Between The Rock And A Hard Place: Newfoundland, Great Big Sea, Alan Doyle, And Even Russell Crowe

"See The King, He Does Come Down" - Catching Up On Comments, Tooting A Deserving Horn & Seeing A Familiar Face More Clearly (First Grey Cup Show Photos)

More beautifully bearded Alan Doyle.

For all of the "Alan is a teddy bear" nonsense, I think he's coming across more as a grizzly bear these days, and that is extremely appealing.

Only a few photos and not too terribly many words for now, since an unhappy tendon is making a brace on my right thumb necessary and that brace is making it darn hard to type, as well as darn hard to edit photos. I did manage to get all the comments posted and/or responded to, so if you made a comment on the previous four entries, it should be up and answered, with my sincere apologies for taking so long. Please don't take my lack of organisation when it comes to timely replies to mean that I don't appreciate the comments (well, the sane comments, that is) that people make here. I do appreciate them very much; not unlike Bob, I suppose (a mildly discomfitting realisation), I enjoy intelligent conversation and remain hopeful that it is possible to partake of such online. Things would be much less interesting here if it were always and only my voice being heard; I am grateful for all of the other voices that have spoken up here, and there are some voices I would dearly love to hear from as well, privately or publicly, if those speakers should ever feel so inclined.  But if not, I am also very grateful for those who read quietly.

The series of photos below are all from one song at the recent Grey Cup show, and when I sent the first few pictures in the series to a friend who has seen a sizeable number of GBS shows and asked her to guess the song, she thought it might be River Driver or perhaps Process Man, maybe even General Taylor. She was thoroughly surprised when I told her what song these photos are actually from: Donkey Riding, the "customary" opening song for a GBS show, but most certainly not performed in the customary way at this GBS show.

I've never hidden my opinion that I don't think much of Donkey Riding as an opener for GBS's shows: too many in the crowd think they're singing about a jackass (I will never forget the Chicago woman who accused me of supporting an "animal abusing band" because They keep that poor little donkey tied up to a tree!); even more think a GBS show couldn't possibly be done "right" if Donkey Riding were not the opening song, regardless of whether they know what the hell the song is actually about; once you give change-fearing people exactly what they expect of you at the outset, you've made them all the more resistant to anything new that might follow after; and the song simply isn't one designed to make the singers seem like much to be taken seriously, nor to give the impression that they take themselves or their crowd very seriously either, mockery and self-mockery harmonising to a bodhran beat and dancing an ironic jig to the screech of a fiddle.

Donkey Riding isn't a Newfoundland song and it isn't one of their originals; best as I can tell, it had become known mostly a Mainland Canadian children's tune before it assumed the role of GBS's Customary Opening Song. From the first show I saw, it seemed to me that they deserved a better starting point, and that opinion has not mellowed with the passing of time. Quite the contrary. There's been no love for Donkey Riding coming from this direction.

And yet for all that the problems with the song remain and in spite of my hearty dislike of the song, Donkey Riding was an awesome opener for GBS at the recent Grey Cup Festival show. The reason it was awesome was because it was performed with a blast of buoyant energy from Sean and Bob and Murray and with sheer ferocity from Alan. Alan performed Donkey Riding like he took it seriously; he performed it like it was the opening song of a show that everyone should and would take seriously, no hesitation or doubt in his mind of that outcome.

Maybe Great Big Sea used to perform Donkey Riding this way, back when it was still in the process of becoming GBS's Customary Opening Song. Or maybe this was something as new to them as it was to anyone else. All I can say for sure is that it was new to me, new and impressive. I sure took it seriously, even Donkey Riding.

This non-customary Donkey Riding was the first evidence that this show was going to be something out of the ordinary. I've seen a whole lot of Great Big Sea shows and I have seen so many Alan Doyle performances - performances where he was charming, sweet, impatient, endearing, impassioned, insistent, silly, impudent, needy, exhausted, stubborn, sexy, pissed off, persuasive, frustrated, shitfaced, triumphant...you name it, I've quite likely seen it. This show I saw Alan Doyle put on a performance the likes of which I haven't seen him do, not with GBS (though I did see long and lovely glimpses of something similar when Alan played the Australian shows with Russell Crowe and The Ordinary Fear Of God); for nearly all of this show, Alan came across as serious and grounded, intensely focused and adamantly real - sharply and clearly defined, and perhaps the most compelling I have yet to see him be.

On the one hand, this felt like something different, something exhilarating and exciting and new. But on the other hand, it felt even more like something familiar, something wonderful and amazing and dear that has been right here all along just below the surface - a potential and a promise that has just begun to rise up and come into its full power.

Not that I had this all thought out during that surprising opening song. I was totally bedazzled and intrigued by a gorgeous beard for the first few songs, and that distracted me enough to keep me from putting the pieces together; I knew something significant was going on, but wasn't sure what to make of it. It wasn't until they got to Walk On The Moon that it all began to make some sense to me. When I looked at Alan through my camera and saw this man, all of those pieces finally came together to fit into one coherent picture:

I recognise you, I thought. I saw you while standing in a cavernous Danish tent and also when leaning up against the pokies in that odd little RSL casino in Australia. You were there at the edge of the stage at Mile One and again at the Big Easy in Spokane. That same face, those same eyes, and even the same song in the bright lights of the Halifax Junos and the soft lights of the New Orleans Parish. Winnipeg, Louisville, Phoenix, Victoria, Kingston, Austin, Kansas City...you are familiar and known and most welcome. I saw you for the very first time on my television, sitting in a circle with Bruce Guthro and Julian Austin and playing amazing songs with all of your heart and soul. The performer, the musician, the writer, the real and genuine man has been here all along. It's just that he's suddenly showing up so much more clearly and distinctly than he ever has before.

Which is a very good thing. I really like the performer, the musician, the writer - and most of all, I really like the real and genuine man who could be so clearly and distinctly seen on this night at this show. He is someone very special in all of his many manifestations. So much so that I hope he will remain clearly and distinctly visible in all the days to come.

Those who come here will be seeing him, hopefuly fairly clearly and distinctly, in this show, and also the others who along with him made it such a powerful show, when I get the pictures, as well as the videos, up in the next few entries. This might take some time because of that cranky tendon, a decidedly displeased tendon at the present moment. One last note for now, though, once again because I think that what the men of Great Big Sea are doing is really cool and that "really cool" is something that's best when shared as much as possible:

Great Big Gift For Daffodil Place

Great Big Sea has announced that all of the proceeds from their Great Big Christmas Concert will go to Daffodil Place. The show is in its thirteenth season and members of the band indicated that making Daffodil Place the beneficiary of the event was an easy decision to make. Chairman of the Daffodil Place Campaign John Steele says they are truly grateful to Great Big Sea for the selfless gesture. The Great Big Christmas Show will be held December 28th at the Delta St. John's and will include special guests The Novaks.

It's all good when they do something that makes it so easy to be proud of them. This qualifies. Maybe it's true that you aren't supposed to toot your own horn about your generous charitable efforts, but that does not preclude someone else from tooting your horn for you.

