Learning the local scene at Sled Island Music and Arts Festival in Calgary

Out of the dingy basements and DIY venues of Calgary comes Pinball, 1973, a trio that blends the melancholic whine of prairie emo with the herking, jerking tempo shifts of math-rock. They ping out bittersweet melodies as much as they pong awkward, complex rhythms, their live performances inviting the listener to share in emotions that reach the same what-the-hell-is-going-on level as their riffs. With an upcoming EP release this summer and festival bookings, Pinball, 1973 are set on spreading the prairies' melancholy and ever-shifting sound of their home city far and wide.

Describe your live show

Dave: Silly. I like to think we’re fun to watch, and we try to bring a good energy to the stage. We want people to dance, to move, so we try to do the same when we can.

Michael: Well, Dave, our bassist, plays a kazoo on a few songs. So, our live shows rival Super Bowl Halftime performances, more-or-less. I think we are going to teach Quinn to do a mid-air double somersault off his kick drum by the end of the summer. Besides that, mostly we spend our shows going from statue-like (those 5/4 rhythms require intense concentration) to appearing like we are being actively electrocuted. All while still looking very cool and desirable of course.

Quinn: I think one thing that’s super important for our live shows is for the crowd to interact with us as much as possible. Before we play a song that I wrote called “Letterboxd”, we’ll often ask a few members of the crowd what their four favourite movies are, just like the Letterboxd street interviews! It’s a great way to engage with the audience (while also hiding the fact that Michael is tuning). Additionally it’s important that we try to play covers that will make the crowd want to sing along and, hopefully, even steal the mic.

What should we listen to first?

Michael: “The Beer Song” is a favourite of our friends, but if you can keep us in mind for a few more weeks, we’re releasing our first EP this summer and we’re beyond excited to finally get it out there.

Quinn: On our upcoming EP, we have a song called “Daigo Parry 2004” (a song that I hope our readers know the reference to) and I cannot wait for people to hear it! I think it’s our best use of sampling yet and I think the drum part is so much fun! I joke to the rest of the band that I overuse my ride cymbal bell in our music and that song is a shining example.

Tell us about the Calgary music scene

Dave: It’s awesome. There’s some really awesome people doing work in the scene, so I feel really lucky to get to be a part of it. I think we’re also lucky to have not only a supportive scene but supportive venues as well. Loophole, one of the venues we’re playing at this year, is super accessible for young and upcoming artists, which I think really helps to foster a scene that’s super welcoming to newcomers.

Michael: The community in the music scene has been the most important part of our experiences. We are extremely lucky to be a part of a community that is filled with good people and good musicians. The inspiration we find from this scene has kept us pushing to play more shows with new bands and write new songs that push our skills and creativity. We’ve been lucky to involve talented visual artists, producers, engineers, organisers, promoters, venue leaders, and local business and arts organisations in our successes surrounding this band. And, since I’m here, shout out Loophole Coffee Bar, Shy Friend, Perra, East Town Get Down, Bookburner Productions, Astrology Girl, Teenage Art Scene, Uncle Girl, Brock Brown, and everyone and anyone who we’ve had the unparalleled pleasure of making art with.

What are your memories of Sled Island?

Dave: When we played Sled Island last year, Quinn forgot his wallet at our practice space and had to drive 25 minutes there and 25 minutes back because he was worried we wouldn’t get into the venue before our set. It was a pretty good laugh. In terms of shows, I’ve found so many amazing artists and bands that I might not have otherwise. Concrete Vehicles (FKA Computer), Hillsboro, DMBQ - all great bands that I’ve gotten to see because of Sled.

Michael: Playing on the same bill as The Mummies was pretty awe-inspiring. And the response we got from the crowd was massive when we played. I was so enveloped by the energy that, when I leapt into the air with my guitar, I slammed my headstock into the ceiling and popped a hole in it. There are at least ten other headstock shaped holes up there at the Palomino, but still, don’t tell anyone I told you that one of them was from me.

