The votes are in and after a grueling slug fest with 114 nominated venues across Canada from Victoria, BC to Charlottetown, PEI, Windsor's little orange indie venue Phog Lounge has come out on top!
The best part of this win - apart from the seriously kick-ass concert we're going to get at Phog courtesy of CBC Radio 3 and broadcast live on the Sirius Satellite Radio Network - is the amount of genuine community that the entire city has shown when something unique from Windsor was pitted against the rest of the country.
Windsor is not exactly known as a musical hot spot in Canada, despite the fact that I think we are by a landslide. But in Toronto and Montreal and Vancouver, you'd be hard pressed for any of the Hipsters mentioning Windsor in casual conversation as a place that is bubbling over with talent.
Yet they are now. Or at least their ears have perked up and they're willing to listen.
Local media helped out immensely. In the past, much of Windsor's media (particularly the mainstream media) have ignored Windsor's musical scene unless it was somehow connected to the Symphony or it was an artist who had already secured the adoration of at least the rest of Canada, if not the States (such as The Tea Party or Jody Raffoul). So to see such outlets as A-Channel, The Windsor Star, and CBC rally around Phog, alongside the always supportive CJAM 91.5, WAMM Magazine and the countless Blogs and Twitters and Facebook soldiers was truly inspiring.
Well, it's all paid off. Toronto and Vancouver and Montreal can claim to have bigger success stories off the stage, they can laugh and say it doesn't really matter, but deep down, to many, this stings. Through all their talk and their talk and their talk and their talk, they've shown the rest of Canada that when push comes to shove, that's all they had. Meanwhile, in Windsor, we not only said Phog was the Best Live Music Venue in Canada, we made sure it would happen. We talked the talk, but more importantly, we walked the walk.
This became something bigger than Phog Lounge. Coach & Horses regulars voted for Phog. Chubby Pickle regulars voted for Phog. Even Boom Boom Room regulars voted for Phog. This became a Windsor thing. This became our chance - finally - to send out our battle cry to the rest of the country that Windsor does have a music scene. That Windsor does have a sense of musical community. That Windsor will not be ignored.
And after the sound of the roar has quietened, Phog Lounge has emerged as not just the Little Venue That Could, but proved it was The Little Venue That Did.
Congratulations Tom & Frank for all you've given in 5 years.
Congratulations, Windsor. I'm proud of you.
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Great post Jamie - you said it all. Windsor is unfortunately know for its gripers and whiners when they are merely the loudest, squeakiest wheels. This rally to support Phog showed that we are most of all champions of the little guy and yes, indeed we can!
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