"Weak In The Knees For You" Part Two - GBS Plays A Show With Anne Murray And Nelly Furtado For Gilda's Club, & Trying Not To Regret "This Damned Decision"

Great Big Sea played a really cool gig this past Monday evening: the Sixth Annual It's Always Something fundraiser for Gilda's Club, singing a few tunes during a star-studded variety show that also included such luminaries as Anne Murray, Nelly Furtado, Eric McCormack, and Russell Peters. It was an important show for an excellent cause, and it took place on a day I was in Toronto (on the slightly-bleary Day After the festivities of Grey Cup Weekend) at a theatre that was less than two blocks from my hotel.

In spite of such seemingly fortuitous convenience, I was not present at this show, for reasons I'll get into in a bit. For now, it's far more interesting and important to get a glimpse of the ones who were there, since - in direct oppostiion to The Way It's Done in the World of GBS Fandom (maybe in most fandom worlds) - it really isn't All About Me. This is All About GBS; that is, what matters the most is all about them.

When I made the "damned decision" not to go, I was left fervently hoping that somebody would write about and/or take photographs of the show, thinking there was a good chance of at the very least getting the latter, given the magnitude of star-power that would be taking the Elgin stage. The following are pro photos, all of them from the WireImage site and taken by George Pimental.

These are, I do believe, two shots of GBS performing River Driver.

And these four photos are almost certainly from an off-mic, stage-edge Old Brown's Daughter, complete with a lovely view of a gorgeously bearded Alan. I was so glad the beard made it to this show; here's hoping it is still around to admire at the Delta Christmas show.

Then a group number - unless Alan or someone else writes about the show, there's no way to tell what song these are from, though Snowbird might be a decent guess - led by Anne Murray and including, among others, a currently-blonde Nelly Furtado directly to the right of a still-gorgeously-bearded Alan Doyle.

This might possibly have been Alan's favourite moment of the evening; it's sure the moment I most regret not having been there to see in the flesh.

There are more photos of this show to be found by following the WireImage link above, and if you opt for a paid membership to WireImage (I've gone with the free option), you can get higher-quality versions of each photo.

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Now for the less interesting and not-so important; now for an explanation of my Damned Decision.

I really wanted to go to this show, even when I was thinking in terms of it being a matter of GBS performing only one or two songs. When I let myself think about the possibility of what I enjoy most of all at any show occurring - seeing the delight Alan always shows when he finds himself on stage alongside the best and brightest of his peers - skipping this show was not at all an easy decision to make and an even harder decision to stick with. Even after arriving at the airport Monday morning, I was still arguing with myself about leaving or staying. And as my plane left the ground, I may have felt like I'd chosen the right option, but I was still not a bit happy about that choice.

As originally planned, Grey Cup Weekend wrapped up on Monday, with early-morning flights home for all. Weeks after making those plans, I found out about GBS's taking part in the Gilda's Club fundraiser and was considering staying the extra day in TO to attend the show, even though hotel room, airline-ticket changes. and show ticket were going to inflict some serious damage. Then the word came out about the Great Big Christmas Show next month, and that was what created the necessity for the making of a Damned Decision.

Yes, it was possible to go to both the fundraiser and the GB Christmas sbow, possible and very desirable. But there was no way in hell even I could call going to the Grey Cup show, the fundraiser, and the Christmas show any kind of attempt at Middle Ground - particularly in light of that seriously damaging price tag for the fundraiser - even by my own admittedly idiosyncratic definition of what comprises Middle Ground.

I don't like having to make choices, but sometimes no matter what you do, you're making a choice. Try as I might, there was no escaping the realisation that if I went ahead and did all of what I really wanted to do, I would be choosing to shrug off a promise I made to someone who matters a great  deal to me. I promised an honest attempt at Middle Ground, albeit my own version of such.  Doing what I really wanted to do was not going to be what I had promised to this important person.

So I made my decision: I did what I said I would try to do and I obediently, if still reluctantly, boarded my flight as scheduled. This means that by my own choice I missed out on being there to see how delighted Alan was to find himself on stage with Anne Murray and Nelly Furtado, a sight that surely would have delighted me nearly as much in turn. That's hard to handle, really frigging hard to handle, an entirely different kind of seriously damaging price tag. But I suppose that if it were something easy to give up for the sake of someone special, the surrender wouldn't mean a great deal. Maybe the giving-up has to be hard and costly for it to matter much at all.

But what matters the most is still going to be what took place on the Elgin Theatre stage, during what looks to have been grand time for them all and what has to have been an especially wonderful moment for Alan, and there's much gratitude to be felt for the existence of these photos. Separate from difficulty with damned-decision acceptance, I have no trouble at all being glad for everything that was good for them last night. I do wish I could find a way to feel a bit more glad about having chosen to do what I did; maybe that will come in time. Maybe too I'll wind up with more assurance that it really was the "right" thing to do. I hope it was, but this road is dark and bumpy and sometimes it is very difficult to find the proper path that leads toward Middle Ground.

All I know for sure in the here and now is that right or wrong, my choice was based on a sincere desire to give someone I care about a small measure of what I said I would give, what I was told is wanted and needed. That's going to have to be good enough for now, that and the beautiful smiles to be seen on these photos. Though I am still hoping very much that Alan will see fit to write about this show. I would really like to know what that group song was, and even more, I would love to read how he writes the delight I was not there to witness firsthand. He gives such delight when writing about what delights him.

I should be back soon with more photos (and videos) of the Lovely Bearded Lion King and the Grey Cup show, that and doing some comment catch-up when I get a bit more time, which is in decidedly short supply at the moment. I just wanted to get this up as soon as I could because I think it was something that was really cool for them, and I will always believe that "really cool" should be shared as much as possible, especially when I've not a bit of doubt that this particular "really cool" put Alan right over the moon.

"Weak In The Knees For You" Part One - Bearding The Lion (King) In His Den & Being Taken Seriously At The TO Grey Cup Festival Show

Editing in an even more gorgeous view of the beautifully bearded man, this for those who prefer the live-action perspective.

When I Am King, Alan Doyle & Great Big Sea, Grey Cup Festival show, Toronto, Nov. 2007, video download link     (145 MB)

"Holy shit" covers it pretty well again this time. Even better is "Damn, he's sexy." Maybe best of all to settle for inarticulately heartfelt sighs.

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Holy shit.

Alan Doyle, The Bearded

Alan Doyle, Again

It's the wee small hours of Grey Cup Sunday morning, but before I head off to sleep for a bit - and most likely to dream some very beautiful dreams - there are a few things I need to say first.

The first is this: You start with three women, each of whom thinks one particular man is utterly gorgeous and persistently desirable both inside and out. All three of these women don't think too much of how most men look when they grow beards, generally speaking (though a few do look good with beards...Russell Crowe is a good example). Then the women see this utterly gorgeous and persistently desirable man for the first time in a few weeks, and their handsome and irresistible man is suddenly sporting a thick, luxuriant beard on his charming face. And all three of those women are totally bedazzled, made thoroughly weak in the knees by how spectacular the man looks with that beard they had no idea they could ever find so appealing on, so perfectly suited to, this man.

