By digging through the heap of notes and brochures, I’m trying to finish an article about the cold heart of America known as Winnipeg. It’s a little hard for me. In my discoveries, I decided to confine myself to writing about music venues, however so much happened here in Winnipeg… I traveled a long distance to you Neil Young, but eventually, I found your home and walked the corridors of the school where you shaped your vision of becoming a star. And to think that no one believed you then. Do you remember when in 1964, during the recordings at CKRC Harry Taylor told you to drop singing?* You did not much of it, and after two years you came back to the same place to prove to Harry wrong.
Even if you are not into rock music, you probably heard of Neil Young. Also, probably not every folk or rock fan knows that he comes from Winnipeg – a town better known for the Winnie Pooh stories than stars like Neil Young, The Guess Who, Burton Cummings, Bachman – Turner Overdrive, Crash Test Dummies. All these guys and many more, come from Winnipeg.
By reaching Winnipeg, I officially crossed over half of this beautiful country. I arrived there during the Winnipeg International Jazz Festival. Dates convergence was a coincidence. I also happened to be hosted by a person associated with the music scene in Winnipeg since his childhood. Since happy coincidences seem to be thing on my journey, Eugene also hosted his friend Shawn – music journalist from Vancouver at the same time.
Back in in the twentieth century Winnipeg used to referred to as the “Chicago of the North“. It was said to be small, isolated from the world and hard to escape from. It was often omitted from the tours of known bands, due to its location and unfavorable weather. However, the isolated nature of the city allowed for the local music scene to flourish. Which is still the case today. The difference being today, Manitoba is considered the province where the Canadian music industry was born. The 1965 and the release of the Who’s Shakin All Over by The Guess Who is regarded as a symbolic year zero for Canadian rock and roll. It was the first Canadian band to gain international fame. Since then Winnipeg has earned the nickname of the Canadian rock capital, and major labels have begun to follow their music scene.
With a significant bunch of local musicians, the city needed venues where people could flock to see their performances. That is why Winnipeg has never lacked halls, bars and private houses where you could play a gig. Winnipeg is not like Toronto or Vancouver. It lacks the glamorous skyscraper panorama. For most of it, it was not touched by the corporative rollercoaster of big business. And so, unlike in the bigger cities where all the best clubs have been closed and adopted for new investments, here they survived and thrive still. Sure, some of them died of natural causes, but others continue to write the musical history of Canada. Let’s start from the beginning though….
Strolling late at night through the heart of the city, along the neglected streets of the Exchange District, I look for Robert Johnson‘s silhouette. Once I reach Garry Street, the sound of a wailing guitar can be heard from far away. This can only mean that I am on the right track to the Windsor Hotel. Surely enough, I soon spot the billboard with a picture of a Robert Johnson. The blues guru who, as the legend says, sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the talent. I stand by the entrance to the Windsor Hotel, which attracted an army of dedicated crowds of every sort since 1903. Almost immediately I think of New York’s Chelsea Hotel*. Maybe the fact that Winnipeg often did not make it on the tour calendars is the reason why there are no stories about this place as some hotels have. However, it is noteworthy that between 1913-1915 Charlie Chaplin frequently visited the place and even signed his first film contract here.
The aged Windsor Hotel is where your Punk dad would play his debut and where he would now get his grandkids to come and see him play his last live performance as a rock star fossil.
The Windsor Hotel
Do not miss The Pyramid Cabaret which is the opposite of Windsor Hotel. This 20-year-old club, hosts many stars from abroad and is today one of the most popular concert venues in Winnipeg.
Leaving Garry Street, I move towards Main Street, and with bated breath, I head for another musical relic. Just minutes from Windsor Hotel and The Pyramid, you may find Times Change(d) – already a dinosaur venue and Winnipeg’s legend. When inside I realize, I must be the youngest there and it hits me even more, how retro the clubs I visit are. By sipping a drink offered by someone who could possibly be my dad’s lad, I try to read the newspaper clippings covering the venue’s walls. If I have lived a little earlier, it could be Neil Young or maybe Randy Bachman who would offer me a drink. Probably in the hippie dress I would sing along with The Guess Who their smash hit American Woman, better known by my generation in Lenny Kravitz’s version. Being there in the summer time don’t be surprised to see the overcoats occupying the place on the hanger. Nobody left them there by accident. Over the winter it is so cold that these come in handy and this is a usual practice here. When visiting Winnipeg for your idols gig, you should come to the Times change(d) for an after party. There is a high chance you will meet them there after the performance. Bill Gibbons got into the jam session there after his concert. When I was there, Ephraim Owens – trumpeter of Tedeschi Trucks Band, came over after his show.
Times Change(d)
That same night I went with Eugene to the Fairmont Hotel. All the big names always check in there during their stay in Winnipeg. With the Jazz Festival still on, every night after the final performances there was a jam session with its stars. This is not publicly announced in any of the festival materials. I was lucky to find out thanks to Eugene who was working at the festival. That night Kamasi Washington was set to perform (excited screaming). However, we had to leave earlier and I did not see any artist in the end (disappointed grunt). Anyway, remember about it when you’re in Winnipeg.
Speaking about legendary clubs I did not visit, it is worth mentioning the one hundred years old Royal George Hotel. It’s some distance from the city center and it’s hard to get in. However, if you want to bump it you can risk every day – live music is served seven days a week in large quantities. Kings Hotel Punk is also still open. Sadly, you cannot say this about The Royal Albert Hotel closed unexpectedly in 2011. The Royal Albert Hotel is a separate topic though. Compared to the London’s Marquee or New York’s CBGB, it is considered the only place of this kind in Canada. Nowhere else was the punk so at home and never found another one like Royal Albert. There is a film about the venue titled: Call to Arms: The Story of The Royal Albert.
It is interesting that by no means you can’t compare Winnipeg to Toronto or Vancouver, they are so completely different from each other.
You won’t see here the shiny skyscrapers and you will not release an album with a respected label. Winnipeg is still a city that stays aside, a bit different. Flooded by immigrants from the East, who mostly live in the streets on a large scale, stopped from wandering alone at night. In downtown, there are places I have avoided even in the daytime. I have always been a little naive when it comes to safety, assuming I will be fine, but I must admit that in Winnipeg I did not feel comfortable and missed a few good gigs because of that.
Nevertheless, many musical milestones lie here, and somehow you want to stay there longer. Winnipeg also retains the longstanding tradition of house concerts and thanks to my friend Eugene, I was able to attend one the first time in my life.
The experience left me dreaming, that wherever I will settle down I will bring this tradition into my own house. Anyways, it was time to go, so I packed my memories into a backpack and got a lift to Calgary with a folk band from Montreal. Ahoy!
Windsor Hotel
Times change(d)
Neil’s Young house
Neil’s Young school
The Albert
The Albert
Burton Cummings Theatre
On my way to Winnipeg
Winnipeg