Hotel Arts’ musical history began in 1987 with the opening of the Westward Club.
Located behind the hotel in a building that now houses a bakery, daycare and Hotel Arts’ offices, The Westward was a popular venue for local bands and touring acts on the verge of stardom, among them Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Tragically Hip, Lenny Kravitz, Sarah McLachlan and The Flaming Lips.
“The Westward was a staple of the local music scene at the time,” says Calgary music archivist and gig photographer, Arif Ansari.
“Partly because of the great downtown location, and it was a good size. The Westward is tied to so many iconic shows and moments in Calgary music history.”
Those shows include Nirvana’s first and only Calgary appearance in March of 1991, just months before the Seattle grunge trio hurled alternative music into the mainstream with their groundbreaking single, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. And a bootleg recording of The Flaming Lips memorable 1987 Westward gig, titled ‘A Beautiful Accident’, has become a sought-after collector’s item for fans.
Ansari also recalls a story about legendary (and hilariously over-the-top) metalheads GWAR, who played The Westward 25 years ago.
“The band is known for being very theatrical and using a lot of stage blood,” he says.
“So after the show there were all these kids walking down 17th Avenue covered in fake blood.”
Bassist and local music scene veteran Steve Elaschuk also remembers the outrageous metal act’s Calgary debut.
“The Westward had just bought new white carpet for the stage,” he says “They covered the monitors and as much of the equipment in plastic before the show, but the new white carpet got hit with fake blood and was pink for some time after the show. You could see where the monitors had been sitting as those spots were still white.”
Fraser Abbott, Director of Business Development at Hotel Arts, was another Westward regular and says he was always struck by the energy in the room.
“I saw Lenny Kravitz there in 1989 and that was pretty cool,” he says. “It was packed every time I was in there. It was a small enough room that the energy was palpable. There had been a tendency of bands to roll through town and play The Westward. And you knew they were going to be a big thing. It was really exciting.”
The Westward was open for less than a decade, but it made a lasting mark on the music community. It was a much different story in the 1950s and ‘60s however, when local bands had very few choices in venues – usually community halls or high school gymnasiums.
A handful of acts, including 49th Parallell and The Esquires, managed to get their singles heard on Canadian radio. And globally renowned artists Joni Mitchell and The Irish Rovers spent some of their formative years in the city. But for the most part, Calgary music didn’t start to flourish until the 1970s.
That was when hotel venues and stand-alone clubs such as The Ranchman’s and The Refinery began booking acts who could fill an entire set with original songs rather than covers. In 1971, Calgary trio The Stampeders had a smash single on both sides of the border with Sweet City Woman, following it up with a string of successful singles including ‘Carry Me’ and ‘Oh My Lady’.
But Calgary’s music scene would really start to come into its own later in the decade when the punk and garage rock scenes exploded with dozens of exciting bands.
“Calgary kind of found its own voice in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s with the emergence of underground music,” Ansari explains.
The local music scene was further strengthened in the 1990s with The Republik, The Night Gallery and of course, The Westward Club, holding shows on a regular basis. The Ship & Anchor Pub on 17th Avenue became a main hangout for artists and musicians and was a place where you could see the likes of Tegan and Sara playing its Saturday afternoon jam.
Grammy Award-nominated singer Leslie Feist frequented local stages with her melodic grunge outfit, Placebo4, while fellow Calgarian and multiple Juno winner Jann Arden burst onto the international charts with her million-selling album, Living Under June, in 1994.
Two decades later, the local music scene is as thrilling as ever with such Calgary acts as Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Reuben & the Dark, Chad VanGaalen, Preoccupations, Jocelyn Alice, Paul Brandt and Lindsay Ell garnering national and international attention.
And with the opening of The National Music Centre, located on a portion of 9th Avenue S.E. known as Music Mile, the spotlight will continue to shine on Calgary’s cultural offerings.
Hotel Arts is the perfect starting off point to explore the city’s diverse music scene. It’s located within walking distance to many live music venues, including The Palomino, The Nite Owl and the Jack Singer Concert Hall, as well, Hotel Arts offers guests complimentary access to Brooklyn Cruiser bicycles, which can be used to reach music-friendly bars and clubs along 17th Avenue and in nearby Inglewood.
“I really think of Hotel Arts as being the hub of that exploration,” says Hotel Arts Marketing & Media Relations Manager Christie Goss.
“It’s what we’re passionate about, supporting local and letting our visitors engage in those very real and unique Calgarian experiences.”
“It’s a really great thing to share with people,” says Abbott.
“Music spawns conversation and appreciation for something different. Depending on the spell the artist weaves, it can be pretty cool. People are left with an interesting impression of the space.”
Written by local music authority, Lisa Wilton.