I don't know how long Alan might be continuing in this Hirsute State Of Grace, but I am crossing my fingers and hoping it lasts a very long time, because he looks spectacular this way. Where some men look like they are hiding who they are behind their beards, Alan Doyle looks like more of who he is with a beard. He looks smart and sure, clever and creative, determined and devilish, most of all, powerful and passionate; it delineates his edges and it accentuates his strength. He looks like a man who takes himself seriously, a man who expects the same from others. For some reason I'm not quite sure of yet, the beard goes perfectly with his overall external appearance - seamless and integral to that singular body image beautiful - as much as it suits his internal characteristics

And it is seriously sexy - dizzyingly sexy. Weak-in-the-knees sexy.

Anyone who has a clue about me already knows I have more photos and plenty of video of the Bearded Lion King in all of his insistent glory. That will come later, to be sure. But for now, this one photo gives a glimpse of a man who tonight managed to surprise and delight three women who already think quite well of him.

The Grey Cup Festival show was itself a surprise and delight. Amidst much of the expected foolishness, Great Big Sea did something I've seen them do a number of times before: The rose to the occasion and they rose to their own standards of how good they can be...they took themselves seriously. They played their usual music on their own terms; they (especially Alan and Sean...Sean was completely adorable at this show...but all of the rest of them too) never let the pace wander or lag, and from the first moment Alan stepped out onto the stage, he never once wavered from a palpable expectation that this crowd was going to give him everything he asked them to give. And they did, up to and including something I (foolishly...I should know him better by now) thought might be out of his reach: Alan expected, and Alan obediently received, an instantaneous hush and rapt attention that lasted for the duration of Walk On The Moon. This from a crowd that was pushy, pissy, and sodden right up to about 10 seconds after Alan and his mates had come out onto the stage. It was a great performance overall, and it was a superlative performance by the front man who keeps doing things I've almost never, and sometimes absolutely never, seen anyone else do.

I'll do the whole setlist, photos, videos, other bands (more talk about lights too, since tonight I finally realised what it is GBS's lights have been missing) stuff when I get back home, sometime after Tuesday. For now, beyond saying that it was a great show with an especially striking performance by Alan - along with expressing the sensual fluster caused by a beguiling beard on a gorgeous face - I'll just note that one of the best moments of their show was when Patrick Boyle, one of the most talented and versatile musicians ever to come from Newfoundland, came out to play trumpet during Penelope. I loved that so much, I've got soundcheck video of it and two separate videos (mine and a friend's) of it from during the actual show, all to put up here just as soon as I get it uploaded.

Which will not be tonight. Maybe tomorrow after the Grey Cup game, maybe Monday if I stay the extra day to see the fundraiser show. Haven't got that far with planning yet; we're only up to deciding on where to have brunch (since our favourite pub is closed tomorrow, we're going to try its "sibling" pub), and then the game tomorrow. If I don't get the uploading done before I leave TO, well, then probably not till I'm back in St. John's after Christmas. Well, unless what Russell described as Alan's "solo side project" comes to fruition somewhere before then. Time will tell. But eventually, one way or another, I'll get the videos loaded and linked. Just not tonight, or rather this morning. I'm ready for sleep and the beauty of anticipated dreams, and that's where I'm headed after saying just one last thing for now:

One of the best parts of this Grey Cup weekend has been spending it with two friends from opposite sides of the continent, each of whom I see regularly, but who seldom see each other; even more seldom are the times the three of us are together in one place...the last time it happened was the Winnipeg Junos in 2005. (Come to think of it, Alan was pretty darn amazing then too, the Master of both Songwriters' Circles and Juno Cups.) From talking to and watching people the past few days, it looks as if there are a lot of folks who have been meeting up with and having grand times with friends this weekend just like my friends and I have been doing, and it's been nearly as good to watch it happen as it has been to experience it. I'm hoping that everyone in the band, and all the crew as well, get that same chance this weekend, the chance to spend some time laughing and talking with their buddies in a familiar pub somewhere, no nonsense or interruptions, just good times and companionship and up-till-the-crack-of-dawn fun. Most of all, I hope that's the memory the handsome bearded man returns home with. I hope that whenever he thinks of this Grey Cup weekend in the coming years, he always gets a smile on his (still-bearded) face.

That, and a smile at the memory of the most exciting game ever played in the 95-year-history of the Grey Cup. But since I'm going to that game, that's kind of a selfish wish, so maybe I'll just stick with hoping that Alan, that they all, get to be here for a good time.

One last time, last time for tonight/this morning at least - while not dreaming, that is: That very well might be the fucking sexiest beard that I have ever seen.

"What Will You Sing Me?" Part 5 - Let Them Eat Cake (And Icing Too): Being Taken Seriously - Bob's And Alan's Journals And The Grey Cup Show, The Body Image Beautiful & The Rest Of The First Vancouver Casino Show Photos

An abundance of the good and the beautiful to close out this (south of the border) Thanksgiving Day, so much so that I'm having a hard time deciding just where to begin...With a deftly turned phrase by an excellent writer? Or with a breath-stealing photo of a sexy man? Decisions, decisions.

I choose him both ways:

The first few eager snowflakes have dusted my front step.  The icing on the Cake; Winter is here. - Alan's most recent journal entry

And because encore peformances of the Wonderful are always desirable:

That's what I call having my cake (and the icing) and eating it too.

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This is going to be a big entry - way more photos that I should probably put in one entry and it make take some time for them all to load - but I want to wrap up the first Vancouver casino show and (finally) try to answer a point that I've been pondering for awhile about the upcoming Grey Cup Festival show. In the past few days of pondering, both Alan and Bob have made comments in their respective journals that are part and parcel of my own response to that point, and I am running out of time to make that response if I don't want it to be an after-the-fact, 20-20 hindsight sort of answer. And I want to say my own piece on the "body image" topic too. Then there's wanting to respond to the rest of Alan's journal entry. I think I'll save that for the very end, thus ending and beginning with what gives the greatest pleasure...think of it as cake (again, with icing) for both appetizer and dessert. And maybe as the main course too. It's hard to have too much cake.

I think I'll go with the closeup shots from the end of the Coquitlam casino show - these are all from the encores, speaking of encore performances -  and then sandwich most of the words between these and the full-size photos which are probably still trying to load. Perhaps by cleverly inserting the text between batches of lovely photos, I can take a bit of the scald off of the hot water I am likely going to get into (or is it "stay in"?) from what I say. Nobody can stay pissed when they've got cake, cake and icing, mind you...can they?

Well, it sure seems to work with me. But then, I really do love cake.

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Three from Excursion, two from Fortune, six from River Driver, and five from Rant & Roar. Then one of the face that tells the most compelling story, especially during the final seconds of a show.

