Post Two - The Concerts.
“Their concerts have achieved legendary status due to the energy and enthusiasm they summon with each song”. Jason Clevett in Gay Calgary, October, 2010.
Woodland Park Zoo, July 29, 2010.
“After “Love Me Tonight”, Alan remarked upon the sunlight pouring down upon the stage. “Turn down the sun!” he cried. And I believe it was here that Séan announced that if the sun didn’t get turned down, they were going to have to start taking off some clothes” (Fan webpage).
There is a wonderful fan review of this concert. The long-time Great Big Sea fan wrote affectionately about her day at the zoo with her friends and family. I really enjoyed her descriptions of the onstage banter between the boys. Thank you to the fan for posting her concert experiences and the setlist online.
I also found an amazing collection of photographs by Kirk Stauffer Photography from the Woodland Park Zoo concert in Seattle. They were of happier Great Big Sea times.
As usual it was so hard to pick a favourite photograph from this extensive and very inclusive collection. However, my favourite two from this fabulous collection is one of the whole band and some of the audience and one of Alan Doyle and Bob Hallett sharing a joke on stage. I have posted those two photographs here. The rest have been circulated on my Google + page published by the photographer on an online site. As always no copyright infringement intended.
“Their concerts have achieved legendary status due to the energy and enthusiasm they summon with each song”. Jason Clevett in Gay Calgary, October, 2010.
Woodland Park Zoo, July 29, 2010.
“After “Love Me Tonight”, Alan remarked upon the sunlight pouring down upon the stage. “Turn down the sun!” he cried. And I believe it was here that Séan announced that if the sun didn’t get turned down, they were going to have to start taking off some clothes” (Fan webpage).
There is a wonderful fan review of this concert. The long-time Great Big Sea fan wrote affectionately about her day at the zoo with her friends and family. I really enjoyed her descriptions of the onstage banter between the boys. Thank you to the fan for posting her concert experiences and the setlist online.
I also found an amazing collection of photographs by Kirk Stauffer Photography from the Woodland Park Zoo concert in Seattle. They were of happier Great Big Sea times.
As usual it was so hard to pick a favourite photograph from this extensive and very inclusive collection. However, my favourite two from this fabulous collection is one of the whole band and some of the audience and one of Alan Doyle and Bob Hallett sharing a joke on stage. I have posted those two photographs here. The rest have been circulated on my Google + page published by the photographer on an online site. As always no copyright infringement intended.
Webster Hall, New York. 24 September, 2010.
This post is by long time Great Big Sea fan Matt Kremkau. He has also written reviews for the Indoor Garden Parties in New York City. Attached to this article are some great photographs from the concert. The article has been edited for copyright reasons. No copyright infringement intended.
‘Great Big Sea @ Webster Hall, New York City,’ by Matt Kremkau published in Junk Read online. September, 2010.
“This past Friday night, a hot early Fall evening, Great Big Sea played NYC at Webster Hall to a rambunctious crowd, filled with two full sets. Newfoundland’s own were in town to support their latest release “ Safe Upon The Shore,” out earlier this summer. Canadian folk rock is sure fine way of having a wonderful Friday night out in the city!....
The band played two sets at about 45 mins to an hour each. They featured a wide range of hits and new songs from their album, including “Good People,” “Nothing but a Song,” and a Led Zeppelin cover “Gallows Pole.” During the first set, the band did one of their very fun and entertaining medley’s featuring Hit Me With Your Best Shot/Don’t Stop Believing/500 Miles/Summer of 69 and finished off the medley with their cover of Slade’s Run Runaway.
Overall, Great Big Sea did not disappoint as always. If you want a great evening out with friends and/or family, come out and sing, clap along, and dance, then this band is right up your alley. I was pleased with the set lists and while I didn’t stick around for the end, I caught most of the gig and featured plenty of new songs from their latest record as well as one of my favorite’s “Fortune’s Favour” as well as songs from “Play,” “Up” and “Sea of No Cares”
Pantages Theatre, Minneapolis. 23 October, 2010.
This Great Big Sea concert review by Stacy Schwartz, provides a great review of the concert, her personal favourites, a setlist and a link to a nice collection of 24 photographs in a slide presentation. Of particular interest were her observations on the reactions of the American fans to Great Big Sea. The review has been edited for copyright reasons. No copyright infringement intended.
‘Great Big Sea’ is by Stacy Schwartz in City Pages, published on 25 October, 2010.
“Great Big Sea performed two full sets for an enthusiastic crowd at the Pantages Theatre on Saturday night. The crowd thrust their beers firmly in the air, swaying and singing along to every word that passed the lips of frontman Alan Doyle.
