| Wolftrap 2005 |
| Wolftrap 2005
Washington, DC loves Great Big Sea! It was evident in the size of the crowd, the welcome they got when Chafe�s Ceilidh began to play at 7 PM, the audience participation, the b�ys reaction to the crowd and the ovation at the end of the show. People of all ages attended the concert, from 2 year olds to 82 year olds. As much as I dislike the usual atmosphere of a seated show, Wolftrap is always a pleasure to attend, though. The acoustics are wonderful and it�s in a beautiful park setting with open walls. The first time we saw GBS here, they were opening for the Chieftains and Alan commented that it was the prettiest �shed� in the world. Plus more older people get to come. The older you get the more you appreciate the seats. I know, I�m approaching that age. We had great seats right in front, stage Bob. Funny thing about those seats, I didn�t know if I was going to attend when they went on sale and put off buying them till June, when I knew I�d be home in August. I had no hope of getting decent seats at that point and had resigned myself to see them from the Loge section. Jim from New Jersey had bought tickets he couldn�t use and emailed me to see if I could use them. I didn�t even KNOW Jim from New Jersey! He was on my website and decided to take the chance I�d be interested. I arranged to get them from him and was pleasantly surprised to find them near the front, stage Bob. My friends were supposed to go with us and I lucked out again because Rebekah had two tickets she wasn�t using and mailed them to me. The seats were very close to the ones from Jim. My friends backed out at the last minute and Karen and her boyfriend had to work so I was now holding two extra tickets, right in the front orchestra, stage Bob. We arrived at Wolftrap an hour before the show and walked the lawn looking for anyone we knew. Vic found Howard (NJPIRATE) and his lovely wife, Cheryl up by the concession stand. Cheryl wanted to be stage Alan so that was that. LOL! Then we ran into Branwyn and Murray�s People and friends. We offered the two tickets but that would have meant one person would be out of luck on the lawn, so they declined. Then I went in search on the lawn again. Finally, I saw a couple who looked a bit uncomfortable on the lawn blanket on the wet grass. I offered the tickets to them. �How much do you want for them?� the gentleman asked. �Nothing,� I answered. �You looked like you could use a seat inside and I have two extra.� He thanked me profusely and he and his lovely packed up their blanket to go inside the �shed.� I know he enjoyed the show from those seats! We met up with Kestrel and Mis while waiting for them to open the seating under the roof. It�s been a year since I�ve seen them and it was nice to catch up with Mis. Kes and I have been silly people on MSN for the past several weeks. I didn�t expect her hair to be quite that short! Looked good on her, though. We also ended up running into Linda, Christina, Tali, Marnie, Nansea, Cathie, Chip, and Jean-Marie and uh-oh, I am forgetting someone. Please remind me who it was and I�ll amend my account. We were chatting with Nansea and her daughter and hubby when the familiar strains of Chafe�s Ceilidh rang out over the sound system. The area under the roof is huge and I was surprised to find it more than half empty, but that would change rapidly. By the end of GBS�s set, we had an almost-full house. Impressive, I tell you! Bob, S�an, Murray and Kris were all wearing jeans, Alan in khakis. Bob and S�an wore long sleeved buttoned shirts � Bob in blue and purple paisley and S�an in a nice white shirt with blue stripes. Murray was wearing his Caffeine shirt. Alan had on a nice blue long sleeved t-shirt and Kris a tee shirt also. Kris was the surprise � he had shaved his head! I wonder what the bet was? LOL! They all looked happy to be there at that moment. Alan, Sean and Bob came out and broke into wide grins. I turned around to see a few songs into the show and I could see what they were grinning at � the place was packed! Us die-hards immediately stood up and joined them in Beat the Drum. Love that song! And it�s a really good opener for them. Of course, all the songs they have chosen as openers have been good. Process Man might not be too upbeat, but the a capella parts get everyone�s attention focused onstage. Ordinary Day was always a favorite of mine as an opener. Donkey Riding also is a fantastic beginning to a show and Beat the Drum ranks up there with it as a way to get the audience focused, listening and having a good time. And I love to listen to Murray and Bob do the �Young and daring, young and daring,� counterpart to Alan and S�an. Donkey Riding followed