Great Big Sea: I could has one.
So, as some of you may be aware, I saw my second favorite thing in the world Great Big Sea last night.
Since I fangirl GBS like nothing else in the world (which many of you may not be aware of, since I dropped out of fandom proper after being tangentially involved F_W-worthy incident), this post will read something like "squee-ALLCAPS-flail-detail nobody cares about-squee!", but the important parts are above the cut, these being...
I was less than five feet away from the nearest band member.
Who was Séan McCann.
And I ended up with his set list.
As soon as I can figure out how to upload them, I have the photographs to prove it.
NOT A BIG DEAL OR ANYTHING GUYS. :D :D :D :D
Because I, oh, HAVE IT IN WRITING I can accurately put down the set list, for anybody who cares:
Donkey Riding
Captain Kidd
Love Me Tonight
The Night Paddy Murphy Died
When I'm Up
Jack Hinks
England
Charlie Horse
Nothing But A Song (from the forthcoming album)
When I Am King
General Taylor
Scolding Wife
Penelope
~assorted covers, most of which I did not recognize but which included I Fought the Law, 500 Miles, and the audience singing part of Bohemian Rhapsody as conducted by Alan~
Run Runaway
Helmethead
Feel It Turn
Consequence Free
Mari Mac
Ordinary Day
First encore:
Boston and St John's (solo)
Excursion around the Bay
Fortune
Second encore:
a cover song I did not recognize, but is down as Good Girls
I have never been as close to a band as I was last night, and to be honest, I probably never will be as close to this one again. The reason for this was a combination of an open floor and my tendency to be fanatically early to everything. To make things even better, the two people in front of me were rather short. >:D
The opening act was Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Alabertans - due to my difficulty hearing words I have never seen written down, I had to do some extensive Googling to get their name - who, while not the flavor of music I would buy, were pretty good. The crowd in general seemed familiar with them, and was really excited. They sang one song which I was certain was a traditional, but wasn't, so I suppose I must have heard it on the radio. Their lead singer was the best dressed person of the evening, without question - silk waistcoat with a high collar and tie? Yeah, nothing's going to beat that. Also, their guitarist was fucking amazing.
I feel I need to take a break to be impressed with the stage crew, because they broke down an entire set - cables, amps, drum set, speakers and all - and set up another one. On the downside, this was half an hour of standing without moving much, which my knee did not appreciate. (Well, it didn't appreciate being upright for four hours, but I can realign it. *shrugs*)
And! And then! We got B'ys! And, uh, there was actual fangirl squee of the unintended kind. Mostly my brain was going "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD - wait a minute, Alan has a beard? - OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD," which means that proper, detailed commentary will not be forthcoming. It was, however, overall beyond excellent. Highlights include but are not limited to,
England. I guess I was not entirely aware of this, but Séan can emote like nobody's business, and him singing it live is completely different - and actually, in my opinion, superior - to him singing it on the album.
They did a new song, as stated above, which I really liked. Given that my initial reaction to Fortune's Favour was "Oh well, that was nice I suppose," this is a good sign. It was more rock-and-roll than their last round of stuff, which I hope carries over. (I have a personal crusade against their use of studio effects, but then I have that for any band not related to EDM). Did I mention it has FIVE PART HARMONY?
Speaking of which, I was somewhat disappointed that they didn't do Walk On the Moon, which I would have loved to hear sans background noise/chimey-chimey things. HOWEVER, Love Me Tonight was really touching and more... robust than I had expected. Which is a good thing. It does not hurt that Alan and Séan basically sang it at eachother. See, we're just as good as bandom!
Genuine Fangirl Squee #2 was at the opening bars of Penelope - I think it's overlooked, and it was one of the songs I've wished I could hear them do in concert. And it's good - better with the horn section stripped out. They were nice and all, but made it sound too Push Stars, honestly. The other two on the overlooked songs are Own True Way and Bad As I Am, but if they'd played either of those I would have actually cried. (I have Bad As I Am all worked out! Parts as is, Alan the hammond organ part on electric guitar, Bob plays the whistle, it's already got a drum part - everybody's having fun. Seriously, they should talk to me about this. XD)
They basically busted out all the hits, and I don't know how you play the same song for 10+ years without getting REALLY SICK of it, but everything was energetic and masterfully played and amazing. The crowd was also super-enthusiastic, which helped. Alan made a comment to the effect that he had not expected us to be such an excellent glee club. :D
Speaking of which, we basically did all the singing on I Fought the Law (not a bad thing!). They then did a few songs that everyone except me knew by heart - seriously, multiple verses - but, everybody's having fun, it's all good. :3 There may have been a slight problem due to my not actually knowing Bohemian Rhapsody very well, but it was averted by my practically DYING OF LOL for the first fourty seconds or so. Seriously, every time I tried to stop giggling I started again. And as it progressed it fell apart, becoming increasingly silly. :D
Séan thoroughly embarrassed Alan by mentioning Robin Hood (he went bright red and turned away from the mic), and discussed various dogs he had met on the beach earlier that day. I love famous people who love dogs! :3
HARMONY ON CAPTAIN KIDD, OMG. That shit gets better every time I hear it.
