Steve Coffey and the Lokels debuted their new CD “Bovine World Rail,” Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Geomatic Attic for an enthusiastic crowd who were well warmed up by their second set.
This was authentic country folk being played by some of Southern Alberta’s pickers.
The hot band including Lance Loree, Dave Bauer, Russ Baker alternating between a variety of instruments including pedal steel guitar, mandolin, baritone guitar and bass as drummer Ray McAndrew kept time while frontman Steve Coffey told stories and jokes and delivered a variety of rural themed songs, including several from the new CD. Toby Malloy sang some gorgeous vocal harmonies on several songs.
Song subjects ranged from writers block (Should I Write) to a song about Coffey’s grandfather, (“Fighting Days”) who got shot in the face during the Battle of Vimy Ridge during the First World War, returned home to work on the railroad and dying after being hit by a train, to a crowd favourite “Shovel Operator,” about a strip miner in Estevan. “Shovel Operator” was a highlight as Russ Baker traded his bass to lance Loree for a battered guitar on which he played the catchy, rockabilly tinged Stray Cats style riff.
After some good natured discussion about a spontaneous set list change, Loree got behind the pedal steel guitar for “Times, When,” another new song.
The audience loved another older song “Twirling Girl Boogie.”
They wound down the two some hour long show as Coffey noted “Like Lance would say, it’s time to take this thing out back and shoot it,” but played a couple more songs anyway including one of my favourites “Born To Die Alone. Bauer donned a banjo for “Dog Tags,” and they fittingly ended a fantastic show with “Curtain Call.”
Alyssa McQuaid opened the show, but I was unable to catch her set.
Coffey was in the city for the whole day to open up a new gallery of his artwork at the Geomatic Attic. A steady stream of people visited the Attic in the afternoon to examine and buy a variety of Coffey’s gorgeous oil paintings featuring skyscapes, trains and other rural images.
