GreatBigSea.com: Unanswered Threads

Two Tickets to the Nov 28th Grey Cup Gala (can not make it)

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:09:53 GMT

I have two level 1 seats for the Grey Cup concert

I have no way to make this show, I am only asking the ticket cost. I bought them on the GBS site, so i think they are cheaper than from ticketmaster $59.00 x2

Section 108 row 10... from what i have seen on the Saddledome layout, they seem in a nice spot for level 1

Wanatchee show

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:37:24 GMT

Really enjoyed the show last night. Small venue and very intimate, but the boys were, as usual, wonderful!!!!

Canada's Great Big Sea rolls into Edmonds

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:25:07 GMT

Canada's Great Big Sea rolls into Edmonds

Huge in their home country, folk rock group continues to build international following

The Enterprise Newspapers staff

Canadian folk-rock band Great Big Sea brings their distinctive sound to the Edmonds Center for the Arts Nov. 20.

Forged from the remnants of two other bands, Great Big Sea found its feet on the unforgiving streets of St. John's, Newfoundland and dragged themselves out of the bars to release their Warner major label debut “Up” in the spring of 1995, propelling it to platinum status with relentless touring and a raucous live show.

Their next effort “Play” enjoyed even bigger success and the band moved its show into hockey stadiums across the nation. U.S. labels took notice and GBS was subsequently signed to Sire. Accolades and a solid cult following ensued. When asked about their unlikely success, founding member Bob Hallett is typically candid: “We weren't the best musicians in town,” he says, “we just wanted it more. We were driven by a bloody-minded need to succeed and we were rewarded for our bleeding.”

The band has earned several major music awards in Canada, including Entertainer of the Year award at the East Coast Music Awards for every year between 1996 and 2000. In 2001, they decided not to submit their name for nomination in order to allow other bands to compete. They have also been nominated for several Juno Awards (similar to the Grammys in the U.S.) including Group of the Year in 1998 and 2005.

In 2005, the band released its long-awaited “traditional” album, “The Hard and the Easy,” on which they recorded their favourite Newfoundland party songs. Their lastest album “Fortune's Favour” finds them embracing new sounds and new ideas, pushing the boundaries of their own art and music.

The group has traversed the globe, all the while wearing their hometown on their sleeves and attempting to marry the traditional music of Newfoundland with their own pop explorations.

“Our music is of Newfoundland,” explains GBS's Sean McCann. “It would be impossible to do what we do if we were from anywhere else. Our songs come from the sea and the cliffs and the rocks and all the other natural beauties our country provides. Without her we simply couldn't exist.”

The lads of Canada's Great Big Sea got their start in the bars of St. John's, Newfoundland. The group has been together since 1993.

Time

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:01:03 GMT

I sit here contemplating, and the wind blows through the trees

With all the passage of time remaining, and the sacrifices seen.

I somehow still remember the kiss, and how the light in my lovers eyes gleamed.

Time can be a friend awaiting, it can also make your heart bleed.

Time can turn events to fleeting, leaving your future bare.

Time can also award you, with understanding beyond compare.

In the light of a shining day, with the warmth of the sun,

I can still feel arms around me, holding me, all things frozen and made one.

Somewhere in a place far from here,or even in the next room,

There is a woman shedding tears, there is a man in which victories won,

There is a small boy playing in his world, there is a girl that runs.

Time can be a friend awaiting, it can also make your heart bleed.

Time can turn events to fleeting, leaving your future bare.

Time can also award you, with understanding beyond all compare

The people pass on the streets, each looking for a heart to hear.

Moments pass between us, like the fingers through your hair.

Each and every glance has a meaning, every touch leaves a mark.

All sound makes a footprint, placed upon the soul and heart.

In the light of a glowing night, in the shadow of the moon,

I can still see you standing there, making the earth move.

Upon this place we live on, history is both past and here,

What is left has not been yet discovered, and contemplation is always near.

FRONT ROW TICKET: I have one available front row ticket for Wenatchee show tonight

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:19:25 GMT

Hi all. The person who was going to the Wenatchee concert with me tonight, bailed on me this morning. So, I have an extra ticket & all my other friends are busy tonight. It is a front row, center section ticket. Anyone interested in it, let me know.

Thanks!

