I just got back from a two week vacation of the East coast of Canada. My girlfriend Janis and I were making our way to St. Anthony, Newfoundland (Janis' hometown) for "Come Home Year". We started our vacation in Nova Scotia, then Prince Edward Island and worked our way up to the northern tip of Nfld.
After booking our vacation I started looking into seeing what kind of shows I might come across while on vacation. I wasn't able to see anything in Halifax, but did notice that Edmonton band The Slates would be playing in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland at the same time that we would be there. We were staying overnight in Corenerbrook, so I decided I would make the trek to the bar called White Horse Whiskey Bar and Lounge to catch the Edmonton band The Slates play. Funny I would be across the country and I still end up seeing a band from my home city Edmonton play.
Things get started late in Newfoundland, so I didn't head out to the bar til about 11pm. I hung out for about a half hour sitting at the bar having a few when I got talking to a gentleman, he probably noticed I wasn't from around there and was wondering what was up,lol. After talking for a bit, he told me he was the owner of the bar. A younger guy, 33 years old and has had the bar up and running for 8 months now. Nice guy with a great attitude who is trying his damndest to get bands to play his bar. Hard gig I am sure as Nfld isn't an easy place to get around, with it being about a 10 hour drive between St. Johns and Cornerbrook. After talking for a bit, I asked him where a good place to go for a smoke is, he said follow me, in which I did and we went for a "smoke". His name is Kevin and is a super nice guy, and an Edmonton Oilers fan to boot too. I wish him the best in his endeavour, and really hope he gets lots of bands to come through Cornerbrook. The bar itself is upstairs and is a nice intimate venue for live music.
After a few beers and smokes, so around midnite The Slates came on, I figured they would be headlining, and they were supposed to, but they had to play first and then head out to catch the ferry back to Nova Scotia as they had a show in Dartmouth the following day. This was my third time seeing The Slates. They play a melodic punk rock style of music. I enjoyed them and thought they sounded good considering they had been on the road most of the day and still had a 4 hour drive in front of them to get to the ferry. The Slates played for about an hour to a crowd of about 30 people, playing lots from their album "Prarie Fires" and closed the night out with "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" cover by The Band. Sounded fuckin' good too. I got to talk to the guys in The Slates for a bit after there set. It was there first time in Nfld. and were surprised to see me, a fellow Edmontonian in the audience. So we had a good chat about the excellent people of Nfld. and they said they wished they had more time in Nfld. They seemed to really enjoy themselve. Good guys they are in the band.
I stuck around for a bit to see the next band. They were called Mrk Hyles Band, a local band I believe. I stayed for two songs and didn't much care for them at all. I had a really good time at the show, go tot talk to some of the locals whom were all really great people too. Good times!!!
The entrance to the bar.
Sign outside the bar.
The Slates in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland.
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