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

"Shouldn't I Have All Of This?" Part Four - Views Of A Cruise (Ships & Dip V YouTube Videos)

As suspected, I'm not going to be  writing about the cruise just yet because it's nearly time to head out for Corner Brook and the ECMAs. I've got just enough time to note that one aspect of so-called "slow-blogging" (which some might call "thinking before you speak/write" and others might call "procrastination") is that time and subsequent events do most definitely impact your perspective. The recent news about Steve Page parting ways with Barenaked Ladies for a solo career has done so for my own thoughts about the Ships & Dips V cruise - not so much changing any perceptions, but perhaps clarifying the conclusions.

Until I have a bit more time to write - my present situation is that now that I know what I want to say, I lack the time to say it - and we shall see if I can find that time over ECMA weekend, I thought that images could precede words, telling their own story from my own vantage point. After much cursing and frustration and repeated efforts, I've finally managed to get all of the cruise videos up onto YouTube. For those interested in perusing the lot of them, they can be found (in reverse order, though I did tweak that order a bit so that I could end/begin with what was the sweetest moment of triumph in my own eyes) on my YouTube page:

Ships & Dip V Cruise YouTube Videos

There are quite a lot of videos (three pages, all the way back to the first one I put up, the Northwest Passage duet between Alan Doyle and big brother Bernie, done at the Great Big Sea Fan Show), and, not surprisingly, most of them are of GBS. Even less surprisingly, there's a great deal of Alan to be seen in my videos; nothing out of the ordinary about that, but even more so this time because of what an extraordinary set of high-seas performances the sweetest of all Rock Star Guitar Gods put on. He was spectacular, each and every day. GBS overall did extremely well in all of the S&D V shows - really showing the scope of their range across a spectrum of shows - best of all at the Fan Show and the Sailaway Show, but really good in all four of their performances; in their first few shows, that was the sharpest and clearest and most focused I have seen them as a whole in a very long time, something which made for a splendid event, something which was wonderful to see, and something which I quite frankly would love to see more of. 

I did also get a little bit of BNL content from the Final Jam, most of this focused on Ed Robertson. The Final Jam videos have the advantage of showing quite a few of the S&D V cruise's artists; a a smaller (but somewhat more sober) selection of those artists can  be seen in the Songwriters' Panels videos. I really wish I'd videoed Steve's two songs from the first panel; I'd intended to, but he caught me so off-guard with them that all I could do was listen. And now all I can do is remember.

There were many other moments and artists worthy of remembering on the cruise - no way to capture it all any place other than memory.  Most of those memories are very good ones, some are quite dear and utterly delightful (right now I am recalling a big stretch and a gorgeously revelatory belly...recalling with a smile across my face - and after that memory follows another one, a memory of Alan's Where I Belong, and now the smile is even wider). I am eventually going to get all those memories organised and written down - but not this morning. 

This morning I am somewhat reluctantly and begrudgingly (still not a bit pleased about the lack of Fortune's Favour nominations, though the Junos have taken the edge off that disappointment) off to the ECMAs; regardless of what I think about those who run the awards, there is still some very good music to be heard there, and Corner Brook may wind up needing all the support it can get for this endeavour. So off we go, on what looks to be a splendid day for a long drive across the island, even a bit of new road for me (never before done the Gander to Deer Lake stretch). I am going to politic for an early lunch stop in Goobies - one of the best hot turkey sandwiches I've ever tasted can be found there.

One last note, in response to some of the comments I'm not going to put up here: No, I'm really not going to say what it is that's got me thinking so highly of Alan and being so frigging proud of him, other than to say that he richly deserves both the high estimation and the delighted pride. The more of "all of this" he gets to have, the better I like it and the happier I am about it.  But it is Alan's news to announce, if and when he feels the time is right, or perhaps when it's time for some official announcement. So there's really no need to keep on guessing, because I'm not answering Yea or Nay. Though I have to confess to getting quite a chuckle out of some of the guesses. Does anyone really believe Bob could ever be persuaded to be a Merry Man?  In tights, yet?

"Shouldn't I Have All Of This?" Part Three - A Rock Star Guitar God And Turning Hope Into Belief (Ships & Dip V and Subsequent Excursions)

First up, because there is no waiting when the Rock Star Guitar God takes the stage:

I have decided that it is high time to let hope become belief. Something I have been wanting to happen for the past few years is finally going to happen, I do believe, and I am over the moon about it. The Answer of the Day is Yes, you should have all of this. Absolutely all of it. All of this and even more, up to and including each and every heart's desire.