Live Vid, Petaluma CA 11/14

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:18:10 GMT

Hi folks --

Not to be a pesky cross-poster, but thought I'd mention that I got some pretty cool vid clips up from the show they did last Saturday the 14th in the north bay of California. You'll find 'em over at the "show reviews" section, under the obvious sub-topic of, well, "Petaluma Loves GBS, 11/14".

Swim in the fun of Great Big Sea

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:36:13 GMT

Swim in the fun of Great Big Sea

Spirited music: Band brings sounds of native Newfoundland

MOLLY GILMORE; For The Olympian | • Published November 16, 2009

For the members of Great Big Sea, a concert isn’t about performing for an audience. It’s about performing with an audience.

And the Newfoundland-based band will perform in Olympia on Wednesday night.

“People like the fact that we encourage them to participate and become part of the concert,” said Bob Hallett, a founding member of the band who plays an array of traditional instruments and sings.

“A lot of people these days are afraid to sing in public; they are afraid of the sound of their own voice,” he said. “We just encourage people to sing with us, and after a while they do. They become part of the concert; they’re singing and dancing and clapping, and it becomes as much theirs as it is ours. It’s much more fun to go and do something than it is to go and watch something.”

That kind of do-it-yourself spirit is how the band members learned traditional music to begin with.

“Up until very recently, traditional music was popular music in Newfoundland,” Hallett said. “Up until the ’60s, there was no outside TV or radio. Entertainment was something people did themselves rather than something that came from somewhere else.

“Learning to play music was like learning to throw a ball or make a cup of tea. It wasn’t a really formal process; it was more osmosis.”

Did he ever dream of becoming a professional musician, or did he learn music just as a matter of course?

Both.

“It seemed a bit of an absurd fantasy, like becoming an astronaut or a superhero,” Hallett said. “I played a bit of guitar, but I didn’t have a great electric guitar and big amps. I knew that playing the button accordion and the tin whistle was not going to be the route to rock stardom.

“It turned out it was, but that did not seem plausible when I was 14 years old.”

The band is Newfoundland-based in more ways than one. Growing up, Hallett and fellow band members Alan Doyle and Sean McCann were deeply steeped in the traditional music of their native land.

A reviewer for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review wrote of the band’s 2008 “Fortune’s Favour” that it is “tethered to the band’s musical past” but with “a great big (no pun) rock ’n’ roll feel.”

A Washington Post reviewer wrote: “Great Big Sea makes an explosively joyful noise that is bright and melodic, passionate and heartfelt.”

Hallett put it this way: “We’re trying to make popular music, but rather than building it on blues or jazz or hip-hop or whatever, we’re building it on the traditional music of Newfoundland.”

Great Big Sea

What: The band builds its music on the traditional sounds of its native Newfoundland.

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

Where: The Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. S.E., Olympia

Tickets: $25.50-$37.50

Information: 360-753-8586

Does anyone have floor Bremerton tickets?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:33:26 GMT

Dh and I decided we could brave the mountains this weekend but really dont want to sit in the balcony. Anyone have any floor seats they want to sell?

Thanks

Binny89@gmail.com

TORONTO DEC 5 09 SHANNEYGANOCK & THE FABLES - ALAN DOYLE'S SMILING LAND

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:35:06 GMT

http://www.smilingland.ca/TheEvent/tabid/117/Default.aspx

A Rockin' Big Night

Where: Music Hall at the Masonic Temple
            888 Yonge Street
            Northwest Corner of Davenport and Yonge.
When: Saturday, December 5th, 2009
           Doors Open at 8:00 PM
Who:   SHANNEYGANOCK & THE FABLES FEATURING WONDERFUL D'ARCY BRODERICK & RONNIE POWER (GREAT SINGERS & INSTRUMENTALISTS EX IRISH DESCENDANTS - THE FABLES HAVE BEEN ON TO GO FOR ~ 10 YRS.

Smiling Land is a group of proud Newfoundland and Labradorians, both at home and across the country, who have come together to spread that feeling of joy to the province they love and beyond.

Seven ordinary people with big extra-ordinary plans and the hearts to match. Smiling Land will hold one great big fundraiser annually, for a different Newfoundland and Labrador charity every year.

Smiling Land Foundation is: Jennifer Bishop, Allan Hawco, Alan Doyle, Chris Henley, Seamus O’Regan, Tim Powers and Paul Sparkes.

