“I hired Great Big Sea16 years ago for their first show on the
mainland, so they were the first band I called to see if they’d
consider coming and doing a show for us; they accepted our offer to
come and make it a real celebration,” says Mike Condy, owner of
the Lower Deck. Great Big Sea is performing a now sold-out show Sunday
night in the outdoor courtyard, while the rest of the Lower Deck’s
birthday weekend’s filled with performances by Rob Cooke, Cory
Tetford, The Navigators, Pogey and Signal Hill.
Condy has seen 19 of the Lower Deck’s 35 years, and attributes
its success to the same successful ‘ol.
“We’ve tried to keep it as close to the same as we possibly
could. Even our service has stayed the same, where guys collect for
drinks and girls collect for food.”
The sit-down pub atmosphere, the lack of hard liquor—save for the
rum—and the early closing time of 12:45am have all been
characteristics Condy’s kept constant. The second floor’s Beer
Market is where to get hard liquor and to dance until 2am, while the
third floor Tap Room is for private functions—all recent changes. But
the Lower Deck stays true to its original 1974 form.
And then there’s the music. The table-banging, foot-stomping,
live Maritime music that attracts crowds from across the country. Condy
brings it back to Great Big Sea when he talks about the Deck’s
musical reputation.
“Always, when they were on stage they’d call us the church
of traditional Maritime entertainment,” he says proudly. And
there’s plenty to be proud about.
This article appears in Sep 17-23, 2009.
Too bad their food is terrible. I have been there a few times over the years and had never been impressed. I got the Caesar salad last time in June and the chicken was that premade stuff you get at Costco and the lettuce was soaked in dressing. I didn’t even eat it all. I could have made one better at home for less money.