“Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.”
― Maya Angelou
Music, especially live music, has an incredible power to bring people together. Music crosses all borders, languages, races, classes, and every society. It’s a truly universal language that can be understood by everyone. There’s not much that can instantly liven a room or a mood like live music. Music makes a chaotic and indifferent world make sense.
Through the last two years, one of the things that I’ve missed the most is being able to go to a small local venue and catch a band playing their hearts out on stage. One of the great joys in my life is experiencing the song and dance of a band, or even a single performer. Feeling the drums in my chest and the guitar ringing in my ears is something that I’ll never take for granted again.
Calgary has an incredible live music scene that’s been able to weather the COVID storm and seems to be coming back with some vengeance. One of these locations is called the blues can. As you can probably guess, their main attraction is blues music. The venue itself is located in beautiful Inglewood in a building that looks a little bit like a mini airplane hanger. It has a corrugated metal front and the interior is a mix of yellow and dark blue with wooden support beams and what seems like endless art and posters on the walls. There’s a small bar and a kitchen that serves up a Cajun inspired menu. Admittedly, I went with a plain Caesar salad but got into my music partners corn bread and Mac ‘n’ Cheese, which, is always a treat. I wasn’t there for the food so I won’t write much about it. I was there for the experience.
The great thing about live music venues is that everyone, from all walks of life, and all backgrounds can go and have a great time. There was such an incredible mix of various characters and people of all ages here. The energy was joyful and energetic. Everyone was there for the same reason. To watch a great band and to have some fun. And what fun it was! The staff was cheerful and managed to keep our drinks full with great efficiency as well. Even though it was busy.
Places like this are as unique as their patrons and they’re in need of your support to recoup after the last few years. This is a place that I would likely find myself in again and is something that should be cherished as a community hub as well as a local, live music venue.
If you want to check the blues can out yourself you can find them at 1429 9th Ave SE. You can also find tickets, band, and reservation information on their website here.
My Avocado Toasts 
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