The Response of the Day is Holy shit, I am so fucking proud of you.

Yes, I am thoroughly and utterly delighted with this transition from hope to belief. Consequently, we are off to the Duke to celebrate what is truly a Happy Hour. Erotic Fish & Chips and Guinness for all! With more Guinness and Peanut Butter Balls for dessert! No sense in holding back on or deferring celebration. I have a feeling I won't need to worry about slipping on the ice along the way; I doubt my feet will be touching the ground anyway.

"Shouldn't I Have All Of This?" Part Two - Time For Savouring A Harbour Grace Excursion: Ships & Dip V

A few more memorable moments from the Ships & Dip V cruise:

From the GBS "Fan Club Show" in the Spinnaker Lounge, the first time this sweet song has been done live (with much gratitude to the one who requested it):

Two more from the same show, the first a song that seems tailor-made for Bob, a song he dedicated to his own Annie (with, of course, a lovely view of Alan singing along - it is a video from me and my camera, after all):

And this cleverly well-written little ditty from Sean:

I plan to get it all up in order eventually, but for now, one from the first Great Big Sea Mainstage Show in the Stardust Theatre, a BNL-covered (Yes, Bruce Cockburn's song, and thank you Mare and Kath for your sharp eyes) song I first heard GBS play in a ratty little dive club in Birmingham, Alabama, on the auspicious occasion of their 10th anniversary/birthday as a band.

If ever there were a day to stay inside and do a bit of writing, this would be that day; it's very "Come visit the Tropicial Isle Of Newfoundland in February" outside today. Don't think I'll be putting on the bathing suit anytime soon.

I am still uploading Ships & Dip videos onto YouTube (the uploader has been particularly pissy of late..."in menopause" as one YouTube Help Forum poster described it) - so far I have gotten to the end of the Songwriters' Panel, with the second GBS Mainstage Show and the Final Jam videos still to go - and I am still waiting to hear some official word on several utterly enticing and thoroughly exciting rumours that have been whispered about, one of which is so wonderful and grand that I am almost afraid to let myself begin to hope for it to be true. Almost, but not quite. Hoping and hoping and hoping here - near ready to burst with so much hoping.  Please, please, please let it be true.  If wishes were fishes in the great big sea....that would be the end of the Moratorium once and for all.

Still thinking about the larger context of the cruise as well. There's been a lot written by others on various web sites and in some personal messages about the cruise, most of it interesting, much of it enlightening. It is always intriguing to see an event you've experienced yourself through the eyes of others. From what I can gather, a good deal of what some disliked most about this cruise is exactly what I wound up liking best.  Funny how often it turns out that way when it comes to bands and fans and sweet-faced Rock Stars.

To be fair, a good part of the contradictory assessments might be based on differing levels of expectations going in. While there are indeed good folks who go on such outings chiefly to hear great music and spend time with their friends, there will probably always be those who scrimped and saved and did without for other reasons - the ones who made their children do without so the asshole parent(s) could go on a Meaningless Magic Moment With A Celebrity Cruise sans Christmas-giftless child are beneath contempt and deserve no further mention or notice - the people who struggled with diets anbd gyms and increased their chances of skin cancer in tanning beds and bought new cruise wardrobes and shelled out for manicures and pedicures and salon colour and cuts (and in a few cases, resorted to surgical alternatives), all in the hopes of whatever the hell it was they were hoping would happen on that boat...it would have been difficult for any cruise to live up to the level of expectation that compels such efforts. 

But for those of us who walked up the gangplank warily and with trepidation - those of us who came on board wondering if we might be half-cracked to be doing what we were doing in the midst of those we would be inescapably surrounded by for the next  five days - we were likely considerably easier to please. Ships & Dip V sure as frig pleased me.

Not the Vacation Of A Lifetime, perhaps, and not exactly a Life-Changing Event...but a very good time overall, light-years better than I had any cause or reason to hope for.  Even a few honest-to-goodness (and such goodness it was) Magic Moments, by how I define that concept , that is - not in terms of what attention-from-on-high I can pester someone into giving me, but instead in terms of what moments of victory and delight I got to see someone I care about taking his own deep pleasure in, with him smack dab in the centre of the brightest spotlight, right Where He Belongs. Who's your Daddy? Who's the King of the Frigging World now?  As magic as the moment gets.