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Taking a macro look at this journal, which I have been keeping for well over a year now, a couple of broad themes seem to have emerged, at least if one is judging anything by the number of comments various topics have generated: for example, the more intellectual and argumentative I am, the more people are bored and uninterested. Conversely, the more revealing the anecdote (from a GBS perspective), and the more “in character” I write, the more popular the entry. This is not really a surprise; attempts at taking ourselves seriously have never been to our advantage. To quote my friend Ken, then, “dance with the one who brung ya…”. - Bob's most recent journal entry

I fully expect to be in the decided minority - as well as up to my ear lobes in hot water - with this opinion, but I think this very well might be the saddest thing I've ever heard from Bob Hallett. Yes, it's got a heaping measure of truth in it...I'll concede that much straight up. But even with that measure of truth, I'm still going to disagree with Bob, disagree even while agreeing. Granted, that disagreement isn't fueled by anywhere near as much naive, hopeful enthusiasm as it would have been a few years ago; much of the naivete has been slapped out of me by now, quite a bit of the enthusiasm too. But not the hope; the hope abides. And some of that slapping has had the unexpected benefit of helping when it comes to seeing things a bit more clearly.

"Attempts at taking ourselves seriously have never been to our advantage": That reads like an epitaph - for a person, for a band, for a culture. I believe it's true that a great many of Great Big Sea's fans  - the people who have "brung" GBS to the dance - would think this an excellent motto for their favourite Party Band.  I believe it's true that a great many Canadians would have no problem at all extending that concept to cover Newfoundlanders in general.

But I do not agree that it has to be this way, not in either case; it''s certainly not justified and I can't believe it's inevitable. The one thing I am more convinced of than the inarguable and unfortunate truth that many take neither men of GBS nor the people of Newfoundland seriously is the much more compelling truth that those men and those people do so richly deserve to be taken seriously. And I also think there is likely some responsibility to be borne by those who make the choice of who will and who will not be the ones bringing them to the dance. 

In this instance, Bob expresses the thought that the lack of responses to his "intellectual and argumentative" journal entries indicates that people are "bored and uninterested" with and in that type of entry; because people do respond to his "in character" entries, then this means they prefer him (and by extension, GBS) when he/they are not taking themselves seriously. All logical enough, except it fails to address the obvious question: Why?  Why don't the people who are apparently reading and responding to Bob's journal want to respond to the intellectual and argumentative entries? Why is GBS in a place where taking themselves seriously would be disadvantageous?

With the journal, maybe the most pertinent question to ask might be what could happen to someone who responded in like kind to one of Bob's own "intellectual and argumentative" entries. This is a web site where it is possible to be permanently banned for no reason other than that you have made a small group of complaining people uncomfortable. This is a web site where the participants are repeatedly admonished, publicly and privately, by the hired admins - the admins hired by GBS - not to stray from being "positive". This is a web site where when someone brings up a serious topic, the response is often an unchallenged "This shouldn't be here because this is where I come to be happy".

Most of all, this is a web site that was dismembered not very long ago because the GBS band members - the guys that most fans by defintionn of the term "fan" want to suck up to and win approval from - were "appalled" at what it had become. Then those band members hired a management company that persistently treats GBS fans like particularly stunned children and strives to create an atmosphere that is for all intents and purposes cyber-cotton candy. Is it any wonder that those who do have "intellectual and argumentative" opinions - as well as those who can appreciate the same from others - have either moved along or fallen silent?

Over the past few years, the sole welcoming message sent to that kind of GBS fan online has been found in Bob's and Alan's journals. That message may be falling on hushed lips and stilled typing fingers, but I do know that it has not fallen on deaf ears and blind reading eyes. I know there are people who take Bob Hallett and Alan Doyle and Sean McCann seriously, and I know there are people who appreciate what both Bob and Alan have been writing in their journals, though it's a number that I see as more waning than waxing. Of those who do remain, there are some perfectly reasonable explanations for why they might choose to appreciate quietly, and also for why they might honestly believe that this is  exactly what the men of Great Big Sea prefer for them to do.

But it's a very different tale for the telling on the rest of GBS's official site. If you wind up being brung to the dance by someone who prefers that you stay locked into a character role that you find chafing and limiting, is it necessarily because those dance dates were your only possible option, or is it perhaps at least partly because "Piss off!" messages are being sent to the ones who would be glad to take you seriously? Is getting your feet stomped on by an obliviously clumsy dance partner an intergral part of the true cost of peace at any price?  There's getting what you paid for, and then there's paying for what you get.

If you - speaking now in general terms...the figurative "you" - don't give a shit about being taken seriously, then winding up in a place where that would not be to your advantage isn't much of a worry. Just stay in character and shrug off the foolish misperceptions of others. As my Dad would have said when someone was willing to pay him good money to pretend to be something he was not, Just laugh your arse off all the way to the bank. But if you - again, figuratively speaking - really do want to be taken seriously and you find yourself in a place where that truly is a disadvantageous desire, then something needs to change. I still believe such change is possible - difficult and costly, to be sure, but possible nevertheless. There's a fine line sometimes between hope and naivete.

But to want to be taken seriously about something in the midst of an environment that sets up not being serious about anything as the most desirable behavioural standard..perhaps even the only permissible behavioural standard...that's not a cake that seems likely to be both eaten and had.

Which is why I think this is the saddest thing I've heard from Bob. I'm sure there will be those who will find it Bobisciously hilarious, appropriately Bobistically jokey.

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This all segues rather neatly into answering a point that Laura brought up in a comment she made on a prior entry, one I've held off on posting because I wasn't sure how to answer:

Isn't the Grey Cup shindig more of the same stuff of a bunch of people getting drunk and yelling for the same songs they've heard GBS play for the last 10 years? Same old same old, never changing, big dumb happy party time. with everything upbeat and smily. That doesn't sound so hot to me.  - Laura

As I said, I've been wondering how to respond. I think there's some truth in what Laura's said,  but I don't think it's all of the truth, or at least I don't believe it's necessarily all of the truth. Though I'll admit to not being thrilled by Spirit Of The West being on the bill. I've only seen them twice - once with GBS and once on their own - and even though I am reluctant to write off any band after only two shows, probably the most charitable thing I can say is that I'll keep an open mind, but what I saw at those two shows is why I never looked any further into their music. Not my cup of tea, not my kind of show, and really not my kind of crowd, not at those two shows at least. Talk about winding up in a place where taking yourself seriously is seriously disadvantageous.

So when I saw SoTW on the bill for this Grey Cup gig, it didn't reassure me very much about what this show might be like. I'd never heard of the Lowest Of The Low, and since their name unfortunately brings to mind some kind of goofy-ass spoof/cover band, I was very glad to read what Alan wrote about them in that most recent journal entry:

Looking forward to a big night in Toronto on Saturday as there should be close to 8,000 revelers at the Grey Cup gig.  Spirit of the West is also on the bill, as are Lowest of the Low.  For those of you who don’t know about the Low, Ron Hawkins and his tribe were one of the most critically acclaimed indie bands on the college circuit about 15 years ago.  They must be reforming for this gig as I’ve not heard a peep from them in over a decade.  I saw them once at a multi-band bill and they blew everyone (including GBS) completely off the stage.  Their CD “Shakespeare My Butt” is one of the Top Ten Canadian Recordings of all time.