TORONTO, OTTAWA--(Marketwire - Nov. 9, 2009) - A group of passionate Newfoundland and Labradorians are asking you to plan to sleep in the morning after the Rockin' Big Night, an unforgettable concert and reception December 5th at Toronto's Masonic Temple. All proceeds from the event benefit the Vera Perlin Society and the Stella Bury Foundation in St. John's, NL.

Presented by Smiling Land Foundation, who last year brought you The Great Big Give, this event will be the best kitchen party west of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, featuring performances by Newfoundland and Labrador's own, The Fables and Shanneyganock.

Rockin' Big Night

Where: Music Hall at the Masonic Temple (Northwest Corner of Davenport and Yonge)

When: Saturday, December 5th, 2009 (Doors open at 8pm)

Who: The Fables and Shanneyganock

Smiling Land is the product of seven proud Newfoundland and Labradorians who have come together to do something to benefit the province they love and share the spirit of the Rock with the rest of Canada. In 2008, Smiling Land hosted a wildly successful fundraiser for Daffodil Place, a cancer treatment centre in St. John's.

"We're excited to do something positive for our home province and to build on what was a great success last year; we are hoping for a great turnout again this year." says Seamus O'Regan. "This event is about bringing people together and giving back."

About Smiling Land Foundation:

These seven Newfoundland and Labradorians are accomplished and successful individuals in their fields and have worked both in their home province and abroad. They share a love of home and a desire to give back in keeping with the best of Newfoundland's tradition of strong community.

About Vera Perlin Society:

In 1954 Vera Perlin established Newfoundland and Labrador's first classroom for children with developmental disabilities. Today, the Vera Perlin Society delivers career development, employment, community living and administration programs.

The Perlin Centre houses the Society's programming. Proposed renovations will reinvigorate the program and the people it serves, providing a quality home to a much-needed service.

About Stella Bury Foundation:

For 30 years, Stella Burry Community Services (SBCS) has provided counseling and support in a caring atmosphere to marginalized youth and adults, assisting them to develop skills enabling greater autonomy and responsibility for their own lives and to become contributing members of society. With operations situated in St. John's, NL, SBCS serves the entire province with programs that do not exist elsewhere. The organization has been recognized many times both locally and nationally for its work.

Smiling Land Foundation is:

Jennifer Bishop

Jennifer Bishop is a partner in the Business Law Group at the law firm of Miller Thomson LLP, a full service national law firm established in 1957 with offices located in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Markham and Montreal. She specializes in corporate and commercial law with an emphasis on private business transactions including mergers and acquisitions and divestitures. Jennifer is the national chair of Miller Thomson's Women's Leadership Initiative, and is a member of the board of the directors of Live to Give Relief (Dress for Success) and actively involved in fundraising for the Doug Philpott Inner-City Children's Tennis Fund.

Alan Doyle

Alan Doyle is a singer, songwriter from Petty Harbour, Newfoundland. He has produced music for recording artists like Russell Crowe, and The Irish Descendants. He has been the principal music composer for television shows like, "Hatching Matching and Dispatching" and films such as, "Young Triffie." He is best known, however, as the lead singer in the multi-platinum selling band Great Big Sea. Along with his band mates, Alan has sold well over 1 million records and become a major draw at concert venues and festivals in Canada, the US, and Europe.

Allan Hawco

A native of the Goulds, Newfoundland and is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, Allan Hawco is one of the country's most exciting young actors.

He has starred in some of the most interesting and acclaimed of recent television dramas including ZOS: Zone of Separation, an eight-part series about the life and death struggle to enforce a United Nations-brokered ceasefire in a middle European country. (Movie Network, 2008). The political thrillers H2O (CBC, 2004) and its sequel Trojan Horse (CBC, 2007) and the World War II drama Above and Beyond (CBC, 2006). He has also just finished shooting a half hour drama pilot for CBC, Republic of Doyle. Hawco wrote, starred and was executive producer of the project.

He appears in a supporting lead in Sir Richard Attenborough's Closing the Ring (2008 nomination Best Film, Irish Film and Television Awards) with Christopher Plummer and Shirley MacLaine.

In 2005, Hawco co- founded and is Artistic Director of The Company Theatre and starred in its inaugural production of Tom Murphy's Whistle in the Dark which met with rave reviews.

