Now, the Swan is a little small for its volume of patrons at the best of times, but last night, no-one had any chance of elbow room. We had to fight our way to the bar - half an hour to get served, during which time I nearly lost my hat with the little bears on to some wierd guy who wanted to know if it was "a designer number"? That's the second-worst chat up line I've heard so far (the first can't be repeated on this kind of site!). It could have got worse, when we immediately had to start shedding layers of clothes due to the sheer body heat in the place. Luckily, we're both good girls.
We got upstairs in the end, and were horrified at the number of people already there. I said "how on earth am I supposed to take photos past this lot?" ... or words to that effect. We weren't able to take up Cas's offer of her valued spot 'stage Bob', as thirty people were already in that 'kitchen'. Two madly jigging patriots were on the other side of the stage, doing the Dance of the Seven Veils with the Newfoundland flag, so we squeezed, elbowed, wriggled and swore our way across to the wall area, where we made the fantastic discovery of BENCHES! Photo problem solved. Though I hadn't worked out how to put together a 12" wide piece of wood with the two pints of Guinness each we'd already had.
Well, the problem was solved when the band were announced. I have never been so nimble in the face of inebriation as I was in that moment. And I was glad of it, when the band were escorted through the crowd directly in front of us! I could have reached out and ruffled Alan's hair, if I hadn't been hanging on to the wall for dear life.....
They hit the stage, as usual, with all the force of Hurricane Hilda - though we couldn't hear their spoken 'hellos' as the crowd were Ranting and Roaring so loud! Now, between the Guinness, the bench and trying to handle a camera, I have no idea of the set list's exact order; but they played most of the favorites and hits.
The early part of the set featured 'Ordinary Day', ' When I'm Up', 'Consequence Free', and 'Old Black Rum' - the night's favorite, with everybody waving pints of Guinness around in the air (and soaking their neighbours - it's one way to stay cool). The audience completely took over the chorus, and at this point, we realised that it was going to be kind of hard to hear every word the band said......
They went through 'Donkey Riding', 'Billy Peddle', 'The Night Pat Murphy Died' and 'Jakey's Gin'. Though Alan didn't stop grinning all night, we thought his face was going to split in half when he sussed out that EVERYONE was singing all the words to 'End Of The World'! Séan, as usual, was doing his best impression of a Masai warrior, weapon in one hand, pogo-ing up and down to every number. Darrell was frenetically waving his sweet little rear end over on our side of the stage. Bob seemed to have a different instrument in his hand every time we looked. No, that's not a surprise, either. I had a mad urge to yell "queue-jumper!" but I wouldn't have heard me, so I doubt that he could have.
We had 'Tunez', 'Little Beggarman', 'Lukey', which met with a great big deal of approval from the crowd, and 'Excursion Around The Bay' , which Darrell needn't have bothered singing at all - we were perfectly willing to do it for him. Alan 'borrowed' someone's pint, and introduced the UK audience (most of whom seemed to be Canadian) to the concept of the 'Sociable'. We learn real fast! Much more Guinness-sloshing ensued, while everyone wet their whistles for the next round of sing-along.
There were a few surprises in the set. It took me a verse and most of the chorus before I realised that, yes, they really were singing 'Video Killed the Radio Star' ! George Michael's 'Faith' went down well, though I don't think my near neighbour's yell of "get yer tonker out, then" really added much class to the proceedings. Later in the set, I think something went wrong with Bob's equipment (no, not that equipment...) and he disappeared momentarily, so someone had to fill. By the way, Séan does a great Ella Fitzgerald impression, with 'Stormy Weather' . He must have read the comments on the Chat about him wearing a slinky pink dress. Anyway, he redeemed himself a little later, with a truly manic 'Mari-Mac'.
Has anyone else noticed that Bob has a habit of whistle-twirling? Either he was in a baton troupe, or he's just really good with his fingers.....OK, that was a really stupid statement.
Father Séan and Father Bob were taking confession again, down on their knees for an instrumental bit in ..... in what I don't remember. I was too busy whooping my head off. Alan seemed to be getting a little bit jealous of Séan's status as the 'sexiest man in Carbonear', judging by all the quips he was making. Darrell got a few, too. Alan and Séan took turns to coax cheers from the 'brothers' and 'sisters' in the room. Either there were many more sisters than brothers, or the men weren't so inclined to scream for Alan .
New songs included 'Old Brown's Daughter' and 'Consequence Free','Fallin' In' , plus one that heavily featured a sunlight and clouds motif. Okay, so Alan probably did introduce it, but I still haven't got the hang of a Newfoundland accent. Plus I couldn't really hear sod-all, anyway.
There was a very wierd, shortest ever gap between the set and the encore, as the Swan has no backstage area and the b'ys had no chance of getting out through the crowd and then back in again! Séan made a show of cowering under the spotlights, at the back of the stage, and Alan gave up after about a minute, came to the mike and said "Just pretend you can't see us, we've got nowhere else to go!". Then came the extremely silly request: "and just pretend like you wanna have an encore....." Our cue to raise the roof! And the crowd response to 'Run Runaway' literally blew the band back across the stage. They did 'Auntie Mary',too. People outside must have wondered what the hell was going on up there when the mega-decibel yells of "Up the leg of her drawers!" racketed across the street!
In too short a time, the gig was over. Alan got a few more sex-god quips into the introductions, and pointed out that Darrell was "on the bass guitar", Séan was "on guitar ......." loooong pause of the 'where am I?' variety ".....and bodhran", and "over there, on 25 different instruments, from St John's...." was Bob . Bob , on the other hand was not nearly so creative in introducing "from Petty Harbour, Alan Doyle". Not that any naming of names was necessary.......
The b'ys were bundled through the crowd, past me and Barbara again, and out by a handful of bouncers, who had a really hard time getting them through the crush. I can see this may be their last gig at the Swan - it's really getting to be an unsuitable venue for such a popular band. They nearly lost Darrell and Séan to the crowd on the way out, even with the bodyguards. And the band had to be out and away before any socialising could take place. I'm starting to get the feeling I'm destined to be within a few feet of various band members without ever actually meeting them!
To add the finishing touch to an almost-perfect evening, just as me and Barbara were getting ready to go, Chat Friends Paula and Lisa had requested the DJ wish me a happy birthday, which knocked me right back on my heels. Thanks, girls!
One of the security guys at the door when we left was telling someone else that they had to turn away as many people again as they managed to get in! And the sound level was incredible for such a small venue. Where we were standing, the band were slightly distorted, and they couldn't be heard sometimes over the crowd. It's a good job we all knew the songs. Definitely the Astoria next time, guys! (and it's closer to home for me....)
2.30 am, I got home, frozen again, the dog was sulking, and neither of my parents was talking to this "dirty stop-out" (am I 33 or what?). All I can say is, it was worth it! When's the next gig?
AND THERE'S MORE!
That's all folks - d'ya think 43 photos from one gig was overdoing it just a wee bit?
If you have problems with the e-mail button above, my address is teddy@ukonline.co.uk