Equally pleasurable (well, almost if not quite...nothing beats an Alan Doyle Magic Moment), I didn't have to see much at all of what I'd been dreading (and what I would have felt complicit in by simple virtue of being present during) - the swarming and pushing and pestering that perpetually goes on among those in tireless pursuit of their own definition of Magic Moments whenever the moment-making objects come into range. The attempts were there, of course, from the usual suspects, of course - but the opportunities for success were admirably limited, at least based on what I saw.  

Now that I've read a bit of what's been written post-cruise, it looks like it wasn't merely a matter of what I did or didn't see happening; so far at least, there have been no creepy people talking about how they chatted with Sean each and every time he came to and went from his room "right down the hall" or each and every time Alan tried to go out on his seriously unprivate balcony. So far, there's no album of nosy, intrusive photos of every move they made during their offstage time, every sip of beer they took, every conversation they tried to have with a real friend, every attempt they made to watch another artist's show. Even the trophy-picture-taking seems to have wound up in comparatively short supply. Nobody seems to have come off the boat absolutely, positively sure that they and they alone own the band.

And the GBS shows were spectacular, all of them, each in its own way. Then there was Alan's performing his and Russell's Where I Belong during the Songwriters' Panel - utterly splendid, totally unforgettable. I think I might possibly be persuaded to enjoy this whole fan cruise idea. 

I do realise the matter is more complex than I am giving it credit for right now, that there is the whole issue of a certain amount of Fan Interaction which is inferred by those who purchase their cruise tickets and which may or may not be implied by the sellers of those tickets. I will try my best to be more fair and even-handed about all that in a subsequent entry (particularly in light of the persistent rumours that Sixthman is going to ask GBS to host their own cruise next year, if it does turn out that BNL takes what looks to be a much-needed year off cruising), because it really is an issue that merits such fairness and even-handedness, an isssue at the very core of how one defines the entire Fan Cruise experience/business.

I'll be mature and open-minded about it all later, I promise. But for now, I'd just like to bask a bit longer in the totally serendipitous pleasure of witnessing gloriously incendiary Rock Star moments whose purchase did not require an exorbitant number of pounds of flesh, quite dear flesh at that. Some, of course, was required - some is always required - but not so much as I had feared might be, a difference truly worth the savouring.  There should always be time enough for savouring.

Time enough for shovelling as well, which I have to get done before it gets dark and the driveway needs to be used.  More soon.

"The Boy Will Always Get The Girl" - The Valentine's Day Lion King Of The Frigging World

"I'll bare my chest to the wind...I'll run up to the Bridge and bare my breast and shout 'I'm the King Of The World!'  And then I'll shag Kate Winslet. That's my evening planned...what're the rest of ye doing?" - Alan Doyle, Great Big Sea Sailaway Show, Ships & Dip V

How anyone could anyone not  love such a sweet face? Or such a lovely furry chest?

I found this sexy little Lion King before heading out on the cruise and could not resist the urge to take him home with me. He makes a excellent Valentine's Day gift, and he's the perfect reminder of Alan's delicious "Who's The Frigging King Of The World Now?" moment.

(with thanks to Christina for being both stage"hand" and spotlight-holder)

In further observance of Valentine's Day (yes, I know...some intensely dislike this day, but I've found it to be a wonderful day when focused on giving, instead of being given to), a carefully and thoughtfully chosen set of videos from that deadly sexy GBS Sailaway Show on the Ships and Dip cruise.

Love Me Tonight

Walk On The Moon

When I Am King (with erotic fish & chips)

Consequence Free, anthem for many an evening (and afternoon)

Finally, a song about what Good Girls Don't (and what Good Girls Do)

There's more Sailaway videos yet to come, more from the GBS Mainstage Shows, Songwriters' Panels, and Final Jam too, with a whole lot of wordy blather accompanying, most likely. Even the slowest blog eventually reaches its destination, and I am very nearly there in regard to the cruise. What's here right now is intended especially for today - given with love...appropriately enough to the date.

A very happy Valentine's Day, to All Who Love, with an abundance of Passionate Kisses wished for each and every one.

