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By MELISSA WISEMAN
Staff Writer

George Street: Located in the downtown region of St. John's, Newfoundland. It consists of over 24 bars, the most per area in the world ... or so they say.

St. John's, Newfoundland: The city of legends. Also known as the oldest city in North America.

George Street Festival: Held once a year on George Street. It is usually the last week of July leading up to the regatta. So if you want a good time, this is the place to be.

First of all, what a weekend. I sit here writing this when I should be working, but we are all allowed to have a break from time to time, right? I mean, cutting up old clothes for rags or quilt patches for six hours a day, while serving customers isn't all it's cracked up to be. Take it from me ... we deserve the breaks. We need to keep our sanity somehow. Oh, wait, I'm rambling. I guess I should get to the point of the article. So where was I? Oh yeah, the George Street Festival.

What a weekend.

My roommate and I arrived on George Street around 3:00 PM, just in time to check out the end of Hawksley Workman's sound check. It was pretty cool, once I learned what was going on. We figured it was just Gearbox having technical difficulties or something.

Gearbox came on soon after the sound check was over, which officially started the concert for that night. The bits and piece I heard sounded alright but we spent most of the time walking around the street, taking in everything that was going on and checking out some of the bars before too many people gathered around. My roommate also took it into her head that she was meeting certain people and ended up dragging me along for the ride. It was quite entertaining to say the least.

Matt Mays and El Torpedo were the next to perform. We had found our way back to the stage by this time to watch the show. It was one of the performances that I was waiting to see. I had seen them in June and they were much more than I expected. They started by playing one of my favorite songs off the album, 'Where Are You Going', which were followed by songs such as 'City of Lakes'.

The guys seemed to be calmer than they were at the show in June. Jarrett Murphy, the guitarist from El Torpedo, still managed to almost fall off the stage by trying to jump onto a speaker. How he doesn't break any bones or seriously hurt himself is beyond me.

The act was a real crowd pleaser. The chemistry they have on stage is remarkable. I just love the way they interact with each other. I'm pretty sure the end is nowhere in sight for the guys.

Next, was the band I had been waiting to see ... The Trews. I'll never forget one of the things that happened while the stage was being re-arranged to meet their needs. Sean Dalton, drummer for The Trews, was out fixing the drum set to his liking when what should come blaring over the speakers, but one of their singles 'Not Ready to Go'. He stopped on the spot and turned around, with a look on his face that was priceless. The first few bars of the song played before they switched songs. There were some people cheering when the song came on but unless you are a fan of The Trews, you wouldn't have noticed.

I heard in an interview that they try to do something new in each set in order to keep it fun and that's exactly what they did at the festival. The songs were arranged in an order different from the other times I've seen them.

The first song they performed was 'Why Bother'. They also placed songs that can be found on their album House of Ill Fame, such as 'When You Leave', 'Every Inambition', 'Tired of Waiting', 'Fleeting Trust' and 'Hopeless'.

There was also a drum solo, which lead into 'Not Ready To Go' and a guitar solo in the middle of 'Stray'. Stray finished up the performance, leaving the crowd wanting more.

I ended up missing most of Hawksley Workman because we decided to head off for supper. But the few songs that I had the pleasure of catching at the end seem quite interesting to say the least. I think I'd like to have the chance to see him again, just to see what it is all about. I just have one question for anyone out there who have seen him live or is a big fan ... what's up with the bright pink feather boa?

Finally, the main performance of the night began. Everyone cheered as Newfoundland's own Great Big Sea took the stage. Now I've always liked Great Big Sea but it wasn't something I would go see in concert. They exceeded my expectations on every level and I'd love to see them again after seeing the performance they gave.

They played some old favorites such as 'Goin' Up', 'The Night Pat Murphy Died', 'Mari-Mac', and the newer songs such as 'Clearest Indication' and 'When I Am King'. This got the crowd going. I've been to quite a few concerts over the past year and never have I seen a crowd so captivated by a performance, or even such a large number. Maybe it was the amount of alcohol consumed throughout the day but Newfoundlanders know how to party.

Allan Doyle, the lead singer of GBS, always introduced a song with some little story or antidote. Well, during on part of the night he said that whatever happens on George Street, stays on George Street and that we are cleansed of our sins once we leave the street. They then played 'Consequence Free'. (How ironic). The audience spent most of the night chanting and cheering for the group. One of the things I clearly remember is the yelling of 'Rant and Roar'. Everyone wanted to hear that song, being from Newfoundland and all. And they got their wish, Great Big Sea's final song of the night was 'Rant and Roar' which I thing was appropriate, giving the place, don't you agree?

We'll rant and we'll roar like true Newfoundlanders
We'll rant and we'll roar on deck and below
Until we strikes bottom inside the two sunkers
When straight through the channel to Toslow we'll go

The people soon start to clear as they headed off to different bars to party into the wee hours of the morning and I'm sure many had to pay the consequences of a night of partying the next day. But rest assured, next years going to be just as good! Let the countdown begin!