Entire Oshawa experience

[framlingem]

Yup, I know it's more than a month sice the fact, but we've been busy little Rats, so cut us a break. Even if you don't know us, read it - I guarantee it's good. :)



From the Sewer Rats - a combined review of the Oshawa show - it is very very long but it has input from 14 people who are members of the OKP. I know there will be people thinking why post now, after all it has been almost a month but I have been trying to pull this thing together, yes it has taken me that long as things seem to keep getting in the way. I felt necessary to post it before the GBS - Deep South Tour, or whatever they are going to call it, begins. If you don't want to read it, that is fine, it's your prerogative, don't read it.

For those that were there, it will be a very detailed walk down memory lane, for those that weren't I hope you will feel like you were there.

So, (drum roll, please) here it is:

**********
I guess in theory our review should start from the beginning. The announcement for the GBS concert in Oshawa was made back in December, someone, I don’t remember who, posted that tickets for a GBS show would be going on sale on December 12, I think. From that point forward was a mess of personal emails, posts to the OKP, and time in chatrooms confirming that there would be a show, who was going to be there, what was going to happen before the show and after the show, where out-of-towners would be staying, what would be happening on following nights, what types of clothes to bring (there were some southwesterners coming in, not used to the cold or snow), etc. At one point, there were to be about 20 people staying at the same motel and then at least an additional 10 doing there own thing but would be there in lineup and those were just the ones that made comments about their possibility of being in attendance. This review is a combination of the thoughts and inputs of 14 of those people (“Rats”), their OKP names will be used throughout unless they specifically okayed the other and put in a final list attached at the bottom. People's specific input are denoted by said speaker's name and put at the beginning of their section.

The first of the “Rats” to begin their travels to Oshawa were Lynda and Lisa, they were scheduled to arrive into Pearson via Air Canada on Wednesday afternoon around 4pm from the West Coast and were to be picked up by Jennifer on her way to Oshawa.

Jennifer: (Jennifer in GPF) Which leads to the next “Rat” who was supposed to begin the trek to Oshawa, now me being the on-time person that I am, coughcough, began my trip at 3:18pm, my intended time for departure was noon, as Pearson is a 230 miles from my area, that is about 370 kilometers plus a border crossing. Praying that Air Canada would hold true to form and be late in landing, I headed towards Oshawa. On my way, I called AC to find out about Lynda’s flight only to find that the plane was estimated to land not the usual hour late but a ½ hour early, which meant that if I was to pick up Lynda and Lisa “on-time,” I would have to make it to Pearson in less than 30 minutes which, unless actually flying, would be impossible, so began the frantic job of trying to get a hold of Lynda at the airport while driving at an absolutely mad pace, thank God for Canadian kindness and consideration, Canadians actually stay in the right lane except to pass and will hurry to get out of your way if they see you coming and are not driving as fast as you. As I went flying through Ontario, I noticed that while everyone was getting out of my way a few decided to tag along and pulled in behind me to follow closely at my break neck speed (no need to mention actual numbers), foolish people. In the mean time, Ariel was on her way to Ottawa by bus to meet up with two other “Rats.”

Finally, I picked up Lynda and Lisa, only an hour and a half late, and off we went to “check out” Oshawa. Arriving at exit 412, on the 401 shortly before 8pm. Drove by the motel, and then checked out the layout of the venue. I relayed what was told to me not quite a month before about the set up and then the three of us began to try and figure out if anything had changed, not getting too far Wednesday evening, therefore vowing to get the lowdown the next morning. Off to find food and drink and then whatever might happen next. Found a place called the Tartan and had some pretty good fries and gravy and then talked and talked until 2am when we decided it was time to go check in to the motel. Lisa and Lynda both had reservations and I was counting on the idea that they wouldn’t be booked and they weren’t. The next morning, alright the same morning just a few hours later, we were all up and running, off to Pearson to pick up another “Rat,” and then back to the venue to get the lowdown. Ilene flew in from the East Coast and joined us in our search for things to do and places to go in Oshawa.

Ilene: (Murph_Ilene)Days leading up had moments of excitement although the week (M-W) pretty much sucked. Never could remember the dates for M-2. Told dross that I figured out the date by counting forward form Superbowl Sunday (1/26) or backward form Oshawa (1/30). Which gave us this conversation:

dross: What's Oshawa?
Me: That's where I'm going for the concert.
dross: Oh. I thought it was a Jewish holiday.
Me: Yeah. Sounds like one. I have to go light the candles for Oshawa.

5:45am 1/30/03: 1h05m to take off. Been up since 3am - amount of sleep? Estimated @ 3-5h (thanks Romi!). Hope I can sleep on this flight.

5:57am: People are starting to come through security now. Soon others will be sitting here with me. Wonder if any are headed to GBS.

Also wonder if I'll keep up my wonderful streak of getting the random security check as we board. I'm 3 for 4, I think, so far.

Wednesday, class was boring. But I rocked out during the ride to and from. Popped in Road Rage and had a desire to go "Eeeeeeeeeeee!" So called Ariel @ break and did. Wooooooo!

Now to wait for boarding time.

Despite flying out of Logan, which one would hope got better with its security over time, not one of us was taken aside and searched upon boarding the flight (you need to understand – I’m ALWAYS searched.) Anyway, boarded flight AC801 (Boston to Toronto). Had an entire row to myself. Always a nice thing. Most everyone else on the plane is in suits + ties going to business meetings. We pull back from the gate - and sit. And sit. And sit. And then the pilot comes on to tell us about some problem with a valve not opening which means there is no auxiliary power to start the engine. So back to the gate we go to get it fixed.

And we sit...

And the pilot comes back on after the engines start and tells us that they couldn't get the auxiliary power to start the engine so - basically - they jump-started it. (He did not use the term "jump start" but that is what it essentially was.) We finally start taxiing down the runway to line up and this awful grinding sound is coming from underneath the plane. Everyone starts joking - nervously. "It sounds like he didn't pop the clutch" said one businessman. The businessmen behind me asked the flight attendant if this sound was normal. "Oh yeah ... it's normal" she says. Why am I still not instilled with confidence. Despite Air Canada's best efforts to scare me to death, I made it to Pearson alive and through customs only about 10 minutes late. And then off to run around with the ladies…

When I leave customs, I spy 3 ladies and I know I've found my ride. To meet me and bring me to Oshawa are Jennifer in GPF (Michigan and the driver), Lynda (from Seattle - I met her in Montreal and recognized her and her Habs toque immediately - prompted me to pull me Bs toque out and put it on), and Lisa (also Seattle).

We drove to the hotel (Travellodge) and I dropped my luggage in Lynda's room until my roomies arrived. Then off of the Oshawa Civic Center to get tickets for those who had ordered them but not received them and check the place out.

The thought was to take a look at the layout in the rink where the Oshawa Generals usually play. We wanted to see where we'd be coming in (advanced planning) and where we'd be going. But the rink seems to be locked (although people are setting up inside).

