For many who grew up in Saskatoon, Walker’s Nightclub was, and may still be, a frightening place. For me, this fear was not as a result of having actually visited the establishment, but simply based on observations made while skirting past on dark walks home from other more ‘acceptable’ venues. The doors of Walker’s would frequently be open onto the stairwell leading into the dark bar, and heavy metal or punk music was usually to be heard. Those mingling around said doorway were usually bedazzled with multiple painful-looking piercings, and decorated in dark makeup and tattoos. Few persons with natural hair colour were to be found. The group was usually visibly intoxicated and at times rowdy (as one might expect near a drinking establishment). Despite never seeing any violent acts outside of Walker’s it was common knowledge the people frequently get ‘shanked’ in close proximity to this doorway that I so carefully avoided. Hearsay, I might add, heightened the mystery and touch of rebellion that accompanied any and all who attended Walker’s events or simply whiled away hours drinking beer at this, their favourite, downtown establishment.
Recently I encountered a chance to discover the wonders of Walker’s for myself, when a friend scheduled a concert during the annual Jazz Festival and, despite his best efforts, was unable to secure a ‘better’ venue. My desire to see the bands he had scheduled along with my curiosity outweighed my long-held fear. I invited several friends to attend with me, which elicited similar reactions along the lines of “why are you going to Walker’s?!” Despite these not-so-encouraging reactions, I, accompanied by my sister, showed up at Walker’s for a Monday evening show.
Arriving past the scheduled time, we were still early for the show, and as a result had a chance to evaluate Walker’s in all of its glory, with few other customers to obscure the view. I learned from my friend, that the cage which mostly blocks the entrance into the bar at the base of the stairwell was craftily installed by the owners in order to prevent people from running in without paying (apparently a serious problem with those steep $5 - $15 cover charges). Upon closer observation I realized that despite the money that this cage would save the owner, they had not invested much of the projected profits into the cage, as it was constructed of chicken wire. As a result, the cage had several large dents in it, from what I can only assume were very determined cover charge evaders (kudos for the effort, kids).
This show that night fit well with the feeling in Walker’s, not necessarily because the bands playing from various White Whale Records fit with the ‘decor’ (pool and foosball tables, disco light, general dirty appearance and cages both at the entrance and others I believe may be used as dance cages?!), but because the band members were for the most part extremely drunk. This slightly reduced the quality of the music, although I was still impressed by their ability to play in one another’s bands having just recently learned the parts.
Since this first experience, from which I emerged unscathed, I have since been back to Walker’s for another show, hosted by this same friend troubled by music venue availability. The second show which featured two bands from Toronto, Rock Plaza Central and Bruce Peninsula, was much more my style, and the opener (Bruce Peninsula – who were long-listed for the Polaris this year) blew the small crowd away. We could hardly stay seated on the grungy carpeted stair/bleachers which stretch across the back wall of the bar while they clapped, sang, yelled, and played and jingled various instruments.
For those of you Saskatoonians who have yet to visit Walker’s, I will describe it most succinctly by repeating what a friend told me while we were there: it looks like the Bassment without the Jazz Society label to keep it clean! I would provide pictures, but have none. Surprisingly (based on how seriously the management appears to take the upkeep of the venue), I found that Walker’s had made the transition on to the web. I have visited them on their myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/walkersnightclub and after reading that this 95 year old female Aquarius from Saskatoon does drink, but doesn’t smoke, I discovered that (if I was a myspace user) I could become their 273rd friend, and join the likes of xombi, THE DARK LORD, gorifier, and LilHomeWrecker, just to name a few. Although this was an exciting prospect, it was not quite enough to prompt me to sign myself up for another online account which would undoubtedly consume some potentially productive hours of my life. Tragically, in doing so, I have likely limited the frequency with which I will be cheerily greeted by the song entitled Go Pussy Go, by Pzychobitch, which plays on Walkers’ page.
The mystery, accompanied by the fear of Walker’s has, for me, sadly been replaced. “With what?” you ask? I have yet to decide. Some friends, however, were made on these trips to one of Saskatoon’s sketchiest venues and for that I thank Walker’s.
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