GBS at the TLA

Great Big Sea at the TLA
Philadelphia 2004

This was the strangest stuff I have been thru regarding a GBS show � ever. They changed promoters, which I guess is a shame since the last time they were here, they got the most press they have ever gotten in the paper in Philly. At any rate, the new promoter was easy enough to deal with and really seemed thrilled to have the Street Teamers working. The previous promoter was nigh on impossible to get ahold of in real time, but turned out to be a friend in the end who truly loved the band. Even though this guy was on the ball with getting back to you, and had everything ready (and more) with flyers and posters to hand out, I was eerily disconcerted when I picked them up a couple weeks ago from someone who asked if I was here for �that Big Blue Fish band�. I had been deliriously happy because the venue was the next level up for them in Philly � The Electric Factory, a converted factory where many famous people have played. Despite my disappointment that it appeared Pat McGee would headline (I got over it quickly) the street teamers and I went about seriously promoting this how. We must have handed out over 3000 flyers and 150 posters in the tri-state area � it seemed to be going so well.

Then there was the announcement on the Pat McGee site that the venue was going to be moved. Why is it that we can�t get this info in a timely fashion in GBS World? I didn�t even get a heads-up from the promoter. I was pretty pissed off about that. Apparently we are good enough for taking some pressure off them but not for much else. Grrr. I was also pleasantly surprised to hear that GBS was going to close � again from the Pat McGee Band site. Ppppbbbbtttt to GBS for not getting that info out to THEIR fans.

So we went to pick up our tix so we would have to waste time this evening. Pat McGee Band is listed as headliner. *sigh* Okay � I surrender! I am so confused at this point, but I am happy to see Great Big Sea in big letters on the Marquee. I figure we�ll get a bunch of songs but not much banter � that�s okay. While I am waiting for Vic to come around the corner to puick me up, I run into Danny leaving a coffee shop. I shake his hand and welcome him back to Philly. �It�s nice to be down South again,� he says.

�South??? We are not South, Danny,� I reply cocking my eyebrow.

�When you�re from St. John�s, everything�s South,� he quips and gets on the bus.

Laughing, I go home with Vic to wait for Elbee and Whitney from south of the Mason-Dixon Line who were our traveling buddies for the show. We left a tad later than I wanted to, and arrived downtown at the time the doors were to open. Last time I did that, I was 2 � blocks down in the lineup. Not tonight. The lineup was eerily almost non-existant. We ended up maybe 15 sets of people back in line at doors time. THAT was weird. We saw Howard, who had brought Kelly to see her first GBS show, Lynda of course, Kestrel and Mis and Miranda (her first GBS show too), and I am royally forgetting the names of the two people who stood in front of me at the show � sorry. The people behind us in line were rabid GBS fans, too. And low and behold � when you looked at the marquee, GBS was listed as the HEADLINER! They had switched the band order. No disrespect meant to the Pat McGee Band, I had seen them in Minneapolis and they were fine. It�s just that this was �MY band� headlining now. I was feeling better already.

Lynda was GBS�s Guardian Angel today. Dean, the merch guy, had locked his keys in the van while bringing stuff into the venue to set up to sell. Lynda used her AAA card to call to have them open the doors to get the boxes out. Unfortunately, they took over an hour to get there and I think GBS lost some sales because their stuff wasn�t out. I know Dean was not happy at all with the amount of merch sold this evening. I like the new olive green hoodie. I almost bought it but decided not to. But then kicked myself when I went home. I think I might treat myself in Boston or New York.

The Clarks went on about 15 minutes late. Karen says that�s par for the course at the TLA. She�s been there several times to see the Pushstars and Howie Day. They generated a lot of conversation between the two of us because the lead singer, as Karen put it, �looked like a cross between our cousin Tommy and Johnny Knoxville� (from the show Jackass). First thing I had noticed was the long-haired drummer in the wifebeater shirt. Karen says he�d fit right in the band, Creed. The lead guitarist and the drummer could have easily fit into an 80�s �Hair Band.� The bassist was very personable but looked like a high school geology prof. Their new CD is called Fast Moving Cars. And their music was sort of intense. They were personable and obviously loved what they were doing. Lynda finally arrived inside at the end of their set to tell us that AAA had finally opened the GBS merch van.

Really annoying drip came from here all thru the show.

This dinosaur-looking thing had something to do with mics.

While PMB was setting up, I met Dean who had stood behind me at the Troc, visited my website afterwards and enjoyed the review. One of my Street Teamers, Bob L, introduced himself and I saw Lynnie from PA and Nancy. I met Kirsten and her family from Middletown PA whose Mom had found out about GBS while working for Hershey Foods (there is a Canadian connection there). I guess she was about 10 years old and could not wait to see Alan. Kestrel�s young niece, Miranda, was a Bob fan. Good taste, Miranda! Some of the GBS fans exchanged places with the Pat McGee Band fans so they could be up front during their set. I think the GBS fans were just so happy that GBS was headlining tonight, they extended their �brotherly love.�

The Pat McGee Band also have a new record out, called Save Me. They did a lot of songs from it. I liked the song I think was called �Beautiful Ways.� The keyboardist was entertaining � he made a lot of eye contact with the audience and could do a good pick-throw-and-toss. Pat McGee is a hottie and he had good audience interaction too. The lead guitarist was very talented and the audience appreciated his efforts. Pat McGee went thru a ton of picks - he kept tossing them out into the audience.

It seems he reads the OKP board or someone close to him does, because the next little aside was straight from a conversation in the OKP.

�The reason for pairing these three bands together, The Clarks, Pat McGee Band and Great Big Sea, is because we are all mellow people here who like to have a good time. And we hope you�re here to have a good time, too.� I don�t know about mellow � but apparently Pat caught that little discussion on the board and wanted to address it. Good for him!

He dedicated a song to a Kevin McFadden. Don�t know the title but I liked it. I tended to go for the low-key songs and Karen for the more lively ones. Variety is the spice of life, I suppose. What really surprised the two of us was Vic commenting he liked both the bands. Whoa! A song called �Gypsy Soul????� caught my ear also. Pat McGee saw some people raising their glasses on the floor � we had been told earlier that no booze was allowed on the floor. �You have drinks on the floor????� he asked incredulously. �I thought there were laws against that. Must be those guys in Great Big Sea got them to pass a new law for this show.� He told about even though most of the band members are from the general geographic area and had been to Philly and New York and DC before, that they still managed to get lost on the way from Poughkeepsie New York to Philly. He said it took them 6 hours more than usual � should have taken about 3 hours.

Pat McGee recognises me!