Reunited Belvedere returns revitalized
To say that Belvedere are picking up where they left off wouldn’t exactly be true. Yes, the veteran Calgary punk quartet reunited earlier this year for a handful of dates after almost a decade apart. And, yes, fans are coming back to get their fill of the band’s punchy melodic punk.
But. Well. Things are a little better this time out, says guitaristvocalist Steve Rawles.
“I thought breaking up in 2004 and coming back eight years later — I wasn’t sure how it would go, but it’s exceeded our expectations,” he says while sipping a pint at 17th Avenue locale The National.
That was made apparent with their first couple of gigs, with the first being a show in Paris on a boat on the Seine for a couple hundred kids and the second one being a Saturday night mainstage appearance at the Belgium festival Groezrock, whose headliners included heavyweights Rancid, Refused, Simple Plan and Lagwagon.
“You can imagine it was one of the best days of our lives — definitely the biggest show we’ve ever played,” says Rawles noting the audience in front of the stage when they played their late afternoon set was about 15,000 strong. “And it was awesome because a good chunk of the crowd was singing every word which is pretty special being so far away.”
It was also fitting that opening the festival on that afternoon was fellow ’Berta boys Chixdiggit, the one band that Rawles credits for helping Belvedere become what they did over the course of their decade together after forming in the scene in the mid-’90s.
He notes that it was those punkpoppers who encouraged them to get out of the city and be a Calgary band but not a local band, per se. And so they did. Hard. Belvedere — which also features guitarist Scott Marshall, bassist Jason Sinclair and drummer Graham Churchill — spent the better part of their first decade together on the road, travelling the world and earning an audience often one member at a time. Rawles estimates that they were averaging about 200 shows a year, taking any gig they could, often in less than optimal conditions, but doing it for the love of it.
Of course, after that amount of time and that many miles, all of the touring took its toll on the members and their relationships and it was finally time to pull the plug in 2005.
“Nobody ever wanted to say ‘Stop’ until somebody finally did,” Rawles says.
Because of how they went out, though, there was always a bitter taste in his mouth when it came to Belvedere. He went off to form the band This Is a Standoff with Churchill and also did some solo acoustic touring, but the legacy always remained something he wanted to revisit, something he discovered he wasn’t alone in.
“We didn’t really go out as nicely as some other bands,” he says. “There was a lot of fighting with the (members) when we ended it. Spending nine or 10 months a year for 10 years on the road it’s bound to happen between four guys. But we started talking again over the last few years and we all got a little older and realized that the reason we spent years playing all those shows in front of nobody was because we legitimately liked playing those songs and liked being in the band.
“So once we had a few conversations with each other we thought that it would be great to break out some of the old songs again and give it a shot.”
The plan, initially, was to just do about a dozen reunion shows in Canada and abroad to see how it went. But, again, from the response of those dates — including a sellout of the Opera House in Toronto — and how it felt to be back with the boys, Rawles says it was obvious it was something they wanted to continue.
Of course, not in the same way. He notes that first gig in France showed there were a few added limitations, with that two-hour, 35-song set needing to be whittled down to something a little more manageable.
“I couldn’t jump that much back when I was 18 let alone now,” he says with a laugh, while noting that he and the rest of Belvedere certainly don’t feel self-conscious about the passage of time.
“There’s no reason a bunch of guys in their mid-30s can’t still play skate punk. And I can’t tell you how awesome it’s been. It’s just been such a fun time, and I think that’s why it’s gone past these 12 or 15 shows that we felt that we were originally going to do. Whatever comes up that we can do, we’ll do it.”
But he does admit because of their ages and the responsibilities that come with jobs and families — he recently got married — they have absolutely no wish to return to the road-warrior mentality.
Other than the three weekend dates in their home province — Friday and Sunday in Calgary at Dickens, and Saturday at the Pawnshop in Edmonton — the only future plans are for some shows in Europe next August and perhaps, smartly, South America in winter.
As for new music, Rawles admits they have been kicking around some ideas, but time will tell if they release anything new, noting if and when they release something it will be only if they can stay true to the spirit of Belvedere.
Ultimately, though, he’s enjoying being back in the band and even happier that they’re not simply picking up where they left off but starting over in a much better place.
“We really lucky to be getting these kinds of festivals and tours because I remember spending hours calling and e-mailing and sending press packages just to get on shows with 20 people or never even getting a return phone call,” he says with a somewhat nostalgic smile.
“We’d show up sometimes trying to still play a show or we’d play the pub down the street with just a sound guy in the room. Those were the only shows we could get for a long time. And when we toured the States it was all just basement shows, we never played proper venues.”
He laughs. “We should probably do another basement tour sometime. Just a keg and a band from Canada and 20 of your closest, drunkest friends.”