i ain't the type of woman who'd make your life a bed of ease, but if you just wanna go drinkin', honey, won't you invite me along please?

One of the most important things to know about me is that I have insane concert luck. Among the many acts I've seen live are Prince, George Clinton & the P-Funk Allstars, Neil Young, Arlo Guthrie, Arctic Monkeys, Bob Dylan (twice!), Crosby, Stills & Nash and many more. Anyway, Nicola and I were strolling around downtown, heading to Value Village for the usual harassment of their entire stock, when we passed by the Macpherson Theatre and saw a sign saying that Big Brother & the Holding Company were playing there that night. (I really hate to have to add this, because you should know, but if you were aware Big Brother & the Holding Company used to have a very famous frontwoman by the name of Janis Joplin)

Now, we had known that they were coming but for some reason that I can't remember had decided not to go. But we were passing right by the theatre, in high spirits, and decided on a whim to check if they still had tickets. They did and, in fact, because we were students (or, well, because I was a student) we were able to get them for only $32!
Unfortunately, original guitarist (and my favourite member, who has the honour of being one of the first people I posted a picture of on this blog ever, before I even knew how to post pictures, which is why the picture I posted ended up a mess) James Gurley would not be in attendance and neither (obviously) would Janis, three of the five incredible members were there: Sam Andrews (guitar), Peter Albin (bass) and Dave Getz (drums).
Needless to say, I was pretty stoked.

Big Brother - Janis to the left, and then clockwise from bottom: Sam Andrews, Dave Getz, Peter Albin and James Gurley

I was excited, mainly, to be in the same room as three original members of Big Brother & the Holding Company, as I wasn't really expecting them to deliver much musically. However, I was incredibly wrong. The show was phenomenal.
On a purely musical level, I would say definitely on par (if not better) than seeing them with Janis. They had a beautiful woman named Mary Bridget Davies singing lead and she was a true find. Her voice was incredible - definitely reminiscent of Janis, but not like she was trying to sound like Janis. She even looked a bit like Janis, at least from the stage.

Mary Bridget Davies

They ran through the Big Brother staples, and I was very excited that they did my favourite, "I Need a Man". They did a couple new songs which were great as well. The musicianship was on point and Mary Bridget Davies (I have to try very hard not to gush here, because she was really something) brought so much energy, emotion and pure talent to the performance that at some points I was in (very happy) tears.
Here's a clip of her with the band doing "Ball and Chain" (not from the show I was at, unfortunately):

Afterwards, they had a little table set up to sign autographs so I was actually able to meet the band and make a little chit-chat. Unfortunately, I had no cash to buy a concert shirt but I took off the shirt I was wearing (which took some clever maneuvering inside my oversized Cowichan sweater to not flash the crowd, or the band) and got them to sign that.

Peter Albin commented how much he liked my shirt and asked where I got it, and when Mary Bridget sitting next to him also asked where I got it, he answered for me ("Target" - ha). She then told me I was the luckiest girl in the world (which I knew), and all I could say was "I'm not the one singing with Big Brother & the Holding Company." She laughed and replied that she was a lucky girl too. Mary Bridget also had a selection of spectacular rings, and she showed Nicola and I where she had hurt her finger from grabbing the microphone too hard.
The moral of the story? Big Brother & the Holding Company rules, Mary Bridget Davies is a goddess and if you get the opportunity to check them out...do it! Now! What are you waiting for??