right along. I am surprised they put the two together, but I guess it works. Anyone who wasn�t on their feet for Beat the Drum was up for Donkey Riding. And those unfamiliar with the band had an easy chorus to join along on. By the time they got to When I�m Up, it was obvious it was a GBS crowd. Although there were a lot of Saw Docs t-shirts in evidence, GBS really got �em smokin�! I�d say at least 2/3 of those in attendance were there for GBS. There was a little intro for the song here but they didn�t have much time for banter. Vic missed the long involved skits Alan and S�an get wrapped up in. I have a fond spot for When I�m Up as it was the first GBS song I figured out on my fiddle. By this time I was soaked with sweat and we were only three songs in. I�m glad they didn�t choose last week to come. The heat would have been impossible. It was cooled off today. I think it only got up to 89 degrees F (31.7 C). The rain kept the temperature down but not the humidity. I don�t know how they didn�t roast up there with their long sleeved shirts on! I tried to sit down for one song but they played Shines Right Through Me and I only made it halfway through with the butt in the seat. Alan was good on his Les Paul. And Bob threw out a pick to some lucky person in the Pit when he picked up his whistle to play. They took a small break with Alan going into a long intro about how they are enjoying this show in front of live people. �Nice to be here in the Washington area playing for real people. We�ve been shut up in the studio mixing and mastering the new album, which will be out in October�It�s our 8th album I think. That�s amazing for us since we�re in our early twenties.� (Much laughing on stage and off) Then they launched into a particularly nice Lukey. The next song was a complete surprise. Alan began the intro with an accounting of the logging industry in Badger, Newfoundland. A way for the people to make money during the winter that could be dangerous. I felt sure they were going to launch into Tickle Cove Pond, one of my fave Newfoundland songs. But then Alan said it was called River Driver, the river being a quick way to get the lumber downstream. He said it was sung in a �brave key � E flat.� And then looked nervous. Bob gave him an E flat and off Alan went, down the river with the logs. The next 3-4 minutes were enchanting. Totally a capella and by the last verse they were in full 4-5part harmony. * sigh * GBS at its best. They all looked pleased with themselves and Alan announced, �This is the first time we sang that in public!� They had turned the vocals up for the a capella song and must have turned the instrumentals up too, because Alan and Sean�s mics were fussy after this song. We couldn�t always tell what they were saying. Paddy Murphy came next and S�an was deliciously lively and happy. Actually they were all happy tonight and even Bob was dancing and smiling. Kris was especially mischievous whenever he was out from the drum kit. I still wonder what the bet was that he lost. Must�ve been a lost bet that made him shave his head. No mention of it from the b�ys though. I was seriously hot after Paddy Murphy and needed to sit down a bit. When I did, however, something went on with Alan that had everyone in the band laughing. I have no idea what it was. That�ll teach me to sit down! When I Am King was not the song to sit down to. Alan was pleased with the effort so far. �Well, that turned out nice! (looks around)�We were here 5-6 years ago with the Chieftains. They were great to be with. One of these days they�ll get picked up by a record label - they�re a promising band.� Got a big laugh from the audience with that. He looked around uncomfortably, �Paddy Maloney would castrate me if he heard me say that!� He also mentioned again that although they enjoy putting out records for people to listen to, �Playing a GBS concert is still our favorite thing to do!� I smiled at that one because it seemed to me that there were times last year that they looked unhappy doing what they were doing. In fact, Nansea had said that she had an odd feeling after seeing them on George Street last summer that they were giving it all up. I guess they really needed the year �off� and that Darrell really WAS �the glue that holds everything together.� How very prophetic that statement was on the DVD! I saw Darrell in action in June, holding everything together with his great sense of humor during the tedious rehearsals for the Atlantic Crossroads Festival and Islands of Song Gala in St. John�s. It�s true. He knows just when to be serious and when to be silly to break the tension. He�s a master at it. |
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