Musings of a Wench

Great Big Sea!

It's Christmas party season! John's is tonight, and mine is tomorrow. The rumour about the band has me so excited. First I was sad that is probably isn't Bare Naked Ladies, who perform in Calgary on Tuesday, so were a good guess. And they played at our American office at a previous party. But they have a concert in Vancouver tonight, so wouldn't be able to play at Friday's half of the Christmas party. (Yes, the company is so big it takes two nights. We are head office.)

The new rumour is Great Big Sea, and I love them. I am more than a little in love with them. Mmm good. I don't like long hair on men, but on him it just makes me want to...

Anyways. I've seen them live a few times, and they are a great band. Fabulous live performers, and let me assure you, those two are not necessarily connected. I used to work Red Shirt concert security at the university for concerts, and have seen a lot of bands. I didn't count, but I'm sure I've seen well over 200 bands perform, thought that does include all those 8 hour high school Christian Punk shows that always left me wanting to kill myself. A few performances stuck out - how much less impressive Amanda Marshall was on stage compared to on the radio, Finger 11's encore version of 'One Thing' totally taking my breath away, meeting Frank Black of The Pixies, not knowing who Asheley McIssac was and trying to stop him from getting in and then afterwards having to help a completely stoned Asheley and his really cute 21 year old boyfriend find their way down the stairs, Asheley talking about how he "smokes a little crack, likes to get peed on" (I'm totally serious), playing Spot the Nipple with my coworkers at hip hop shows, been ordered to go break up the lesbians having sex in a bathroom stall... It was a fun job. I was one of the token females, and the rest of the guys were a bunch of filthy trash talkers, so I loved it. Dirty men amuse me.

The best show, hands down, was Great Big Sea's House Party. They played in the Ballroom, the university's small venue. The Hall holds up to 2600, but the Ballroom, which actually has wood floors and everything, hold only 800, so it makes for really intimate shows. Or some really bad, empty ones, depending on the band. But they rocked it. The room was packed to fire capacity, Screech (maritime booze) was 50 cents a shot, and the crowd could not stop moving. It was so good.

John and I saw them at the Calgary's biggest venue (capacity? +25,000) a few years later, and it was a good show, but not the same. I think a space that size sucks energy, if not properly full. We still had a good time, because their music is made for moving. They played the folk fest too, and while I've never paid to go in, I used to lie in my parents yard and listen to them play. They are so fun.

And now? It looks like we get to see them again in a smallish (~2500) private venue. How freaking cool is that? I am so excited.

(I'm also please I finally found a top large enough to wear that didn't make me look bad and shows off my cleavage, because if you've got it, flaunt it!)

posted by Morgan @ 1:04 p.m.