The Blues Can

Came in on a Saturday afternoon, and the place was rocking with live music and people hitting the [improvised] dance floor. Nice selection of beers on tap and in a can, priced right. Can’t say anything bad about this place, look forward to coming back to catch more live music.

Love blues, service okay but best Natchos ever! Hated frog legs very bland, drinks average.

This place is a bloody s**t hole. Ive been in there three times and everytime i went in there to have a few drinks i felt gross, disgusting, like i crawled into a garbage can.
I used the washroom (which is absolutly disgusting) went to go and flush the toilet, well dont ya know, the handle fell off. Only plus side they had nice smelling hand soap.
The service was shit. The drinks were disgusting, i had a paralizer and it tasted like it was watered down, Not made right at all. Even the rum and cokes… disgusting. this place is the kind of place that you go to as the last stop of the night when your way to wasted to even care.

Worst experience ever. I am sure the regulars love the food and the music. We dropped in for dinner were forgotten and berated for asking to order after 30 minutes of waiting. Good luck to the drop in.

There was no music on the night that we went so I have no idea what this place is like as a bar. I am in Calgary on business and just wanted a place that was decent.
We came based on Unilocal reviews and was horribly disappointed.
From the moment we walked in I should have known it was going to be bad. While it was decently busy for being a bit early for dinner (6ish) it took several minutes to catch the waitresses attention to ask if we could sit wherever.
When she came to the table she only brought one menu for two people. Apologized for it but then never came back with a 2^nd menu. When she brought the appetizer (fried pickles — they were good) she again brought only a single plate (there were two of us).
I ordered the Mac & Cheese and my coworker ordered the Jambalaya. The mac & cheese was not very cheesy at all and whatever sausage they used was most definitely NOT andouille. His Jambalaya was pretty sad. The rice was way overcooked and just in a tomato sauce. There was no cajun seasoning at all. I don’t know what kind of meats were supposed to be in it, but it was pretty fishy.
Our waitress stopped by while eating to let us know she was going off shift and needed to check us out. When she came back with the credit card machine she brought her car keys but not a pen to sign the receipt.
I genuinely don’t understand the good reviews on the food here. It definitely looks like it might be a good place for drinks and music, but DO NOT eat here.
********* Updated 04/​25/​2014 *********
Both of us ended up getting sick from the food.

I love the blues can. The music is so awesome and I love to dance.

So blues it’s red hot!
In what appears to be an old airplane hangar along the 9^th Avenue strip in Inglewood lives some of the best Calgary blues served up raw and real!
The patrons are as colourful and diverse as Inglewood itself, all brought together with through the same language — The Blues.
Simple layout that’s all about the music — One room, a bar and a stage. The interior is very dark, decorated with pictures of blues greats and posters showcasing upcoming acts. The curved hangar style walls and give it both an intimate and cave-​like feel. Don’t ask me how those two things work together, but they do!
Blues, beer, and Cajun BBQ — yum! Deep fried pickles, blackened catfish, po’boys and Jambalaya. I’ve been trying to eat my way through their menu, and have been really impressed along the way!
They also seem to be open later than most Inglewood bars! I’ve wandered over here on many occasions after getting booted from «other» Inglewood bars that shut down right when the show is over.

I loved the atmosphere very laid back, great music playing in the background. I thought the acoustics were pretty rough when the Live band were playing, although I did find them to be pretty good. It really is a «can» though acoustically„ so if you’re looking for smooth sound I’d go somewhere else.

I love this place. An institution. Great service for being so packed regularly. It’s great on a weekend, evening or afternoon.
Love to ride here on my motorcycle and stop in for a beer and some tunes in the summer afternoon.
Food? Well, I can’t eat much but I’ve heard it’s pretty good. Smells good anyway.
Keep on grooving Blues Can… you rock.

I love this place, it’s quaint, homely and very welcoming to all types of people. The live music is what brings me back every Wednesday, if you haven’t had a chance to hear a performance yet do check it out!
I finally got around to actually having some food instead of drinking like a fish, and wow the Cajun Mac and Cheese is something magical. It’s their number one dish for a reason! If you’re going to come here you best believe that’s what you are ordering.
Friendly staff, spectacular music (you’d enjoy it even if you aren’t a fan of jazz/​blues) and authentic Southern cuisine. This joint definitely deserves 5 stars from me.

