The first review was of the Ottawa Blues Fest in Ottawa by
the Ottawa Sun newspaper July 12, 2013 copied below. Accompanying the review is
a slide show of some of 25 of the most amazing photos I have ever seen including
Great Big Sea and other artists who performed at the festival including the
Waterboys. The first thing I noticed about the collection of photos of Great
Big Sea there were photos not only Alan Doyle but Sean McCann and two of Bob
Hallett which were copied below. Pictures of the crowd during the day and at
night were included.
The second review was by Samantha Wu for the concert at
Molson Canadian Amphitheatre in Toronto on July 13. I really enjoyed this
review of the concert which was a lovely balance between her personal engagement
with their music, some favourite moments and an insight into the history of
some of the songs and her perspectives on Canadian music within the world scene.
Alan Doyle talked about “What Are You At” a silly song about how Newfoundlanders
say hello. As I am not a fan from Canada I was never really sure whether it was
a makeup or a serious language saying. There was plenty of detail about what
songs were played and how they were interconnected together. Absent from the
article were photographs but her words captured what happened wonderfully.
Thank you Samantha Wu. The article is
called Great Big Sea – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, Toronto and can be found
at www.lithiummagazine.com.
'Great Big Sea teach Ottawa al about the East Coast Kitchen Party' by Aedan Helmer published in the Ottawa Sun on July 12, 2013. (no copyright infringement intended)
Bluesfest pulled off the trifecta of all-star Canadiana Friday, after perennial festival stops by Rush and The Tragically Hip — and with festival stalwarts Blue Rodeo and Metric giving it a miss this year — as the boys of Great Big Sea brought their own special brand of island party to Lebreton Flats.
“Let's get this party started!” yelled Alan Doyle in his trademark gruff baritone as 20,000 fans screamed along. “This is Great Big Sea, 20 years in the making — and 20 years of coming to Ottawa.”
And with no better place to celebrate such a momentous anniversary than at the festival also marking the end of its second decade — with both paths crossing on many a memorable night — Doyle, Sean McCann and Bob Hallett, with bassist Murray Foster joining the ranks in front of a crack backline, the band seemed genuinely swept up in the occasion.
They seemed equally enthralled to share the bill with The Waterboys, a band who each member has acknowledged as a formative influence, and one that made for a perfect pairing on Friday night, with both groups melding expertly-crafted rocky-edged tunes with the traditional reels and sea shanties from opposing Atlantic shores.
After warming up the crowd right with a jig, it was headlong into the hit Ordinary Day, with the traditional bodhran bounce of Donkey Riding wedged between another megahit in When I'm Up I Can't Get Down.
McCann's The Night Pat Murphy Died had the fans slurring along in all their beer-swilling glory, with more than a few drops spilled on the all-out barn dance of Heart of Hearts, followed by McCann's affecting ballad England.
For the long-serving, near cult-like fans of The Waterboys, the rarity of their idol Mike Scott's visit to Bluesfest was reason enough for celebration.
Enlisting longtime musical partner in fiddler Steve Wickham, and a group of New York musicians to form the version of The Waterboys that will tour North America for the first time in eons, Scott took fans on a whirlwind tour through his own considerable canon, while pieces of his latest passion project — setting the poems of W.B. Yeats to music — made their debut on these shores.
True to his own restless spirit, Scott brought the best parts of his multiple personalities in what disciples have alternately dubbed “The Big Music” and the “Raggle-Taggle” band, reeling off cutting Celtic traditional tunes in the midst of his big, blazing rock sound that gave rise to such diverse devotees as World Party, U2 and, on these shores, Great Big Sea.
But to split a life's work into two such distinct divisions would be fallacy, as Scott proved himself equally adept at either, while showing that within those two worlds, he's a master of many trades.
Looking old school cool in striped slacks, navy jacket and shades under a black fedora — complete with the literal feather in his cap to go along with the multitude of figurative ones — Scott made amends for his decades-long absence right from his welcoming.
Rock's poet laureate had fans in the throes from the opening strains of Strange Boat, with Scott's clever lyric — “We're sailing on a strange sea / Blown by a strange wind / Carrying the strangest crew that ever sinned” — ringing clear and true.
He dipped into the deep well of the classic Fisherman's Blues album again with the lilting title track, with Wickham easing from traditional fiddle reels to electrified rock violin on the jagged edge of A Girl Named Johnny.
The “love song” The Girl in the Swing, drawn from The Waterboys' 1983 eponymous debut, began an earnest ballad and ended up in a swirling post-prog haze, with Scott looking and sounding a bit Bob Geldof's bile-spitting “Pink” while Wickham emulated Wall-era Floyd orchestrations.
Scott pulled out the blues-driven I'm a Freak — “This is a blues festival, right?” — and jumped effortlessly between signature shanty Raggle Taggle Gypsy and the Dylanesque We Will Not Be Lovers.
The show had its theatrical elements as well, Wickham and guitarist Jay Barclay donning black occult masks and trading off solos in a pagan danse macabre, with Scott joining the masquerade at its climax for a brooding recitation.
The shining The Whole of the Moon slithered into a new tune from a forthcoming album that's “just been written and fine-tuned,” with the good-humoured I Can See Elvis striking a sharp contrast to the ominous closer Medicine Bow, which in turn formed a pleasant contradiction with his choice for encore, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, the singalong introduced as one of Scott's favourite songs.
“It's been a pleasure playing for you,” Scott said. “I hope we can come back soon to play in some old theatre or a funky club where they can squeeze us all in and we can all get to know each other better.”
A most tantalizing proposition.
Some amazing photos from the Ottawa Sun (no copyright infringement intended) The photos are the property of Errol McGihon/Ottawa Sun/QMI Agency).
