Well, we’re actually not as obsessive as one fan groupie we ran into yesterday who’s following their tour (what do you call a Great Big Sea traveling groupie, the equivalent to a deadhead or a parrothead?) and went to the Baton Rouge show Friday night, too, but we did drive to Jackson, MS yesterday afternoon to see GreatBigSea perform in a benefit concert for the Jackson Zoo, along with Cowboy Mouth and Hootie & the Blowfish. Tonight we’re seeing them again here in New Orleans at House of Blues.
We’d first learned of them them seeing them perform live at Wolf Trap several years ago when they opened for the Chieftains, and love their music but especially love their live performance. They are finally starting to tour regularly through our part of the country, yay!! Anybody else in New Orleans, come on out to see them tonight – they’re headlining so should do a nice long set!
Their set yesterday afternoon was a bit of a disappointment to some folks who’d traveled down from Newfoundland to hear them – as the opener on a three-act show, they only did about 45 minutes. Every minute of which was fabulous, and as usual they had the audience eating out of their hand from about five seconds after they got onstage, but it wasn’t NEARLY enough. Papa Tiger later talked with a Jackson DJ who was there introducing the acts and was completely shocked and delighted at how incredibly tight and tuneful GBS’s vocals are on stage – something not many acts are as good at – and I suspect they may start getting some air time around here. Let’s hope so!
Their concerts are always so much fun and high energy, except for some reason I usually end up in the inhibited section that doesn’t like to get up and dance… Last time I saw them was about a year ago when they cut through here. I look forward to when they come again!
Wish I’d have seen this thread sooner. Sounds like it must have been a great show! I like Great Big Sea, though I’m a bigger fan of the Saw Doctors. Also Flogging Molly. I saw them play in N.O. last year and was blown away.
The Jackson show sounds like it must have been great, too. I’ve seen Cowboy Mouth live. Their high-energy antics were quite infectious - and I’m the type who rarely gets infected by high energy.
An update: What a totally fantastic show! Their opener was Ari Hest, who we’d never heard before but who definitely has heartthrob potential as well as real talent – my, can that young man play the hell out of a guitar.
It was in a really small room at HOB, with probably no more than 150 people in attendance at peak – at least half of whom were Canadians, I think, and the vast majority of the rest major GBS fans like us. Early on, Alan Doyle stopped to let the audience sing one line of a song (can’t remember which one right now – but will check later, since whiterabbit made off with their song list after the show, yeeeeehah!) and looked quite shocked at the fact that it seemed like everyone there knew it.
They rocked the house for over an hour and a half, sang us all into exhaustion, and obsidian_flutterby, there wasn’t an inhibited section in the house (unless you count our table, where I simply could NOT get up and dance because I just had knee surgery – but that’s okay, I danced sitting down!). Even Young Tiger, who takes cynicism to new heights, was on his feet clapping and dancing (well in moderation, natch). Hee.
That was one of the best shows I’ve seen in my whole life. Seriously! And I’m ranking it against shows like Simon & Garfunkel at Carnegie Hall when I was a teenager. GBS is the BEST!!!
I’m very jealous. I’ve been a GBS fan for years, but I’ve only had a chance to see them live once. It was probably the best live performance I’ve been to. It’s nice to see a Canadian band has some fans in the States, especially one that doesn’t get alot of mainstream attention.
I think if they keep touring they’re going to get more fans here! On the one hand, I think that’s fabulous.
On the other hand, if they play bigger venues, I won’t be able to stand RIGHT SMACK IN FRONT OF THE STAGE about three or four feet from the guys themselves.
Saw them at a small beach venue in Vermont this summer. I’ve been listening to them for maybe four years now and didn’t know what to expect, but I figured it should be a rollicking good time. It was, and then some. Nickel Creek – a recent favorite of mine – was “headlining”, but the show clearly belonged to Great Big Sea.
