On Friday night, we went to see the Newfoundland Celtic rock group, Great Big Sea, as part of the the Lowell Summer Music Series. It was, in three words, FAN TAS TIC :) Their music is intelligently written, expertly executed, appeals to all age groups, and (uncommon in this day and age) really happy. It was our first time seeing them, but will certainly not be our last.
We were introduced to their music completely by accident. My husband, Tom, also works at Sun: a few years ago, the group he was in decided to celebrate the winter holidays with a Yankee swap, and Tom came home with a new CD, Something Beautiful. The CD had come to the Yankee swap by way of another Tom, Tom Wells, who is the brother-in-law of one of the band members (doesn't he resemble Scott McNealy?).
Two years ago, we loaned the CD to some friends, who have been enjoying it ever since :) They saw that Great Big Sea was coming to Lowell, so we all went together. We were quite the motley crew: Tom and myself, our 7-year-old daughter, my retired mom, our friends (Carla Corey and Paul Buckley), their teenage daughter and her friend (who were too cool to be there, so they played cards throughout the concert), and another friend from church (accompanied by her seeing eye dog, Paz).
What that means is that the CD that Tom Wells brought to the Yankee swap resulted in no less than 9 direct ticket sales, a $30 (US) concert t-shirt for my daughter, and several subsequent CD purchases. So -- Tom, if you're reading this and have a few extra CD's, I'm sure we can find good homes for them :) Really -- think of it as investment :)