Chris Henley

Mr. Henley is the founder and President of Henley Capital Corporation, a limited market dealer specializing in mergers and acquisitions, financing and advisory investment banking services to both public and private companies. He has spent the last 25 years in industry and investment banking financing and advising public and private companies covering the full range of industry sectors and market capitalizations. He is currently a current or former Board member of Transition Therapeutics Inc.; Ontario Transport Capital Corporation -- the developer of Highway 407, the first all-electronic highway in the world; the Advisory Board, Faculty of Business Administration, Memorial University of Newfoundland; and the board of directors of the Limited Market Dealers Association of Canada. Mr. Henley is also actively involved in a number of annual charitable fundraising initiatives such as The Ultimate Jet Set Experience and is a board member of the Future Focus Foundation and the Smiling Land Foundation. Mr. Henley holds a B.A. from Memorial University, an MBA from Dalhousie University and has completed the Institute of Corporate Directors Directors Education Program at the Rotman School of Management in Toronto. In 2006, Mr. Henley received the internationally recognized professional designation ICD.D.

Seamus O'Regan

Seamus O'Regan is the co-host of CTV's Canada AM. He is from St. John's, Newfoundland, and was raised in Goose Bay, Labrador.

He serves on the Boards of The Rooms and The Company Theatre group. He is also an Honourary Advisor to Shallaway -- Newfoundland and Labrador Youth in Chorus.

Tim Powers

Tim Powers is Vice-President of Summa Communications. Originally from St. John's, Newfoundland, Mr. Powers began his career as an assistant and advisor to the Honourable John C. Crosbie, then Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. Thereafter, he acted as advisor to the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. Mr. Powers also served as the Director of Policy and Research to the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

Mr. Powers has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland, a Master of Arts degree (Atlantic Canada Studies) from St. Mary's University, and a Master of Sciences degree (Media and Communications) from the London School of Economics. Mr. Powers has also studied Public Sector Management at Harvard University.

Currently, Mr. Powers serves as a lecturer in the Faculty of Communications at the University of Ottawa. Mr. Powers is also a media commentator, appearing frequently on CTV, CTV News Channel and BNN.
Paul Sparkes

Paul Sparkes is the Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, CTVglobemedia.

A graduate of Memorial University, Sparkes is the President and Founding Member of the Smiling Land Foundation. He is also President of the CHUM Charitable Foundation and serves on many Industry and Charitable Boards, including the Banff Television Festival Foundation, the digital television channel Animal Planet, and the One X One Foundation. As part of his involvement with One X One, Sparkes is the leading board member of the First Nations School Nutrition Program, a national outreach initiative designed to provide First Nations children who live in poverty with a school nutrition program.

Prior to joining CTVglobemedia in 2001, Sparkes enjoyed a distinguished career in public service. From 1998-2001 he served as Director of Operations to then Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Jean Chretien and prior to that, he was Special Assistant for Atlantic Canada in the PMO (1996-1998). Also, he served as Executive Assistant to two Premiers of Newfoundland and Labrador; the Honourable Clyde Wells and the Honourable Brian Tobin.

The Fables and Shanneygonock

MUSICNL 09 WINNERS (MUSIC ASSOCIATION OF NL) AWARDS - NOV 15 09

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:27:28 GMT

Among the big winners were Percussionist Curtis Andrews who won Artist of the Year, and Karla Pilgrim received the Country Artist of the Year award. The Once took home four wins: Group of the Year, Album of the Year, Folk Roots Group of the Year, and Rising New Group of the Year. Shanneyganock were named Entertainers of the Year, and Terry Penny was named Songwriter of the Year for his work, "The Town that Time Forgot."http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&id=2635

I'll provide info on what typoe of music they play in case you want to check them out.

The Once - beautiful harmonies Geraldine Hollett, Phil Churchill (was with comedy group dance party of NL) & Andrew Dale (beautiful instruments also). If you like pure harmonies, you'll love this - self titled album - ballads - done beautifully.

Karla Pilgrim - beautiful new country album

Terry Penney - absolutely beautiful country songs & songs of rememberance - that are sing along kind of songs with deep meaning. I heard him play @ the Rose & Thistle on Sat. (he's from out of town).

Curtis Andrews - African & other drumming. His recording an offering of Curtis Andrews is very high quality beautiful instrumental jazz that everyone would love. He visits Africa for months each yr & moved to vancouver maybe 4 months ago - very high level drummer of various genres.

