Impending Anna shortage, and GBS abundance

[annathepiper]

Yay, the video archive version of the GBS Woodsongs webcast from yesterday is now up! Y'all can now get it here. It's a WMV file, mind you--so if you don't know if your particular media player can handle that format, you might want to check. I managed to catch bits and pieces of the webcast while it was airing, but not all of it, since it was during the tail end of my work day. Not nearly as energetic as a real GBS concert, mind you, but the B'ys got in some good numbers, and I was very amused about how the host of the show kept remarking over and over on how "incredibly handsome" the B'ys all were, and how their music was full of "testosterone". It almost made me wonder if there was something about himself that the host was not telling us. ;)

I caught several funny remarks out of both Alan and Séan as well:

Séan: "You can never have too many Great Big Sea records. I bought five yesterday myself."

Alan: "We're cheap. You can take us home for ten dollars." Then later, as an addendum to the host: "You misunderstood. I didn't mean the CD, I meant us!" (Well hell, Alan, if that's all it takes, I've got ten bucks RIGHT HERE...!)

And I was quite charmed by the pair of young girls they brought up onto the stage with a bunch of GBS posters that they'd made. The accent on those girls? That's how Kentuckians sound, folks. I even sound like that, if I go home and visit my family long enough. Now try taking that accent, muting it down a bit, and you'll get me. When I sing "Trois Navires de Ble", I'm going through at least four different accent hops, I think. Central Kentucky->Pacific Northwest->Newfoundland->Whatever Canadian French version of the song Alan might have learned. Hee.

Meanwhile, yesterday was solarbird's birthday! ^_^ She has not yet received all of her birthday l00t, but I gave her the Season 1 DVD set of what she likes to refer to as "The Hugo And Peabody Award-Winning Battlestar Galactica". And we had tasty cake and ice cream, and watched a good chunk of Toy Story, and the evening was generally Good.

If you don't know already, please also be advised that there will be a shortage of Anna this weekend, as the Murkworks crowd heads down to Norwescon! So be sure and stock up on your Anna while supplies last. And if you're going to be at Norwescon and want to hook up, let me know, okay?

Monday evening miles: 2.4
Tuesday morning miles: 2.1
Miles out of Hobbiton: 872.75
Miles out of Rivendell: 414.75
Miles to Lothlórien: 49.25

Comments

[wingedelf.livejournal.com]

Whatever Canadian French version of the song Alan might have learned.

Methinks that'd be French Shore. It's distinctly not Quebeçois, but similar- and geographically it makes sense. Could possibly be Metis, even.

[annathepiper]

Whereabouts, geographically speaking, IS the French Shore? And hrmm, I wonder if there is anything about this ditty in the GBS Newsletter Archives. I will have to go look.

[wingedelf.livejournal.com]

Basically, Newfoundland north of Cape Bonavista around to Pointe Riche and the Labrador coast- if you look at the place names, you'll see the French influences.

[annathepiper]

Ah okay, cool! Yeah, it would make sense if GBS pulled the song from there. :) One of the many things I'd love to ask them about!

[jessicac.livejournal.com]

Please send me your new address. I had it, but lost it. :P

[annathepiper]

Snail mail address, I presume you mean? To which address would you like it sent?

snail (real!) mail

[jessicac.livejournal.com]

Send it to my microsoft account. :) Thank you!

Re: snail (real!) mail

[annathepiper]

On the way!

[raise-a-jar.livejournal.com]

Well hell, Alan, if that's all it takes, I've got ten bucks RIGHT HERE...!

I wonder how much shipping and, er, handling would be for a full grown man from Lexington to St. Louis... And since I can only get $20s from the ATM, I guess I'll just have to order two of 'em ;D

[annathepiper]

No no, that's not ten bucks a head, that's ten bucks for the WHOLE BAND! That's a bargain at two bucks per B'y! ;)

[raise-a-jar.livejournal.com]

Ooh...I could probably scrounge that up in change right now! The two bucks, anyway. Or do they come as a matched set?

Heh...actually, I think it's more accurate if you add three zeros to the end of that number. Then you're a bit closer to what they really cost...

[annathepiper]

That sounds about right, yeah! auntmonkey actually asked how much they charged for private gigs when she got married, and it was something in that neighborhood as I recall. ;)

[hardticket.livejournal.com]

Wow I had no idea that Great Big Sea was so popular south of the border. You guys have good taste. :)

[annathepiper]

Why thank you! There's a pretty big GBS fandom contingent where I am--which is to say, the greater Seattle area in the state of Washington--but down in Kentucky they aren't nearly so well known. Which adds to why I was so charmed to see those two young girls in the video with their posters. :)

[hardticket.livejournal.com]

They sell out arena's at home.Which means St John's for me. I love the songs on the new album. They are completely traditional NFLD and that is what Great Big Sea has always been best at.

