We arrived at 3pm (GBS didn't play until 7:30) but that was OK because we met up with
Hostage and Jodi from the chat and their friends. What we didn't realize was that the
WHOLE stadium grounds were a beer garden which meant that Brenna and Bridget
couldn't go in. They had a fence that divided the grounds into beer garden and non-beer
garden... Well 1/8 of the grounds was non-beer garden! So this meant that we'd have to
stand way at the back of the stadium grounds where you wondered if there actually was a
stage, or right beside the corner of the stage where all you could see were speakers and
cables. Well, all day I thought about this problem and then mid-afternoon I had a
brainstorm... I'd cheat!! I walked into the beer garden (aka the whole stadium) and walked
to the back-to see if the stage looked any closer (alas... NO) so I rubbed my stamp
practically all the way off (as did my friend) and we went and asked the security guards
for a new stamp.. They quite happily gave us one!! Little did they know what I was going
to do with this NEW stamp... My friend and I raced over to Brenna and Bridget and
pressed our wet stamps onto their hands so now they could join us in the beer garden at
the front of the stage!! GBS didn't arrive at the stadium until 5:30, and we saw the van
pull up and saw Bob in the front seat, then Alan, Darrell, and Séan got out, we all yelled
GREAT BIG SEA and waved frantically, Alan waved back and they disappeared behind
the fence to backstage. We faithfully watched for them to come back out and talk to us,
and sure enough Alan and Séan came out a little while later. Alan ran over for a quick
hello while on his way to do an interview... He was going to be late for the interview but
apparently felt he had to say HI! And actually told the people who said "Come on Alan,
you're going to be late for the interview" "I'll be right there guys, I just have to talk to
these people first!!" He shook Jenny's hand, said "Hi, I'm Alan Doyle" to Brenna and
Bridget, signed some girl's CD cover, looked at my shirt and told me to turn around so he
could see the back of it (I was wearing my really old Great Big Sea shirt-one of the first
ones that were made with Up on the back). After the Matthew Good band finished, we
went into the beer garden, and found our way to the stage. We finally pushed our way in
there and got between Séan and Bob. They started off with Chemical Workers Song, then
Ordinary Day and we were still fighting for the fence position so needless to say I couldn't
write down what they played, but they sure played A LOT of songs... Again they didn't
really do any banter with the crowd or with each other (we did the guys against girls for
the Jolly Butcher). We started out in the second row, but when people started to lift their
hands to clap to the music we snuck in and held on to the fence. They sang Consequence
Free, and Séan sang a new one but I don't know what the name of it is... It might have
been that "ferry..." song that people were mentioning a while ago. We bounced along and
sang along the whole time. Alan thanked all the internet friends, and surprisingly didn't
dedicate "Run Runaway" to us this time, but thinking back I think he dedicated "End Of
The World" to us this time... The guys came back for three encores... Wave Over Wave...
Then left, came back for I Fought The Law, Break On Through To The Other Side, then
came back AGAIN for Blister In The Sun!! (Yay!) What a wonderful night!<br>
<i>--Claire Saunders</i><p>
We arrived at UBC at around 2ish/3ish. The line up to get in was pretty big. We could
hear the music pounding already. The girl at admissions stamped Claire's hand and her
friend's hand, but not mine and Bridgy's. I didn't figure out why until we got inside... We
noticed that there was a second gate that you had to pass through-the gate to the beer
garden. Bridget and I were heartbroken. It was HUGE! When we thought "beer garden,"
we thought of a separate section AWAY from the stage. Nope-it was the ENTIRE field!
:-( Naturally, Claire, Caroline, Bridget and I tried to find another way in, but then fence
spanned the width of the field. If we had stayed where we were supposed to, we wouldn't
have been able to see the stage at all! It was literally the size of a marble. We eventually
made our way around to the side of the stage. Not much to see there, except speakers
and wires. One MAJOR bonus though, we were standing right by the entrance where all
of the bands were filing in. We saw a white van pull in the special entrance at around
5:30/6:00pm. It was the boys! We could see Bob in the front seat! Sure enough, the van
stopped and Alan, Séan and Darrell popped out of the back seat. We all banded together
and waved and shouted "GREAT BIG SEA." Alan quickly waved back and headed into
the backstage area. A couple of minutes later, he popped his head out again and ran over
to us. He obviously knew that we were talking about him. He raced over to greet us and
said, "Hi. I'm Alan." He gave all of the friends a hello and signed an autograph for a girl
standing nearby. What a guy! He didn't have time to do the whole rubbing-elbows-thing
(He was being called away for an interview.) The cool thing-this big, mean looking guy
said to him, "You're going to be late Mr. Doyle." and he still stayed a bit longer to finish
chatting with us!<br>
Bridget and I saw where they were having the interview-on the roof of the stadium. As
soon as we saw Al glance our way, we waved our arms and jumped up and down. I think it
was right about then when Claire got her "idea." Like we said, she and her friend both got
their stamps practically wiped off so they could be "re-stamped." When they did, they
rushed over and pressed it on the back of our little hands. We were in!<br>
And the fun begins... GBS started playing at around 7:30pm. Claire, Bridgy, the friends,
and I got in about ten minutes before they started to find ourselves a spot. We wedged
ourselves in near the front of the stage. It was soooo full! I was only one person back
from the fence. Good thing I'm not claustrophobic, or I would've freaked. I've never been
packed so tightly in my entire life. With 15 000 drunk university students there, you can
just imagine the crowd. People were pushing everywhere! There were also people surfing
on top of the crowd-the security guys did a pretty good job of hauling out the
troublemakers though. I'm just glad I had so much adrenaline pumping through my veins.
I don't think that I would've made it otherwise! The boys sang all of their staples (very
well, I might add!) and that new one, Consequence Free. They came out for a couple of
encores (Wave Over Wave, I Fought The Law, and Blister In The Sun). Anywho, they
were FABULOUS as usual. Dedicated "EOTW" to all of the friends too. That made my
day. Good ol' Al also told the crowd to watch out for the "little people down front." What
a guy!<br>
<i>--Brenna O'Grady</i>

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