Quinn: Michael and Dave took the good ones. However, I have a very vivid memory of someone at our show last year screaming “I want my mummy” over and over until the show started, while wildly spraying their beer on the crowd.

What should we do in town before the music starts?

Dave: If you’re already in downtown, Contemporary Calgary is a great shout. They close at 7pm most days so it works out great for seeing some art and then heading to your venue of choice. I also enjoy walking the Bow River path if the weather allows for it, but June can get pretty rainy sometimes so do so at your own risk.

Michael: Here’s what you do: you go to Nhớ Saigòn on 17th Ave and get the Beef Peanut Sate Noodle Soup (it’s the best in the city), then you walk down to Pin-Bar and play some pinball (you should play the Attack From Mars Machine), then you hustle to the Ship & Anchor for a glass of Ol’ Beautiful Japanese Ale (tell them Pinball sent you), and, finally, you scooter downtown to Loophole Coffee Bar and come tell us how that was just the best night of your life.

Quinn: I’m a huge advocate for taking a visit to Calgary’s Chinatown. So many amazing restaurants like Calgary Court for Hong Kong-style breakfast and Silver Dragon for some of the best dim sum in the city. Plus, hey, after you’re done eating, you can go to Dragon City Mall and basically feel like you’ve been transported into an 80s neon-lit Hong Kong movie. It’s essential, too, that you check out Neon Taste Records while you’re down there! I’ve bought so many amazing punk 45s from them. Shoutout Josh and Arielle!

Best late-night snack and hangover food?

Dave: If I’m on 17th Ave, late-night snack has got to be Shwarmalicious. They gave us free ice cream after a show one time which was pretty cool. The Palomino also makes some great food, so if you’re seeing a show there you’re already in the best spot for a meal. Hangover meal has got to be Denny’s. Those cinnamon roll pancakes cure a hangover like nothing else.

Quinn: My favourite late-night snack is without a doubt Kujirai-style ramen. Which is basically where you take a pack of your favourite spicy noodles, fry it in a pan, then add cheese, eggs, and chives. A lot of people can’t get on board with cheese in ramen, but it is a must try! It would also probably make an amazing hangover food, but I gotta say nothing has cured more hangovers in my life than an ice-cold Dr. Pepper. You can always trust a doctor!

Pinball, 1973 perform at Loophole Coffee Bar on 19 June at 11pm, and at Palomino (main floor) on 20 June at 3pm.

BRIDGELAND was originally formed at the Sled Island Rock Lotto, where musicians' names are drawn from a hat and they are paired up to form one-night-only bands. The band has been workshopping an ominous, hypnotic blend of post-punk and krautrock ever since. They have played with bands such as METZ, Home Front, Light Asylum, Gustaf, and LA Witch, and will be releasing new recorded material later this year.

Describe your live show

Projecting a sense of urgency and menace is important to us. A good live show should be like an exorcism: a bit unsettling, feverish, and mysterious. We improvise a fair bit on stage, but try to avoid the laid-back, feel-good sensibility usually associated with ‘jam bands’ in favour of something darker and more kinetic.

What should we listen to first?

From our recorded output, the song "Billionaires" is a live staple and a good sense of what we do thematically.

Tell us about the Calgary music scene

It consistently punches above its weight! Calgary has a reputation as a conservative oil town, very much mired in some idealised notion of the wild-west, so there is a lot for the punks and weirdos to react against. Post-pandemic, the scene feels more diverse and less ‘provincial’ than ever before.

What are your memories of Sled Island?

Year after year, Sled Island has been one of the big cultural highlights of the city. There are many good memories to choose from, but we’d rather not talk about the past. The future is where it’s at.

What should we do in town before the music starts?

Walk by the river and talk to the birds.

Best late-night snack and hangover food?

Kim Anh Vietnamese subs. Ship & Anchor pub. I Love You Coffee Shop.