ETA:  I just realised that the Mile One show takes place on the Official "Steak and a Blow Job Day" - as opposed to the plethora of such "unofficial" days throughout the year, I suppose, though I am decidedly more partial to "Fish & Chips And Blow Job(s) Day(s)" myself. Still, it is the official day of recognition. Hmmmm...it could potentially make for quite the intriguing video selections from that show.

"Shouldn't I Have All Of This?" - Ships & Dip V, Trend-Setting, Passionate Kisses, And The Soundtrack Of Heart's Desire

Sweet and sexy, wonderful and dear.

Is it too much to ask?
I want a comfortable bed that won't hurt my back
Food to fill me up
And warm clothes and all that stuff

Shouldn't I have this,
Shouldn't I have this?
Shouldn't I have all of this, and

Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa ohh oh
Passionate kisses from you

Is it much to demand
I want a full house and a rock and roll band
Pens that won't run out of ink
And cool quiet and time to think

Shouldn't I have this,
Shouldn't I have this?
Shouldn't I have all of this, and
Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa ohh oh
Passionate kisses from you

Do I want too much?
Am I going overboard to want that touch?
I shouted out to the night:
"Give me what I deserve, 'cause it's my right"

Shouldn't I have this,
Shouldn't I have this?
Shouldn't I have all of this, and
Passionate kisses
Passionate kisses, whoa ohh oh
Passionate kisses from you -  Passionate Kisses, Lucinda Williams

Somewhere along the last tour leg, a fellow was talking to me about my blog; he asked me if I knew how "trend-setting" what I do here  - which he called "slow blogging" - is right now. I asked him what in the world he meant by that and he told me it's Today's Newest Thing to write about events after they happen, as opposed to Yesterday's Newest Thing  of immediately spewing out whatever thought pops into your head at a given moment.

"You're saying the Latest Trend is to actually think about what you want to say before you write it down? To treat what you write as if it matters enough to merit such thought?" I asked him, eyebrow cocked to hairline.  "Oh yes!" he assured me, utterly oblivios to any cynical edges in tone or expression. "All the cool people are going to be doing it this year."

Imagine that. I get to be trend-setting; I get to be cool. For a little while.

I'm still thinking about the Ships and Dip V cruise (and the GBS Delray Beach show that followed after), still going through videos and pictures, and still sorting through memories  - what was surprising, what was expected, what was moving, what was endearing, what was strange, what was hilarious, what was unsettling, what was enlightening. Best of all, thinking about what was sweet and sexy, wonderful and dear...about who was sweet and sexy, wonderful and dear. Still thinking about what both Alan and Sean have written post-cruise in their own trendy and cool "slow blogs" as well.  

Way too much thinking going on for writing to begin yet. Slow blogging at its finest, or at the very least at its slowest. Hey, might as well be as trend-setting and as cool as you can, while you can.  So I'll keep on thinking while uploading the (somewhat daunting in total count) videos, and when those thoughts can do some justice to the people and the event, that's when it will be writing time. Not too much longer...I'm neither that trend-setitng nor that cool.

One thing that is ready to be said here and now:  In Australia a few years ago, while in the midst of some of the best music I'd ever heard, one song became "soundtrack" for that time, and it also became an integral and lasting piece in the Puzzle of Heart's Desire; Serena Ryder's Weak In The Knees was the sudden and unexpected Truth that summed up all that I'd heard and experienced during those weeks, and it has been with me ever since - this after having heard it live only once and it not even being a song from either of the songwriters who had caused me to travel halfway around the world in the first place. 

It happened again on the boat, that same summing-up, coming once again from a totally unlooked-for source, this time without even actually hearing the song played; this time all it took was the mention of the song's title during a discussion about what to sing as the closer for Ed's Songwriters' Panel. Alan suggested Lucinda Williams' Passionate Kisses, and there it was again - Truth, sudden and unexpected, resonating and reverberating, illuminating and touching and utterly unforgettable; Truth so compelling that "Yes" is the only possible response. 

Passionate Kisses will be the song playing in mind and heart whenever I think about, whenever I write about, the Ships & Dip cruise. And, as has been true with Weak In The Knees, it has likely found a permanent place on the personal play list. 

Well, those two songs and Where I Belong, of course. The Soundtrack of Heart's Desire.