I like the atmosphere and décor, but a $ 15 cover charge on a Thursday night seems excessive. I thought I saw people walk in later who weren’t approached about paying. This process was a bit awkward. A guy walked up to us out of nowhere and asked for our payment. He looked like a patron. I’d say they could put a more formal system in place. Apparently the cover charge was $ 20 an hour prior to our arrival. The band was good but if the cover was jacked up because of Valentine’s Day, I wouldn’t humor this again.
Our server appeared indifferent, which was a little disappointing because the rest of the room was pretty high energy.
My spouse and I had one drink each and no food, but someone nearby ordered nachos and we both stared at what looked to be a giant mound of greasy deliciousness.
Between the service and the cover charge thing, I’m not as excited to return as I’d hoped I would be.

Starving and heading into the core at 7 to see an 8 o’clock concert at the Dome, decided to stop in at the Blues Can for a quick bite and a beer. Still early for this place to get busy, just mostly the regulars at this time, so no trouble finding a table on this Friday evening in November. We were greeted right away and got our beverages and ordered right away. As promised the food came quick as we were on a timeline. Good food, I had the pulled pork Po’ Boy and M had the blackened catfish Po’ Boy. The only complaint was that the bun was not toasted and as a result was a bit doughy. Maybe it’s not meant to be toasted? I was fine with it, will definitely be back, great place to grab a beer, and I hear the bands that play this venue make it a great night out. Next time we’ll try and stick around a little later and catch some of the live music.

Went to the blues can on a monday night to watch a friend propose to his girlfriend. (She said yes!). I was starving even though I had worked at the restaurant all day. When I looked at the menu it reminded me of Cajun Charlies when it was still around, a lot of new orleans and cajun influences. Im not one of those people who handle spice well but i decided to try the Mac and Cheese. I loved it. It was just spicy enough that i could still eat the pasta without dying. The best part was the cornbread. sweet with a hit of a kick not to crumbly or overly moist. cornbread the way its supposed to be.
I love going to the blues can to listen to their live music and the great staff… will return hopefully before the end of the year, but as christmas dawns on the restaurant industry. well you know the rest.

I was taken here by some friends during the blues festival. My friends ordered food right away but I waited. When they got their food, not one of them finished their plates. Grease was dripping off the fish and the fries looked like the grease was years old. I decided to pass on the culinary experience.
I would have been happy to drink and enjoy the show but the middle aged waitress spent more time chatting by the kitchen window than she did serving and in the two hours I was there I was only served one drink. I would have gone to the bar myself, but I had a cast on my foot and was getting grumpy.
The blues players were just ok. As I understand it, the best players had legitimate gigs during the festival, so the jam players were the second string.
I’ve been to a lot of blues bars in my time, and this was the least enjoyable of them.

Stopped by the Blues Can after a show for Fringe Festival. It had the windows wide open. You could hear the band playin and people having a good time. Paid $ 10 for cover to get in. The band was awesome, you could tell they were really into what they were playing. The service was good. Had the chicken nachos, which came with a BBQ sauce on it… So good the sauce wasnt overwhelming or too sweet. Cant say i liked the salsa, tasted cheap and was runny. Everyone has to try the sweet potato pie. It sounded gross, but turned out to be so delicious, like our server told us it would be. It tastes like a lighter version of pumpkin pie, and comes with a ginormous heap of whip cream. The best part was all the folks on the dance floor. One couple, probably the oldest in the room, barely say down the whole evening. Their stamina was incredible, and their enjoyment was contagious. I would definately go back, maybe with more people, as they can accommodate larger groups (6 – 10). I’d also like to try some other items of the menu. This would be fun place if you were wanting to take a date somewhere a bit different.

When a show down the street is advertising tickets for $ 25 and you’re not really in the mood to spend $ 25 on a show, give the Blues Can a call. That’s what I did, and I ended up with a fun Rockabilly band to watch for free.
The Blues Can is now where the Ironwood used to be. It’s got a smaller stage up front (room for about a three piece band) and some space for a dance floor. If you’re there to see the band, sit up front. If you’re there for atmosphere but want to attempt conversation, sit at the back. It gets loud.
The menu is a variety of Southern-​style food, much like what you’d find at Mikey’s. All I ordered last night were the wings, being that it was Rockabilly Wing Wednesday. 25 cent wings works for me! I tried a new flavour, hot mustard. They were alright, but tasted a lot like dijon mustard, which I’m not a fan of in the first place.
Our server last night was Chantal. As far as I could tell, she was the only server on. I don’t think she ever actually stopped moving. She came around several times to make sure we were doing alright. Even while the band was playing, she’d stop and give us a questioning like with a thumbs up sign as a way of checking in. Thanks Chantal!
The other fun bit was watching some of the other patrons gettin’ up to bust a move or two on the dance floor. I’m not sure if they came as friends of the band, or just as regular patrons of the bar, but it was great to see other ppl gettin’ into the music!
So, the next time you’re bored and looking for something to do on a Wednesday, might I suggest you give The Blues Can a shot?

