Note: It's been pointed out to me that First Attempt could have been comprised of 4 band members, instead of being an earlier incarnation of Alan's Staggerin' Home duo with John Brenton, which would make Alan's "Half of First Attempt in the house" Twitter remark a reference to both Greg and himself.
Since I'm not sure how many First Attempters there actually were, and since The Other Quarter Of First Attempt doesn't sound nearly as cool as does The Other Half Of - although The Other Half Of The Half has rather a nice ring to it - I think I'll just shag attempts at mathematical accuracy and go with The Best Of Each And Every Attempt to describe Alan.
Adjectival accuracy at its finest. And his.
This Sweet Boy belongs here too. I sure saw him out on the ACC ice, rocking those Anthems at the Biggest Hockey Dance of all - that is, the biggest until he does it again for the Habs' Stanley Cup-clinching game.
(I have a friend who, whenever she sees a particularly gorgeous photo of a man taken back when he was a young boy invariably says, "If he'd gone to my high school, he'd have been walking with a limp the whole time!" I think of her words - and of that limp - each and every time I look at this photo of Alan.)
ETA: This video snippet, posted by Alan last night on Twitter from the mixing studio in Toronto, goes perfectly with everything I could see during his stirring Hockey Anthems performance the night before.
GHAWK lays it down at the mix studio. Half of First Attempt in the house. Yes B'y. - Alan Doyle, Twitter, January 8th
If you look closely. you can see the other half of First Attempt (Alan's first band, brilliantly - and confidently - named) reflected in the glass, videoing longtime friend and First-Attempt-mate Greg Hawco while he works on a track for Alan's only-a-few-months-away Solo Album, as final tracks are recorded and final mixes completed at Toronto's Loud Mouse Studios.
Be sure to listen for the low, warm chuckle and the laughingly whispered "Awesome" at the end of the video. The Other Half of First Attempt has waited a very long time to say that word in this context. And to have that delighted laugh.
From First Attempt to Best Attempt. Awesome it truly is, awesome it truly will be. Awesome you truly are. Yes, B'y.
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...this sweet little smile - mixed relief and pleasure - on Alan's face right after he sang an excellent Star-Spangled Banner to open tonight's Leafs/Wings game?
He might have sounded a bit worried beforehand, mentioning his pre-Anthem nervousness on his Twitter page, adding that he'd watched a Bon Jovi concert on his flight to Toronto, just to get himself in the proper "Stadium Rock" frame of mind - but when it was time to perform, Alan Doyle came through, brilliantly and beautifully.
As he always does.
After getting past the really frigging hard one, O Canada was clearly a sheer delight. And so was its Singer.
Tonight, Alan was the Jon Bon Jovi of Anthems.
This Hockey Night In Canada broadcast also included an interview with Alan and Allan Hawco, promoting the upcoming (January 11th) third-season premiere of Republic Of Doyle, an episode in which Russell Crowe, Scott Grimes and Kevin Durand join Alan as guest stars.
As nervous as he had to be about having the notoriously difficult SSB looming before him, only moments away, Alan did an awesome job of staying focused during this interview. Almost as awesome a job as he did with both of those Anthems.
Almost, but not quite. They were very well-sung Anthems.
I first heard Alan, and subsequently Great Big Sea, in March of 2001; I didn't see them play live until September of that year. During that initial six months, I poked around here and there online, curious to see what I could learn about him and them. One of the first articles I ever read about Alan was a fairly extensive interview he had given, a good piece which gave a few clear, true glimpses of the Man being interviewed; one particularly illuminating comment Alan made in that interview had to do with how much better a world it would be if everyone - not just performers but everyone, even Dentists - got applauded for their good work.
In that same interview, Alan mentiioned having been at a recent hockey game - I think the referemce was to when GBS performed at the NHL All Star Game, but I'm not sure - and how utterly cool he'd felt when CBC broadcaster (and former NHL goalie) Kelly Hrudey said "Hi Alan" to him as he walked past. Alan said he was thrilled that Kelly Hrudey knew who he was.
I was thinking about that interview tonight while waiting for Alan to come out onto the ice and claim his Anthems at the Air Canada Centre, in front of a several-million-plus national audience. I thought about it while listening to Alan's friendly exchange with Hockey Night In Canada host Ron MacLean - the same fellow Alan cruised the Adriatic with last summer on the Gold Medal Plates trip, scheduled for a repeat journey this year - and again when the CBC cameras briefly showed The National News Anchor Peter Mansbridge chatting companionably with Alan during the game.
The interview came to mind once more, when I was thinking about how the Republic of Doyle's acquisition of its biggest-ever Guest Star is the result of what began years ago with an excellent song - Alan's "How Did We Get From Saying's 'I Love You'?" - written by an impressively talented Boy, with all due credit to Russell Crowe's impeccable taste and keen discernment in recognising the excellence of that song, as well as the impressive talents of the Boy...and, most of all, the priceless worth of the Man. Even more credit to Alan for his resourceful orchestration of a meeting between himself and Russell at those NHL Hockey Awards. The rest is, as they say, History; what I say is that the rest is the Future too.
Just about then, Alan came out onto the ice, looking endearingly nervous, performing admirably well. I saw him, heard him, was glad for him, felt relieved for him, am so proud of him. I could see the Boy who watched Hockey Night on TV with Big Brother every Saturday night in Petty Harbour, the Boy who would of course be thrilled when a big-league hockey player - an NHL goalie, no less - knew who he was and called him by name. I could see the Man, standing out there on the ACC ice in the blaze of the spotlights, singing for the mutitudes.
Rock Star, Actor, Master Songwriter, Front Man, Solo Artist...Alan. As far as he has come, as far as he is going, he's still Himself - still true. Still thrilled to be seen and known for who he is; still delighted to be noticed and called by name.
Still sure that applause can make this world such a better place.
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