Awesome show last night!  Drove three hours from Binghamton , NY and just recovering this morning.  Sorry I'm not a setlist keeper, although I do appreciate those that do it for us.  This was my first GBS show and I certainly hope not the last.  I took my 14 yr. old son and I haven't seen him grin that huge in a while.  He knows the words to the songs better than I, and I was pretty good at keeping up with everything except Sean's obscene speed on Meri Mac, my lips just can't keep up, even if I do know the words. Thanks for the show boys and come back soon. 

Sean's Tweet after the show mentions Christmas Eve and eggnog - what does that mean?

Leaving for Portsmouth in 4 hours ...

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.

Lisa,

We ended up singing several Christmas songs after Alan commented on how much the lighting on the balconies remided him of Christmas lights. It kept up for a while in banter between songs.

Alan was also offered our State Capitol Building and the contents therein for nothing. All of us here in PA are truly disgusted at the failure of our legislators to formulate a budget.

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

LisaVt:

Sean's Tweet after the show mentions Christmas Eve and eggnog - what does that mean?

Leaving for Portsmouth in 4 hours ...

Cheers,

 

He led us in an impromtu rendtion of Do They Know It's Christmas  I think Bob Geldof and friends have nothing on the Whitaker Center singers!

Not enough time for a full review, but I will say that the Christmas theme made for some impromptu hilarity throughout the show.  The funniest part to me was immediately after Alan's Christmas lights reference, Sean started strumming and signing "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."  Brilliant!

I thought the crowd was fairly lackluster; however, the lads more than made up for it by putting on an enthusiastic and interactive show.  I shudder to think how much the crowd would have sat on its hands had Alan not been masterful at drawing them out at the right moments.  The impromptu banter was spot-on, and you could tell the fellas were enjoying themselves.  Overall, a very personable show from the lads.

@ Nova--looks as if we made the same trip.  I'm just outside the beltway along 66.  Was able to leave work early and beat the usual nearly-all-day DC rush hour.

Awesome show indeed! Two classic moments...Bob (who smiled! repeatedly!! and danced!!!) actually crossed all the way over to stage Murray and used Murray's mic. Been to a dozen or so shows, never seen Bob travel all the way over there before. I think Murray was stunned by it.

And Alan (egged on by Sean, of course) altered the words to "When I'm Up" thusly:

"I have a mountain of infection/On my instrument of joy"  Really need to get that on a DVD.  My daughter says she's gonna make that her new status on Facebook.

 

 

 

Wow! I like the new words to When I'm Up" so much better ...I just feel bad for Joanne

Sounds like it was a killer show...wish I could have been there!

Peace, Love, and GBS,

Loula 

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Well there’ll be music all around you, You should see the way it feels

Who did the solo? What was it? C'mon c'mon, we're waiting for the scoop...

No solo last night--I think they played a NEW song in the usual solo spot,  Yep, we got a debut--“Good People.” Awesome song, a bit on the “alt-country” spectrum but it felt comfortable and got a great response.  It seemed much of the crowd was ready to be on its feet for much of the night. 

 

The guys were dead on--they played their set list and nailed every part.  Seemed like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves in spite of being in the middle of a run of many shows--I really don’t know how they do it.  The venue was gorgeous--and so funny to see the guys mystified by all the PA budget drama!

I had  a GBS virgin with me last night as well as my nearly 7 year-old daughter, who was seeing her 4th show, but first in the front row.  My friend was totally blown away by the show.  My little gal was lucky enough to get a very sweet blown kiss from Alan, as well as guitar picks from both Alan and Sean, and a set list from another fan in the front row (THANK YOU).  The kindness the guys always show to the kids in the audience is wonderful--I had a few rock concert experiences as a kid that I think really connected me to live music even though there was no way in hell I was ever going to be a musician, and I am glad to have a great band to share that same joy with my daughter (though I still hope she will develop actual musical ability!)  Special thanks to Howard and Cheryl who endured the wiggly kiddo in front of them!  And great to meet Pittsburgh Dave.

I will post set list tomorrow.

There will be no review from me on this show - I was consequence free last night. But Karen sneaked a few photos. I can't rememebr where the CHristmas songs went. But there weren't as many as were sung at Wolftrap. The crowd was in really good voice and I think the b'ys were surprised so many knew the words. It's only the second time playing in Harrisburg. They were sold out except for 4 seats according to ALan.Not bad at all! The people on the floor were more likey to be standing although a lot sat thru the show. I didn't hear anyone yelling to sit down though. I stood about 1/2 the time I guess. I needed that show.