I still think it's a silly band name, but I know a lot of people who feel the same way about "Great Big Sea"; I'm just glad to find out they're legit, even impressive per Alan, and he's given me plenty of reason to trust his music/performance assessments. They even sound as if they feel free to take themselves seriously now and again. And what little I've heard about the other band that's been added to the lineup - Emerson Drive - sounds fairly reassuring too.

Which still doesn't really address Laura's main point: Yes, I'd guess that most in this crowd will come in fully expecting to hear "their" Great Big Sea, which usually translates into a wish for a setlist that parallels the Road Rage's track order song for song. And most of them will probably want the between-song talk to be all about getting drunk, being drunk, stayiing drunk, and so on, "Sociables!" up the wazoo.  Given that most everyone  present will have been in the building for something like 5 hours before GBS even takes the stage, chances are good that many of those present are going to be well on their own way to getting drunk, being drunk, staying drunk, and so on.

But even though it's probably going to be what I tend to call an "OBR With A DR Chaser" kind of crowd, that does not mean that GBS has to party like it's 1999. They've made some brilliant setlist choices at widely varying kinds of shows, and I've got every reason trust the Setlist Master with this show. Yes, it's the kind of atmosphere that limits your choices in some regards - I can't see them being able to do much at all by way of slower tempo songs with any real success other than the powerful a cappella numbers such as General Taylor and River Driver. But just becausae uptempo will work better, that does not mean it has to be solely the uptempo songs everyone there has heard umpteen times.

What works to limit their choices - the sheer size of the crowd - also works to expand their possibilities of creating interest in their newer tunes. Sometimes, people who only half-ass listen to GBS seem to think they haven't been putting out any new music the past few years, pretty much since frigging Road Rage; what better way to put the New GBS Music idea in thousands of minds a few months before your newest CD comes out than to blow them away with songs they didn't know you could do?

Who knows - maybe they'll decide to play it differently (and if they do, chances are excellent that iti will be the right call), but if they want to go with newer music that's big enough and bold enough to keep the attention of 8,000 mostly-inebriates, they've got the right kind of newer stuff to go with the familiar tunes: Shines Right Through, When I Am King, and maybe most of all, Straight To Hell; they could bring down the house with STH, raise a few eyebrows, open a few eyes, and maybe even shatter a few stereotypes too. Who knows - they might even get taken seriously by some for the very first time. I'd love to think they could do Walk On The Moon, but my guess is the crowd will simply be too noisy. Captain Kidd would probably go over too, as well as some others.

The main point is that within certain parameters (no way could this show be Ballad Night, or even Let's Play All Our Original Tunes Night..that's the show I really want to see someday), they can make what they choose of this show. Yes, you have to play to your audience, but that doesn't mean you necessarily have to let your audience play you; if it were what they wanted to do, they could give their crowd what it wants and then they could give that crowd more than it ever knew it wanted, more than it realised GBS had to give.

It really is a big night for them...playing for 8,000 people, a good number of those people travelling into TO from all around Canada, their first big gig in TO in nearly a year and a half, the gig taking place in that largest of Canadian CD-buying markets just a few months before their own new CD comes out. There's a lot on the line at this show, and nearly every time GBS goes into a show where there's a lot on the line, they rise to the challenge with power and authority.

And Alan will be strutting his considerable stuff up on the big stage in the Big Smoke, headlining a Grey Cup Festival gig in front of 8,000 screaming, cheering, swarming, applauding, clamouring people.  This is really all  I needed to respond to the comment, because this does indeed sound hot to me. It sounds positively incendiary.

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Before the rest of the Coquitlam show photos, just a few words about the notion of "body image" since that topic came up recently over on the GBS message board, with all of the expected foolishness and thoughtlessness making their customary appearances. To each their own personal tastes, and to each their own personal opinion - which means, of course, that I get my own turn at personal taste and personal opinion, the result of which is that I think this body is the perfectly beautiful image. Five perfectly beautiful images, to be exact, these from Excursion.

It's easy to take sexy pictures of Alan Doyle because he's such a sexy man; this, however, just might be the sexiest picture of all...so far, at least. I'm certainly open to raising the bar.

Five from Fortune, including another view of the Fiery Rock God photo put back in its proper order.

 

Seven from what was a spectacular River Driver, and another example of when the lights were done so right.

Ending with Rant & Roar, offered with passion and beauty.

Sean listens as a Vancouver crowd rants and roars.

Alan looks up into the heart of his crowd (literally into the middle of the audience with this venue's stadium seating) as they sing along with him.

Holding on to the last, lingering moments left out on stage, saying the final goodbyes of this evening. Most of us have  those fleeting moments when our usual guard drops and the heart and soul of who we are shines forth clearly on our faces; this last prolonged moment on tonight's stage is one of Alan's moments of clarity.

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Last but never least, a few final comments about Alan's much-appreciated journal entry.

My Laptop is fixed!!!

I’ve missed my wee laptop.  I used to think it a bit of a vice of mine.  Sort of my own oversized Crackberry, but since I’ve been without it for a number of weeks, I’ve come to realize that I use this machine for more than just Internet and Emails.  This has become my travel companion and my entertainment center. It serves as my mobile office and recording studio.  It is my travel journal.  I don’t write without it.

When I'm home, I find myself coming unglued if my poor little battered laptop gets balky, even though there's a perfectly serviceable PC just to the other side of my left elbow where I sit bitching about the malfunctioning laptop. I never write on the PC, always and solely on the laptop. It's companion-verging-on-appendage for me.

Since Alan does not write without his laptop either, it's a very good thing - good for him, even more so for those of us who love to read him - that he now has his back again.

I’ve mentioned this play before, but for those of you in the Winnipeg area, Tempting Providence, a play about a missionary nurse on the pioneering west coast of Newfoundland, plays in Winnipeg at the Prairie Theatre Exchange for the next few weeks. It is about rural Newfoundland but it could be about India or South Africa or Australia, or any where in the colonies the British Empire sent doctors and nurses.

It is a clever four person show that uses only a table and cloth for a set and it will introduce you to a Lady that you’ll never forget. It may very well be the best play I’ve ever seen."

I saw Tempting Providence at Atlantic Scene in Halifax in the Spring of 2003. It made a powerful and lasting impression on me, and, just as Alan says, those who go see it will meet a woman - a Lady - whose passion and resolve and love are as inspirational as they are unforgettable. At least, that's how it was for me. It's a remarkable play - simultaneously rich and spare, the pragmatics of the staging presenting  a true and accurate reflection of reality of the narrative - about an even more remarkable woman; it may very well be the best play I've ever seen too, certainly among the Top 10.

