Off the Dial

Last Friday night here in Calgary, the first ever Alberta BOOM! tour launched at the Palomino. The tour was presented by BeatRoute magazine and Blueprint Records in an effort to revive the province-wide ambassadorship of independent musicians. Starting with the show in Calgary, bands would travel the province in one weekend playing gigs in Edmonton on Saturday and Lethbridge on Sunday. Although not all bands were able to make all three shows, Lethbridge’s Endangered Ape and Calgary’s Pine Tarts were committed to the weekend jaunt and were joined in Calgary by Thee Thems and Sharp Ends (ex-the Ostrich).

All four acts put on entertaining and unbridled performances making for quite an evening. From Endangered Ape’s front-man venturing into the crowd often, singing right in the face of complete strangers and a glowing skull, to the robotic dance stylings of Sharp Ends; from the unstable organ playing of Thee Thems to the completely chaotic Pine Tarts set, with nearly every show being interrupted by the likes of one fan who honestly had way too much to drink. There was simply no way you couldn’t have fun in the very least watching this show, yet some people felt compelled to join the performers, especially during the Pine Tarts’ closing set.

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