Alan Doyle and Sean McCann of Great Big Sea(Photograph from the GBS Website)
I finally listened to my brother John's advice and attended the Great Big Sea concert at the Orpheum last month. I found it hard to believe that a band from Newfoundland could stir my Celtic soul the way the Saw Doctors do, but I was mistaken. Luckily, I'd taken John's advice to heart and familiarized myself with the lyrics of some of the more boisterous songs before the concert, so I knew that the choral response to "that Old Black Rum has a hold on me" is "like a dog wrapped around my leg" and that the fist pumping shout-out in the chorus of Helmet Head is "Fare thee well!"
This isn't to say that GBS doesn't perform tender, introspective songs, because they do so beautifully, sometimes in four-part harmony, occasionally a cappella. The band also delves deep into the impressively rich store of Newfoundland folksongs, many adapted from Irish and Scottish forbears, songs that tell stories of horses falling through the ice or shotgun weddings ("Mari-mac's mother's making Mari-mac marry me, my mother's making me marry Mari-mac").
The current edition of Great Big Sea features three original members. Sean McCann sings tenor leads and plays guitar and bodhran. Bob Hallett is an instrumental prodigy, playing accordian, concertina, fiddle, bouzouki, pipes, and whistles. Alan Doyle sings baritone leads and plays guitars, mandolin, bouzouki, and banjo. Alan is the frontman and seems to be the heartthrob of the group. At one point a woman in front screamed "I love you, Alan!" He responded with a wicked grin, "No, I love you. And I mean that in the dirtiest, filthiest way possible."
GBS has a new rhythm section. Bassist Murray Foster also contributes the deep harmonies, and percussionist/drummer Kris MacFarlane is versatile enough to come out from behind the drum set to play accordian, guitar, and keyboards.
Great Big Sea is a band that can get your heart pounding during one song and your eyes smarting during the next. If you go to see them, your experience will be enhanced if you learn some lyrics ahead of time--you certainly, for example, would want to know in advance how they paid their respects for Paddy Murphy...
So good-bye, (Fare thee well!),
There's no time for delay,
You'll see me at the face-off, or catch the play-by-play
So good-bye, (Fare thee well!),
I'm glad you shared my bed,
But never trust a fellow with a helmet on his head.
This isn't to say that GBS doesn't perform tender, introspective songs, because they do so beautifully, sometimes in four-part harmony, occasionally a cappella. The band also delves deep into the impressively rich store of Newfoundland folksongs, many adapted from Irish and Scottish forbears, songs that tell stories of horses falling through the ice or shotgun weddings ("Mari-mac's mother's making Mari-mac marry me, my mother's making me marry Mari-mac").
The current edition of Great Big Sea features three original members. Sean McCann sings tenor leads and plays guitar and bodhran. Bob Hallett is an instrumental prodigy, playing accordian, concertina, fiddle, bouzouki, pipes, and whistles. Alan Doyle sings baritone leads and plays guitars, mandolin, bouzouki, and banjo. Alan is the frontman and seems to be the heartthrob of the group. At one point a woman in front screamed "I love you, Alan!" He responded with a wicked grin, "No, I love you. And I mean that in the dirtiest, filthiest way possible."
GBS has a new rhythm section. Bassist Murray Foster also contributes the deep harmonies, and percussionist/drummer Kris MacFarlane is versatile enough to come out from behind the drum set to play accordian, guitar, and keyboards.
Great Big Sea is a band that can get your heart pounding during one song and your eyes smarting during the next. If you go to see them, your experience will be enhanced if you learn some lyrics ahead of time--you certainly, for example, would want to know in advance how they paid their respects for Paddy Murphy...
Oh, the night that Paddy Murphy died, is a night I'll never forget
Some of the boys got loaded drunk, and they ain't got sober yet;
As long as a bottle was passed around every man was feelin' gay;
O'Leary came with the bagpipes, some music for to play!