Anne

Setlist:

Donkey Riding
Captain Kidd
Love Me Tonight
Paddy Murphy
When I'm Up
Jack Hinks
England
Gideon Brown
Mermaid Song
River Driver
Here and Now
Good People
80's Singalong
Run Runaway

Intermission

Tunes
Lukey
Process Man
When I Am King
General Taylor
Scolding Wife
Penelope
Helmethead
Sea of No Cares (Living Room version)
Consequence Free
Mari Mac
Ordinary Day

Encore 1
Gallows Pole
Excursion
Fortune Set

Encore 2

Straight to Hell
Old Black Rum

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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

Standing, sitting, shouting -- it was all great.  We got no complaints about our antics. This was worth the drive.  Guys, selling out Wolftrap in a thunderstorm was an astonishing, once in a lifetime thing --- or so I thought until braving the ride to PA.

 There was so much life (mmm, yes, that's what we're calling it these days) in both sets that people were honestly laughing one minute and crying the next.  I hadn't expected quite as much stand-up comedy as was delivered, but it was all good.  Great to hear some of the less familiar tunes (well, to me, anyhow) and the new song, well, just yes.

It was pretty cool that most of us knew the words -- were they surprised, after all this time?

(Does anyone else remember the 'unknown' group that opened for Squeeze in a converted grocery store in Frederick, Maryland?  They looked awfully similar to GBS and completely stole the show ... but, that was an awfully long time ago.  I thought that was a show of a lifetime too.)

Despite this non-review, I'm not as easily pleased as I sound.  They're still just that good.

 

 

 

 

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I miss the rocks, I miss the sea, I miss the life that used to be. (Unknown)

Your non-review was just fine, HatAndCane! I do think they were pleasantly surprised at the crowd participation. Most people seemed to know the songs and south central PA is not a hotbed for them, or I didn't think it was till Thursday. That thunderstorm show was great, wasn't it? I take it you're from MD/VA? Welcome to the board.

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

AnneInPhilly:

Your non-review was just fine, HatAndCane! I do think they were pleasantly surprised at the crowd participation. Most people seemed to know the songs and south central PA is not a hotbed for them, or I didn't think it was till Thursday. That thunderstorm show was great, wasn't it? I take it you're from MD/VA? Welcome to the board.

Anne

Thank you, Anne.  Yes, the Wolftrap show was outstanding; I may be in the minority, but I loved the storm's added lighting and sound effects - fantastic.  As for the Harrisburg show, I don't know about the rest of the house, but the section I was in was enthusiastic from the get-go. 

I had been a little worried, since things were a bit subdued when I arrived, but by the time they let us in, people were psyched.  I talked to a few who had only just heard of GBS and wanted to know if my friend and I knew the lyrics (yep) -- I think we hurried to add that clapping and following along were fine, too.  There was only one exception near me, and at times I was severely tempted to prod this person to make sure there was still a pulse in the body (no, seriously) but aside from that, it  was great to see pogo-ing in such a ... refined looking venue.

I live in Maryland, yes.  It was a significant trip, but again, worth every second.

 

 

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I miss the rocks, I miss the sea, I miss the life that used to be. (Unknown)

Welcome to Central PA, home of Amish buggies, stupid politicians, and LOTS of GBS fans! Very happy that I only had to drive 20 minutes to this show and I thought it was great. The audience seemed to be very energetic, even those who chose to sit. Here I sit four days later and I am still on a great music high. I grin every time I think about it.

A

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Dream Big
Live life to it's fullest, every day.

Ah! No mention of Christmas in NH. Although despite Sean praising Portsmouth as friendly and a seacoast town that reminds him of home (he said he thought he could live there if he ever moved from the rock) ... during an improv moment he mistakenly said "Portland-town" and not "Portsmouth-town" and he got boooed. We were surprised that that struck such a local nerve. It was a little embarrassing. Alan said some wisecrack like "I sense some tension" or something like that and Sean kept strumming and replied something like "good thing we're not easily scared." It was just a moment, but a bit weird.

Being from Vermont, I'm not well-versed on the local feelings toward Portland (just up the coast in neighboring Maine). Whatever ...

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LisaVt

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