Shanneyganock - Chris Andrews great vocals & enthusiasm & Nl spirit & Mark Hiscock - old fasioned type voice & accordian - blend well. Way down Yonder in the mior key is wonderful. They're playing in Toronto with the fables - one of our best Irish NL bands on Dec 5 for Alan Doyle's Smiling Land Foundation - I'll make post on that. There are sponsorship opportunities.

2 tickets for tonight...Santa Cruz...2nd row!!!!

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:57:45 GMT

I have been sick since Saturday morning and missed out on Petaluma and had to make an executive decision to miss the show tonight too.

I am sooooooooooooo bummed because I have waited a year to see these guys and hate to see the tickets go to waste.

$30 for the pair (originally $75)...you would have to pick them up in san carlos.

Let me know...hope someone can use them...

di :-( 650-245-2358 or dione413@aol.com

Help out a great agency for free!!

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:58:56 GMT

Hi fellow GBSers. as some of you might know im a community worker and an agency that a friend works for is in bad need of a van to help out their at risk youth clients. Aviva is having a contest for agencies and awarding cash grants!!! all they need to do is get support in the form of votes. Please please take a second and go cast a vote at http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf3285 you do have to sign up but it takes literaly no time and its absolutly free. Thanks guys!

Games for Dial Up Connections???

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:07:57 GMT

I am a caveman and still have dial up. About 4 months ago AOL made some changes and the games I used to be able to play on POGO stopped working. Does anyone with dial up have any suggestions what games I might be able to play? I got so bored i had to join facebook! Help me!

Tonight in St. John's Calgary's Claymore Celtic band - Thur Oct 29

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:31:41 GMT

Hi everyone - saw Claymore last night & they are playing one last night in St. John's - at the Levvy above Jungle Jims on George St - I'd say starting ~10:30They play lots of lively Trad NL songs - like PADDY MURPHY, EXCURSION, TELL ME MA & lots more. You can sing along & dance half the night - I did.

The Levee is a nice club w pic windows over George St. I highly recommend you check them out. They open for Shaneyganock in Alberts sometime & play clubs - often 350 - 1000 people - so it's a treat to see them at a small club in NL. You guys can take the place - they guys willplay whatever you want & it can be a hoot. Get together or drop down individually - why don't you. kinda like seeing GBS in the early days.

http://www.myspace.com/claymoreclaymore

They have a congenial lead singer, Chris Gieve (guitar) originally from London England, &

Jim Taylor Born in Edmonton (not my fault!), I've lived in a variety of places from outside of Toronto, Ontario to Victoria, B.C. Calgary has been home for the past 15 years or so. I trained classically and have played Eastern European folk and classical music for over 3 decades. Claymore has given me the opportunity to explore Celtic fiddling styles. The guys are great, the music's great, so it must be time for a SOCIABLE!!

Derrek Spencer came to Claymore from the country band "Backwood Revelation." Although he has recent;y cut back on wearing the stetson onstage, he still frequently wears the boots and big belt buckle! Don't let the western duds fool you though, Derrek's family hails from Fortune, Newfoundland and it's influence flows through his veins! Derrek plays mostly bass guitar at the moment, although he is an accomplished lead guitar player, and an aspiring bohdran player.

Bohran Player - originally from Bishops Falls -

http://www.claymoreband.com/

family roots

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:48:37 GMT

Rumor has it the the Clan Shoughrue (various spellings) came from Ireland through New Foundland to Mass. Anyone know of anyone with a last name spelled that way or close?

Do Not Miss . . .Great Big Sea

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:23:28 GMT

Do Not Miss . . .Great Big Sea

October 7, 2009

Jessica Mackin of "The Independent"

On Sunday, October 11 at 8 PM Great Big Sea will take the stage at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. The Celtic rock trio features members Bob Hallett, Alan Doyle and Sean McCann. The group plays original tunes and rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs.

The trio has been unleashed to the American public and is ready to rock, yet remains loyal to their homeland. "Our music is of Newfoundland. It would be impossible to do what we do if we were from anywhere else. Our songs come from the sea and the cliffs and the rocks and all the other natural beauties our country provides. Without her we simply couldn't exist," says McCann. The Celtic music mixed with modern pop creates a crowd pleasing, boisterous show.

Get ready to shout and dance around as Great Big Sea provides the ultimate pub party on Sunday night.

Tickets range from $30-$50. Visit www.whbpac.org or call the box office 631-288-1500 for tickets.

