Steve Cormier and Peter Paul Van Camp share cowboy stories and tall tales

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The Lethbridge Folk Club had an interesting and intimate show of storytelling and cowboy sings at  the Wolf’s Den, to kick off March on Sunday, March 1.Steve Cormier and Peter Paul Van Camp entertained an intimate audience at the Lethbridge Folk Club”s Wolf’s Den, March 1. Photo by Richard Amery
 I arrived just as poet Peter Paul Van Camp was beginning his set of jokes and stories he read from a massively bound book. He joked about playing touch football football in Ohio at University and having to play the Nebraska Cornhuskers and read poetry including his own as well as that of hobo poet HR Henry Herbert Knibbs.


He introduced New Mexico based storyteller and cowboy songwriter Steve Cormier by saying “ Here’s a man who hasn’t ever played a wrong note.”


 Cormier was as good as Van Camp’s word as he hosted a pleasant evening of tall tales, stories and excellent music.
 He played beautiful guitar, told tall tales and cracked jokes.
“A good cowboy song has cows, cowboys and unrequited love. If it’s requited love, it’s a pop song,” he said adding another key to cowboy music from the 1880s is the theme of loneliness, so he talked about loneliness on the ranch especially in the winter when there is not a lot to do, which he followed up with a couple songs about loneliness.


He showed some nimble finger picking on a couple of Wilf Carter songs including his epic about Crossfield, Alberta Bronc rider Pete Knight.
 His world wearied voice reminded me of Fred Eaglesmith.


Peter Paul Van Camp joined Cormier on stage to end the show with a couple of songs and poems they performed together.

— By Richard Amery, L.A.Beat Editor
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 11 March 2015 11:22 )