quasigeostrophy | Needed That

mac_arthur_park for a while both last night and today. It was a lot of fun. Excellent music all around, and lots of cool swag, though all I really came home with were CDs from the bands we saw. Got a nice green dress for Al and a blue and black Celtic jacket for Toni. Al also got a bodrhán. Mmmm... drummy! :-)

When we first got there, we got in the chow line at the Claddagh Irish Pub tent. Yummy Irish beef and Guinness stew!! It was very chilly at Military Park last night, so I'm glad we remembered jackets. The stew certainly helped as well.

The first band we saw last night was Off Kilter, an interesting mix of rock and highland bagpipes. I wasn't going to post this pic, because I hadn't turned on the flash yet, but Al suggested it really captures their "off kilter" sense of humor (either that or it's the perspective of the folks who had already too much Guinness). Where else can you hear Star of the County Down go into Radar Love, Dueling Banjos between guitar and pipes, or The Summer of '69 with penny whistle?

Next we headed over to another stage to hear Brigid's Cross. Obligatory Midwest jingoist moment as they started with God Bless America, but the rest of the show kicked butt. Those Were the Days, Some Say the Devil Is Dead going right into The Devil Went Down to Georgia, and, best of all, they did a version of Kai Winding's Wipe Out which went into Woolly Bully and folk song [I'm Gonna Be] 500 Miles. In Wipeout, Peggy did the drum part on a bodrhán (didn't get a shot of her doing that - I was too busy being enthralled and agape)!

We decided to leave after Brigid's Cross last night and save other stuff for this morning. When we got there today, the place wasn't really open yet - they were having an Irish breakfast and announcing awards for the charity fun run. Because of that going on, we somehow got in without our tickets being taken. Killed some time wandering the vendor tents as they opened and grabbed some lunch at the MCL tent and got our seats for Gael Slí. They were awesome - the only band actually from Dublin, Ireland. What a concept! :-) Siobhan (vocalist/harpist/accordion player) introduced the band. With her thick Irish accent, she could have just stood up there and talked all morning as far as I was concerned. ;-) The crowd was nearly empty at the start, but it filled in - most folks were probably trickling in late from hearing the bands at some of the local pubs after the festival closed last night. Got some decent shots of the band in action:

- Siobhan and Her Accordion
- Adrian - Fiddler Extraordinaire
- Dave - Percussionist
- Robin at the Guitar
- Siobhan with Accordion Again
- Siobhan & Dave

Siobhan also played the Irish Harp during several numbers. Before the first one, she pointed out that the harp is the national instrument of Ireland and has 32 strings. Then she mentioned hers currently only had 26, as they "had a bit of fun in Broad Ripple last night and I broke a few G strings" (*rim shot*). After their show, the band came down to the CD sales table to autograph CDs. Of course, Siobhan came out after removing her overshirt, wearing a very skimpy halter top. *whimper*

After Gael Slí, we wandered some before before catching Hog Eye Navvy at another stage. They're a great local group that does a mix of Irish, Scottish, and other folk tunes, but are best known here for their harmonies during the numerous shanties they sing - some a Capella, others with accompaniment. They really encourage audiences to sing along - all we needed were mugs. :-) Garry (sorry that shot's a bit blurred - I didn't want to annoy the band in the close quarters we were in and so just left the camera on auto without flash) led a song in honor of tomorrow being International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Once Hog Eye Navvy's performance ended, we shopped a bit more and then got something to drink, mainly to use up most of our remaining food & beverage tickets. Al got a Guinness, so I decided to try hers since I don't recall ever actually tasting it before. It's definitely not for me. I got a Diet Pepsi for myself and got the aftertaste out. I normally prefer Coke products between the two major cola brands, but Diet Pepsi never tasted so good. :-) We headed home after that, and are taking it easy the rest of the day. I'm so glad we got out to the festival this year after never making it last year. The 10th anniversary is next year - it should be good!