Visit the band's website

www.greatbigsea.com

How to make the best Mint Julep

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:17:13 GMT

Given Sean's apparent predeliction for the mint julep, I thought I would post my family's recipe here.

What you need:

A tumbler or julep cup, preferably silver

Lots of crushed ice

QUALITY Bourbon whiskey, like Makers Mark, Bulleit, Basil Hayden

Fresh mint

Simple syrup (1 cup sugar to 2 cups water, simmered and chilled)

Straw cut to within 1 1/2 inches of lip of tumbler

Place straw and sprig of mint in tumbler, on opposite sides. Fill with crushed ice. Add 1 jigger of bourbon. Top with simple syrup. DO NOT STIR. I repeat...DO NOT STIR.

Gently crush the mint, and when you sip from the straw, from the bottom of the tumbler, inhale the fresh mint aroma. Enjoy!!

2 tix available for Westhampton 10/11

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:17:10 GMT

Hi all --

I have two tickets available for Sunday's show in LI. In the center on the right aisle J101 and 102. Just looking to make my money back -- I paid $50 per seat -- $100 total.

Thanks. Looking forward to my first show in Tarrytown on Saturday. Those are NOT available!

Mike

2 ORCH Tix--Harrisburg--6th Row

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:23:26 GMT

Hi, all. I bought 4 ORCH tix with intentions of my friend using 2--now he has bailed. I'm still using my 2 tix, but I'm willing to sell the extra 2. Seats are row F--great view and great acoustics if you've never been to Whitaker. Will meet you anywhere in Harrisburg to exchange tix for cash--preferably there at Whitaker. Spread the word if you can't use 'em. Respond to post or e-mail to RLLTD1@CS.COM. Thanks, all. --Eric

New artist

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:32:07 GMT

Hey i don't know if you guys are looking for new talent but i have a newphew Chad hudson writies his own songs and music can see needs a little voice coaching but if ya listen to this kid he has what it take . Ir you are interested call me 403-306-0103 but he does live in St. Johns area

Jeana Hall

Photos from Joplin, Missouri

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:44:44 GMT

Check out http://shorock.com/gbs/20091005/ for photos and a program from last night's show in Joplin, Missouri. (In the fullness of time, I hope to add some video memories from this event.)

JOPLIN, MO 10/5/2009

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:09:27 GMT

Have a few great pics and several not so great. Must be getting old and shakey. Anyway for those that would like to see the good ones I have them posted on facebook. Which means you would need to send me a friend request there. So if would like to do that just search on facebook for Steven Laird, Oklahoma City. Please add to your request that you are a GBS fan.

Thanks,

Steve

Tickets for Tarrytown on Saturday -- make me an offer.....

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:04:22 GMT

I have 4 tickets -- Row I, Orchestra left (on the inner aisle.) Tickets were $43 each. I cannot use them. Anyone interested before I donate them back to the Music Hall or to WFUV ? ? Would love to recoup some or all of my cost....

CraigLArm@gmail.com

Thanks,

Craig

Great Big Sea will flood Performing Arts Center with fine blend of Canadian music

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:30:49 GMT

Great Big Sea will flood Performing Arts Center with fine blend of Canadian music

By Tom Isler of The East Hampton Press and The Southhampton Press

Oct 5, 09 1:37 PM

Bob Hallett stepped back from the mic. It was early September and the founding member of the eclectic band Great Big Sea was finishing up an open-air concert in Buffalo, New York, with his bandmates.

They were in the middle of playing an up-tempo drinking song Mr. Hallett had come up with more than 15 years ago, “The Old Black Rum,” but something made him stop singing after the first verse.

He didn’t need to bother with the second.

The lyrics floated up to the stage from the audience like fog rising on the Erie Canal. Five thousand people were belting out his words. “…’Cause the old black rum’s got a hold on me like a dog wrapped ’round my leg…”

It was a pinch-me moment for Mr. Hallett.

On stage were three guys from Newfoundland who mixed traditional folk songs and sea shanties from that isolated corner of Canada with their own original pop songs; who played instruments like the fiddle, the diatonic accordion and the goatskin drums; who had never recorded on a major U.S. label; who never got radio play in the States; who had not released a new album in more than a year; who were still going strong 16 years after starting out in dive bars in St. John’s; who were now performing in front of the largest crowd they’d ever attracted—an overwhelmingly American crowd, no less.

