pontiacbrideKofP

You will have to forgive these first few reviews. Before I became a rabid Great Big Sea fan, I'd go to a concert and expect to sit down, listen, and enjoy. Well it took three concerts before I realized that the real fun lies in participating in the concert as a dancer, singer, whatever! To think that I sat through the first two concerts and it didn't even occur to me to take pictures! Horrors! At least I got some pics at King of Prussia. So these reviews are written two years after the fact and have many holes. Forgive me!

After I had "discovered" Great Big Sea in Cape Breton on our 25th wedding anniversary trip where I bought PLAY, I hadn't ever heard them mentioned down here in the States. One day, while listening to NPR, Vic heard an interview with Great Big Sea and excitedly came home to tell me they would be in Philly. This show marked the end of my innocence concerning drinking out. Prior to this night, I had never been to a bar to watch a show of any kind. In fact, whenever I had been to a bar in the past, it was always sitting with friends for a while and drinking Coke. I had never stayed more than an hour.
When I told my kids I was going to a show at the Pontiac, they looked at me incredulously. "Mom, are you sure the show is THERE? Do you know what the place is? It's a BAR! You're really going? Be careful!" LOL! My kids were worried about Mom not knowing how to act in a bar.
I had my 17 year old daughter drive us downtown and arranged to have her pick us up at 11 PM. It was a school night and she had a "Cinderella" license, having a curfew of midnight. Vic and I arrived at 9 PM to a very small bar with a very small stage at one end, about 4 tables, and not too much room. We asked about the band and they told us the'd be on about 10:00. Not having anyplace to sit, we went to the upstairs bar, sat down and had my first taste of hard cider.
Two guys opened for them, not too bad. But when the b'ys came on, wow! We watched on closed circuit TV upstairs in the bar and I felt like I was watching them on TV in Canada again. The bartender noticed I knew the words to all the songs from PLAY and suggested I might have an even better time downstairs. I know we heard Ordinary Day, End of the World, Paddy Murphy, Old Black Rum, and Lukey. We made our way downstairs. It was definitely better than watching them on TV , but it was extremely crowded with about 150 people crowded into a space built for 100. I was intimidated by the audience members who seemed to know ALL the songs they sang and yelled for songs I'd never even heard of! Bought UP at the Pontiac and signed a list for fans. They were just getting warmed up when Heather arrived to take us home. I didn't want to go home, but work came to early in the morning and Heather had school the next day. Rats!

We accidentally found out about the Painted Bride concert when Vic was listening to NPR once more. We immediately bought three tickets so we could introduce our 13 year old to the joys of a live GBS show. It sold out to a crowd of about 250-300. They had two opening acts that night. Some guy who played guitar and made up songs on the spot and the Pushstars. I liked the solo guy and hated the Pushstars. (I have since changed my mind about the Pushstars)

The audience was filled with a lot of Canadians who already knew all about Great Big Sea and were tickled we were just discovering them down here. It was a strange venue with the rows of seats on risers arranged like an amphitheater. I remembered to pay attention this time and knew some more songs (from UP and PLAY).

They opened with Process Man. What a powerful song! Donkey Ridin' got me all excited when Darrell started with the first verse, Alan had the second, S�an the third and I figured "Hot dog! Finally gonna hear Bob sing!" What a disappointment when he launched into a fiddle part on his turn. Little did I know what a rarity it was to hear him sing alone! I know we heard Consequence Free, Ordinary Day, General Taylor, Paddy Murphy, Jakey's Gin, Rant and Roar that night. They played a bunch of other songs which are gone from my mind. But we heard some that night that I've never heard before at a GBS concert. Alan sang "Rhythm of the Goat" by Jim Fidler,and S�an sang "Downtown Girl" by Jim Fidler. And we heard "Peter Street" and "Tell Me Ma," traditional Newfoundland songs. We sang along when invited by Alan, but still stayed seated. In fact, I was annoyed by the drunks who danced on the side and yelled requests. "How rude," I thought. Little did I know I'd be a dancing fool within 2 more shows!