BRIDGELAND perform at Palomino (main floor) during Sled Island on 17 June at 9pm.

Eejungmi (이정미) is the electronic project of artist and DJ Katie Lee, ex-member of the band Braids. Anchored in left-field electronic pop and downtempo, her newly released debut album, Water is a Shifting Mirror, is oriented around a cycle of loss and rebuilding. Built from field recordings of rivers, the record uses the flow of water to map the seven stages of grief, with her own voice serving as a dependable guide throughout.

Describe your live show

Expect a sonic world-building experience where I take you on an emotional journey from tension to release. I aim to explore the seven stages of grief through the poetics of water, which my most recent album investigates.

What should we listen to first?

Listen to the song "Supremacy of Fresh Water" off Water is a Shifting Mirror, which I think encompasses many of the elements I was exploring in this album.

Tell us about the Calgary music scene

Calgary’s music scene is really like no other. It is a scene that encourages everyone to collaborate with each other, outside of genres. It is a community where you can have a noise project open up for a jazz band and then have a live modular project close the night. There are no boundaries.

What are your memories of Sled Island?

I remember Sled Island coincided with the Calgary Flood of 2013 and everyone playing Sled was stuck there, including all the touring bands. There was this air of unconditional support: people hosting people in their homes, feeding, moving and doing what we could to help each other out. If you were there you would remember that “The Boys are Back in Town” by Thin Lizzy was the anthem at Sled Island Karaoke that year.

What should we do in town before the music starts?

Grab a pack of the Ol’Beautiful Okami Kasu beer and go tubing down the Bow River. Stop at Harvie Passage for a dip.

Best late-night snack and hangover food?

Late-night snack (like 3 am): U & Me Restaurant.

Hangover food: Any Pho restaurant (I don’t think I’ve had a bad pho in Calgary).

Eejungmi performs at Commonwealth during Sled Island on 16 June at 11:30pm, and at Dickens on 20 June at 10pm.

Dial Up is a joyfully unserious egg-punk quartet that describes themselves as a "whirlwind of high-speed, scratchy guitars, wobbly bass, jittery synth, and drums that go BADOINK!" Earning a reputation for goofy disorder and squiggly no-wave experiments, the band was initially based in Montreal and formed by Tys Burger. Having relocated to Calgary, Burger (joined by Matthew Springer, Easy HD, and Andrew Ellergodt) now roams the streets as his overlord phone friend 'Dial Up Donnie' gives him calls for the band's next mission, whatever the hell that means.

Describe your sound

Dial Up is a delicious blend of scronkly, wonky, badoinky, rolie polie (hold the olie) sonic interpretation of the chest-exploding perfection guy with a Sunnyside egg on top. (Grass-fed free-range egg-punk.) Dial Up is fast, energetic, exploratory fun with colourful sprinkles on top. Expect syncopated rhythms, noisy improvisation, cheeky, squeaky synth, bass, and vocals; in other words, a punk rock carnival racket everyone’s invited to in Calgary’s art-punk circus.

And your live show?

Think of an improvised circus of noise rock conducted by art-loving punks possessed by the spirit of James Chance, and you’re in the ballpark of getting Dial Up’s funky no-wave sound. A nice taste of the whimsical egg-punk noise with tons of silly banter, jokes, and even sometimes games and costumes. We aren't a "serious"-toned band when we play live. We like to have a lot of fun and have people engaged with what we're doing. The antics and silly geese roam free around here.

What should we listen to first?

Our newest album, Ball Pit, is a great place to start. It's an album with a vast variety of sonic territories we are interested in. Largely a very collaborative writing process, it has all kinds of peaks and valleys for people to explore. It's an album based on the childlike whimsy of enjoying the simplicities of life while being confused by the strange systems and interactions we surround ourselves with everyday. If we were to pick a single song we'd recommend "Like A Bug On A Windshield".