Now - just because the doors to the rink area are locked doesn't mean you can't get in. After some careful scoping, Jennifer in GPF leads us down stairs and down a hall to a door. It's locked, but some fellows are coming out. So we just stand there looking at hockey pics from days of yore and slip through as the gentlemen pass. We walk in, all innocent-like.

Back to our self-tour of the Oshawa Civic Centre. The four of us walk around like we own the place and get away with roaming around the rink as they set up. Finally, one of the security guys stops us and kindly ushers us out. But not before we (especially Lynda) barrage him with questions about the setup and logistics and all.

Then off to scope out pubs and bars for after-show festivities.

Jennifer: First stop the venue again, while Lynda had the front office people occupied, I went in search of a way to actually get on the floor to scope out the route of entrance and the layout of the floor and stage. I returned to the group successful and proceeded to show the rest where to go and then Lynda with all her experience took over from there. We walked around the floor trying to understand the possible different scenarios that could play out that evening and finally, thanks to a member of security, most of our questions were answered. Off to find a place to go after the show that could accommodate a large group.

Two places were recommended so we went to check those out first. The first place was a pub that claimed it would be rather busy by 11pm so while we could all probably get in, they couldn’t guarantee a table to accommodate all of us so probably a ‘no’ for that place. The next place was reopening that night after being closed due to liquor license violations and disorderly conduct charges, while this would be an entertaining place to go probably, we decided not to tempt fate and settled for Casey’s, a sports bar/restaurant chain with decent food and drink and plenty of room for all of our group. A stop back by of the arena to see if anyone had started to lineup yet (no one had) and then back to the motel to see who else had arrived. Three more “Rats” from the West Coast had taken the red-eye in and were possibly asleep and the only true Ontarians of the bunch were at the pool. The Ottawa/Montreal contingent were lost and the New York State contingent were on their way.

The True Ontarians (GBSgirl24 and hubby): (Lori and Dan) The day started bright and early at 5:30 am, let the dogs outside, finished packing, showered, started the truck and sidekick and waited for Dan to catch up…he doddles…he’s a man. We finally left at 7:00 am, it was a gorgeous morning, the sun was beginning to rise and the temperature was downright sub-tropical and sitting comfortably at –31… By the time we reached the main highway, I could tell it was shaping up to be an interesting drive. I always find it fun trying to steer the “purple go cart with a tarp” while scraping frost off the inside of my windows….

We stopped in Stratford to drop off the truck and my nerves over Dan’s driving abilities began to set in… Now, before all the men in the house start barking about how we women always say men are bad drivers, I will just mention to you that Daniel would best be suited for driving in England, he spends that much time on the wrong side of the road! I am definitely the better driver of our dynamic duo, however I hate 400 series highways so Dan ended up behind the wheel and I manned the tunes as a compromise... Hey! I can handle compromise! We grabbed a breakfast bite at Mickey D’s, (yuck, bleugh, gross!) and continued on our way…(we couldn’t agree on either Mickey D’s or Timmies so we flipped a coin…I lost. It’s amazing just how quickly compromise left Dan’s vocab… a “men”-tal lapse perhaps???)

We finally arrived in Oshawa at about 12:15, checked in and settled a slight disagreement. Low and behold: “Bad-um ching”! there was indeed a pool and hot tub, I WAS RIGHT DAMMIT! So, we made a quick dash to Walmart to pick up swimsuits, stopped to get a bite for Dan at Wendys, and came back to the hotel where I called Ariel to see where she was! I believe the conversation started off something like “Hello?”
“Hello Ariel? This is Lori”
“EEEEEEEEE!!!!”
“EEEEEEEEE!”
“When are you going to be here?”
“I think we are lost, we should be there soon tho!”
“EEEEEEEEE!”
“EEEEEEEEE!”
“Dan and I will be in the pool!”
“Ok, see you soon!”
“EEEEEEE!!!!”
“EEEEEEE!!!”

After that, Dan hit the hot tub and I hit the pool to do some laps and get limbered up for the concert. The rest of my afternoon was spent meeting everyone from OKP and the sewer and getting ready for the concert. I went to Ariel’s room where I met Wicked Scold, Selkie and Shawn, who traveled all the way from sunny California for the big event! We had a great chat and Ariel surprised Wicked with her announcement that she would be coming to California for the GBS shows in March! This was followed up very quickly by some substantially loud “EEEEEEEEEE!!!!”s all around…. (Note: the “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE” was a response by everyone involved whenever someone said “guess what” to signify the feeling of excitement regarding the concert as well as the weekend that would follow.)

Jennifer: At around noon, we slowly began to assemble in Lynda’s room. There was much greeting and hugging and plenty of “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE,” which consistently brought more people in. It was now around 1pm, so back out to the arena and then off to find lunch. Lynda, Quiva, Jason, Ilene, Kirstie, Lisa, and myself were off. Stop by the arena to check if lineup had begun, nope, now off to lunch, there was a Wendy’s/Tim’s combo not far from the venue or the motel so we stopped there, then back to the arena (it is hard work to be first in lineup). Back to the motel to get ready and discuss plans.

Ilene: Back to the hotel, and KcE, Jason., and Ariel arrive. I received a lovely gift from Ariel - a toy tiara (in-joke) and 2 huge packages of Smarties (mmmm ... Smarties). Then off to eat (Wendy's & the obligatory coffee at Tim's) and then off to the Civic Centre to stand in line.

In the meantime, the last of the concert group was in transit (EmilyFlemily): (Em) My story begins on Thursday morning, when I found myself cursing at the sign on the office of the Registrar at Champlain. Specifically, the portion of the sign that says ‘opens 9:30’. May I add this was at 9:00? The reason for this is because a certain company which has a scholarship I’m eligible for only gives applicants 5 days to fill it out and mail it back. It takes 7 to get the correct documents from the Registrar… they said they’d rush it for me. (Happy!) So I left it with them… and then realized I didn’t get the professor who did my evaluation to actually sign it. (Oops). So I made a pilgrimage to the office to see if it was done because I needed this teacher to sign it so I could mail it and go to Oshawa… and it was locked. Argh. Argh. Argh. To quote my buddy Vlad, ‘There is a particular creek and I’m up it.’

10:30 – dashed out of Registrar’s office, brandishing form in victory… and had missed professor by five minutes. Argh. Vlad saved the day by donating a piece of paper, on which a note was scrawled rather hastily begging my professor to sign it and stick it in an envelope on her door, so a parent could pick it up and mail it (I later found out said parent chatted for an hour with the professor, and that they got along well. I do like it when my favorite people get along). Dashed out to the car, it now being a half-hour after I was planning on leaving for Oshawa, and still had errands to run – but I did snag professor’s officemate, who is a brick and agreed to nag her for me :o)

11:30 - had accomplished errands, had a full tank of gas, music, a water bottle, directions, and was wearing sunglasses. ‘Nuff said.

The way to get to Toronto from Montreal is to head towards Dorval (not to be confused with Mirabel – although the names Dismal and Mizrabel work well together) aeroport and miss. I neglected the missing part, and ended up trying desperately to not have to pay short-term parking fees for the time it took to turn around and get back on the road. Oops. Heh, heh.