[annathepiper]

We've been pretty fortunate in the Seattle area--we still get them in comparatively small venues here. I can barely imagine them playing an arena, though I got an idea of what it would be like watching the concert on the Great Big DVD. I'd love to see them playing in St. John's someday, though, just for the energy that such a crowd must produce! :)

I love The Hard and the Easy a lot. Rant and Roar has been my all-time favorite of their albums--it was one of the first ones I got--but TH&TE is rapidly catching up with it, I think. It's got the second highest number of songs on it that I repeatedly come back and listen to!

[hardticket.livejournal.com]

the concerts in St john's are really big kitchen parties, basically. The best kind. :D Up is my favorite album but i am old school. Road Rage is good too. I like the traditional stuff they do like "excursion around the bay" and "Lukey's boat". It is all the songs i grew up with. Rant and Roar is an traditional NFLD song that is actually called "The ryans and the pittmans" Little bit of useless knowledge there :)

[annathepiper]

I've actually heard a take of the "The Ryans and the Pittmans" by the Fables--I've got a couple of their albums as well, since they are one of the first other Newfoundland groups I learned about via my GBS fandom. But I like "Rant and Roar" far, far better.

I too am very, very fond of Up--most of the songs on it I had heard already via Rant and Roar, but I adore "Jolly Butcher" and "Billy Peddle". (Heck, my local jamming group has PLAYED "Jolly Butcher".)

It's the GBS trad that is responsible for me resuming playing instruments and learning new ones, and for that I will love it until the day I die! I still haven't managed to learn all the words to "Excursion Around the Bay" yet, but "Lukey" is one of my very favorites. I'm also extremely partial to "Mari-Mac" and "Old Black Rum" (though I know the latter isn't actually trad, but it darned well ought to be :D ).

[hardticket.livejournal.com]

Oh Great Big Sea are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to NFLD music. There are lots of band including the ones they mentioned in the video. We used to sing "Excursion around the bay" when i was a kid. The louder the better.:D "What's ya at" on there first album is one of my favorites too.
If you play an instrument one of the most popular song for beginners is "mussels in the corner". Its not Great Big Sea but it is traditional NFLD.
"wave over wave" is one that i used to play repeatedly.

[annathepiper]

I've got a couple albums by both the Fables and the Irish Descendants; I've also got an album by Damhnait Doyle. I keep hearing I should check out the Punters as well, though I haven't yet had extra bucks to order one of their CDs. I noticed some of the names Bob mentioned, yeah, like Ryan's Fancy. I'll have to see what I can do with ordering some of this stuff. :)

I'm a flute player by training (six years of band in school), but I have been picking up guitar and a bit of mandolin and bouzouki since I became a GBS fan, and that's expanded my musical interest out into picking up a lot of these trad tunes that they use for bridges and suchlike. Tell me about "Mussels in the Corner"? Does that have words or is it instrumental?

"Wave Over Wave" is good! That's one of the ones in a good key for me. :)

[hardticket.livejournal.com]

"mussels in the corner" has words but the impt part is the music. its usually played on the accordian but i have heard the fiddle used too. its basically a reel. One of the old classics. I did flute in high school too but that was a while ago now.

The punters ("come dancing") are good but the fables and the irish descendants are better. "heave away" is the best from the fables. Ryan's Fancy is really old school. They could be a bit of an acquired taste "Star of Logy Bay" is one of theres. Ron Hynes is one of our best singers his song "Sonny's Dream" is a classic. I saw him sing it a couple of weeks ago. A group called Buddy Waisname has a song called "saltwater joys" which is really good. They usually do comedy but this one is really touching and describes what most NFLDer's feel for there home. well this has been interesting thanks for chatting!

[annathepiper]

I shall have to look for "Mussels in the Corner", thank you very much for the pointer to that. :)

I love "Heave Away"! I've heard the Fables' take of that, though it's on the one album of theirs I don't have yet. I look forward to having that album--it's got "Old Woman of Wexford" on it too, and I liked that one a lot as well.

Thank you very much for the rest of the pointers as well! It's been great to talk to you. :)

[otoselkie.livejournal.com]

Wonderful! I'm glad they archived it so fast. I caught the last 10 minutes of the original webcast last night, but all I saw was the girls with the posters and some of Mare Whatshername's encore before my fickle Windows Player shorted out. Well, off to see what the whole thing's got!

[annathepiper]

Yeah, I kept hitting the archives page repeatedly last night trying to figure out how long it would be before the archive video copy made it up there. I was half-afraid it'd be "a week" or something on that order. Glad I was wrong. :)