Tell us about the Calgary music scene

Calgary's music scene is small but mighty! There are little bits of everything here and the passion is through the roof. We love our local scene because of the sheer amount of creative energy and collaboration that goes on around here. It's a great city to get started being a band, as the people are supportive to put on shows together and keep our communities alive compared to larger and more competitive cities in our country. It's easy to make friends and people are genuinely interested and curious about what we all bring to the bigger picture together of art and music. There's a rich history of bands and musicians here that deserves more credit. There's a real resistance and cool energy that comes from creating art that resists conservatism in the politics that surrounds it.

What are your memories of Sled Island?

Matt's favourite memory is being pulled on stage to jam with P-Lander Z along with members of Crachat and Lemon boy while the singer ran across the room into a pile of bowling pins on stage. Another noteworthy experience is that Tys decided to move to Calgary after visiting Sled Island one summer and seeing all the incredible energy that takes place over the course of the festival and considering the potential of Calgary's creative scene. There's so many great experiences during Sled, it's hard to list them all without writing a book.

What should we do in town before the music starts?

River hangs and bike rides down the pathways in Calgary's most beautiful places by the water are our personal favourites during the summer. Visiting Loophole Coffee for a cup-o-brew. Visiting local art galleries such as Crawlspace, The New Gallery, Contemporary Calgary, amongst many others. Check out Sloth Records and Neon Taste for a wicked selection of physical media. If you've got more time to kill, walking around Kensington or 17th Ave will keep you busy until the day ends.

Best late-night snack and hangover food?

There's always a time during Sled where a late-night snack is exactly what you need to finish off a great evening of music and friendship! Personally we all like snacks such as Shawarma, Bánh mì, Chinese food, and if you're really feeling the hunger we all recommend eating 32 raw eggs, a fistful of nails, blue house paint (tastes like blue raspberry) and 999 Dandelion heads!

Dial Up perform at #1 Legion (Upstairs) on 20 June at 10pm.

Formed in 2019, Stucco continue the legacy of great Alberta post-punk, reflecting the vortex of consumerism, capitalism, and technology while carrying out experiments in guitar angularity that Wire and and Television would surely tip their hat to. Their debut LP was recorded during the fall/winter of 2023 with Chris Dadge (Alvvays, Chad VanGaalen, Lab Coast) and self-released in November 2024.

Describe your live show

We’re pretty bad at stage banter so the live show is quite streamlined. We try and keep the energy up and are usually successful at getting a crowd dancing.

What should we listen to first?

Our debut album, LP1. The songs “Format” or “Business Inc.” are a good litmus test. If you’re into those two, chances are high you’ll like the rest of it!

Tell us about the Calgary music scene

The music scene in Calgary is feeling good right now! We’ve seen the scene go through ups and downs, but we seem to be in a really good place right now, and we have been for the last few years! There’s a lot of very cool bands in town at the moment, some of our favourites being PERRA, Spec Realists, Eye of Newt, Parisian Orgy, Milkmaid, CAT PISS, and bad bodies. There’s such a huge variety and clear passion in Calgary at present that’s pretty infectious.

What are your memories of Sled Island?

We were just talking about this in the van. Some definite standouts for us are when we got the tremendous honour of playing with Lydia Lunch at Sled 2022, seeing Television at Sled 2015, and the reunion aspect of it. So many of the friends we’ve made across Canada and beyond come through for Sled and seeing everyone in one place is so special.

What should we do in town before the music starts?

If you can make it to the Esker Foundation, that’s a Calgary must. It’s such a cool and well curated contemporary art gallery. Catching a movie at the Globe Cinema or Plaza Theatre are also peak Calgary activities. Going to the river is also non-negotiable; Lindsay park is a favourite spot of ours.

Best late-night snack and hangover food?

The best late-night restaurant is U & Me in Chinatown, easily. It’s one of the best Dim Sum spots in the city at any hour, so it being open every night until 4am is really a treat.

Stucco perform at Commonwealth on 16 June at 12am.