I eventually managed to achieve 401-ness, and, forty minutes later, gave a whoop as I left Quebec. Nobody heard me, and I was still listening to Montreal radio, but the road signs were now in English, and there was a Tim’s every ten minutes. (The one thing I like about Ontario is the proliferation of places to get a sugar fix).

My dad told me the drive to Toronto was the most boring one in the world. I. Loved. It. It has to be one of the most drop-dead-gorgeous pieces of road in the world. Dad thinks it’s boring because it’s flat and relatively straight, but that just gave me more freedom to look around. Thursday’s sky was deep blue, the sun was striking sparks off of fresh snow, it was fairly warm, and I sang and yodeled and yawped for three hours straight. At times the 401 is cut through ancient glacial boulders which rise up on either side of the highway with conifers clinging to them, and the greys and umbers and reds of the rocks combined with the dazzle of frozen miniature waterfalls and the green of pines and firs to make a picture that you just don’t get anywhere but the northeastern bit of the continent. There aren't enough words to describe it – it’s clean and bright and cold and almost unbearable to look at, it’s so sharply beautiful. Most of the highway is wooded or farmed along the edges, and I saw three harriers, a kestrel and a red-tailed hawk (who’d caught something!) along the way. There’s something about a raptor flying alone over the woods that makes me feel like I’m home.

This is the first time I’ve driven any real distance (1075.2 km, round-trip, six hours each way, two and a half tanks of gas) on my own, and I felt more free than I have in a long time. Like the end of Good Will Hunting but colder. Sort of a ‘whee-look-I’m-all-grown-up’ feeling, just me and the road and the music. I must do it again sometime… wish I had the time and money.

I stopped about 60 clicks out of Oshawa at a Tim’s for a doughnut and hot chocolate (and because I needed gas and there was a station next door), and the kid in line with me started talking. The conversation went somewhat like this.
‘Where you from, lady?’
‘Montreal’
‘Did you fly on a plane, lady?’
‘Nope, I drove. Five hours so far.’
‘You’re crazy, lady.’

All craziness aside, he played two rounds of Go Fish with me while I ate my doughnut and his dad finished his coffee. He won, the brat.

Back to the rest of the gang:
At around 3:30, Lynda, Quiva, Jason, Ilene, Kirstie, Lisa, and Jennifer were ready to go to the arena to begin lineup, so off we went. No one was there yet so we waited inside for a little bit, took some pictures and cracked some jokes until someone came out and asked what we were doing.
“We are waiting for the show”
“The doors don’t open until 7pm, you know, it is only quarter to 4”
“Yeah, well, we wanted to make sure we were first in lineup”
“Okay, just a minute”
The man had to go figure out what to do about this, obviously, Oshawa was not informed about GBS concerts and general admission. We caught them totally unprepared but they seemed to recover quickly and came up with a “stage one” plan. We could stand inside for a little bit but as soon as someone else shows up we would have to go outside and make sure that we didn’t block anyone’s path. The inside time lasted about another 5 minutes and then we were outside at 4pm.

The other part of our group:
At 3:30, Dan and GBSgirl24 along with Mpulse, Wicked Scold and Ariel went to grab a quick bite and then headed to the Civic Center.

Lori: We followed Mpulse through Oshawa on a rather scenic tour, in which he stopped for directions and we all realized we were going the wrong way…aye!…..we were in the lineup by 4:30pm. Lynda began introductions and we began chatting with Erin, Wendy and the twins, Jacquie and Allison who were in front of us. Despite the frosty conditions, we had fun telling stories and jokes to one and other. Eventually conversations drifted into the personal “talents” and Dan felt it imperative to tell everyone around us about his quest to master the bagpipes. Quickly thereafter, I spoke of how his performing reminded me of the sounds of a dying goose and announced my own quest to find earplugs that work! I would like to thank all of you right now for putting up with Dan while he performed for everyone, he’s a bit of a ham and he feeds off attention. Unfortunately for all of us, his “meds” wore off just as we lined up! I had a nice chat with Jennifer about the ever notorious Brampton Canadettes Hockey tournament (the biggest women’s hockey tournament in the world (300 + teams from around the world), thank you!), which we’d both been to, her as a coach and a player, me as a player. I mentioned that I played against the Detroit Dragons, she mentioned that the team she coached, won their division the first year they went. Small world! At one point during our tedious and chilly wait outside, Alan and Sean walked by on their way into the auditorium. I was so excited all I could get out was “Hey! abda Hey! Abda There! abdabda Look! Hey!” By the time I finished babbling they were gone and I was left with everyone around me looking at me like I was nuts…I am used to it though, I am a Gemini, we’re kinda notorious for being a tad bit on the nutish side….

And last but not least Em: Once in Oshawa, I managed to find the Civic Auditorium all right by employing my keen sense of direction and instinct for navigation. Meaning I drove past where I wanted to be, said ‘damn’, and managed to find my way back. It works – you go in circles a lot, but it works. And I did it without turning right, after I remembered in Ontario you can turn right on a red light, which must have been why the guy in the truck behind me was getting rather irritated. (And spouted the only words I can lip-read, how thoughtful). There was free parking at the venue, which I liked :) Mainly because at the time I was broke, but hey. Free is free.

I found the gang very easily, once I found the door – they were at the front of the almost non-existent line, and I found the wonderful, brilliant, generally marvelous Lynda at once. The adjectives are because not only did she buy my GA ticket, but she bought me a backup seating ticket in case the security didn’t let me onto the floor, which was nineteen-plus only. Much merriment was had :). To paraphrase GBS: ‘All we losers stand in line, just waiting for a time when everything shines’. But we losers probably had a whole lot more fun than the sane people who arrived half an hour before the show.

Only 3 “Rats” brought hats to wear for Gideon Brown so while whooping it up in lineup, Quiva made newspaper “sailor” hats for anyone who wanted one. It was rather entertaining to watch the security, ushers, and doorpeople try to figure out the logistics of getting us down onto the main floor in a safe and timely manner, moving barriers here and stanchions there.

Ariel: We spent about 3 hours waiting in lineup. It was cold but after a while it got cold enough to say: Il fait frette en calvaire! Which pretty much translates to it's fucking cold. We waited with Endi and had a blast with Dan. This man is an attention-whore (and I say that with a lot of love!), a real entertainer! I think Lori will have a good laugh with that attention-whore comment. We also met a few other OKPers but I am not good with names...

Ilene: 4pm and KcE, Lynda, Jason, Jennifer in GPF, Lisa, Quiva, and I are first in line. After trying to figure out where to stand (and assuring the woman who seemed in charge that, yes, we know doors don't open until 7p and yes, we really did have to line up now to get good spots) we started the line. In the f'ing cold.

Two highlights to speak of:
- GBS sound check. We could hear bits and pieces and that was Kewl.
- Standing in line, Alan and Sean walked right by the door and looked out to the line. They looked a tad grumpy, but mmmmmm. Nice.