"What Will You Sing Me?" Part Four - Dealing With Disappointment, Getting What You Paid For & More Vancouver Show Photos

When I saw this picture of Alan Doyle and Russell Crowe - taken back in 2005 when Russell spent a brief bit of time in St. John's - in this week's Independent, I was eager to get the photo scanned so I could put it up here in an entry that was going to be all about how much I was looking forward to The Ordinary Fear Of God  (lineup to include Alan Doyle) concert I was so earnestly hoping would take place in Jacksonville in connection with the Australia Day (Jan. 26th) Rugby League exhibition game between Russell's co-owned South Sydney Rabbitohs and the ESL Leeds Rhinos.

After writing some typically verbose enthusiastic expressions of that abiding hope, I thought I might even wax a bit philosophical about the fascinating parallels that can be found in Russell's two most recent films - 3:10 To Yuma and American Gangster - each of which could be viewed as an uncompromising (as well as a demythologising) depiction of the dark side of the American Dream, past and present - with special kudos due to Russell for possessing the acting chops to so persuasively play each of the opposite sides of the same battered and tarnished coin in the two films...in a formula where Ben Wade = Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts = Dan Evans, Russell Crowe could very well be the only actor around who has what it takes (all except the right skin colour in one instance, and he might even be able to handle that) to not just play but also to embody all four of that formula's variables. 

And after I'd said all that, the plan was to wrap it up with some would-be pithy comment about how great it was going to be to see these two men together on stage once again, playing some of the best tunes either has written, something that properly expressed my unwavering belief that no matter how well Russell Crowe does in his day job as consummate actor, what he's accomplished with Alan Doyle in his night job as songwriter/musician is admirable and impressive in its own right.

Then I saw the message from Russell that was posted yesterday afternoon on Murph's site:

Some disappointing news for TOFOG fans from Russell: "Due to scheduling conflicts that  we were unable to resolve TOFOG will not be playing any concerts in Jacksonville while South Sydney are in that city for their game against Leeds."

All I've got left now is one very sweet photo - I especially love that wide-open and totally endearing "Holy Frig! I'm walking down Water St. in downtown St. John''s with Russell Crowe...of course you can take my picture!" expression on Alan's face -  and a  whole lot of disappointment.

Great Big Sea hasn't got a lot on the go over the course of this fall and winter before heading into the "big tour" for the new CD next spring: The two recent BC casino shows; their East Coast Party Band gig (which I've repeatedly heard described with gleeful anticipation by mainlander idiots as "The Big Drinkoff" between them and Spirit Of The West) at the Grey Cup Festival in a few days, followed by what's likely to be the one-song-only performance at the Gilda's Club fundraiser show a few days later; a private gig for the Alberta moneychangers in December, with perhaps a few more 'Ho, 'Ho, 'Ho corporate Christmas parties to be added in too; with luck and good fortune, there might possibly be a Great Big Christmas show at the Delta at home; and then there's that Band In A Cage excursion on the Love Boat in January.

That's does't leave a great deal to look forward to in the months to come, with the possible exception of the chance for the GB Christmas show. But Alan's gig with Russell, now that was something to hope for - that, and my perpetual hope that Alan might do some solo gigs during these GBS Downtime stretches. There are so many wonderful songs that deserve to be heard, and sung along to, and applauded.

But the wonderful songs co-written by Russell and Alan won't be heard on any Florida stages this January, which is a bloody shame and a sad circumstance.There will probably be no shortage of inebriated assholes on the Love Boat screaming incessantly for Old Black Rum, more of the same at the Grey Cup show too, most likely, which is an even greater shame and a much sadder circumstance. 

I've had several conversations recently with those planning to be on the Ships & Dip cruise, with one recurrent theme asserting itself: Getting what one pays for. One acquaintance was going on about how wonderful it was going to be to finally "hang with" Sean and Alan without being interrupted by others, and when I pointed out that it is a big boat and the band members might keep to themselves, her response was one I have heard before and fully expect to hear again: "I'm paying more than $1,000 to go on this cruise and they damn well better not even think about keeping to themselves - I better get what I'm paying for." This said with determinedly set shoulders, grimly squared jaw and avidly gleaming eyes. I'd like to keep my head attached to my body, so I wasn't about to argue that point any further.

Though I have been considering that point further, albeit in judicious silence while still within arm's reach. In some ways, "scheduling conflicts" are a microcosm of the continuing process of negotiation and exchange in our lives, the ways in which we measure what we value the most in terms of how much it is we are willing to sacrifice in our pursuit of those valued items. Each time we choose "A" over "B", we are saying - right or wrong, but saying nonetheless - that "A" is worth the cost of "B". Each choice is a matter of deciding how much we are willing to pay for whatever it is we most want and, ultimately, it will all come down to an issue of whether we do or do not believe that we did in fact "get what we paid for".

I'm no fan of disappointment, even less so of sacrifice; I try my best to limit my experience with either outcome by risking those outcomes only with what and with who matter the most to me. If the price comes dear, then the worth of what that price purchases needs to be equivalently dear...or altogether priceless. It's next to impossible to wind up feeling like you made a bad bargain for what's priceless, though even that knowledge will never make you safely immune from the wounds of disappointment.

It's impossible not to believe that both Russell and Alan are disappointed about the outcome of their attempt to put on this show, equally so not to believe that their disappointment likely considerably transcends mine. That thought is enough to nudge me out of my own self-centred disappointment and cause me to hope that whatever the nature of the scheduling confilct was, whoever had to make the choice and pay the price...I hope that man feels like he got what he paid for, that it was a fair price and that he drove a hard bargain. That it was worth every single cent. I'm  going to keep right on hoping for that, and I'm going to keep right on hoping Alan plays somewhere on his own. And that he and Russell can find a way to team up again someday soon. Those songs really do deserve to be heard.

As for myself, I'm not at all sure about Florida come January. While I expect a few friends who were planning to go will decide against it now that there's no Russell Crowe/Alan Doyle show, there's still one friend who likes the idea of a week in the warrm sun at a time of year when she'd be shovelling a pile of snow back home, as well as looking forward to the chance to catch the game. I would like to see the footy game too, first matchup of its kind on American soil that it will be. And I like the idea of showing support for Russell's team; Souths is a team with the sort of storied history and hard times present-day circumstances that make it easy to care, as do the passion and dedication shown by the Rabbitohs' somewhat-upstart new owners.

So maybe I'll do my own choosing when it comes to scheduling conflicts in January. I haven't decided yet. No such inner debate or price-pondering required in regard to this weekend's Grey Cup Festival show. Despite some serious misgivings about what's going to be expected from the performers at this show and a deep-seated reluctance to have this show likely be the lasting memory of those performers for the intervening months to come, there was no difficult choice to be made. Whatever other nonsense is taking place, I will get to see Alan perform, get to see him making the most of his Rock Star moments up on the big stage in front of the huge crowd, and that will be worth every single cent, literally and figuratively speaking. There are no bad bargains for "Priceless".