And the audience knew every word.

“You just have to step back and think back and philosophize about how you got here,” Mr. Hallett, 41, recalled during a recent telephone interview.

Great Big Sea will be flooding the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on October 11 at 8 p.m.

The success of Great Big Sea was not completely unexpected—at least from the band’s perspective—but it certainly was improbable. “We knew in our heads that there was a place for a band like this out on the world stage,” Mr. Hallett said. “The music was really good. But no one had successfully taken it out of Newfoundland, let alone Canada.”

Mr. Hallett, Alan Doyle and Sean McCann might not have been the most talented of musicians, but they were determined to spread their cultural heritage, and they were hungry for success. “We knew if we had the right recipe, people would like the dish,” Mr. Hallett said.

It was just a matter of convincing people to take a taste. So Great Big Sea tried to make it as palatable as possible.

The first step was to arrange traditional songs as pop songs. Then Great Big Sea brought the tunes to life with an infectious jollity, a full-tilt zest that inspires even the most skeptical listeners to hoist a frothy pint and search for the nearest mahogany bartop and a jig partner.

Mr. Hallett calls it the “Great Big Sea presentation.”

“You have to be good friends with your songs because you’re going to play them every night for the rest of your life,” he said, explaining the band’s enthusiasm for its music. “We’re not actors.”

(That’s not entirely true. Mr. Doyle will make his big-screen debut in the forthcoming “Robin Hood,” directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.)

But Mr. Hallett simply means: the band isn’t faking it. They really are having a raucous good time.

For the record, Mr. Hallett says the band has never embraced the oft-applied label of “Celtic” to its music, although he understands that it helps the uninitiated grasp the general universe within which the band plays—one also populated by the likes of the Pogues, Gaelic Storm and Carbon Leaf. Irish, Scottish and bluegrass music all comes “from a similar place,” Mr. Hallett explained.

Over the years, the band has gained confidence and maturity and expanded its musical horizons.

On “The Hard and The Easy,” released in October 2005, the band delved deeper into the more esoteric and obscure traditional music of Newfoundland that it had shied away from in its early years when it was focused on attracting general audiences. And on its last release, “Fortune’s Favor,” which debuted in April 2008, the band deliberately embarked on a “sonic experiment” to move away from the sound upon which they built their name.

“We wanted to see what we could play and still be in the same band,” Mr. Hallett said.

The album has as many different sounds as the northern Atlantic has shades of blue and green—even if the accordions and tin whistles are consistently in the background. Listen straight through and you’ll hear echoes of Huey Lewis, Ben Folds, ’80s metal bands, Christian rock and the Muppets. You’ll hear the gruffness of Nickelback, the whispy folksiness of Neil Young and the tightly blended vocals of Phish at their most melodic and playful.

“The question for us is: is this as good or better than what we’ve done before?” Mr. Hallett explained. “The biggest pressure is, can we top ourselves?”

The one thing Mr. Hallett will not tamper with is the place he calls home. “The further we get from there, the less authentic we’ll be,” he said. “The music is so tied to the geography and the culture of Newfoundland, if we were to move away, an essential piece of what we are would be gone.”

Sure, maintaining that stance requires a lot more travel on his part to get to gigs. But he knew what he was getting into. “This is the life I’ve wanted since I was 8 years old.”

Great Big Sea will play at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Sunday, October 11, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30, $40 or $50, available by calling the Arts Center box office at 288-1500, stopping in at the PAC at 76 Main Street in Westhampton Beach, or visiting www.whbpac.org.

Scotiabank Grey Cup Gala Concert presented by the Calgary Herald - Featuring Great Big Sea!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:25:23 GMT

Scotiabank Grey Cup Gala Concert presented by the Calgary Herald - Featuring Great Big Sea!

WHERE	·	Pengrowth Saddledome
WHEN	·	Saturday, November 28, 2009
TIME	·	7:00pm

The Scotiabank Grey Cup Gala concert, the premier concert event of the Grey Cup weekend, will feature a cross-section of award winning Canadian artists from coast to coast leading a celebration of Canadian football! Sophie Milman, The Canadian Tenors, Divine Brown and George Canyon will take the stage before Canadian party rockers Great Big Sea headline the final bill of the concert. Tickets are only $39 - $59 (plus s/c). On sale now at www.ticketmaster.ca/2009greycupfestival

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