Lyndahere And Team Great Big Sea...A fan interpretation.

“If only there were a way to give Alan 24 hours a day in the spotlight at centre-stage edge. Right where he belongs." (Between the Rock and a Hardplace 17 November 2012) And he clearly is in Lynda Elstad or @lyndahere’s world.

In her two most recent posts at her blog page Between A Rock and a Hardplace (“…And A New One Begins Days of Future Past and Embraceable Contradictions Danforth GBS Show Conclusion and Beginning 17 November 2012 and the first part of the post “A New One Begins” Part One Great Big Sea XX tour, First Show (Danforth Music Hall Toronto 14 November 2012). @lyndahere talks about the first Great Big Sea show for Great Big Sea XX. I predicted I would not read a lot about the team that is Great Big Sea. In other words I would read about the Alan Doyle show with four other guys whose name and contribution get a brief mention if any. 

@lyndahere writes a lot about her beloved Alan Doyle, his showmanship and the music he writes and plays but not much about the team that is Great Big Sea and their contributions to the successful twenty years they have been together. @lyndahere talks about how she measures the best shows “My own Great Show standard of measure is twofold. I love shows in which Alan gets to shine brightly and I love shows in which just about everyone present on and off the stage feels grateful to be exactly where they are”.

@lyndahere loves to go on and on about gratitude in her blogs and on Twitter. I read a lot about how much she admires people who are grateful. Most people are grateful for their family, friends, job and career, their health and wellbeing, to live in a community relatively free of violence and civil war, to have clean water, food in constant supply and a health and education system. But to be honest people pay to be entertained. It is their job to be entertainers. It is a reward for the hard work during the week not a way of life. That is not to say that Great Big Sea are not a part of their lives and bring great pleasure as they do mine. The blog has the usual flood of Alan Doyle pictures, videos and the Alan Doyle moments and memories. I am still waiting to read about team Great Big Sea.

So it is within this context @lyndahere writes about what a kind and thoughtful soul she is towards Great Big Sea and their fans while bootlegging the whole show and forgetting about the contribution of each member. “ I am going to still hold off a bit more before writing in depth about the XX Box Set. Two reasons for that, the first (and most important) being that a few folks are still waiting some patiently, some a bit (understandably) less so – for their orders to be delivered, and it seems more polite to wait a bit longer before I go blathering on about what they’re still waiting to see for themselves”. The second reason is that because I have never been a Box-Set Purchaser (this is the first one I have ever brought though there a least several dozen of the things to be found on various shelves in my house) I’ve asked a few friends who have much more expertise than I have to take a look at XX and tell me how it stacks up in satisfying the Diehard Fans’ desires. I’m still waiting to hear back from a few of them but so far the responses I have gotten have been impressively positive (“…And A New One Begins Days of Future Past and Embraceable Contradictions Danforth GBS Show Conclusion and Beginning 17 November 2012).

The diehard fans have spoken. The horse has bolted. @lyndahere failed to mentioned in her blog posts a significant detail that the Great Big Sea XX album had gone Gold in Canada within two weeks which says to me that people loved it. The special edition boxed sets also sold out pretty quick as well. On the 14 November 2012 the members of Great Big Sea announced on Twitter that Great Big Sea XX had gone Gold in Canada (40 000 albums).

@alanthomasdoyle Just got a note from Louis our manager. GBS XX has gone Gold in Canada. In less than two weeks it seems. I am Humbled and Grateful. 14 November 2012


@bobhallett GBS XX is gold! Thanks to the fans who still believe in us after 20 years 14 November 2012 

I did not read a congratulations Alan Doyle, Sean McCann, Bob Hallett, Murray Foster, and Kris MacFarlane in her blog post 17 November 2012. Hopefully in her reviews she will remember that Great Big Sea consists of five members including Bob Hallett, Sean McCann, Murray Foster and Kris MacFarlane not just Alan Doyle who is the first to recognise Great Big Sea is a team.