Ariel, mpulse, Lori, Dan, Wicked, and some others are a few folks behind us in line. Em also joined us up front since Lynda had her ticket. Soooooo entirely cool that here we are at this show!

Other than that, suffice to say it was wicked cold. Despite 2 pairs of socks and leggings under my jeans, I froze. Almost as bad as standing 3h in the cold last Feb. to see the Pats victory speeches.

7PM – DOORS OPEN
Ariel: It was not very well organized. They started hanging signs saying: No cameras or camcorders allowed. Once they opened the doors, a little after 7, one security guy was asking: Do you have a camcorder? I was close to saying yes, it's back at the hotel but I prefer to keep a low profile when it comes to being searched. After we answered no or just ignored the question he let us in, no searching, no nothing. This is way too easy, I should've brought mine.

They asked for our I.D. Yes, everyone was carded, my guess is that some felt flattered! We had to wear this yellow bracelet, which was really hard to take off and I almost knocked myself out trying to take it off! We got to the stage, stage Séan/Bob with Endi, Mike, Lori, Dan and Wicked. Wicked's sister, Selkie, and their sister-in-law, Shawn joined us a few minutes later. Wicked and I went straight for the bar to get our self some yummy coolers. Those things are too good, I almost thought my glass was leaking, I can't drink that fast!

Lori: When they let us in, I made a mad dash for it! On my way, I noticed that the security guards were the same ones from the Walkerton Watershed concert back on Labour Day weekend. Just as one was about to give me trouble for my slight jogging towards the entrance to the floor, I put on my most innocent of smiles and said “I remember you! You’re the guy from Watershed!” He laughed, shook his head and waved me on with only a slight warning about my traveling speed. I nabbed a great spot beside Erin, waited for Dan who was miles behind me, (still performing for the incoming masses outside I am sure…) and when he finally arrived I left to get myself a BEER! MMM!

This might not be important to most, but I feel the need to mention the beverages. The organizers actually had a good selection to choose from which surprised me! Not to mention that it was bottled which surprised me even more. Here I had myself all geared and prepped to put up with flat (and rather crappy) Labbatt/Canadian draft when in fact I got to enjoy a few bottles of Sleemans Lager! So, on that note, I say: Cheers to the “beer getters, ya done good!”
Ilene: Now, for the concert. We make it to the front and, despite being first in line, there are already some folk standing center stage. That's ok, though. Stage Alan is where I like to stand, and that's where I do stand.

Em: And oh, did everything shine or what! There was a bit of a kerfuffle about letting me onto the GA section. ‘I’m sorry, but nobody said I needed photo ID, all I have is my bank card, I came all the way from Montreal to see the band and I’m here with about twenty people, and three of them came from the West Coast, look, I won’t drink if that makes it easier, but I would really like to spend this concert with my friends, please, Frank?’ Frank, being a real gentleman, called over a couple of people to discuss it, and they let me through. Quiva was cool enough to go see where everyone was and then come back for me so I wouldn’t have to await my fate alone. (I could have had a seat… but I really like GA)

I ended up second row, stage Alan. There was some business with bubbles, but someone else can describe that.

Jennifer: Ahh, the bubbles! It seems that Wendy in Ottawa comes to every show loaded with candy and “toys.” The bubbles were sugar water with slight food colouring and actually tasted pretty good. She had glow sticks and fish-shaped sugar cookies among other things which will be mentioned later. After we arrived at our various spots, I sat down, I figure I am going to be standing, dancing, and jumping up and down for almost three hours straight I need to rest up my feet. Wendy proceeded to haul out her stash of sugar, as I watched in amazement at the amount of stuff she brought, at the end of the night her bag must be about 5 pounds lighter, little over 2 kilos, than when she walked in just by consuming and sharing the contents, it truly was a sight. Since I was sitting on the floor, I was in the direct path of the bubbles as they floated down to the ground, so I got some in my hair, on my face, in my hands, on my clothes, and after several practice rounds, in my mouth, they were yummy. There were a few lewd comments about this but I don’t want to bore you with details and besides I can’t remember all that was said.

Quiva: I remember! I remember! It went something like this:
Jennifer: (looking at the multitude of bubbles and trying to catch them all in her mouth) They’re all coming too fast!
Quiva: (with a raised eyebrow) No comment.
(Then we laughed for a long time.)
Jennifer: (commenting on the size of the bubbles) They are too big. I can’t get my mouth around them!
Quiva: (innocently) Again, no comment.
Much hilarity ensued and laughter was enjoyed by all.

By this time, it was fast approaching 8pm, so we all got to our proper places.

The opening act – George Leach

Em: George Leach was really good, very into it, despite obviously being nervous. He played this one song, bluesy, called ‘A Long Way to Go’ (or something similar), that was so soft and sweet it broke my heart… and most of the crowd just kept talking. It may not be their style of music, but – well, one of the most wonderful ideas I’ve ever seen was in a Spider Robinson story: a bar where, when someone was playing, no talking was allowed. If you wanted to talk you could go somewhere else, and the bar had a ‘talking room’ set aside for that purpose. It really detracts from a song when there’s a constant buzz behind you, at least for me. The rest of his set was très Rock n Roll, and he had the whole rock demeanor down pat, faces and everything. I don’t know why, but a slide guitar solo never fails to send a thrill right down me. I don’t think I’d enjoy him canned, but I’ll go see him live again. I’ve sent him an email suggesting he try to play at the Montreal Jazz fest – it’d be perfect (and I could go see him for free…) He also had a serious contender for World’s Cutest Bassist (cute as in ‘Yowza!’ as opposed to Scott ‘Awwww’ cute) – very elfin looking, with beautiful messy hair and a lot of grace. He reminded me of my mental image of Cat from Vinge’s books, if that means anything to anyone, except I’m pretty sure he wasn’t a half-alien dysfunctional telepath. I also have forgotten his name. Did anyone get it?

Lori: Erin, myself, Dan and Mpulse stood side by each in the front row (what would later be considered “stage Sean/Bob” I’ve been told) with Ariel, Wicked, Selkie and Shawn right behind us. We had a riot laughing and joking around until the lights dimmed and George Leach took the stage. This lad is a fine guitar player! Nervous as could be, and sincerely humble to our applause/cheers. The B’y was very good! My only negative thought on the whole bit was the girls (or better defined as idiots..) behind me who weren’t with our group that complained non-stop about him. I was going to mention during the “pause for commercial break” between “George” and GBS that I was sure they couldn’t do any better themselves. On the other hand, I hadn’t come all the way to Oshawa to bang heads together so I quickly concluded to myself that you just can’t rid the world completely of idiots and went on with my night. Bygones.

Ilene: The opening act is a fellow named George Leach. He's pretty good - very bluesy, a la Stevie Ray Vaughn. Raised in the Sta'atl'imx Nation in the mountains of Lillooet, BC.