**************************************************************************************************************************

So more to come soon, both videos and words (some of the past comments too), though it may be quite some time before I get the photos all edited and up.  But one more for now, one of a rare Newfoundlland mid-migratory bird in the full glory of his plumage:

Here's hoping for all of this and passionate kisses for each who so desires and deserves. Because it isn't too much to ask.  

"The Hard Rock's Loving Son" Part Two - The Best From The Best

Before all else, the superb song written by Alan Doyle and Russell Crowe, as Alan performed it with persuasive passion and indomitable power at the Songwriters' Panel on the Barenaked Ladies'  Ships & Dip Cruise:

Where I Belong, Alan Doyle

There's so much that could be - and probably will be - written about the past week, so many memorable cruise moments and last night's Delray Beach show too - not to mention a boatload (sorry, could not resist the pun) of pictures and videos. But time is limited right now: we are sitting in the Montreal airport waiting to board our flight to Toronto, where we will then turn back around and fly to St. John's - makes scant geographic sense, but costs about $200 less apiece than the direct route would have - so I'll lead off with a few of the thoughts foremost on mind and wait till after I get back to town for more detail, quite possibly more coherence as well.

First up, just a few "most memorable" moments from the City Limits show in Delray Beach, a very cool venue that unfortunately needs to get their manner of handling seating assignments better organised (unhappy patrons seldom make for the most enthusiastic of audiences). After having spent most of the daytime hours on the cruise waiting for that evening's show to happen, I loved Sean's show comment of "I don't need to relax; I've been frigging relaxing all week. If I relax any more, I'm going to slip into a fucking coma." Yeah. What he said.

And then there was the very best comment of the evening, the imagination-inspirer that rendered me temporarily speechless, breathless as well. At the end of Charlie Horse, Alan noted that he has suddenly come to see the tune in an entirely new light by reinterpreting one pivotal line: "Pulled the logs more faster". Then after a low, wicked chuckle he added, "And bring the harness leather". A bit of a hush fell over the crowd then, as those who did not quite get it looked puzzled...and those who did get it looked distinctly distracted, a bit dizzied and flustered, even more so for myself when I recalled the other line "They'll pull the logs together." No wonder Charlie Horse keeps driving the crowd into a frenzy; it all makes perfect sense now.

That's pretty much all there's time for right now, except to add that Alan was seriously missed at the Ships & Dip cruise-ending "All-Star Final Jam". He should have been there for I Wanna Rock & Roll All Night, for Blister In The Sun, and for 500 Miles too. When Ed was going guitar-to-guitar with Kevin or with Chris Murphy, all I wanted was to see Alan on his high-school-hockey-dance Fender right there beside them where he belongs. He was missed. But on the other hand, I have to confess to being glad he wasn't there for some parts of it, especially in the early going - more about that later, though.  It's time to go the wrong way to get to the right place in the end. Sometimes the route to where one belongs can be a circuitous one.

"The Hard Rock's Lovin' Son" - Where Alan ("Who's Your Daddy?") Doyle Belongs (Ships & Dip V)

OK, one more entry. He's worth it and I cannot wait a moment longer.

We're currently anchored off Key West - seas were too rough for us to go into the scheduled port of Grand Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, an amusing change of itinerary for us since we spent two days in Key West before the cruise (and had a blast with Hemingway's cats) - and before heading out to wander the ship and make use of the facilities (keeping a lingering eye out for the stray gorgeous man up on the top deck with his breast bared to the wind and shouting about being the king of the world, with beautiful belly on desired display and perhaps even with a liberal application of cream on his pivotal parts as well...dream to live and live to dream, after all), I wanted to share a video from yesterday's Songwriters' Panel on the Ships And Dip cruise, but since the YouTube connection keeps timing out on me, I think I am going to have to wait till we get into Delray Beach to do it, either that or win the lotto to pay for repeated attempts on this prepaid connection. But for now, I can at least talk about it. Sometimes, building up a bit of anticipation makes it all so much better when what you're waiting for finally happens.

