Relax; the Christmas season is not coming back to the Bow Valley on March 1. But Stuart McLean is setting up shop in The Banff Centre’s Eric Harvie Theatre where The Vinyl Café will be open for business.
Canada’s favourite storyteller is making a stop in Banff and Calgary during his upcoming Western Canada tour and will be accompanied by Calgary musical guests Reuben and the Dark.
“There will be three stories actually with a new one and I’m not sure about the rest yet,” McLean said on the upcoming show. “That’s what I’m working on right now, but there will definitely be a couple of new stories and one old favourite if everything goes to plan the way I hope it will.”
Banff carries the honour of being his first stop on the tour and he says it will play an intricate role.
“We’re looking to record in Calgary after we do it in Banff, so it will certainly be regional ... the Banff audience can help me edit it,” McLean said.
In putting together the shows, McLean’s editor and producer work on the stories and the story forms with him, but he says you never really know how they will turn out until you perform in front of an audience.
“You learn so much doing it in front of others, so that will be the first time we do the story and the story exchange will be the first night in Banff as part of the tour. That audience will very much help us get it ready for the radio – you just feel what is working and what isn’t working.
“You just learn so much. You would think after 20 years I would be able to do it without that kind of intervention, but you think something is funny and it isn’t, or interestingly you don’t know when things are funny that are and you learn from the depths of the silences, how connected people are and you learn from the laughter or the lack of it as to what is working and what isn’t.”
He added the first four or five shows are a guessing game, with producers in the wings taking notes so tweaks and editing can be made during the tour. “Changes based on what the audience tells us by their reactions – it’s very interesting,” McLean said.
When asked if Canada has to worry about losing its favourite storyteller to the indie rock scene (Reuben and the Dark are guests in Banff and Calgary, with Said the Whale accompanying McLean in B.C.) he says that comes down to being a firm believer in sharing great Canadian talent with as many people as possible.
“I made a decision about 10 years ago that I wanted the show to shine a light on young up and coming performers, people who might otherwise not have enough light shone upon them. I think we’ve done a fairly good job of that over the last couple of years,” McLean said.
“It’s about picking up on people who we think should be heard across the country and I’m very much looking forward to working with these guys.”
McLean has been crisscrossing North America for years telling stories, but says regional differences in our country never get in the way as long as the crowd is present and in the moment.
“Don’t forget I’m speaking to a focused CBC audience and a small part of the CBC audience who enjoys The Vinyl Café, so it’s a declared audience. But I don’t notice any difference from Newfoundland or in British Columbia compared to Saskatchewan or anything like that – it seems to come down to the people who are there, who seem to want to be there and enjoy it wherever we are,” McLean said.
What does Banff mean to Stuart McLean? “It’s one of my favourite parts of the country and we always have a good time there,” McLean said.
“It’ll be a special night. We usually only get to come once a year, which is at Christmas, a pretty hectic time for us. So to be able to come at a quieter time, we’ll have a more relaxed show – it’ll be a special night and I’m looking forward to it.”