Jennifer: George Leach came out with no lights and began to wail on his guitar. My first thought was that he was Jimi Hendrix reincarnate. I was on the floor. I couldn’t understand most of his lyrics but that was okay, he more than made up for it with his guitar playing. The lights finally came up midway through the first song. At first, I thought the whole no-lights thing was planned, because there was an incredible guitar introduction to the song. I thought maybe he wanted to grab the audience’s attention with his playing, especially since that is exactly what he did to me, I would say it was kin to getting a bucket of water thrown on you or possibly getting slapped in the face only it was a positive shock to the system. Then the lyrics began and still no lights, so I thought woops somebody must have goofed, but after hearing how nervous and excited he was, I thought maybe the no-lights was to help him get started and settled before he really had to see the audience. In hindsight, it really could’ve been any and all of those scenarios. He had 5 or 6 guitars with him plus a bassist and a drummer, Keith Silver(?) of Six Nations and Ron something from Brantford, I apologize for not being better at getting their names but I was having difficulty with the sound of the system. He played a couple of songs before he spoke to us.

His set brought back memories of the first time I heard Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Stevie Ray Vaughn. I ran through my head all the bands who had great guitarists I have listened to over the years trying to find a suitable one to make a comparison, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Edgar Winter Band, The Yardbirds, Tesla, then just guitarists, Randy Rhodes, Mick Taylor, Joe Satriani, Kirk Hammett, Slash, Steve Vai, Joe Walsh, and mentioning again, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Stevie Ray Vaughn and finally I went through the list of musicians known for guitar but not necessarily put in the above category, Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Lenny Kravitz, Robert Cray, Stanley Jordan, and George Thoroughgood. My mind was racing to not only keep up with the show but to find some how to be able to tell everyone I met how amazing this guy was, I felt, briefly, like an old computer running through a database of guitarists and bands before finally coming back with “syntax error, system overload, not enough memory available, shut down all extra programs.” In a sentence, HE BLEW ME AWAY111

As mentioned before he was very nervous and excited. He mentioned that he was very happy to be there and very thankful for the opportunity to play for us and open for GBS. It was very endearing. Nervousness and inexperience caused a few long pauses between songs but overall it was an amazing set. My only disappointment was in the audience. From what sounded to be from the 5th row on back, there was a constant din of talking, for the most part the volume was low enough for me to be able to focused on the set, but it was very distracting during the pauses and the times when he was talking and it was extremely distracting and rude during a bluesy ballad. All of his songs were original compositions.

As much as I thought he was great, I was ready for his set to be over due to my anticipation for GBS. His set was a solid hour and then he did a meet and greet of sorts while signing and selling his CD. I bought his CD and I highly recommend it if you like hard driven blues. I had him sign it and I told him how awesome I thought he was and I swear if it hadn’t been so dark I think I would have seen him blush. His modesty and sheer excitement of the moment were very touching. I’ll tell ya, though, of the Canadian musicians I’ve met so far, this is almost par for the course, I don’t know if it is an act or not but if I ever met in Canada, what I think of as the typical musician I might fall over in shock, and I can’t say they’re being so sweet because they aren’t famous yet, cause even some of the members of the goin-nowhere bands I hung around with back in the early 90’s were arrogant piss-ants.

Ilene: It's wicked cold in there (it being a skating rink and all), so I still have my Bs toque on (although I've taken off the jacket, not that you can see my Bs shirt much).

So then ... the moment we've waited for.

The B’ys:
They bounded out onto the stage after the traditional recording of Rant & Roar, to begin with Sea of No Cares. Their energy was electrifying even Bob had a smile on his face, he was still tense but he was smiling. The audience received them with open arms. I half expected some asshole to scream out where’s Darrell, and considering the level of inebriation a portion of the audience had achieved as well as the general jerkiness people seemed to have, I think a number of us would not have been surprised, but the audience was positive and glad, almost reassured that the band was alright and the music would go on.

Overall, in the beginning, the band gave out a we’re-going-to-show-you-a-good-time-even-if-it-kills-us attitude but with the amazingly positive reaction from the audience it quickly changed to a we’re-having-fun-you’re-having-fun-it-is-all-for-a-good-cause-let’s-raise-the-roof attitude, and from where I was standing being beaten by wave after wave of energy, first from the band then from the audience, and then again from the band, I thought we just might do it. In fact, I was even writing the headlines of the next day’s papers in my head: A Concert Hall Blows It’s Roof, A Volcano in Oshawa, Debris Found in the States. And the quotes from people: “I was asleep and all of a sudden there was this explosion and the house shook and I was so scared,” a shaken Mildred Price of Durham County, Ontario said, “I went outside this morning cause my dog was raising a racket and I found a huge chunk of concrete, a piece of a Canadian flag, and a banner that says Oshawa Generals on it, I’m guessing that they are a team or something, never heard of them, with a name like Oshawa though, it must be from Canada,” states Buffalo resident Connie Lewandowski.

Other impressions: The stage was set up as always: 4 mics in a row apced across the stage with the center having a little more space to see the drums. Bob was actually smiling and laughing and I think I might have even caught him dancing once or twice. After a few songs, they all seemed to relax a little and bask in the energy that the audience insisted on giving them. I missed seeing Kris walking around during Run Runaway but I guess it is understandable that he didn’t. Alan seemed pleased with the audience’s response to Murray, after all he even got camera time so things were good. When Darrell was there, he seemed to be the “big brother” to Alan, giving him the ‘it’s alright’ pats on the back when he missed a line or something but tonight it seemed that Alan was the “big brother” to Murray, reassuring him that he was doing fine, occasionally going over and giving him a proverbial pat on the back, it was very sweet. In so many ways this was the best show of GBS that I have seen, although it was only my 6th, but yes, I, too, missed Darrell even though Murray did a great job and seemed really sweet.

Setlist:
Recording of Rant & Roar
Sea of No Cares
Lukey
When I’m Up
Goin’ Up
Clearest Indication – Alan talked about how he had talked about the voting for CI back in October and how he thanked the fans for voting it into the top ten on MuchMoreMusic’s top 10 and all the dedication so many fans had had for the voting for a variety of things and then he said that he was basically awed by the dedication by those same fans to keep CI in the top ten even now at the end of January, almost one year after the album was released. You could see that he was really touched by it all. Alan played like he was having a hard time with the chords.
Paddy Murphy – Sean pretended he forgot Ol’ Paddy’s name and so Alan came over and quietly reminded him. The Oshawa girls got loaded drunk and the Generals were feeling gay.
Gideon Brown – Alan had a hard time with this one because about 10 or so of us put on sailor hats, four of us were right in front of him, so after the first couple of lines he looked down at us and cracked up, managed to gain some composure to finish the verse and then looked over at Sean, started the next verse and looked down to the first few rows in front of Sean where some more of us were and cracked up all over again.

