Wow!!! What a fantastic show! :)
So much happened, it was an amazing day. We arrived early and stood outside the club to listen to sound check, which was well worth it. The guys played all new songs, most of which we had never heard before and also which they didn't play during the concert set later. We noticed that they sang a song in French, and later I found out it was an old NFLD folk song, Trois Navires de Blé (translation, Three Ships of Wheat). (There's a story here, but it will have to wait until later....)
The opening band, "My Favorite Relative", played well enough, though their brand of Euro-pop is not my favorite 'cause I'm such a folkie now. ;) Still, I won't mind seeing them again at the Paradise on the 27th, when they open for GBS again. Unfortunately, they were way too loud, so I had to stuff bits of napkin in my ears to avoid permanent hearing loss.
At about 10:30, the guys took the stage to the sound of crashing waves. :) The guys were really UP, very happy and smiley, even Bob, and Alan seemed even sillier than usual if you can imagine that. ;) They played 24 songs, and changed the order radically from what they typically played last fall: Donkey Riding, Billy Peddle, When I'm Up, EOTW, Fast As I Can, Little Beggarman, Tunes (different tunes this time!), Paddy Murphy, Consequence Free, Fallin' In, Goin' Up, General Taylor, Lukey, Jolly Butcher(!), Ferryland Sealer, Old Black Rum, Mari Mac, Ordinary Day, Excursion 'Round the Bay, Aunty Mary, Boston and St. John's, Run Runaway, Rant and Roar, Jakey's Gin.
They've changed the words to Fallin' In, so it's now G rated instead of PG. Oh well, maybe they thought it would get attention for the wrong reasons, but personally I liked the old words better. ;)
--Fran E