Return to the King: Alan Doyle and the Beautiful Gypsies Take NYC by Storm Again

On the eve of St. Patrick’s Day, Canadians invaded West 42nd Street in the heart of Times Square. The cause was another rollicking concert by award-winning musician Alan Doyle, headlining at B.B. King Blues Club and Grill with his band The Beautiful Gypsies and opening act Donovan Woods. As the former frontman of iconic group Great Big Sea (GBS) wrote in a recent blog, “Newfoundland had a big slice of the Big Apple.”

Our neighbors to the north have been sharing their magic touch with New Yorkers all month. From Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s uplifting remarks at the newly-opened Broadway show Come From Away—a story about Newfoundlanders welcoming 6,700 airline passengers stranded by the events of 9/11—to the GBS semi-reunion Alan orchestrated at B.B. King’s, there’s no denying Canadians just make everything better. The night kept the surprises coming, with guest performances by GBS veterans Murray Foster (onboard for the entirety of Alan’s spring tour) and Bob Hallett (traditional music consultant for Come From Away), as well as the musical’s star Petrina Bromley and percussionist Romano Di Nillo. In a difficult week for artists, we needed this jovial crew who came from away to remind us that life is still good.

Revisiting B.B. King’s was particularly emotional for me. Four years ago, I was just getting to know Alan personally and professionally when I saw him perform tunes from his first solo album, Boy on Bridge, at the very same venue. The reverberations throbbed in my memory the moment I set foot in the club, only growing stronger with each addition to the setlist. This time Alan pulled out all the stops, creating a musical portrait representative of his many worlds. Decades-old GBS chestnuts (“When I’m Up,” “Run Runaway”) alternated with selections from Boy on Bridge, Juno-nominated second solo album So Let’s Go, sneak peeks from the upcoming Beautiful Gypsies record, ancient Celtic shanties, the showstopper “Sonny’s Dream,” and even a song written for Ridley Scott’s 2010 film Robin Hood, in which Alan appeared as a Merry Man to his best friend Russell Crowe.

If it’s true, as genius director Elia Kazan wrote, that we live in the past, present, and future simultaneously, this concert captured that sensation perfectly. “Re” seemed to be the evening’s prefix of choice—reunion with Alan, Bob, Murray, and drummer Kris Macfarlane (the closest anyone may come to a Great Big Sea show for quite awhile); remixes of old favorites sent rocketing into our hearts with tantalizing new flavors. It was the first time I’d seen Kris use maracas to underscore his drumbeats in “The Night Loves Us,” injecting fresh passion into the homey crowd-pleaser like a master chef adds spice to a familiar recipe. Todd Lumley, at various points brilliant on accordion and keyboard, tickled the ivories to standout effect in the middle of “Sea of No Cares”—and immediately that laid-back song was transformed into a call for action.

Multi-talented Cory Tetford (check out his solo album In the Morning!) was an absolute stunner in a guitar battle with Alan during the hard-rocking anthem “I’ve Seen A Little.” He also let that axe wail loud and proud in a spotlight moment during the Irish classic “Lukey’s Boat.” Special mention goes to the performance of this traditional tune, lent more of a modern edge than I’d ever heard before by Bob Hallett and the combined assembly. An instrumental break featuring Bob on accordion, Murray on bass, and violinist extraordinaire Kendel Carson on her trusty fiddle electrified the audience, many of whom were already on their feet. Cory and Kendel got plenty of chances throughout the set to show off their tremendous voices, especially in the penultimate number “Shine On.” Few vocal pairings reach the ear with such soulful force and pristine splendor.

I didn’t know what to expect from Donovan Woods’s opener, never having been exposed to his work, but faith in those who travel with Alan is always well-placed. Still, even going on blind faith I wasn’t prepared for the immense charm and haunting lyrics Donovan provided. Music fans about to be introduced to him are in for a treat. A big guy with a self-deprecating sense of humor and a flair for Homeric storytelling, he reminded me of filmmaker Kevin Smith. Intros to his pieces revolved around the results of drunken nights, good-natured regrets—like losing the number-one slot on the Canadian charts to Adele—and intriguing observations on life. The actual songs themselves were just as evocative, inviting listeners to question their reality on a daily basis. “On the Nights You Stay Home,” described as “a dancy little number about adultery” (it was Adele’s runner-up), makes you wonder if marriage is really all it’s cracked up to be. Donovan slyly disputes the world’s very grandeur in the ponderous “Drove Through Town,” “Put On Cologne,” and “Portland, Maine” (the latter recorded by Tim McGraw). But my favorite had to be “What They Mean,” co-authored with Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley, about how the subtleties of language shift from childhood to adulthood.

And when Donovan Woods sings, forget about it. A tenor voice, smooth yet intricate, ushers from that man who just a few seconds ago asked you to laugh at misery. It’s intoxicating, with hints of Justin Timberlake in his “Cry Me a River” era and Tom Higginson on “Hey There Delilah,” but it has a power all its own. By the end of this spring’s tour, I’m sure Donovan’s fanbase will have tripled.

Throughout, the event’s master of ceremonies proved why he’s the one to call when you need cheering up. True to his goal of wanting “to be the guy that lived the most,” Alan enjoyed himself every step of the way, radiating that cheer to his bandmates and the entire crowd. During the sweetly romantic “Where the Nightingales Sing,” he encouraged people to waltz—and raised a glass to toast the couple in the front row who actually did! It’s easy to be impressed by Alan’s versatility onstage, switching rapidly from guitar to mandolin and back again, and bouncing from a spiritual welcome (“Dream of Home”) to scorching rock (“Are You Ready to Go?”). But watch how the man shines the spotlight on his fellow performers and lets the audience find the beauty in their cohesion. As all good Canadians (and honorary Canadians) know, it’s the whole that makes the party.

But sometimes you can’t quite go home again. Joyful as the show was, there remained a bittersweetness to the proceedings. Certain tunes stirred me to think of who couldn’t be there. (I thrilled to Alan’s boisterous rendition of “Row, Me Bully Boys, Row,” which I hadn’t yet seen him perform in full, but jotted down on my notepad: “Russell Crowe and Scott Grimes, where are you?” Answer: They’ll be heard on a forthcoming album with Alan called The Musical.) While “Sonny’s Dream” immersed the house in warmth, there was a keen sense of missing its composer, the late Ron Hynes. And I’m sure some among the onlookers felt a twinge when Alan, Bob, Murray, and Kris joined together for “Come and I Will Sing You,” knowing the days of GBS are past and it’s time to make other memories.

Or maybe this is what we’re supposed to learn from Alan Doyle and the Beautiful Gypsies, or from works like Come From Away for that matter. Life is about change and creating new paths that offshoot from what we once loved. The world may not be the same again, but we can give something truly meaningful back to it if we try.

For this concert, I’d brought along a young friend who didn’t know anything about Alan, the Gypsies, or the guest artists. But every time I stole a glance at her throughout the evening, she was nodding appreciatively to the music, a gigantic smile on her face. “Amazing, so amazing!” she kept whispering. Maybe in four years she’ll be back here to turn another newbie onto Alan’s work.

And so we beat on, as a famous man once wrote, ceaselessly. Or to quote someone even dearer, “I don’t know where I’m going, but I know where I belong.”

For more about Alan’s adventures with The Beautiful Gypsies, visit alandoyle.ca/tour. To learn more about Donovan Woods, visit donovanwoods.net. For further information about Come From Away, visit comefromaway.com.