The song I'm talking about, and eventually will be posting the video of Alan's moving performance of during the Ships and Dip Songwriters' Panel, is Where I Belong, a superb song written by Alan and Russell Crowe. It's a song about the heart of Newfoundland and the people who love her with all of their own hearts, the Newfoundlanders who must leave and the Newfoundlanders who stay. Where I Belong is for those Newfoundlanders, and it is for all who love them. So much of what Alan and Russell have written together thus far is excellent, and whether on his own or in his collaborative role, Alan Doyle is beyond any question the songwriter of whom I think the most highly. That said, this song comes close to being the very best from Alan, the very best from Alan and Russell, that I've heard. Though if they want to shoot for even better, I've got no complaints at all.

Again, an expensive internet connection limits how much I can say or post here, especially the videos because they take so frigging long to upload to YouTube. I'd love to put up Sean's lullabye from the Fan Show or his Ferryland Sealer from the Sailaway Show, and Alan's blistering When I Am King as well. Then again, to post the latter video is to reveal Sean's latest hairstyle to the unsuspecting land dwellers. Now when I see Sean, one thought comes immediately to my mind: She must really, really, really love him. Although Sean did mention the doubtfulness of his getting laid again anytime soon (prompting what I thought was a splendidly generous offer from Alan).

The Sailaway Show was pure pleasure, and even more impure pleasure. All that talk about holding the tartar sauce and Alan's lascivious response to fish and chips - "I'm tenting as we speak. I don't even need a strap on this guitar; I can prop it right here"...two days later, and I can't even type that comment without getting a bit light-headed -  Alan's offer to do Sean right there in front of everyone, his chest-baring promises, and most of all his knee-weakening growl of "Who's your daddy? Who's the King Of The World now?" have joined the ever-lengthening list of "I'll make it worth your while" cruise moments. They were worth every single cent.

The Songwriters' Panels were pure bliss, great tunes and insightful comments, and I've found a few new songwriters I'm going to make a point to hear more of (the fellows from the Mountain Goats and the Weakerthans, and Luke Doucet too). Ed was his usual charming self, even if he did give Alan a rather hard time for the length of Alan's Where I Belong intro (it reminded me of Darrell's "Professor Doyle" comments, and that did make me smile). Somewhat to my surprise, a melancholy Steve Page very nearly made me cry, and, again, to my surprise, Bon Jovi sounds pretty damn good done acoustic-folk-ballad syle. And Alan was magnificent, of course, doing Where I Belong and a special-dedication Boston & St. John's.

The second GBS Mainstage Show was deadly, even with Sean blitzed on the combination of Gravol and mineral water (Bob looked like he might have had quite enough of the boat's considerable pitching and rolling too). This show had one of the most delightful set lists ever: Shines Right Through, Something Beautiful, Penelope, Sea Of No Cares (done slow and passionate), Straight To Hell, and a breathless Excursion Around The Belly Beautiful. There was even Tell Me Ma and Hangin' Johnny with the Gaelic Storm band members, highlighted by Alan on accordion and Sean's brandly new red mohawk accessorised with a sparkly black boa (Hawksley would have been so proud). To quote Alan, this is what I'm talking about. Boat? We're on a boat? Cruise all you like...I'm seeing a spectacular show. Multiple times.

I wasn't too upbeat about the Fan Cruise idea last year (to put it mildly), so I'm feeling a need to say once again that regardless of whatever may or may not have been taking place on prior cruises, there's damn little to complain about on this one, at least damn little that I've seen. Sure, there is some of the usual and customary stupid fan behaviour, but the day that same old shit stops altogether is the day the sun rises in the west and sets in the east and the curling championships take place in Hell.

And maybe more of that same shit is happening some place where I haven't been seeing it, hard to tell. Haven't been paying much attention to such matters - I've been busy seeing great shows and the most gorgeous man, with a bit of time budgeted for getting sunburned and trying to stay warm (it's been bleeding cold the past few days). Sorry I couldn't get the Where I Belong video up - God knows I tried, several times - but it and a whole lot of others will be up soon, mine and all the rest that are being videoed on the cruise.

Time is running out on the prepaid connection, just enough minutes left for the one final comment and it might as well be the same comment that's been on my mind for the past few days: 

Who's your Daddy? Who's the King Of The World now?  Answer: The Hard Rock's Lovin' Son.

Final Jam tonight. Oh Yeah.

