When the day started with news of Calgary underwater and Sled Island officially cancelled, nobody would have thought it would end with a secret the Night Marchers show at the Rock Lounge.
The San Diego, CA band was scheduled to play Friday night as part of the festival events, with another impromptu show added on Thursday at Calgary's Golden Age — what The Night Marchers frontman John Reis called "a retirement condo community" — after Mac DeMarco cancelled. It was clear most fans weren't prepared to let the music get swept away in the flood, and the Night Marchers were exactly what the crowd needed in the wake of such disaster.
It was hard to believe that the band weren't the evening's headliners (Toronto's Biblical got the nod), considering the crowd that had gathered were moving and bouncing throughout the 11 song set they played. Reis, guitarist Gar Wood — who was left wearing hotel sandals after his shoes fell victim to the flood — bassist Tommy Kitsos and drummer Jason Kourkounis powered through favourites like "All Hits," "Branded," "Closed for Inventory," and "Fisting the Fanbase." When the band came to the end of their set, the audience was begging for one more, which seemed to be the overall sentiment of the stranded festival-goers. Everyone just wanted a little more music.
The San Diego, CA band was scheduled to play Friday night as part of the festival events, with another impromptu show added on Thursday at Calgary's Golden Age — what The Night Marchers frontman John Reis called "a retirement condo community" — after Mac DeMarco cancelled. It was clear most fans weren't prepared to let the music get swept away in the flood, and the Night Marchers were exactly what the crowd needed in the wake of such disaster.
It was hard to believe that the band weren't the evening's headliners (Toronto's Biblical got the nod), considering the crowd that had gathered were moving and bouncing throughout the 11 song set they played. Reis, guitarist Gar Wood — who was left wearing hotel sandals after his shoes fell victim to the flood — bassist Tommy Kitsos and drummer Jason Kourkounis powered through favourites like "All Hits," "Branded," "Closed for Inventory," and "Fisting the Fanbase." When the band came to the end of their set, the audience was begging for one more, which seemed to be the overall sentiment of the stranded festival-goers. Everyone just wanted a little more music.
