Well the concert event that we have waited for all summer was definitely worth the wait. All of the
"Friends" met UP outside Citadel Hill in the huge line-up. The gates opened at 2:00pm and the
friends quickly moved through the gate to the front of the stage to secure their spots. Some friends
quickly went over to the swag area to pick up some GBS stuff but the awesome NEW thing were
the hats that are like the Roots Olympic Hats!! They are navy with a big GBS in the front and Rant
and Roar on the side. And at $20 a piece(well worth it I may add) the boys made a few dollars on
them since they sold out so quickly. The concert started at exactly 3:00pm with the Ennis sisters
opening the show. They quickly got the crowd going with their mix of traditional and original tunes.
Maureen is a wonderful songwriter to keep an eye out for. They played for 30 minutes and after a
quick stage change (only 10 minutes) Bran Van 3000 hit the stage with wings on their backs. Some
people wished they would have used those wings to fly away. Now, what was labeled as a family
show, obviously Bran Van did not hear this, they opened with songs and lyrics that had a lot of
swear words in them. Very inappropriate for the crowd. Anyway, next Up were the Gods of Celtic
music, The Chieftains. Surprises were rumored to be in store for the crowd and they did not
disappoint. The Barra MacNeil's and Colin James joined the Chieftains on stage for a few numbers.
Colin filled in for Ashley MacIsaac who was late due to flight delays. The Philosopher Kings
followed the Chieftains and they wooed the crowd (especially the girls up front) with their blues mix
of music. The Watchmen followed, but unfortunately we don't have many details on them, cause we
snuck away to get away from the rain in the beer tent. Colin James was next up to the delight of
many fans. The rain had caused some technical difficulties for him and he had to leave the stage for
5 minutes in the middle of his set. Jay MacNeil from Q104 came out to get the crowd going in a
screaming match. The friends were on the right side of the stage and you can just guess who won
the screaming match. After the problem was solved, Colin came back on stage and finished his set.
Last, but certainly not least, our boys hit the stage and hit it they did. They opened with Process
Man which was followed by When I'm UP which the crowd quickly did. Alan commented on how
happy the boys were to be back in their "home away from home" since it is here that they got their
start. He also mentioned that they all did the dance of joy when they came across the bridge. He
also thanked the "Friends of GBS" and sent out Goin' Up to us. Alan also mentioned that we
Atlantic Canadians should be very proud of the compassion we have shown over the past few
weeks since the horrible crash of Flight 111 which was very touching. Very classy Mr. Doyle!! He
followed with a song to celebrate those who are alive and "God Bless us all". So obviously he
hasn't lost all of "his Catholic conscience". Alan then encouraged the crowd to ask Sean to sing a
sea shanty since there has been soo many sailors around lately. He obliged of course with General
Taylor. Man that guy can sing!!!!!! After a mix of songs from both Up and PLAY, as well as some
new ones for the new album (I vote for Have a Dance, Wendy is hitting me saying, "No, FUN!!")
which is due out in summer 1999. The band were joined on stage with The Chieftains and Ashley
MacIsaac to sing Lukey. It was soo awesome to see two wonderfully talented bands on the same
stage. After Lukey the band came back for a three song encore, which included thankfully Old
Brown's daughter!!! This song is soo GREAT!!!!! Alan did a wonderful job on this song(as well as
Sean, Darrell and Bob of course!!). A few more songs and then it was over for another year. As
always, the picnic was a huge success and a wonderful day throughout. Many thanks to GBS for
putting on such a wonderful show and great time.
--Tracey and Wendy :)
CONCERT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!
The day finally arrived. We woke up leisurely, and then waited for
Tracey to arrive to pick up the tickets. We arrived at the concert site
(Citadel Hill) and joined the LONG line-up to get in. We weren't
concerned about where we'd be standing, some of the crew were sure to be
there already…besides, we didn't know if we wanted front row or not.
The line moved pretty fast, and we had our bags searched for booze and
then made our way in. It was easy to spot our crowd at the front - we
were all wearing our "Friends of the Incredibly Large Ocean" T-shirts
that L'il Sarah was so kind to make up for us. The first band was
setting up as we arrived so we only had to wait about 15 minutes for the
concert to start. Tracey said we had just missed Tony & Louie (GBS
Management) and that they had said this would be the boys' last
performance in Canada (except Xmas) until next summer. The Ennis
Sisters took the stage - they were a surprise…Jenny had told me when we
were still in NFLD, that they were going to be there, but I'd
forgotten…what a spectacular group they are…they played a wonderful set,
but it was FAR too short in comparison to some of the other acts. They
must be coming out with a new album soon as they played mostly new songs
that aren't on their current album. The crowd was really responsive to
them! Next up was Bran Van 3000 - we didn't know what to expect from
them since I've only ever heard one of their songs and at the beginning,
three girls came out wearing WINGS!!! The guys followed, and most of
their "singing" was rap. They actually weren't too bad - the beat of
their music was good. The only BIG problem was their bass….it was
turned up so loud that it was vibrating the ground, and my ENTIRE
body….you couldn't talk because your voice vibrated and it sounded like
you were operating a jackhammer! :-) The only other problem was their
swearing…I certainly didn't expect it since the song I know doesn't have
any swearing…and really for a family show you'd think they'd clean up
their language a bit! Someone told me afterwards (after talking to one
of the promoters) that they hadn't followed their contract because they
weren't supposed to swear (but I don't know if this is true or not).