"There's A Permanent Smile On Your Face" - A Juno Nomination, A GBS Show For Fans, A Doyle Brothers Duet, And The Most Scenic View Of All (Ships & Dip)

First and foremost, a bit of onshore news that cannot wait: It was announced today that Great Big Sea is one of five nominees for the Group of the Year Juno award. This particular award is sales-based and reflects the strong success of GBS's "Fortune's Favour" CD. The live Juno broadcast will be on March 28th on CTV.

And speaking of spectacular...while my overall opinion of the whole cruise thing is still in process, I have to confess that so far Ships & Dip has definitely had its unforgettable moments. Because the internet connection charge is rather on the stiff side (and not in the good way), I don't have time to go into much detail, so I'll simply say for now that I think what Great Big Sea did with their "Fan Club Show" - spending the whole time taking turns doing solo songs in a totally casual and endearingly intimate arrangement - was something truly special, absolutely unforgettable even to someone who has seen very many GBS performances. It was charming and bold and generous and kind all at once, a complete delight.

As wonderful as it all was, the following video shows the moment that has gone a very long way to making this whole cruise worth it to me (well, one other lovely moment too, but I will get to that one in a bit): here, Big Brother Bernie joins his Little Brother Alan and the rest of GBS for a rousing rendition of Stan Rogers' Northwest Passage:

Northwest Passage - Bernie Doyle & Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea, Fan Club Show, Ships and Dip 5

I have quite a few videos of the individual solos, though not all of them because I don't have that much memory space on my photo cards. I'm still kicking myself for not getting any of Kris; I was planning on catching his third tune, but then he handed off to Alan instead and left me sadly Krisless in the video tally (his first two spots were Cuts Like a Knife and a Ryan Adams tune I can't recall the title of). I did somewhat better with Murray, catching two of his three (She's No Lady and Seven Curses, but not Tenessee Stud), two of Bob's three (Cum Hear The Band and a sweet Ronnie Drew tune Bob dedicated to his wife, but not Colcannon), three of Sean's four (Lullabye, We're All Gonna Die, and Tea In The Sahara, but not his hilarious opener about all the things that are bad for him), and all three of Alan's songs (Dance, Dance, Let It Go, and that wonderful Doyle Brothers duet.) They wrapped up the show with one of their sweetest-ever Old Brown's Daughter, gout verse included. Utterly wonderful.

The first mainstage GBS show was good too, a bit of the GBS Classic approach, relaxed and fun, even if perhaps not my own personal favourite set list. I've got high hopes for some rock-and-roll to come. There's still the sailaway show tonight and another mainstage show on Wednesday, and of course the final jam - definitely looking for my Favourite Rock Star there. I hope to be seeing him at one of the Songwriters' Panels too. I made a pair of dedicated BNL fans pretty darn happy when I traded my BNL Mainstage tickets for their SWP access. They made me pretty darn happy too.

Overall, the cruise experience hasn't been bad so far. The set-up on this ship is such that it hinders predatory intent, so you don't have to feel guilt by simple presence onboard. The balcony cabin is working great for the claustrophobia troubles and so far the sailing has been so smooth I tend to forget I am on a boat. Except while vidoeing and taking photos; I have come to admire those who do that well...it takes a good bit of doing and even more balance at times.

So far, to me this is a series of shows of the music and performance I love best; those shows are just happening in kind of a weird place, one with a great ocean view and oddly folded towels. And I don't have to travel during the day to get to the next show. Works for me.

I've nearly used up my prepaid internet minutes; I've just enough time left to mention my other "This Makes The Cruise Totally Worth It" moment: It took place right before soundcheck started for the first GBS mainstage show in the Stardust Theater. Before reaching over to pick up his guitar to run through Love Me Tonight, Alan yawned hugely and the did the full arms-extended-above-the-head stretch, looking exactly like the Lion King he is and gifting the fortunate observer with a breath-catching view of the Belly Beautiful in all its gorgeous glory. There's my definition of Scenic Cruising, hands down. Up as well. Surely puts a permanent smile on my face.

YouTube is telling me the Northwest Passage video is uploaded, though the thumbnail picture still seems to be off. But it is playing, so I will go ahead and post the link. If for some reason it does not work, I apologise and will correct it next time. This will probably be the last time I check in here until after we get back to Florida; I hadn't intended to go online at all during the cruise (or our time in the Keys and Everglades before the boat set sail), but I simply could not wait with this.  There are sone times and some circumstances when you have to cast waiting to the winds, straight overboard and right into that sea of no cares.