After Sled Island announced it had cancelled the remainder of the festival due to the flooding in Calgary, there was a flurry of activity on social media. This included lots of posts from bands and individual band members searching for ways to still play shows somehow. Halifax band Monomyth posted:
SLED IS DEAD. WHERE ARE THE EMERGENCY HO– USE SHOWS IN CALGARY GOIN DOWN AND CAN WE PLAY? CAP LIFE! \text/1-902-452–8834.
pray for monomyth. fuck you water world.
A lot of Halifax bands will plan cross country tours, first playing NXNE in Toronto the week before before making it to Sled Island. Despite the cancellation of the festival, a few Halifax bands were able to play shows in Calgary and Edmonton (including three days in Edmonton dubbed Shred Island).
Nathan Doucet of Crosss and Heaven For Real told Mixtape what it was like to have an opening slot for San Francisco’s Thee Oh Sees fall through but end up having an unbelievable musical experience. Interview edited by Jonathan Briggins for grammar and clarity
By Nathan Doucet
Needless to say, it ended up being a pretty fantastic few days for us. Though I feel for those who have lost everything at the same time. I met a few people at a house party in Calgary who were living out of a backpack and drinking their last bottles of wine. Totally nutty.
I woke up in Edmonton after our show there the night before with Slam Dunk from Victoria. They were staying at the same house and we all woke up early to head for Calgary as soon as possible. I was scheduled to play with Heaven for Real at 3 p.m. and later with Crosss at 7 p.m. opening for Thee Oh Sees. We put on the news and were all glued to our Twitter boxes realizing that there were more updated road closures and that Sled was readying to make an announcement about what they might do. Eventually the news came that they had to can the whole darn thing.
I totally get it. I was disappointed, particularly about our show with Thee Oh Sees, but we tossed that sentiment aside and like many others, started to make alternate plans. These ended up being some of the funnest musical experiences of my life.
I ended up playing four sets in two days and all of it was amazing. It felt like I was a part of something in that people were forced to come together and make something happen despite a crazy situation. Lots of us had travelled long distances with Sled being sort a pinnacle landmark for everyone’s trips. Moon, Monomyth, Quaker Parents, Old and Weird, Heaven For Real, Crosss, Cousins, Gianna Lauren, and Paper Beat Scissors, all from Haifax, all had sweet shows and had to figure ways to make the best of it.
Crosss scored a house show on the Friday night and it was one of the most insane things I’ve ever been a part of. People were, in the healthiest way possible, killing each other. People stranded and starved for a good time seemed like they took it upon themselves to do just that.
Heaven For Real and Crosss then retreated to Wunderbar in Edmonton where Craig Martellica (the owner and former Haligonian) met us with pizza, set times and the news that all door and bar sales would be for the bands. What the hell!? He had two stages running and gave the opportunity for loads of bands to play when otherwise they might not have.
Crosss then made our way back to Calgary where we were part of house party mania part #2. A house filled with people just wanting to have good time and they did. It felt amazing to be a part of everything in this way. Obviously this is a disaster but the time I had in the wake of it seems irreplaceable in retrospect.