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Sunday 14 November 2021

Ordinary

Our local theatre is open again and this past month my husband and I have attended three performances. These are the first shows we’ve seen since the pandemic began. Tickets for one of the shows were purchased almost two years ago. It felt so good to be part of an audience again, to share a love of music, to sing and laugh with others. We’ve missed it!


To attend a performance, one must show a vaccine pass, a picture identification and wear a mask in the theatre. For me, it is far easier to be a mask wearer now that I don’t wear glasses.


We enjoyed the musical stylings of Lunch at Allen’s, four Canadian musicians, singer/songwriters, who’ve been around individually from our teenage years. It was a walk down memory lane, with the audience singing along to the most popular hits. What a thrill it must be to go all over the country, even the world and have people know your music well enough to sing along! 





Murray McLauchlan, Marc Jordan, Cindy Church and Ian Thomas combined humour and stories plus beautiful harmonies. They provided a great welcome back to shared cultural experience during this pandemic.


Alan Doyle and his Beautiful Band raised the roof with the sold out crowd.  He was the frontman for Great Big Sea, a Celtic/sea shanty group from Newfoundland which achieved international success. Now as a solo performer, he and his back-up band continue that success with a variety of musical stylings.





Doyle is a proud son of Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, a place which is dear to my heart too. He is an actor and author as well, telling yarns which capture an audience. It was impossible not to stand, clap and sing along during the show.


Our third theatre experience was the hilarious Ron James. The comedian is from nearby Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the son of transplanted Newfoundland parents. We thoroughly enjoyed his Canadian, especially east coast, humour. His encounter with a few Qanon followers protesting at the cenotaph in Charlottetown the previous day showed his heart through the comical exterior. He received a standing ovation for his two hour, fast paced performance.




These performances and the shared experience with the audience, gave us a glimpse of pre-pandemic life again. I see the song Ordinary Day, by Great Big Sea, as an anthem for what we’ve been through in this pandemic and how it feels to be emerging from it. Maybe. You can see the video here.


More of ordinary please!   




26 comments:

DJan said...

How wonderful! I am so glad to learn you are returning to normal in such happy fashion. Thanks for sharing these events with me. :-)

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Wow, three great concerts! I love all those performers too!

baili said...

How special was your ordinary day dear Marie :)

oh thank you so much for the brief sharing as i felt i was there with you enjoying the spectra and paying the ovation :)

i am truly happy my friend that you had a wonderful day that made you feel like days before pandemic ,yes we all need such ordinary times in future so true .

the music you mentioned sounds mesmerizing !
what a lovely thing that the performers were from your own native town and and you were able to refresh beautiful memories with them :)

sending you lots of love and hugs with best wishes and prays for you and all you love !

Beside a babbling brook... said...

It's about time *they* let life go on.....

Fun! Fun! Fun!

🍂 🔥 🍂

William Kendall said...

I've always liked Alan Doyle.

Lorrie said...

What a great weekend of entertainment you enjoyed! Normality! Have a good Monday!

Rhodesia said...

It is lovely to get out I agree, we are enjoying meeting up with people again. Many of the countries around us are going back into lockdown I hope we manage to keep the numbers down here so we can still enjoy life a bit.
Keep safe Diane

Elephant's Child said...

I am thrilled for you.
And hear you on the mask/glass wearing issues.

Mage said...

Oh, delightful.

Helen said...

Thrilled for you Marie.
Here in Qld we have been so very fortunate to have had some 'ordinary' most of the time. On Sunday we went to a small, semi amateur theatre to see Mamma Mia. These songs will never fail to lift spirits.
I would have loved your performances.

Bill said...

Sounds like a grand time. Yay, for ordinary!

Rose said...

This sounds like so much fun....if I can remember, I want to look these guys up later.

margi said...

It almost sound like an ordinary life. We all miss such events and a company of friends.

Hena Tayeb said...

It's wonderful to be able to go and attend concerts again.

The Furry Gnome said...

Wonderful performers those!

Red said...

All of these performers are top notch. No wonder you enjoyed them. Okay, I know, it was just great to get out.

gluten Free A_Z Blog said...

It feels good to think that we are getting back to life as we knew it. So glad you were able to attend and enjoy it.

Anvilcloud said...

GB Sea was a fave of mine, almost as much as The Rankins.

Thank goodness I don’t have to negotiate masks and glasses, but my new hearing aids are not getting along with masks. I have a solution though. Must post about it. Almost forgot.

The Padre said...

What A Delightful Post - An Evening Full Of Entertainment And Humor - Sign Me Up

Cheers

Margaret said...

How fun to get out and do normal things! Those activities that we took for granted in the past are so much more precious now.

Debbie said...

ooooh how wonderful marie, yes, more of the ordinary please!!!

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

Heart warming experiences to read about. Being around people in a positive atmosphere like those is good for the soul.

The Liberty Belle said...

So glad that you were able to enjoy the performances. I wish I could have gone too. Have a wonderful week.

Retired Knitter said...

I so agree. Let’s hear it for 'Ordinary!!'

Barbara said...

That sounds like some good times. I'd like to do something like that. There will be a lot of action with Christmas songs and plays so I'm looking forward to that. My Grandson is visiting with me. He just lives down the street but he is staying here for a couple of days to use my computer while job hunting and I am really enjoying the company.

Karen said...

I've seen Lunch with Allen several times. They are a favorite.