| Northampton Loves GBS |
| Once we cleared the accident scene, there were just the usual slow-ups in Connecticut. We turned off the route once to find our hotel in Chicopee but the directions from Yahoo were wonky, so I figured I’d call the hotel after the show to get directions.
Parking was a problem near the venue, so we ended up about three blocks away. It was my first time in this College town and I enjoyed people watching. I hadn’t realized that Smith College was HERE. I had applied to Smith three decades ago and been accepted, but ended up closer to home. This was definitely a college town! We passed a Hemp store on the way to the theater and I was taken back to St. John’s, NFLD, where they have one at the beginning of Harbour Drive, in the West End. I know there’s one in Philly too, but these were the only two I had ever seen. I was hoping Séan had seen it, after he waxed poetic about the Bob Marley store on the podcast. When we got to the theatre, I realized I was going to have a problem picking up my will-call ticket. Actually, the problem started the day before when I was looking for the ticket. I couldn’t find it! I had ordered the ticket late and I was not sure who I had ordered it from. Whoever I had ordered it from, I couldn’t find a receipt of any sort, email or otherwise, to prove that I had indeed ordered it. I found my credit card statement indicating that I had indeed purchased a ticket, and I made a copy, hoping this would be enough. But I had left all my ID stuff in the car and was not looking forward to going back for it. The sign at Will Call said “Have ID ready.” I went up to the man anyway. “Name?” “Anne Tenaglia – T-E-N-A-G-L-I-A. But I have a problem,” I explained. “I left my ID in the car, three blocks away.” “No problem!” he assured me, “ Anyone who can spell that name, must be the right person!” Ticket in hand and smile on face, I walked into the theatre to find my seat. Amanda and Columbine and I had all bought tickets separately, and so were all over the theatre. Amanda was the closest to the stage in the center area, I think. Columbine was in the center about halfway back and I was way over on the stage-Murray side one row after the break in the seats. Not bad, considering how late I had bought the ticket. I had never been stage Murray before and was looking forward to a new perspective. With 15 minutes to spare, I wandered out to the lobby area to check out the sign out front and take a photo. What a surprise to see Endi and Michele in line to get in! We’d see them the next night too. And a woman approached me saying, “Anne?” Puzzled, I answered to affirm her identification of me. “I recognized you from your website,” she explained. Turns out, she’s visited for the trip journals and the GBS reviews. It was Barb! *waves * Hi Barb! SO now there were a slew of OKPers in the venue that I had seen tonight – Fran and Bob from Boston, Tony T, Amanda, Columbine, Endi, Michele, Barb, Lynda, Mike and Jennifer, Howard and Cheryl, Rich Beck and Maureen, and I’m sure there are a few I’ve forgotten. Many apologies to those lovely people. Please email me and remind me and I’ll include you. Both before the show and at intermission, there were masses of people at the Merch table. I don’t know how Glenn could cope with the crowd and keep his cool, but he did! I decided to wait to purchase merch and slid back into my seat. Next to me were Barb and Greg. Barb was from St. John’s Newfoundland and had met Greg there, married him and moved to Massachusetts. She is a big Toronto Maple Leafs fan and made sure her grandchildren were all decked out in Maple Leaf jerseys for CHristmas and hockey season. Barb and Greg really were looking forward to the show. All of a sudden, the hall went dark and the b’ys from Newfoundland ran out and took their places on the stage. Captain Kidd, Donkey Riding and Jack Hinks followed one after another in rapid fashion. Pretty much, the audience was sitting for Captain Kidd, but when Donkey Riding began, much of the crowd was up on their feet, delighting in the vertical movement. Barb, next to me, looked like she might want to dance, but Greg wasn’t moving, so she stayed in her seat. Didn’t take much longer for her to get up, though! |
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| Northampton’s account might be the easiest review of a GBS show that I’ve ever written. All my years of seeing Great Big Sea came together in this one night to form a near-perfect show. It could have been the company I was keeping (roadtripping with Amanda and Columbine), but I think I’d truly attribute it to all the people in that audience at the Calvin that evening. Along with the five men on stage, of course!
Amanda had arrived at my house the night before and had spent the day with me in my classroom. The kids were really good that day, although she’ll tell you a different story should you ask her. It’s all a matter of what you’re used to, I guess. :P We left at noon to make the trip up to the Calvin Theatre in Northampton, Massachusetts. The map program said 4 hours 40 minutes but I never believe them. It took us about 7 hours. There was clear sailing pretty much up to the Tappan Zee Bridge, but there had been a terrible accident on 684 and we waited in traffic for a looooong time before we got through. |
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