The band was in town to celebrate the release of their tenth album, Safe Upon the Shore. The five-piece showed that not only can they rock, but their accapella chops are worth bragging about. There were multiple times during the show where the hair on my arms stood on end due to the fantastic vocals on stage. I was expecting a bit more generic folk-rock, but found a wonderful mixture of Irish and Newfoundland-influenced music jumbled up with some straight country and ripping rock guitar solos. The band easily slid from one genre into another, so you could barely notice the change. It worked so well for them, and there's no way you couldn't enjoy yourself…
You also can't talk about Great Big Sea without mentioning the fans. The crowd was crazy. They jumped up and down, waved their hands, sang every single verse, screamed for more and weren't satisfied after two sets and two encores. They ate up merch like rabid dogs and came prepared to party. There were point-and-shoot cameras video taping every song (which I overheard someone say the band encourages), and people just totally immersed in the music.
The most fun part for me (as I didn't really know many of the GBS songs) was at the end of the first set. The band pulled out a ridiculous number of 1980s hits ("Faith," "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "Jack and Diane," etc.) and asked the crowd to sing along. This crowd was the only crowd I can remember where every single person participated. It even prompted Doyle to quip, "It's really starting to sound like Glee in here." It was pretty nerdy, and pretty awesome.
Overall Great Big Sea has their act down pat. They are talented musicians with an extremely faithful following. Their music might not be the best thing in the world to some people like it is to their fans, but you can't help but be entertained at one of their live shows. They work the crowd, they are genuinely excited to be on stage, and their appreciation for what they do seems to shine through every note. Those things make for a successful band and a happy audience -- myself included”.
‘Set One:
Ordinary Day
The Chemical Worker's Song (Process Man)
The Night That Paddy Murphy Died
When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)
Nothing But A Song
Jack Hinks
Safe Upon the Shore
Concerning Charlie Horse
Good People
Let It Go
Dear Home Town
Yankee Sailor
Run Runaway
*crowd singalong of 80s songs*
Set Two:
Long Life
Love Me Tonight
Penelope
England
When I Am King
General Taylor
Scolding Wife
Sea of No Cares
Helmethead
Consequence Free
Mari-Mac
Encore One:
Follow Me Back
Excursion Around the Bay
Fortune's Favor”
Encore Two:
The Old Black Rum
Old Brown's Daughter
Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, Calgary. 27 October, 2010.
“Great Big Sea Jubilant at Jubilee” is by Jason Clevett published in Gay Calgary online in October 2010.
I found this article by long time Great Big Sea and Alan Doyle and The Beautiful Gypsies supporters Gay Calgary. I like really like this article as it has recorded what the band played, some of their on stage banter and the issues that Canadian bands have during their winter in travelling. This article has been edited for copyright reasons. No copyright infringement intended.
“Reviewing concerts gives me the opportunity to see acts that I may not have gone out of my way to see, in a crowded concert marketplace. Sometimes that can be a bore, while other times I get to discover that I have been missing out by not seeing an artist before.
As a virgin in the Great Big Sea concert experience, I had an idea of what to expect. After all, a band doesn't survive nearly 18 years and become one of the most popular Canadian artists without some talent. Their concerts have achieved legendary status due to the energy and enthusiasm they summon with each song.
At the sold out October 27th show, that enthusiasm was on in full-force for opener Ordinary Day, which immediately brought fans to their feet. The Day Pat Murphy Died and When I'm Up, two more of the groups most popular songs, kept the fans on their feet clapping, dancing and singing along.
The band – Alan Doyle, Sean McCann, Bob Hallett, Kris McFarlane and Murray Foster – could be forgiven if the energy level had been a little lax. A Saskatchewan snowstorm left them stranded in Regina and for awhile the show appeared to be in serious jeopardy. Doyle made a point of thanking the crew, who hadn't made it to the venue until almost 5:00, for setting up in time for the show to start.
“I feel very close to you right now Calgary,” Doyle said. “Unlike 10 hours ago when I wasn't sure we would make it.”
A sense of humour appears to be a requirement for Canadian artists, and indeed, the band is actually quite funny. When Doyle would go off on tangents, McCann would dryly state, “He's been like this ever since that movie (Robin Hood.)” The stage banter often had the crowd in stitches with laughter.
A Great Big Sea concert is pretty amazing to watch as an assortment of instruments come into play – accordions, flutes, and banjos to name a few – but the strongest instruments in their repertoire are their voices. This was evident early on, with the title track of their latest album Safe Upon The Shore, which featured McCann singing solo and the rest of the band harmonizing for the chorus. It was a standout song in an evening full of them. Yankee Sailor, Run Runaway and a cover of Gallows Pole also stood out, and watching the band perform the insanely fast Mari-Mac was a sight to behold.
The audience had plenty of chances themselves to sing, as Doyle lead them through a medley of covers including The Black Eyed Peas, John Mellancamp, Journey, and U2, before the rousing Run Runaway wrapped up the first of two sets.
It is clear in watching Great Big Sea that they love performing, and that love is returned. The diverse audience spanned from seniors to children - with parents that may have been close to their age when they first heard Great Big Sea themselves. At fairly low prices for a concert ($72.40 including fees for the top ticket) fans got over two and a half hours of Great Big Sea…”