2 bras came flying onto the stage: 1) a baby blue with lace, and 2) a white push-up with one cup painted with the Canadian Maple Leaf and the other cup painted with the flag of Newfoundland. Alan tried on the baby blue one, got tangled up in it, and then laughed at Lynda and asked her if she “got enough photographs of that,” which she nodded yes to, talk about a ham for the camera, lol. I don’t remember when Sean first stated he was feeling “NAUGHTY” but the word showed up again here and turned out to be a recurring theme throughout the show.
Penelope
Ariel’s captain’s hat made its way onstage and Sean put it on, which prompted Alan to sing the theme from Gilligan’s Island which Sean joined in on.
I’m A Rover
General Taylor
A medley of:
I Fought The Law
Summer of ‘69
Sedated
Video Killed The Radio Star

Run Runaway
French Perfume
Everything Shines
Scolding Wife
Turn
A pair of “Joe Boxer” smiley face boxers were thrown onstage by Alan’s mic stand, Sean went over and picked them up to show everyone and Alan said “I don’t feel much like Bon Jovi now.” He then went on to say that there is “a liberated gentleman” somewhere out there and that he is consequence free
Consequence Free
Mari Mac
Ordinary Day
Encore:
Fast As I Can – the solo encores continued as Alan came out and sang, putting a new meaning into what has traditionally been thought of as a love song. Alan dedicated it to all the fans that had been there since the beginning.
Excursion Around The Bay – Alan sang it
Fortune
Rant & Roar
Old Black Rum

The Clothes:
Quiva: I said I'd cover the clothing (since I'd have my pictures to rely on) so here goes:

The theme of the evening was black. Yup, lots of the dark stuff. The group wore Oshawa Generals hockey jerseys for the last encore and I will include those in the descriptions

Alan- A plain black, long sleeve tee and dark blue jeans. Very subdued and an interesting change from the black leather or orange cargo pants. At one point he was half-wearing a lacy blue bra...but I digress. Alan's jersey was black, white and yellow and the style was very different from all the others. Perhaps a much older design?

Sean- Black pants and a nice black button-down shirt (with the sleeves unbuttoned but not rolled up, I might add). Incidentally, for those that care about Sean's hair (let's face it, who doesn't) the sideburns are significantly smaller (which I think is all to the good) and for this concert his hair was combed flat, not spiky like for the SONC Tour. All in all a rather fetching ensemble and 'do from our resident shantyman. Sean's jersey was red with white contrasts and a blue stripe on the sleeves and hem.

Bob- Yup, black...but then again, what else would we expect. Bob wore a black zip (fleece maybe?) top which had white cuffs and two white stripes of piping down the sleeves. Black jeans with black, lug-sole boots completed the outfit. I LOVED the boots. Bob's jersey was blue with white contrasts and red stripes on the sleeves and hem.

Kris- I couldn't see much of Kris. He didn't come out from behind the drums as much as he did in the SONC tour. What I could see/have pictures of is that he was wearing a long sleeve, black tee-shirt and black pants. If someone saw different, please let me know. I did not see the jersey he was wearing at all. (Kris’ jersey was the same as Murray’s)

Murray- Sporting orangeish/brown pants (maybe corduroy or denim) with a blue button-down (chambray, I think) shirt, Murray made a striking fashion statement for his first appearance with the b'ys in quite a while. A tastefully understated outfit of which I heartily approve. Bravo! Murray’s jersey was white with red and blue stripes on the sleeves and hem.

That's it for the clothes!

I'd like to add, along with everyone else's comments, how spectacular the show was. The energy was phenomenal and the special touches like the 80's medley and the "underwear" oriented banter just made the evening all the more memorable.

Boys- you really outdid yourselves this time. Thank you.

The Show
Lori: Rather than go through every song because they all rocked, I’m just going to pick my favourites and go from there.

When the B’ys took the stage the crowd went nuts. Much to Dan’s dismay, I sang at the top of my lungs and was loving every minute of it. Sea of No Cares rocked and they started right in with Lukey next. I felt a bit “deja-vued” as this was shaping up to be the same line up as my last GBS experience in Sarnia. As soon as I saw Sean pick up the Bodhran, I went stupid, I love that song, it’s my favourite by far! I apologize to anyone that I may have nudged, bumped, slightly kicked or elbowed….sometimes a gal needs to get totally and completely jiggy with it, that’s all there is too it! I remember looking behind me at Ariel, Wicked, Selkie, and Shawn who were looking at me with smiles on their faces and laughing at me. I’m sure they all thought I was on crack….yet another nutish Gemini moment!

After Lukey, it was becoming very clear that I was about to have a shitload of fun. There was a totally different vibe coming from the stage in Oshawa than in Sarnia. You could tell the roof was on its way to being raised!

Which brings me to Paddy Murphy…. Did I mention Sean kicks some serious ASS yet? Aye me! I am in love!

I figured there would be a slight change in the second line of the song, and as usual it was us “Oshawa girls” who got loaded drunk. Hey, I don’t mind being classified as a souse, that’s fine with me! I did get a good giggle from the “General’s were feeling gay” comment. A great big special thanks to Mpulse for providing the special beverages (ahemjamesonscoughcough) during the performance. I don’t usually resort to the hard liquor, but this occasion called for a swig! It was powerful, but all good just the same!!

Gideon Brown was a lot of fun, I was quick to sport my paper pirates hat, that Quiva made me (thanks girlie), for the first few lines, but then took it off so I wouldn’t get cursed out by the unavoidable “ass’ de jack’s” behind me. (Remember the idiots I mentioned earlier….) I threw it over the rail, and the security guard picked it up and gave it back to me. He nodded and Ariel said to put it back on, so I did. Ariel stood beside me with her Captain’s hat on and a grin from ear to ear! Alan gave her a nod, which made her night! What fun we were having! I checked to see if everyone else had theirs on and I could just see Jennifer, and a couple other OKP’ers down the line sporting the same do’s. I could not see exact actions, but something made Alan giggle out loud…it was hilarious! I think priceless sums it up! My only regret is that I’d forgotten my pirate hat, it would have matched Ariel’s hat perfectly! Oops my bad! Penelope came next, much to Ariel’s dismay (apparently it’s not at the top of her list!) followed by I’m A Rover and General Taylor! Whoo Hoo! Did I mention Sean kicks some serious ASS? I say this, even though he hasn’t personally dedicated a song to me, I haven’t met him nor have I had a CD personally addressed to me by the entire band…(ahhem…mpulsecoughcough, had to get that point across one last time sorry…tee hee...)

I thought what came next was very cool. They did a medley of tunes, starting with “Summer of 69” by Brian Adams. Having been to a Brian Adams concert, it’s always neat to hear a group other than Brian himself sing this song. The first was Paul Brandt who did not too bad, but the B’ys did it better by far! The crowd got right into it which was cool! I nearly died laughing when they started “I Wanna Be Sedated”. Good choice B’ys! “Video Killed The Radio Star” was also cool to hear.

