By Donna Hopper
SooToday.com
Saturday, September 26, 2009

The first thing Great Big Sea (GBS) frontman Alan Doyle said to the Essar Centre audience last night was: "Sault Ste. Marie! It's good to be back. It's been far too long."

From the crowd's reaction, SooToday.com got the impression that all 2,400 fans in attendance felt the same way.

On its feet for the entire show, the audience ate up every single delicious Celtic rock morsel the Newfoundlanders dished out.

And then some.

One fan wrote on GBS's Facebook fan page last night: "I just got home from the concert you played tonight in the Sault!! It was amazing and you're all right. It has been way too long since you've been here. You must come back!!" 


"Thanks for an amazing night!!!!" another commented. "We will never forget it!!!"

"Awesome show last night in the Sault!!! Best concert I have ever been to by far!!!!" said a third.

Much as their fans here seem to utterly adore them, the boys from GBS appear to adore the Sault right back.

Doyle sang the praises of our city's kindness and generosity, and reflected on the last time the band played here.

"Last time we played the Sault, we had a day off the next day," he said. "We needed a day to recover from that day off."

"I remember eating dinner at Arturo's and not much else after that," added Sean McCann.

McCann even dedicated England from the band's 2008 release, Fortune's Favour, to local radio personality, James Warner-Smith.

Others included on the evening's set list were Donkey Riding, Captain Kidd, Lukey, Run Runaway, Mari-Mac, Consequence Free, Penelope, When I am King, Ferryland Sealer, Ordinary Day, Excursion Around the Bay, and Concerning Charlie Horse, quite possibly the best song written about a dead horse, ever.

For two straight hours, the Essar Centre became the biggest, liveliest kitchen party you ever did see.

Something Doyle claims the Sault does like no other place on Earth.

Cheers to a hasty return, boys!