On the subject of harmony, I OFFICIALLY RETRACT EVERY STATEMENT I HAVE MADE ABOUT MURRAY FOSTER'S VOICE. HE IS AMAZING. I am now wondering what the hell kind of sound system I have been listening to them on, because it had always been my impression - after seeing him twice, too! - that he was a good bass player with an unimpressive voice. But somewhere around Captain Kidd I went "Wow, who's singing Bass II, it's not - OH MY GOD!" I denounce and reject all prior statements.
Speaking of harmony, General Taylor was jaw-dropping. I am thoroughly impressed that Séan goes around holding 16+ count notes at that volume and still has his voice.
Have I mentioned Alan doing the solo on When I Am King practically right on top of me?
There was nearly a riot when someone threw a Bruins swag thing (I have no idea what to call it - basically a square of cloth with their mascot on it) onto the stage - half the crowd started cheering, and then the other half started cheering for their teams, and then there was booing from both sides, and the guys were standing there looking like "...And NOW what should we do with this thing?" It ended up going onto the drum stand, since Séan apparently likes the Bruins (putting them up one notch up in my estimation to a grand -999 - sorry, Séan, but drunken Bruins fans on the Red Line are really annoying) - until some time later Kris picked it up, causing the crowd to yell "Throw it away!" "Put it back!" along the same lines as before. I think it disappeared off quietly to somewhere back stage. Oh prosports, you are a strange and mystifying fandom world.
Mari Mac is not my favorite thing ever, but I don't think I've ever heard it done that fast. Color my socks knocked off.
The minute Alan came onstage for the first encore a bunch of people started yelling for Boston and St John's - and honestly, I'm not sure how he could not have sung it - but he did so with a really amazing amount of passion that just... wow. There were tears on my end. I didn't expect anything else - there was actual stumbling the first time they went off-stage. But then everybody re-appeared, and we got a very enthusiastic Excursion, and then everybody played the shit out of their instruments on Fortune. AND looked like they were having a grand time - we certainly were.
After that I was thinking, "Okay, guys, we can calm down, they're not coming back out" - and of course they did, and sang Pop Song I Don't Know, with Bob on vocals. (Tangentially, I'm not quite sure where the "Bob can't sing" meme came from - possibly the Sympatico webcast when he sounded like he had fucking laryngitis? But in any case, it's incorrect. Really, really incorrect). I don't have much commentary about it other than "really good and really fun."
So! Uh, speaking, as I did earlier, about tearing up and whatnot, I did it a lot. I've been loving this band for seven years - they're good times music, bad times music, whatever, and they write great songs. It's just that most of them haven't had ~personal meaning~ like they do now. I use the Tildes Of Facetiousness because I am usually very anti-identifying-with-art, because I think it should be evaluated on its own merits, not whether it matches up with your own experience. But now? A lot of it means shit to me. And somewhere along the line between walking in and having my ticket taken I realized what a big fucking deal it was for me to be there. Not just the transportation and the ticket and the logistics - that I was standing there at all. That I got to stand there. Fortune's favor, indeed. Anyway, yes, now I have zillions of personal associations. England is the tiny loop out back of the unit where we went for noon breaks. Oh Yeah is being in The Crappy Place and hating it. Own True Way is a song about the fallen - I'm not alone. Ordinary Day is what I played on the out-of-tune group room piano. I made someone cry with Boston and St John's, and I still mean it. And Bad As I Am gets down to the core of it - as bad as I am, I'm still here.
It's a double-edged knife, but there's always tomorrow.
As long as the sky hold over us, we will not taste the brine.
When I am lifted, I am lifted.
The doctor found a simple cure just in time.
I got the best intentions for a little bit of anarchy, but not the hurting kind.
Come see my world rewarded, a new day has begun.
Yeah, I teared up a lot.
I ended up buying a rather handsome Fortune's Favour tee-shirt (mindbogglingly, a small) and Lullabyes for Bloodshot Eyes (snap review - Séan has a very pretty voice, and The Ballad of Queen Jane is approximately the saddest folk song I have ever heard). As I was walking away, I realized that I had been more self-conscious about dithering over tee-shirt sizes than about my scars. :)
ETA: AHAHHA AND I AM A GENIUS WHO FORGOT TO ACTUALLY POST THIS LAST NIGHT.
I can't believe I don't have a Great Big Sea tag. otoselkie had a Great Big Sea tag.
