I had the great pleasure of being able to attend the Dublin (Ohio... *sigh*) Irish Festival 2007 this weekend. It was a three day fest of nonstop music and Celtic fun, and I was pretty much in Heaven. I was introduced to several new bands, and got to see my favorite band live, so that was of the amazing. I shall go into detail!
We got to Dublin on Friday afternoon, after a hot and cramped eight hours of driving. Getting to the hotel was a huge relief, especially since my friend Lizzie and I got our own room, and there was a temperature-control gauge on the wall. That was excellent. Pretty soon we had the room down to 66 degrees, which was a contrast of roughly forty degrees from outside. From the hotel we went straight to the festival by catching a bus that stopped, conveniently enough, right outside where we were staying. It was a ten minute or so ride, but the bus was actually a school bus, which was a mildly disconcerting reminder that school starts up again in two weeks.
When we got to the fair, Lizzie and I had to have our hands stamped with the letters FRI (SAT for Saturday, SUN for Sunday, in case you couldn't figure that out) in green to allow re-entrance,should we want to leave, and then entered the fairgrounds. I have no idea how large the fair was, but let's just say it was pretty damn big. There were hundreds of tents and kiosks where people were selling everything from Utilikilts (I really wanted one of those...) to airbrush tattoos of shamrocks or the Killian's (the beer brand that hosted the festival) logo to fruit slushies. You had to buy tokens in order to purchase drinks, which I thought was strange, but we went and bought five of those. Then, we headed for the music tents. There were several of these: there was the Traditional Tent, which featured, strangely enough, more traditional brands of Irish/Celtic music. There was the Dance Tent, and if I have to explain what that featured, we have problems. There were others, but my focus was on the Celtic Rock Tent. That was where Lizzie and I spent most of our time at the fair.
The tent was huge. More like a pavilion, actually. It could fit several hundred people, and had dozens of rows of chairs as well as a good twenty feet between the first row and the stage to allow for dancing. There was a metal rail about ten feet from the stage that ran the length of the tent, parallel to the stage, to keep people from jumping up and grabbing the performers. (Note that none of the other performing tents had a rail. Go figure.) The first concert we saw was the Prodigals. They're one of the best Irish punk bands I've ever heard. I'm having Lizzie burn me a CD, actually. They were very high energy, and the lead singer/accordion player had some of the best stage presence I've ever seen. He didn't have the classic good looks, but he was ridiculously sexy onstage.
Next, we saw Seven Nations. Lizzie's family has been going to these festivals for years, so they know many of the band members, especially those of Seven Nations. They have a more melodic lean, mixing Celtic tunes with rock very successfully.
Homeland was after Seven Nations. They're very rock-based, with only a hint of Celtic sound that blends very well. I was impressed. We got a picture with them as well.
The next day, we got there at 11:30 for the opening act, which was Scythian. Oh, man. Scythian really blew me away. They are fast, energetic, and crazy on the stage. Also extremely attractive, which works in their favor, I suppose. But their music is very cool and very versatile. Four guys manage to include great vocals, manic fiddling, gutteral guitar, pounding percussion, grating washboards and dancing accordion, all at once. I bought their CD, Immigrant Roadshow, and got it signed. I also got a hug from Joey the Fiddler, which was fun.
We saw the Prodigals and Seven Nations again that day before Flogging Molly took the stage at 10 PM. Their set was from 10 to 11:30 PM, and it was, as the announcer noted, the biggest act ever to hit the twenty-year-running Celtic Rock stage. There were thousands of people cramming into the tent and spilling out onto the grounds along either side. Lizzie and I were caught in the middle, barely able to see the stage over the mass. It was a broiling human soup of noise, sweat and excitement, and as far as we were concerned, it was nothing but trouble. Lizzie and I skipped out after forty-five minutes and waited at the table to the side of the tent where the band members would come out after the show, listening from the sidelines. When the set was over, we were among the first to see the musicians. I got my fan signed by all of them, and got a picture with Bob the bass guitarist. My camera didn't work at first, and he started laughing and took it and fiddled with it for a while. I'm not sure what he did, but it worked the second try. He was very nice, and joked about with us for a while before we went off to get the rest of our autographs.
Joey, from Scythian, was ambling around as well. He was pretty tipsy, which was unsurprising, and when he saw Lizzie and I he smiled and gave us this 'I know you...' face before asking us what was up, and then stumbling off. It was very cute, and we about cracked up laughing.
The next day, we got there early in order to get good spots for the second Flogging Molly show. We were there seven hours before they played, and the best we could manage was off to the side, but still on the rail. Then, it started raining... and raining... and raining. The manager came onstage and told us we all had to evacuate, because the police were afraid of flooding. It was pretty funny, really, in an awful kind of way. An hour later, we went back to the fairgrounds on a whim to see whether it was canceled or not, and to our shock, everything seemed to be back as normal! We ran to the Rock Tent, and Seven Nations was in the middle of their show combined with the Columbus Orchestra (which was very good, might I add...). Lizzie and I managed to grab onto spots in the very middle of the rail, front and center. In other words, PERFECT! It was amazing. I have never been so grateful for rain in my life. We held on to that rail with a death grip, taking turns to go on water runs so that we wouldn't lose our spots. When the time came hours later, we were damn well gonna be front and center.
The Mickey Finns played that day, as well as Whiskey Asylum. This was a compilation/reunion band made up of the members of both the Mickey Finns and the Prodigals, and it was fantastic. Nine people jumping about the stage, going bonkers. It was great. But as much as I enjoyed that, I couldn't wait for the next act. Again, the biggest thing to come to Dublin:
Flogging Molly took the stage at 6:30, and the crowd went wild. Lizzie and I had to hold on for dear life to avoid getting shoved away from the rail. We were buffeted and battered and pushed and kicked, and it was all worth it. Words cannot describe that concert. It was extreme, and that's all I can find to say.
Bob did smile at Lizzie and I, and Damo the accordion player bowed at me from the stage, which was pretty nifty. After the concert, I got hugs from Nate and Dennis, the guitarists. I shook hands with Dave, the lead singer, and Bridget, the insanely talented fiddler. (She was also the only woman to play on the Celtic Rock stage that I saw.) I bought a shirt and had that signed, and Bob remembered me from the night before, which was also nice. Sadly, no Joey that night. I'm definitely going with Lizzie to the Irish Festival in Philly next Spring, and hopefully Scythian will be playing there.
All in all, it was an incredible trip. I had an amazing time, and seeing my favorite band live (plus talking to them and so on) will remain one of the high points of my life thus far.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
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