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Back to the regularly scheduled program......photos from the first Vancouver casino show, the one at the Red Robinson  ("Red Johnson," per Alan) Theatre in Coquitlam, British Columbia, starting off with the most beautiful of all, this from Sea Of No Cares, living-room version.

Then several more closeups, the first three from Run Runaway, followed by one between-song wine-sipping moment, and ending with four more from what was a very lovely SoNC.

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Full-size versions next, these from Rover through Ordinary Day at the close of the main set. There are a lot of photos here because I really want there to be just one more set of shots from this show - the last one being of the encores - and it might take a bit of time for all of them to load. Patience will be rewarded, however, especially since one of the very best shots of the whole batch, a quintessential Rock Star photo of the final moment of Ordinary Day, is the very last one.

Two from Rover.

And four from Run, Runaway.

Between-song moments, with Alan getting distracted by the giant disco ball looming overhead into telling anatomy tales, and then he and Sean sharing a toast to good memories of songwriting days on foggy afternoons in Sean's living room.

Which led into a powerful and lovely version of Sea Of No Cares.

There are times I firmly believe their lighting needs improvement, but what's done on this song is one of the times when everything works beautifully.This effect is even more gorgeous when seen from a balcony or mezzanine.

I'm not often in a position where I have such a clear view of Kris; it was nice to be able to get a few decent shots of him this night.

I had a better-than-customary view of this handsome fellow too.

But this is the view I find loveliest, each and every side his 'good" side.

Only a few from Helmethead, the only semi-decent one of Bob sadly blurred by that elbow I got to the head while I was taking the picture. There was too much jumping up and down on the wobbly temp floor for much of any value to happen with photos during this and the next few songs, though it did make for a fun ride, flying elbows notwithstanding.

A series of photos from the main-set-ending Ordinary Day. Though I invariably enjoy seeing and hearing this tune performed for the umpteen + one more time, there are some nights when it quietly slips inside and gently touches my heart. This was one of those nights.

 

"In this beautiful life, there's always some sorrow..."

"Just keep the faith and your ship wll come in..."

Last chord of Ordinary Day, the roar of the crowd. Victorious fist pump. Priceless.

I hope to have the rest of this show's photos up before I have to leave for TO. Whether that happens depends on how long it takes me to re-read The Shipping News, which I've dragged back across the continent with me, not having read it while in Vancouver either and having finally decided that I need to read it while I'm here in Newfoundland. I'm not sure right now when I'm coming back, and re-reading that frigging book needs to get done before I can go ahead with writing...so either I read it in the next few days or I schedule a trip back here for the purpose of reading.

Come to think of it, that's not at all a bad reason for returning. No reason is a bad reason if it keeps bringing you back to what you love.

"What Will You Sing Me?" Part Three - Vancouver Casino Photos, The Enduring Appeal Of The 14-Year-Old Boy & A Brand New (And Utterly Familiar) Song

All photos from the Great Big Sea show at the Red Robinson Theatre in Coquitlam, BC, beginning with one sweet face from Penelope and then three from General Taylor. Then a thoughtful and serious man says a few words about much he has missed playing for an audience during the past weeks of  recording.  Last and most dear in this batch, the boy comes out to play with unfettered delight, this one also from Penelope.

I heard a brand new song the other night, a wonderful new song written by one of the most accomplished songwriters I have ever encountered. This was one of those songs which is so well crafted - so honest and moving and genuine - that you know beyond a doubt that you're never going to forget this first time hearing it, your heart immediately won over. Not much room to doubt that outcome, since this song was not only beautifully written and precisely balanced with equal measures of hope and truth, it was also a deftly persuasive portrait - line by line and underscored by the perfectly descriptive chorus - of someone I care very much about, familiar enough to me in that descriptive power to startle nearly as much as to impress.

So much so that I had to tell the songwriter how wonderful his new song was and ask him who it was written about. Not a question I often ask any writer - given how cheeky it is, it's the kind of question I think is just begging for a bullshit answer, which means any answer I might get would be dubious.  But not this time, for reasons complex and obscure. Maybe it was the unguarded pleasure I saw in his eyes when he heard his new song praised, or maybe it was my own willingness to trust him to tell the truth.  Maybe it was because we both know how much I think of his songwriting. Whatever the reasons, whatever the real truth might or might not be, I believe his answer to my question.

He told me he'd written this song about himself.

And then, because he'd been so honest and trusting and vulnerable - and because I can never manage to keep from letting it show when I care about someone - he suddenly reverted to the now-familiar-to-me role of bashful boy and promptly turned his back on me, putting an abrupt end to the conversation. One of these days, I'm going to write at length about how different a message is sometimes sent when Newfoundlanders and Americans use the exact same body language. I wasted so much time and wound up misunderstanding so much because I was not fluent in Newfoundland Body Language. For now, suffice to say that if I had needed further confirmation that this song he had written about himself could also so thoroughly capture the essence of the 14-year-old boy most dear to me, this reaction would have served quite well.

I'd never really thought about these two men - these two boys - being so much alike. Not until I heard this song, that is. I've been thinking about it a lot these past few days. Now, the more I consider the possibilities, the more sense it makes to me. The more true it seems to me. And this wonderful new song makes it possible to see each of them a bit more clearly. It's a very good view, in both instances.

I'm reluctant to go into specifics about the song because it is so new, unrecorded and maybe not in its final form. It's much too good a song not to be there for the hearing by all soon enough, so it seems better to let the songwriter proceed at his own pace and in his own manner. I'll say this much though...as far as I'm concerned, what I choose to believe, is that there's an excellent new song that exquisitely depicts much of what is most endearing and appealing about Alan Doyle. And those sweet boys who are most like him.

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A fairly large batch of photos from the first Vancouver casino show, with two, maybe three, more to come. I'm hoping to get this show's pictures done before I go to Toronto for the Grey Cup, but that might not happen. These photos go from Penelope to right after Scolding Wife. Next entry (which will be quite soon if no shiny objects distract) will start with Rover and include Run, Runaway and Sea Of No Cares. Some really nice shots of the latter, especially of the Usual Suspect.

Speaking of the Straight-To-Hell boy, these pictures from Penelope show why it is I Iove this song so much: because Alan clearly has such a great time with the lead solos. This song was the first I ever saw or heard of Great Big Sea's Lead Guitarist, and it has been a delight every single time since. 

Next up a series of photos from General Taylor. Since I  try to avoid winding up in the middle at GBS shows (for the same reason I regretted being there at this show - the push-up-from-behind asshole factor is at its very worst there), I don't usually get direct-angle photos of Sean's GT performances, so I tried to make up for that this time.

I couldn't decide which version of this shot was better, so both are here. That tongue of Sean's makes me laugh in both versions. He looks more 9 than 14, albeit a darn cute 9.

Offering the mic to the audience as they sing along.

Sean holds the note impressively while Alan listens approvingly (and gorgeously).

Last note of General Taylor, with light show.