Since I fangirl GBS like nothing else in the world (which many of you may not be aware of, since I dropped out of fandom proper after being tangentially involved F_W-worthy incident), this post will read something like "squee-ALLCAPS-flail-detail nobody cares about-squee!", but the important parts are above the cut, these being...
I was less than five feet away from the nearest band member.
Who was Séan McCann.
And I ended up with his set list.
As soon as I can figure out how to upload them, I have the photographs to prove it.
NOT A BIG DEAL OR ANYTHING GUYS. :D :D :D :D
Because I, oh, HAVE IT IN WRITING I can accurately put down the set list, for anybody who cares:
Donkey Riding
Captain Kidd
Love Me Tonight
The Night Paddy Murphy Died
When I'm Up
Jack Hinks
England
Charlie Horse
Nothing But A Song (from the forthcoming album)
When I Am King
General Taylor
Scolding Wife
Penelope
~assorted covers, most of which I did not recognize but which included I Fought the Law, 500 Miles, and the audience singing part of Bohemian Rhapsody as conducted by Alan~
Run Runaway
Helmethead
Feel It Turn
Consequence Free
Mari Mac
Ordinary Day
First encore:
Boston and St John's (solo)
Excursion around the Bay
Fortune
Second encore:
a cover song I did not recognize, but is down as Good Girls
I have never been as close to a band as I was last night, and to be honest, I probably never will be as close to this one again. The reason for this was a combination of an open floor and my tendency to be fanatically early to everything. To make things even better, the two people in front of me were rather short. >:D
The opening act was Corb Lund and the Hurtin' Alabertans - due to my difficulty hearing words I have never seen written down, I had to do some extensive Googling to get their name - who, while not the flavor of music I would buy, were pretty good. The crowd in general seemed familiar with them, and was really excited. They sang one song which I was certain was a traditional, but wasn't, so I suppose I must have heard it on the radio. Their lead singer was the best dressed person of the evening, without question - silk waistcoat with a high collar and tie? Yeah, nothing's going to beat that. Also, their guitarist was fucking amazing.
I feel I need to take a break to be impressed with the stage crew, because they broke down an entire set - cables, amps, drum set, speakers and all - and set up another one. On the downside, this was half an hour of standing without moving much, which my knee did not appreciate. (Well, it didn't appreciate being upright for four hours, but I can realign it. *shrugs*)
And! And then! We got B'ys! And, uh, there was actual fangirl squee of the unintended kind. Mostly my brain was going "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD - wait a minute, Alan has a beard? - OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD," which means that proper, detailed commentary will not be forthcoming. It was, however, overall beyond excellent. Highlights include but are not limited to,
England. I guess I was not entirely aware of this, but Séan can emote like nobody's business, and him singing it live is completely different - and actually, in my opinion, superior - to him singing it on the album.
They did a new song, as stated above, which I really liked. Given that my initial reaction to Fortune's Favour was "Oh well, that was nice I suppose," this is a good sign. It was more rock-and-roll than their last round of stuff, which I hope carries over. (I have a personal crusade against their use of studio effects, but then I have that for any band not related to EDM). Did I mention it has FIVE PART HARMONY?
Speaking of which, I was somewhat disappointed that they didn't do Walk On the Moon, which I would have loved to hear sans background noise/chimey-chimey things. HOWEVER, Love Me Tonight was really touching and more... robust than I had expected. Which is a good thing. It does not hurt that Alan and Séan basically sang it at eachother. See, we're just as good as bandom!
Genuine Fangirl Squee #2 was at the opening bars of Penelope - I think it's overlooked, and it was one of the songs I've wished I could hear them do in concert. And it's good - better with the horn section stripped out. They were nice and all, but made it sound too Push Stars, honestly. The other two on the overlooked songs are Own True Way and Bad As I Am, but if they'd played either of those I would have actually cried. (I have Bad As I Am all worked out! Parts as is, Alan the hammond organ part on electric guitar, Bob plays the whistle, it's already got a drum part - everybody's having fun. Seriously, they should talk to me about this. XD)
They basically busted out all the hits, and I don't know how you play the same song for 10+ years without getting REALLY SICK of it, but everything was energetic and masterfully played and amazing. The crowd was also super-enthusiastic, which helped. Alan made a comment to the effect that he had not expected us to be such an excellent glee club. :D
Speaking of which, we basically did all the singing on I Fought the Law (not a bad thing!). They then did a few songs that everyone except me knew by heart - seriously, multiple verses - but, everybody's having fun, it's all good. :3 There may have been a slight problem due to my not actually knowing Bohemian Rhapsody very well, but it was averted by my practically DYING OF LOL for the first fourty seconds or so. Seriously, every time I tried to stop giggling I started again. And as it progressed it fell apart, becoming increasingly silly. :D
Séan thoroughly embarrassed Alan by mentioning Robin Hood (he went bright red and turned away from the mic), and discussed various dogs he had met on the beach earlier that day. I love famous people who love dogs! :3
HARMONY ON CAPTAIN KIDD, OMG. That shit gets better every time I hear it.
