely appreciative crowd. I spent the evening and early hours of Saturday morning juggling between performances on the main stage in Memorial Hall and upstairs in the Olympic Lounge.

The Shiverettes started up the show with a succulent set of songs in front of their home-town crowd. Performing in their custom-designed t-shirts, Shrill (guitar), Loud (vocals), Hard (bass), and simply Bitch on drums belted out Bumblebee, Very Cool Dude and more from their album Real Shrill Bitches released in 2019.

They were good enough to be the main act of the night, an accolade that could also have gone to the wildly entertaining Kid Congo Powers + The Pink Monkey Birds, who followed Ancient Pig on the main floor. Meanwhile, Hairnet from Calgary, Montreal’s Lemongrab, and DTSQ with some super psychedelic stuff from Seoul played out a good variety of sets from the floor stage next to the lounge bar.

Oblivians closed out the evening with a fast-paced collection of songs such as Strong Come On (1996) and Sunday You Need Love (1994). The trio comprising Greg Cartwright, Jack Yarber, and Eric Friedl deftly rotated between vocals, drums and guitars during their powerful garage punk set.

View or purchase Sledding

You can view (virtual flip page) and/or purchase a print copy or Instant PDF version (viewable on any device) of Sledding: Sled Island Music & Arts Festival 2016-19 via this link.