A few shots from Scolding Wife. Though I really like Murray getting this small chance to sing on his own,  I wonder sometimes about why they keep this song in the set nearly every night. If it's something they enjoy doing - there are times I suspect it might serve a pressure-relief function -  then I hope they keep doing it till doomsday. If it's getting a bit old to them, there sure are a lot of other tunes that could be done in its place. Then  again, Alan is such  a cute little stage-wandering ham throughout.

This is from the intro to a not-at-all-serious song, but when Alan begins to talk about how much he's missed playing for a live audience during all the weeks of recording, there's a world of truth to be seen on the man's face.

I began with the sweet and eager boy, so ending with the thoughtful and serious man seems a proper balance. He'll be the boy once again as soon as soon as Rover starts - as adorably and unrepentantly charming an upstaging boy as anyone has ever seen, guaranteed to put smiles on faces and win permanent possession of hearts - but since I am thinking once again about the songwriter and his expertly drawn portrait, this feels like the perfect place to stop for now, here with the thoughtful and serious man. Still evoking smiles and winning hearts too, man and boy alike.

 

"What Will You Sing Me?" (continued yet again) - Wondering About Future Stages, Beginning Of Casino Show Photos, & Wanting The Wonderful And Amazing To Be Seen By All

What better way to start off than with the sweetest face of all?

Irresistible smiles right after an enthusiastic Lukey.

Alan walks on the moon.

Alan as King.

Alan admires a giant disco ball, which led to a funny story about children and appropriate names for body parts..."What are we supposed to call the balls now?".

Not a closeup, but too glorious to have to wait to see; from the early part of Charlie Horse.

Well, so much for getting right back to finish up the preceding entry. I had every intention of doing so, but last night was full of distractions, not the least of which was looking out the window of Leo's and watching three homes burn down while eating supper. Decidedly unsettling. Then we wandered over to O'Reilly's to see how Fergus O'Byrne is coming along with his turn at being a solo act at O'Reilly's Pub. Much better news to be found on that front. Fergus is doing very well on his own, leaps and bounds beyond where he was this past spring in his first performances after Dermot's passing. Fergus is now putting on a show that insists on being taken seriously, quite the impressive insistence in a pub that often caters to tourists' perceptions and misperceptions, an altogether admirable attempt.

And Fergus sang a song last night that I think should be done by Great Big Sea - not being the biggest trad fan, it's not often that I react that way to any traditional tune - because it's a perfect combination of the sensual and the sentimental, kind of like Yarmouth Town grown up and served minus the cheery cheese: Jolly Jack Tar. I've poked around a bit today and found numerous versions of the lyrics, but it's still Fergus's version - with the tender emphasis (underlaid by a throbbing bodhran accompaniment) on how Jack persuaded his Lovely Nancy all through the night until the break of day - that's the most compelling. Sensual and sentimental would be an excellent approach for Great Big Sea to take, and this song would sound great with Alan and Sean trading off on verses.

Thinking about Alan singing the song Fergus was singing led to wondering what it was like for Fergus decades ago, back when he was on stage with his Ryan's Fancy bandmates, and wondering if he had ever thought back then about the day coming when he would be performing upon a solo stage. That thought led, perhaps inevitably, to wondering where Alan will find himself several decades from now...what songs on what stages in front of which audiences? How bright the lights and how many pairs of hands clapping? Will he be getting all these things he wants and needs to be happy? Will he still have friends by his side to share it all with, or will he be facing into the spotlight on his own, as Fergus now finds himself doing at O'Reilly's.

Lots of distractions, so much so that I'm still thinking about what - and how much - I want to write about in regard to the upcoming GBS CD. I think I'll keep right on thinking a bit more and let this be about the Vancouver casino shows for now. One more "To be continued" can't do any harm.

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Photos from the first part of the show at the Red Robinson Theatre, Coquitlam (Vancouver area), up through Charlie Horse.

There are times, such as during this well-pounded intro to When I'm Up, when Alan looks as if he is playing guitar with his entire body, including his hair. Really gorgeous lights here, which I am intentionally noting because I am going to point out the other side of that coin at the end of this entry.

When I'm Up again, and this time he is singing the song with both of his hands almost as much as with his voice.

These from Lukey, starting off with Bob playing his accordion part.

Muray does the Lukey "Maximum Bass On All Frequencies" as Alan gets ready to shout out to Sean for some bodhran action next.

Looking up into the crowd (this venue had stadium-style seating) as they respond to his call to sing along.

Post-Lukey charm and delight, and a discussion about how the set list would take a dive from here on out.

This might not have been among their best-ever, most-asskickingest shows, but it was a show that featured a completely endearing, absolutely beautiful, Walk On The Moon.

Not at all a good photo, but it does show Bob playing the low whistle instead of the fiddle on the song.

As I said before, absolutely beautiful.

I had a lot of trouble with Sean pictures at this show, a combination of how bouncy the floor was (we were standing on the temp flooring that goes over the orchestra pit) on his fast tunes (Paddy, Rover, Mari Mac) and the idiot on my left who kept slamming into me (sometimes because she was being slammed into by the even-bigger idiot on her left) whenever I lowered my self-protective left elbow and turned away from her a bit. This picture was taken right before the worst of the frenzy broke out - there's an elbow in my back as I take the shot but so far the floor is still relatively stable - as Sean is introducing Paddy Murphy.

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Sometimes a picture is not at all what you thought it was going to be. Alan does not usually make this spinning move at this point during Paddy Murphy, and it surprised the heck out of me when he did it this time. But I was not so surprised that I did not notice the glorious view that was occurring while he was making the move, and I was quite pleased that the camera shutter chose that very moment to click. Every now and then, shutter lag is a genuine delight.

Bouzouki moments during Paddy.

A series of shots of Alan's between-song commentary before he goes into When I Am King, pictures taken, despite the low light, for the sole and sufficient reason that he looks gorgeous.

When I Am King, and more gorgeous Alan.

Mic stand issues, but he looks great so no reason to jettison the photo just because my location sucked.

Alan admires the giant disco ball (truly a prodigious disco ball - my bad for not getting a photo of either big ball in these casinos...pleading distraction, once again). This led to several disco-inspired music moments (see the prior entry for some video bits) and a tale told by Alan of a young lass who was trying hard to recall the proper names for no-longer-unmentionable body parts.

Ending with this one in proper sequence, with Alan striking the eye-catching pose during Charlie Horse.

Next time around, the photos start with Penelope - which was a pure and utter joy - and I think whatever it is I decide to go on about the new CD too. Right now, I'm thinking what would do great at clearing my mind  and clarifying my thoughts is a late supper of moose burgers. After I wrap up with the last bit, that is.

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One thought that occurred to me during the Police show at the ACC was that even though I was a very long way away from the stage (straight back, near the rear of the first off-the-floor section), there was never a moment during the show when I could not see the performers because of either a deficit or an overbundance of stage lights. That realisation led inexorably to thoughts of these two GBS casino shows, to thoughts of a pile of other recent GBS shows too.

This is a good enough place to deal with this now becaus