The best in live music resides with The Vat
06/18/08
BY MARK WEBER
Red Deer Express
Virtually no musical genre is ignored at The Vat, voted Red Deer’s favourite place for live music in the Best of Red Deer awards.
From rollicking classic rock, shimmering pop and hip hop to cool jazz, blues and a spectrum of other styles, they’re all featured at the popular venue located at #101, 5301 – 43 St.
It’s that emphasis on variety that has always been at the core of The Vat’s allure, says co-owner Terry Cave.
Patrons like it that way, and business has been on the increase year by year since Cave and fellow co-owner and musician Duke Thompson set up shop in the mid-1990s. “It was built for musicians by musicians,” said Cave.
Thompson and Cave set the business up when Cave returned to Red Deer after living in Vancouver for a 10-year stint.
“I thought that we needed a place for me to play, and to build my own stage,” he recalls with a laugh.
There had been a previous pub called The Vat on the same site which had closed, but the guys knew it was a great location to keep the tradition moving ahead under their ownership.
The Vat is indeed aptly named – it used to house five huge beer vats as part of the old brewery many years ago.
Extensive renovations helped transform it into a roomier, truly music-friendly environment complete with pool tables and space just to relax and hang out.
A high roof contributes to the strong acoustics as well. From the beginning, music was the focus.
“That’s what started it – it was a jam night from Monday to Thursday.”
“A lot of college students would come down and jam, as would a lot of other folks. Then we would have booked music for Friday and Saturday nights.”
Cave recalls their grand opening week as ‘CKUA’ week, emphasizing their guarantee to be open to all kinds of musical styles. The station is known for its commitment to offering an array of eclectic tunes.
“We had different bands play that you would hear on CKUA.”
At the time, there weren’t many pubs in town offering live music. That’s changed over the years, but The Vat has remained attractive to a faithful and varied audience.
“Sometimes it’s the whole gamut – 18 to 80,” he says referring to the age span of who stops by on a given night.
Looking ahead, Cave is planning to touch up The Vat a bit with some new bar stools, chairs and sound system. He plans to put his collection of band photos back on the ceiling as well so more people can enjoy images of bands past and present.
For Cave, running a place like The Vat is pretty much the best job a guy could have.
“This is the biggest rumpus room I’ve ever had,” he says fondly of the comfortable space. Of course, it’s gratifying to hear musicians say time and again how much they enjoy performing at the venue as well.
“It’s great having the new bands and having the old ones come by again.”
For more information, call 346-5636 or visit www.thevatpub.com.
mweber@reddeer.greatwest.ca 309-5459
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