I have to say thanks to The B’ys for playing Run Runaway. It’s not for me, it’s for Dan. For reasons I just don’t understand, Dan is in love with this song. Dan runs a DJ company and “Runaway” is the only GBS song I can get him to play. He was very pleased to hear it guys, thanks :)

Scolding Wife would have to be the next notable moment… As soon as Dan figured out what song it was, he immediately began his incessant pointing at me and screaming “RIGHT HERE, HERE’S YOUR SCOLDING WIFE!!” which got some “would you look at this babbling fool!” looks from Bob and a slight smirk from Sean. Since, Dan felt it necessary to perform again, I jumped on his bandwagon, gave him a slight hip check and with my biggest, most innocent smile…casually threw him the finger. My actions were followed very quickly by a substantial whack from Ariel who was quick to mention that Sean had seen the whole thing…alas, my good girl cover was shattered. Since it was apparent I’d made an ass of out myself, at the appropriate line, I pretended to beat him with my very own, handy dandy “fire shovel”…

Feel It Turn came next. Did I mention Sean kicks some serious ASS? It’s been said thousands of times since Kris was added to the band, but I will say it again: Turn is absolutely riveting with those drums added in! Amazing! Enough said!

The first song of the first encore was “Fast As I Can”. Alan sang it and did a marvelous job, but I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed. I wanted to hear “Time after Time”. Either that or I wanted Sean to sing that famous song he did about 9/11 that everyone has been talking about. I got over it very quickly, applauded Alan and they began to sing Excursion Around The Bay.

There are some who think that apparently they shouldn’t have sang this song due to the whole Darrell bit but I think otherwise. Excursion was as great as it usually is, the crowd picked er up a notch with their “HEY!”s at the end of each chorus and danced their asses off! The B’ys did a fantastic job and I look forward to the next time I hear them sing it!

My final fave: Old Black Rum. Next to Lukey, this song would be my favourite I think. The B’ys came back out on stage looking mightily dapper in Oshawa Generals hockey sweaters in various colours. Red is a good colour for Sean, that’s all I’m gonna say. I always wish that “Black Rum” could last for hours on end, this because I know when it’s over, so is the show. Alan stayed on stage after it ended waving to everyone and seeming a bit hesitant to go. This wouldn’t have bothered me one bit, I could’ve stayed in that arena dancing and singing with all of my new friends and the B’ys for hours and hours, hell days if need be!

Ariel: Great Big Sea came on stage to the Rant and Roar recording, that's when the place came alive. The crowd's cheers began. This won’t be a complete review, we agreed to make a common one but those are my impressions of the show.

The energy was awesome. When they got to Gideon Brown, I was trying to see the rest of the gang (Murph, Jason, Jennifer, Quiva, Kirstie, Lynda, Em and Lisa) who were stage Alan but was not able to even see the top of anyone's head. I quickly got that they were wearing they homemade hats (or should I say last-minute-waiting-in-line-made hats?) from Alan's chuckle. He was about to crack up on stage, no matter where he looked he saw hats. By the end of the song, he noticed me and the captain's hat, courtesy of Wicked's hubby and acknowledged me with a thumbs up. My work was done!

After the song, Selkie and Shawn kept yelling to throw the hat on stage but I argued that it was not mine, I could not do it, which made Wicked react by screaming: Throw it now! Which, of course, I did. The hat landed next to Sean's microphone and he didn't notice right away. When he bended down for his water bottle a puzzled look passed on his face, he picked it up and immediately put it on his head.

I noticed Bob that night. I was never really a Bob fan, I mean I find him very talented but his stage presence was next to nothing. That night he impressed me. He was smiling, obviously enjoying being back on stage, encouraging everyone to sing along and being very laid back. He was in his element and it felt very natural, this is the Bob I was waiting to see.

A girl close to us, next to Mike flashed the b'ys, shamelessly. Shawn told us that Séan noticed her and seemed to be very embarrassed.

The show was definitely great, I enjoyed every single minute of it, dancing, jumping, clapping, singing, screaming and having this great complicity with Wicked, Lori and Mike.

Those are my impressions of the show, some more will be added, not only from me, I will post the rest of the reviews and impressions here, with their authorization, of course!

Ilene: Anyway ... I turn my attention to Darrell's old spot. (FYI: Lineup was from L-R, Darrell, Alan, Sean, and Bob, with Kris on drums behind them). Standing there is ... oh I'm so excited about this ... Murray Foster (formerly of?) Moxy Fruvous, whom I really really like. He's standing in his old Stage Murray spot (as Moxy used to stand, L-R, Murray, Jian, Dave, Mike ... I think). I'm ecstatic. So awesome! I like Murray. And I'm thrilled beyond words. Honestly, the concert is a bit of a blur. I know the following:
- I wore my Bruins’ toque and stood in front of Habs fan Alan. Had to.
- Alan & Sean playing with the bras that were flung on stage was a wicked funny site. I especially liked the bra that had the flag of Newfoundland on one cup and the Canadian flag on the other. (So did they).
- Sean pointed out that "Bobby Orr, Number 4" played for the Oshawa Generals. YAR! Go Bs!
- Ariel had a Captain's hat to wear during Gideon Brown. Some others had sailor hats. So Quiva made the rest of us impromptu sailor’s caps out of newspaper. And when Gideon Brown came on, we put the hats on. Alan looked at me in this oversized sailor's hat and started laughing. Hooray! - Bubbles and Spirit fingers during Everything Shines
- Sean wore Ariel's Captain's hat that she threw on stage, prompting Al to sing Gilligan's Island.
- Neato 80s medley leading into Run Run Away, including Video Killed the Radio Star, Summer of '69, and I Wanna Be Sedated. It occurs to me now that this is the one time I wouldn't have minded if they sang "Come on Eileen."

Generally, it was a wicked good show and I had a wicked good time. Ohhhhh man. This was the best I've seen, I think.

Em: There were two ladies from Buffalo behind me, and I got to brag a bit about my Bob-kiss to people who weren’t already sick of the story, which was rather nice.

On to GBS! I won’t comment on clothes or setlist, other than to say that Séan was looking very dapper and that I really like his hair darker… but you all know I’d like his hair if it was purple, so that really is a useless sentence. ;)

I was expecting this concert to be different, but I hadn’t realized how different. It wasn’t just the absence of Darrell, it was something in me too. I usually have a standard GBS mood: joy. This was the first time I’d gone into a concert feeling anything other than blissful. I’m not sure if anyone there picked up on it (and I very much hope not), but I wasn’t quite right on Thursday, and hadn’t been for a while. It really drove home to me how certain songs can change depending on one’s mood. ‘Consequence Free’ was the one that really got to me. I sang it louder than I ever had before, tears running down my face, and I wasn’t singing, I was praying desperately to anyone who might be listening, standing utterly still in a crowd of dancing people because I just had nothing left to make my body move with. I’m glad they played ‘Ordinary Day’ two songs afterwards, because I needed more than anything to be told that even if the consequences piling up on me were crushing me with their weight, it would be all right, all right, because the sky is blue and there is water, and all I had to do to make everything all right was keep singing… so I did. It didn’t make everything better, but it made me feel that that oncoming train might just be a light, after all.

As always, ‘Feel it Turn’ was amazing. On a night when I was feeling everything twice as much as I usually do, those drums cut through me and tore me apart and put me right back together again. It’s such a hopeful song, and victorious, and defiant, and peaceful all at once.

