| Mecca Café – You don't know what you got ’til it's gone
It was a sorry piece of irony that even as Calgary's Co-Dependents brought the crowd to their feet at the Calgary Folk Music Festival on Thursday night, some scoundrel was putting an excelerant into their grab bag and heading towards the Mecca to do harm to the modest hovel where the Co-Ds recorded the best-selling Live Recording Event.
While co-owner Soren Borch confirms that plans are afoot for a benefit gig to raise funds so the Mecca Café can make a phoenix-like rise from the ashes, it's hard to imagine any re-creation having the same kind of atman left by nearly 50 years of cowboy and work boots on naked plywood floors.
The bare simplicity was part of the fun. No one felt like they had to dress up or act a part to be welcome among the Mecca's ragged regulars. First-timers were occasionally shy about walking into the living-room sized venue, but were usually offered handshakes and rounds and made to feel at home in a room worth living in.
The Mecca got my vote for the Best of Calgary in too many categories to list, from the best kept secret to coolest place to take visitors to best cup of coffee and breakfast to – far more obviously – best country and folk venue. Special mention also needs to be made of the best restaurant staff, especially Jas Ohlhoff, the fun, funny server fatale who greets regulars by name and has their favourite drink on the table before they know where they're going to sit. |