Things had been moving along quite quickly by then, i.e. quick changes
between acts, but the next band took forever to set up. A group of us
were taking bets on who it would be…we should have made it for cash,
'cause I was right - it was the Chieftains!!!! What a wonderful group
they are - the kings of Celtic Music. They brought the Barra MacNeil's
out on stage for a song, then Colin James came out and sang with them…I
thought it was an odd mix until he started singing in Gaelic! It was
almost 6pm by this time so Shelley & I decided to go get food. We lined
up for pizza and we were there for a long time (no funny stories like
Petty Harbour). Of course it picked this time to start raining, so
everyone started putting on their rain gear - the whole field was a sea
of yellow rain jackets! At this point the Philosopher Kings came on
stage, and I really didn't mind missing them.. I thought seeing them live
might help, but no use…I STILL don't like them! Next came The Watchmen
- apparently a band from out West somewhere. They were an interesting
group, kinda played "alternative" rock - don't think I'd see them play
again. The singer seemed far too involved in his own singing to care
much about the crowd. Then it was almost like he suddenly remembered
there was an audience so decided to involve them and then proceeded to
tell them they couldn't sing! Next up was Colin James & his little big
band. They played for a couple of minutes, but were having technical
difficulties so they stopped for 5 mins so they could be worked out.
When they came back on it sounded much better. I don't particularly
like Big Band music but I enjoyed Colin James' music/set quite a lot!
Probably because everyone around me was enjoying them so much - jiving
away! Then came the moment we'd all been waiting for - GBS!!!!!!!!!!!
The boys were supposed to come on stage at 9:15 but things were running
a bit late so they didn't start until 9:45ish. They played: Process
Man, Ordinary Day (no big yellow sun, but they had HUGE inflated
streamers at the sides of the stage and a big red dancing balloon in the
shape of a man on top of the stage), Old Brown's Daughter, Ferryland
Sealer, Consequence Free, Donkey Riding, Haven't Seen You in a Long
Time, Fast As I Can, How Did We Get From Saying I Love You, Old Black
Rum, Going Up, When I'm Up, General Taylor, Run Runaway, Lukey (with the
Chieftains & Ashley MacIsaac), Excursion Around the Bay, Little
Beggarman, Auntie Mary, End of The World, Mari-Mac, The Night Pat Murphy
Died, Instrumental, Billy Peddle, I'se The B'y. Alan mentioned how
happy they were to be in their "home away from home". He mentioned the
"Friends of GBS" and sent out "Goin' Up" to us. He also mentioned that
the Atlantic Canadians should be very proud of the compassion they'd
shown in the past week after the plane crash. He followed that with a
song to celebrate those who are alive. Some of the Banter:
Alan: "Going to sing a true song now - it's about a girl - not a
current girl…." (seemed flustered)
Darrell: (coming to Alan's rescue) "It's about his mother!"
Sang Fast As I Can
Just as they were about to sing another song, Sean disappeared from the
stage, Alan had started to play the intro and was just staring after
Sean. Sean came back fiddling with his guitar. Alan started to laugh.
Alan: "thought you'd deserted us!!"
Sean: "nah" (little grin)
Alan: "you know you're supposed to sing this song right?"
Sean: "Oh, is this one I sing?" (mischievous grin)
Alan: "Well, last I remember - it has been awhile"
Sean: "Is everyone ready to sing a song with us?"
Started to play Haven't Seen You in a Long Time.
They didn't tell any stories, but that's to be expected in such a large
crowd. Although, the crowd (for it's size) was EXTREMELY well behaved!
The boys came back for 2 encores (Lukey with guests, and Excursion &
Instrumental). What a great show it was!!! We had worked our way into
the center of the crowd, but I couldn't see so I moved out to the side
and found myself behind 3 large (and I mean LARGE) guys. One of them
looked back at me and said "My God….you can't see! Here, stand on
this". "This" turned out to be one of those folding tripod camp
stools. He supported me while I climbed up there and I had a WONDERFUL
view!! Not as good as front row, but no bruised ribs this time!!! I
got jostled a few times and lost my balance, but this guy was watching
out for me, and he'd put his arm around my waist until I got my balance
again. He asked me to get down twice so he could take a picture over
the crowd - how could I refuse!! He was such a sweetheart - I thanked
him profusely after the show!! Sometime during the day Tracey, Jenny,
Jackie, Wendy & hubby Bruce found their way into the V.I.P. tent, so
they hung out there and had free drinks and chatted with some of the
performers, & stayed DRY!!! They came out in time for Colin James.
During the show, they used those passes to get in front of the fence
(hey, it got Jenny some GREAT pics!!), and then they tried to see if
they could get backstage after the show. The rest of us hung out in
front of the stage to see if they would come out again, but after a bit
they weren't showing so we decided to leave….lo & behold who did we meet
when we turned the corner??? But those guys!! They weren't allowed to
leave the same way they came in - anyhow, they couldn't decide where
they wanted to go, and everyone was cold, wet and tired, so Shelley,
Katherine & I toddled off home. It was almost 1am by the time we got
home anyhow.
--Claire Saunders