Wow, what a great show!!  We drove 210 miles and sat in the worst seats in the house, but an awesome double-set from the guys made it all worth it.  I just got home from the show now (3am) and I'm stilled pumped from the energy.  Thank you!

Someone said before - you know you've enjoyed a Great Big Sea show when you leave sweaty, hoarse and with sore hands and feet!

This was the first time I ever scored front row seats for GBS, and being able to see all of Alan's furry-face expressions, Sean's bright blue eyes and Bob's "dance moves" up close was a special treat. From the opening notes of Donkey Riding through the final encore of Old Black Rum, the sold-out audience was mostly on its feet (except the right side floor section who seemed very stuck to their seats in the first set. We got lots of a capella - General Taylor, River Driver, favorite originals - When I'm Up, Consequence Free, singalongs - Run Runaway, Mari Mac, and quite a few songs from Fortune's Favour like England, Walk On The Moon and Straight to Hell. There was lots of joking and we got pieces of Ramones, Kenny Rogers and John Lennon songs (and a made-on-the-spot Portsmouth tune), which may have been the reason we didn't get Old Brown's Daughter for an encore - the time ran out for the venue's 11pm curfew. The camera police were out in force, but I still got lots of pictures and videos, which I'll share as soon as I get the chance to go through them. With a great batch of enthusiastic fans in front, I didn't feel guilty for being on my feet for most of the night, and the front row provided plenty of dance room.

To the little Hitler lady with the wireless headset who stood behind me during the encores to prevent me from taking any more photos - I hope that being a camera Nazi gave you as much thrill enforcing the completely arbitrary house "no photos" rule as I had being at the show. I'm glad you were watching me because it gave plenty of others the chance to shoot some pictures!

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http://mjbphotos.tripod.com
http://www.myspace.com/mikebirchmusic

 

 

All of my photos HERE.  

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http://mjbphotos.tripod.com
http://www.myspace.com/mikebirchmusic

It looks like you had a comparable seat to ours on Thursday. Nice photos.

Anne

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And when the winds of change begin to blow,
I'll whisper, "You're my lighthouse" in case you didn't know.

Sons of Maxwell

visit my website!:
Anne's Philly Phan Site at http://www.gbsfanatic.com

Videos:

Captain Kidd

England   (missing the end due to camera nazi)

Pat Murphy

Helmet Head - watch Bob dance!

When I Am King  - with some fun improv first

Straight to Hell   (incomplete due to camera nazi, but the end of the song can still be heard!)

 

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http://mjbphotos.tripod.com
http://www.myspace.com/mikebirchmusic

Just a quickie ... I promise more later. The sun is shining today and I need to work in my garden before it snows tonight!!

 But, what a show! John, I think my daughter and I followed you up I-89 on the way home. Were you in the white SUV? We made the trip from Waterbury and the drive home was hellish with fog and rain. Still, soooo worth it!

More than 2 dozen songs!!! Let It Go and the Chemical Workers Song from the vault - those alone made the drive worthwhile. That long a list though meant many of the standbys plus about half of Fortune's Favor. Great small venue with a funky lobby and bar (and I think the most interesting public restrooms in all of New England). Some of the fans on our side (orchestra left, stage Murray/Alan) were too prone to sitting, but it's amazing how people pop up when those in front of them are standing. The boys seemed very relaxed and even a bit silly. Bob at times seemed the only one eager to move on as Alan and Sean goofed off. They did many oddball sing-along tunes like Bohemian Rhapsody, the Gambler and Lucille by Kenny Rogers, Rick Springfield's Jesse's Girl and even Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics (Alan seemed genuinely surprised when the crowd picked it up and ran with it). More than anything, they looked like they were having a ball and it was infectious. 

The camera *** were annoying and we saw the woman badgering what must've been Mike up front. We tucked our camera away until late in the second set and then just went for it.

Two encores made it seem like the band was really never ending.  Afterward, my 12-year-old daughter and another girl about her age timidly made their way to the stage to ask crew members for set lists. They happily grabbed two and gave them to the kids - you had to see the smiles! It didn't look like anyone else went for the remaining ones.

We dropped an extra $90 on t-shirts and enjoyed meeting Glen. It only could've been better if we met Alan or Sean or Bob .... maybe next time. When will that be?

I'll post the full list and some pics later. Gotta get to those perennial beds ...

 

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LisaVt

And when your children have all grown, you'll wait by the window and wish them all back home.

Here's the list:

Set one: Donkey Riding / Capt. Kidd / Love me Tonight / Paddy Murphy / When I'm Up / Jack Hinks / England / Charlie Horse / Ferryland Sealer / River Driver / Here and Now / Let it Go / Run Runaway

Set two: sing-along tunes / Lukey / Process Man / When I'm King / Wedderburn (on the list but Sean skipped it for Gen. Taylor) / Scolding Wife / I'm a Rover / Helmethead / John Barbor / Consequence Free / Mari Mac / Ordinary Day

Encores: Walk on the Moon / Excursion Around the Bay / Fortune Set / Straight to Hell / Old Black Rum

Forget my pictures. Mike's video clips are worth watching especially for all of the ad libbing. Thanks for posting those!!

It's been three days and I'm still smiling.

Cheers,

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LisaVt

And when your children have all grown, you'll wait by the window and wish them all back home.

Beautiful videos and beautiful photos! I feel like i was actually there! God..i need to go to another concert ASAP!!!!

I'm beginning to panic haha

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I'll fall asleep in this foreign land, but I'll wake up in my dreams to find myself back home in the arms of the land that raised me

The Story of 777: On March 7th, I saw my first Great Big Sea Concert. 7 months later on October 7th, I saw my second Great Big Sea Concert. I call it fate!

MikeB:

To the little Hitler lady with the wireless headset who stood behind me during the encores to prevent me from taking any more photos - I hope that being a camera Nazi gave you as much thrill enforcing the completely arbitrary house "no photos" rule as I had being at the show. I'm glad you were watching me because it gave plenty of others the chance to shoot some pictures!

As both a fan and an industry professional who has been working with GBS, I thought it might interest you and others to know that the "completely arbitrary" no-camera rules and no-photo/video/audio recording rules are not because the local house enjoys being camera ***. In fact, they're not arbitrary, but directly required by GBS or its agent.

 GBS, like many music acts, have contracts that REQUIRE the local venue to prevent any recording or photography. In fact, I can quote directly from a GBS contract: "PURCHASER shall not itself nor shall it permit others to record, broadcast, televise, photograph, or otherwise reproduce the visual and/or audio performances hereunder, or any part thereof...."

 Other parts of the contract ensure that should GBS decide that they were to sue a local venue for failure to fulfil that requirement of the contract, that the local venue would pay for all legal costs for GBS to sue them, regardless of the results of any awards.

 So the people being camera *** are really just trying to protect their own backsides. You might cut them a little more slack. I'm not saying it's a fair or reasonable rule - just that it's GBS trying to enforce it, and some poor security guard is just trying to do their job so the venue doesn't get in trouble. Not because they're just trying to throw their weight around.

Blackfaer if that's true that GBS makes venues sign contracts where they can get sued if fans take pictures why the heck are so many pictures still taken at GBS shows?  If they don't like it that much (and why does EVERYBODY say they love it when they write contracts against it???:)  why not man up and say so themselves publicly like here on their site?  I was gonna bring my camera and now I don't know what to do. Not what I can get away with but what pisses off the band if I do it anyway?  I want an answer from the source.

The best thing to do is to contact the venue and to see what their camera policies are.

You could also just bring your camera with you, and before taking it out, ask what their camera policy is.

Hope this helps!

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