The b’ys were into it, and I finally saw what Lynda always talks about, Alan’s incredible ability to connect with everyone – there was not a soul left sitting by the end, and not an unhappy face in the arena, save those who didn’t want it to end.

As has been said, there was much naughtiness that night, which featured one of my new favorite quotes. After the barrage of brassieres (including that beautifully painted and signed Newfoundland/Canada pusher-upper one), Alan made the remark that not every folk band gets lingerie thrown at them. A pair of the rattiest, scruffiest, most faded boxers you have ever seen flew over my head and onto the stage. (My thoughts on the matter: in the audience someone, somewhere, was naked). Alan picks it up and goes, ‘Suddenly I feel less like Bon Jovi.’ He then dedicated ‘Consequence Free’ to the ‘particularly liberated-looking gentleman out there somewhere.’

The sailor’s hats worked a treat during Gideon Brown (for any uninitiated reading this, it’s a song about envying the size and general shiny-ness of your neighbour’s boat, and the in-joke is that ‘boat’ is a metaphor), and prompted a rendition of Gilligan’s Island when Ariel tossed her captain’s hat onstage (Post-Rover, wherein Séan wore the hat). TV themes turned into a cover-fest, with the ones that stick in my mind being ‘Summer of ‘69’ and ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ (I still think they should cover ‘Plastic Age’ – the Buggles are very under-appreciated, IMO). During ‘Summer of ‘69’, Alan stepped away from the mike and let us sing, and it was one of the most awe-inspiring sounds I’ve ever heard. Here you have people from lots of different walks of life, from all over, with so many different motivations and inspirations, and for a song we all sang together, 3000-odd of us, finding something in common and turning it into a thing of beauty. That’s what I like about music.

The lyrics for ‘Goin’ Up’ got changed somewhat… we did not have Bobby on the squeezebox (well, we did, but not in the lyrics), we had ‘Murray Foster on the bass guitar over there’, and boy was he good. He wasn’t Darrell, but he was funky and smiley, and sang and played his heart out. It wasn’t perfect, but it was as close as it could have been. I maintained that the concert bassist wouldn’t suck, and Murray proved me quite right, thank you very much. Three cheers for Murray!

Let’s see… I don’t really remember that much, don’t tend to pay attention to details, I get caught up in moments, and nothing gold can stay. I remember laughing my butt off at Séan holding up his ‘Little usses’ cookie and squeezing its head, thinking it was Bob (couldn’t he see the sideburns?), and shouting ‘Don’t eat them!’ and ‘Séan, that’s YOU!’. I remember Alan coming out for his solo and hoping with all my heart that it would be ‘Boston and St. John’s’… and him doing ‘Fast as I Can’ so well that I enjoyed it so much I forgot to be disappointed (I am DETERMINED to hear B and St. J sometime, though…) I remember Bob’s grin, and Séan dancing up a storm, and feeling vaguely wistful for the shared looks between Alan and Darrell. It must feel like… well, I’ve played ringette for a while now, and have had the same defensewoman protecting me. It would be like suddenly playing with someone else and not knowing exactly where they’ll be if I need them, exactly how hard I can throw the ring and still expect them to catch it… I’d still have the same goaltending skills, and I’d still love the game, but something wouldn’t feel quite right.
----------
Alas the show was over and it was time to go to our next event. The general sentiment seemed to be that it was an absolutely amazing show and we were exhausted.

Casey’s:
Jennifer: We all piled into various vehicles to continue with the evenings merriment so off to Casey’s it was. Most everyone made it without much trouble, but with what seemed to become the theme for the rest of the weekend, one car full of “Rats” got lost. The directions were: go to the main streetlight, turn left, go two lights and Casey’s is on the right, you can’t miss it (famous last words). I don’t remember who called who but the conversation was something like:
Me: where are you?
Ariel: I don’t know
Me: okay you have to give me street names here cause ‘I don’t know’ is not going to help me figure out where you are.
Ariel: here talk to Selkie (or was it Shawn, I don’t remember)
Me: okay can you see a street name?

And so the story went with finally me running out to get them and follow me back. It was all good and pretty funny, and looking back now, I think we should have recognized it as a sign of things to come.

We ate, drank, talked hockey, talked GBS, ooh’d and aww’d at digital pics of the show, and began planning for the next opportunity for a Rat convention.

Em: Casey’s afterwards was fun. I could swear our waiter was gay ;) and while he wasn’t quite as cool as Darrell/Samwise in Montreal, he was certainly very accommodating of my fatigue-fogged brain as I attempted to get a cheeseburger. Which, when it came, was delicious, and hit the spot that hadn’t been occupied since a scrambled egg nineteen hours earlier. And the fries were worthy of Valentine’s or Lafleur’s, which probably means very little to most of you, but rest assured it’s a compliment of the highest order. I ended up staring into my drink, which doesn’t quite have the same ring to it when you take into account that it was a coke with way too much ice in it, and alternated that engrossing activity with ogling the great pictures Jason took with his digital camera (covet covet covet) .

Ilene: After, we went to some place called Casey's for food and drink. Drink for me this evening, of 3-4h sleep, was hot tea and I had some food. (The same as KcE ordered. Which became a trend. Creepy.) And then off to the lovely Travelodge we went and to bed.

Lori: My favourite and funniest moments of the whole Oshawa experience? Well, here’s a summary in no particular order:

- Finally getting to meet Ariel and Wicked, Say (sp?) and Shawn, and seeing everyone from Sarnia again. (Mpulse, Quiva, Jennifer and Lynda!!)
- Dan’s attempts at speaking le francais… what did he say Ariel? “Ou est le biblioteque?”
- My newspaper pirates hat
- “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!”
- Mpulse standing in the lineup “holding his balls” in his happy place….
- Poor Alan crying out “Oh, Good Gracious Marion Joseph” while dodging flying undergarments…
- The “verrrry naaaaaughty” discussions between Sean and Alan…
- The looks on Mpulse, Ariel, Wicked, Say (sp?) and Shawn’s faces when I took a swig from the magical silver flask and it nearly knocked me on my ass…
- Doing the “Carlton Dance (complete with spirit fingers)” dance during Everything Shines.
- The “guy smilie” boxer shorts and the notorious Canada Flag/Newfoundland Flag bra discussions
- The whack from Ariel that I got when being “naughty” to my hubby at the start of Scolding Wife.
- -Sean getting Jiggy with it on a constant basis and me getting in trouble from Ariel for missing out on parts of it. “Lori! Look at him dancing! You’re missing it! For Godsake pay attention!”
- Sean wearing Ariel’s captain’s hat and Alan crooning the theme from Gilligan’s Island.
- Sean squishing Bob’s head (the cookie….the cookie….)
- The group pictures outside after the show with the famous “guy smilie” boxers
- Meeting up with Wendy, the twins and everyone else at Casey’s after! Especially Ann from Toronto who used to manage TOPS and lived in Clinton….let’s rephrase that one: Meeting Ann, whose actually been to Goderich!
- Me babbling on constantly about how wonderful my Colorado Avalanche were in Casey’s before bein