Blues Can is just down the street from my place and it always looked a little questionable at best when driving by. Probably for no other reason than the unpolished smokers huddled around the door.
My dad was the one who asked me to go there with me, so I took him up on the offer to check out what it was like inside.
Very simple and relaxed interior. No frills here, making it a great hangout spot any night of the week.
The Blues Can just re-​did their menu bringing in MORE Cajun deliciousness including an improved rib recipe, batter for deep fried pickles and in-​house made corn bread that is to DIE for. Prices are fair because the food is so delicious.
On April 2^nd, they are opening for both lunch and take out, adding a steak sandwich for under $ 10. This I gotta try!
Bar and wait staff are so incredibly real: friendly, sarcastic, helpful, and all around great people, which is one of the reasons that brings me back time and time again.
The music is great. I have no complaints about the cover charge to see live music in this city. Sometimes you have to give and take, and Blues Can is completely worth it.

I went for a beer with a friend last night and had a riot. The music was decent, though I wish it was more… bluesy. The bartenders were AWESOME, really friendly and fun but not sleazy.
I ordered the Mac & Cheese and WOW. If you love cheese, you’re gonna love this. It’s a really big portion though — fit to share a bowl for 2 people. Very yummy! But you know, I did order Mac & Cheese… so my expectations were low. I also tried their fried pickles, which were very good. Food was very fresh.
I was told that The Blues Can was a bit divey, but as a dive connaisseur, I didn’t find it very divey at all! Casual, yes, but not divey.
The drinks were good and my night was inexpensive, so more points for them. Fair warning: if you want to start a tab, they hang onto your card. I don’t mind in the least, but some of you might.
I left off one star because the cook was a little… aggressive…at flirting with me and sometimes it seemed like a «pick up» place, which I’m not into. Also, I happened to go on a beer launch night so I want to go back and see what it’s like on a regular evening.
I’ll absolutely be back soon, though!

The Blues Can is a real neat «idea» but the execution may be less than awesome. Since the closure of The Eddy, there has been a void of a purely blues venue in Calgary. The Blues Can claims to fill the void, but only partially delivers.
The Blues Can makes some of the same old mistakes that countless lame Calgary bars /​wanna be music venues make. Overcharging for drinks after happy hour is one. Juuuuust bloody well have at least one thing every night thats $ 3.50 or $ 4.00. Maybe become famous for $ 4 cans of Canadian all the time or something.
Also, an exorbitant cover charge gets boring. Charge $ 5 and book local acts who dont demand high guarantees but sound the same or better as the «well known» stuff, which is often generic crap anyway (Bill Dowey for example). Then… once in a while charge $ 12 or $ 15 for someone whos ACTUALLY well known? DO you know what you could have charged for tickets if YOU had Johnny WInter when he came thru town last month? A fortune if you had your act together man! :)
On one of my visits to the Blues Can, I nearly cried because there were no blues at all! Instead some kind of semi-​basement-​wannaa-​be-​pro «HEavy Metal Jam Night». Hahahah! There was no one there except the members of the «bands» LOL. Do some research, and you will find that pretty much every jam night thing in town is a fail, including this one :)
There ARE good things about The BLues Can though. The chef /​cook is AWESOME and scratch makes some wicked grub. The menu is overpriced, especially for a blues bar. When the hell did a blues bar become a cartoon mockery of itself catering to suit and tie people instead of the depressed working class ???
SO to summarise, I am on the fence about The Blues Can. I HOPE it fixes itself and becomes a success, calgary needs a blues venue!

A group of us (20+) went to The Blues Can in Inglewood on April 21 to see One Eyed Cat; just a great sounding fun band of three playing hard and dazzling the place all night.
A summary of our feelings:
Hey, that seemed to turn out well.
The Blues Can had a nice set of table front & center for us and and an amazing server (Thanks, Diane –you busted your tail for us!).
The band was very good, and kept people dancing from the middle of the first set on.
A hardy 3 of us made it to the middle of the 4^th set when we had to go (at a quarter to one).
Cross Eyed Cat are back on May 26. See you then!