On the subject of harmony, I OFFICIALLY RETRACT EVERY STATEMENT I HAVE MADE ABOUT MURRAY FOSTER'S VOICE. HE IS AMAZING. I am now wondering what the hell kind of sound system I have been listening to them on, because it had always been my impression - after seeing him twice, too! - that he was a good bass player with an unimpressive voice. But somewhere around Captain Kidd I went "Wow, who's singing Bass II, it's not - OH MY GOD!" I denounce and reject all prior statements.
Speaking of harmony, General Taylor was jaw-dropping. I am thoroughly impressed that Séan goes around holding 16+ count notes at that volume and still has his voice.
Have I mentioned Alan doing the solo on When I Am King practically right on top of me?
There was nearly a riot when someone threw a Bruins swag thing (I have no idea what to call it - basically a square of cloth with their mascot on it) onto the stage - half the crowd started cheering, and then the other half started cheering for their teams, and then there was booing from both sides, and the guys were standing there looking like "...And NOW what should we do with this thing?" It ended up going onto the drum stand, since Séan apparently likes the Bruins (putting them up one notch up in my estimation to a grand -999 - sorry, Séan, but drunken Bruins fans on the Red Line are really annoying) - until some time later Kris picked it up, causing the crowd to yell "Throw it away!" "Put it back!" along the same lines as before. I think it disappeared off quietly to somewhere back stage. Oh prosports, you are a strange and mystifying fandom world.
Mari Mac is not my favorite thing ever, but I don't think I've ever heard it done that fast. Color my socks knocked off.
The minute Alan came onstage for the first encore a bunch of people started yelling for Boston and St John's - and honestly, I'm not sure how he could not have sung it - but he did so with a really amazing amount of passion that just... wow. There were tears on my end. I didn't expect anything else - there was actual stumbling the first time they went off-stage. But then everybody re-appeared, and we got a very enthusiastic Excursion, and then everybody played the shit out of their instruments on Fortune. AND looked like they were having a grand time - we certainly were.
After that I was thinking, "Okay, guys, we can calm down, they're not coming back out" - and of course they did, and sang Pop Song I Don't Know, with Bob on vocals. (Tangentially, I'm not quite sure where the "Bob can't sing" meme came from - possibly the Sympatico webcast when he sounded like he had fucking laryngitis? But in any case, it's incorrect. Really, really incorrect). I don't have much commentary about it other than "really good and really fun."
So! Uh, speaking, as I did earlier, about tearing up and whatnot, I did it a lot. I've been loving this band for seven years - they're good times music, bad times music, whatever, and they write great songs. It's just that most of them haven't had ~personal meaning~ like they do now. I use the Tildes Of Facetiousness because I am usually very anti-identifying-with-art, because I think it should be evaluated on its own merits, not whether it matches up with your own experience. But now? A lot of it means shit to me. And somewhere along the line between walking in and having my ticket taken I realized what a big fucking deal it was for me to be there. Not just the transportation and the ticket and the logistics - that I was standing there at all. That I got to stand there. Fortune's favor, indeed. Anyway, yes, now I have zillions of personal associations. England is the tiny loop out back of the unit where we went for noon breaks. Oh Yeah is being in The Crappy Place and hating it. Own True Way is a song about the fallen - I'm not alone. Ordinary Day is what I played on the out-of-tune group room piano. I made someone cry with Boston and St John's, and I still mean it. And Bad As I Am gets down to the core of it - as bad as I am, I'm still here.
It's a double-edged knife, but there's always tomorrow.
As long as the sky hold over us, we will not taste the brine.
When I am lifted, I am lifted.
The doctor found a simple cure just in time.
I got the best intentions for a little bit of anarchy, but not the hurting kind.
Come see my world rewarded, a new day has begun.
Yeah, I teared up a lot.
I ended up buying a rather handsome Fortune's Favour tee-shirt (mindbogglingly, a small) and Lullabyes for Bloodshot Eyes (snap review - Séan has a very pretty voice, and The Ballad of Queen Jane is approximately the saddest folk song I have ever heard). As I was walking away, I realized that I had been more self-conscious about dithering over tee-shirt sizes than about my scars. :)
ETA: AHAHHA AND I AM A GENIUS WHO FORGOT TO ACTUALLY POST THIS LAST NIGHT.
I can't believe I don't have a Great Big Sea tag. otoselkie had a Great Big Sea tag.