Week late.
I should have gone this a while ago, but I'm gonna get it out before I forget anything ever happened.
Concert write-up for Shamrockfest '08!
Shamrockfest is on Saturday, but our tale starts the Friday night prior. The group numbers four: Russ, Andreas, Matt, and myself. We all gather to hang out and crash together so we can get up and get on the road, but there is an ulterior to the evening. And that motive is mohawks. While we take turns playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Andreas and Russ sneak up stairs. Of course, sneak is the wrong word. We all knew it was going to happen, even those who weren't suppose to know, but sneak they did. Russ ends up with a five to six inch mohawk, narrow, with maybe a half inch of hair all around to hide his self-labeled bumpy skull. Andreas' 'hawk is wider, shorter, and buzzed particularly short. Both are rockin'. Some more Brawl, and eventually we all crash. End Friday.
We all wake up somewhere between eight and nine in the morning, a scant six hours of less of sleep. Some grab showers, and it becomes grooming time. Both 'hawks need to be spiked, along with me spiking my own mass of hair. Matt also tried to spike his hair into dual-hawks, but they fall over and he gives up. Beyond defying gravity, the three spikeheads all go green. It's in honor of St. Patrick, after all, so we're a bunch of green punks with very limited Irish blood.
Eventually we get on the road, a bit later than originally expected, as always. While running around, hitting banks for cash, Matt has an inspiration. We stop off at Party City, get some more spray, and his hair becomes the flag of Ireland. Orange, white, and green. We happen by sheets for some quick refreshments and the use of a restroom, and away we go, off to the Metro.
Metro ride is pretty smooth, with lots of other green-wearing patrons. We arrive, take the long walk, and finally get to the show. It's a little after one, the show started at twelve, and we missed Scythian. Oh well, it's basically tradition to never catch the opening act.
Russ and Matt stop to get some beer, and learn the sad truth... Unless you purchased the hundred dollar VIP pass, the only beer you could get is Bud Light, also known as piss water. Sadness. But we can't let our spirits fall, so we go wandering the grounds, which are considerably larger this year around. Matt and Russ race up a rock wall in exchange for beer tickets, although both claim to have won. Matt and Russ also joust, American Gladiators style. Both claim to have won.
Anyway, this is supposed to be about music, so we decided to go find some. We stop at the DC101 stage to catch Rude Buddha. Russ and I had caught them before, and they're a pretty good act that's always kinda screwed by scheduling. Lots of energy, amusing fellows, but they have few people who know their stuff, and no one is drunk enough to make fools of themselves quite yet. Oh well. We ditch half way through to go watch Irish step dancing.
Yay, cute little girls in plastic looking dresses prancing around! That's what it's all about! ...or not. We were simply waiting for Street Dogs to come on. However, they teach the crowd a simple jig, which was fun. Matt, Andreas, and Russ all get to dance with middle-aged ladies. I was left without a partner, but that's really nothing new... But the experience would prove useful later.
Anyway, Street Dogs! We saw these guys last year, and they were just as good this year. Lots of energy, crazy circle pit, a lot of good fun. Mike, the lead singer, once again climbed the steelwork that made up the stage, much to the chagrin of the stage manager. But it was a good time with some catchy tunes, and tunes we actually knew this time around! Good show, see them if you get a chance.
Mike, aforementioned lead singer, jumps into the crowd at the end of the set and surfs. At some point in this, Andreas grabs his balls. Woohoo! Once the crowd runs out, those left carrying him, myself included, just keep carrying him further into the parking lot. After about twenty feet, we let him down, and a crowd circles for autographs. At this point, Mike inadvertently steals Andreas' black sharpie. He never did get that back.
However, disappointment sets in at this point. The Tossers, another Irish Punk band that we were all looking forward to seeing, apparently missed the flight in and wouldn't be playing. Lament. This left us with nothing to do for a while, so we started wandering around. There were coverbands and a few unheard-ofs playing, so we just kinda wandered a bit, hitting bathrooms and hanging around the Street Dogs tent. Andreas eventually got his shirt signed by the entire band, and Matt bought a shirt to have the same thing done.
Somewhere in the wanderings I run across Kieran, Brendan's little brother. He tells me that Brendan is around, and Russ and I hunt him down. More people, woohoo. Turns out that the whole family was there, and we eventually meet up with Brigid and her boy as well. Most of this part of the concert is a blur, and entirely unentertaining, involving lines for beer, lines for porta-potties, and some general wandering around. Andreas picks up a matching set of claddagh, for himself and Mary. It was cute.
Russ and Andreas go to check out a coverband while waiting for Carbon Leaf, Matt and I wait in line for the bathroom. Brendan got lost and Brigid and Mike are fighting. Eventually Brigid joins Matt and I, and we go searching for the others at the coverband. Meanwhile Russ and Andreas leave to go to Carbon Leaf. We must have passed each other at some point, but never noticed. Oh well. At this point we bid farewell to Brendan and his clan, as they're leaving early.
Carbon Leaf time. We eventually find Russ and Andreas, near the front of the show. Now, this is a bit mellow for mohawks, you need to understand. There wasn't even a mosh, which was a first. The other times we'd seen Carbon Leaf, people were drunk enough to mosh regardless of the mellow nature. Odd... Anyway, we fight across the crowd to get into good position for the next act on the side stage. We almost leave because it's kinda boring, but the next band is the last of those we came to see, so we hold out.
It was worth it once The Pubcrawlers came on stage. There had to be twelve people in the band, including fiddles, steel guitar, bagpipes, and heavy metal pirate screaming. Yes, pirate. You'd have to be there to understand. But we were ground zero for the moshpit this time around, which was exactly what we intended. Kickass. We smashed and crashed and swung and even enveloped the pit into a massive line jig. I'm surprised everyone made it out of there alive, but it was a hell of a lot of fun, that's for sure. The music was perfect for it, driving beats and words that can't be understood even by sober ears, and an unending sense of energy. The band even came back out after enough screams of "One More Song!" That almost never happens. The sound guys had cut them off, and the band and the entire crowed started screaming at the sound tent to turn them back on. We got one more song, to go out in a blaze of moshing, crashing, pirate style. What's more stylish than an Irish Pirate?
At this point we almost leave. Andreas is severely dehydrated, and needs to rest a bit, and we all just kinda chill as the last band takes the stage. And we start asking ourselves "Who the hell is Great Big Sea?" They're a band from Newfoundland, apparently, and they open with a song about riding on a donkey, completely with traditional Irish hand drum. Uhhhh...? We were contemplating leaving, but we kinda needed a cooldown anyway. Russ and Matt listen for a while, near the edge of a very weak mosh pit. People will mosh to anything when drunk enough. Andreas and I chill along the fence, until Andreas says he wants to dance.
And dance we do. Dance we do my friend.
The band starts picking up the beat a bit, and Andreas and I start to dance and jig and generally make fools of ourself, but having a great time doing so. We even had a few random girls come jig with us, which was rather shocking. Can't say I've ever had a strange girl come up behind me and hook me by the arm, but I ain't gonna complain. We get our groove on for a while, while Matt and Russ hit the (now deserted) porta-pots. Eventually Matt and Russ join us in the jigging, and we have a foursome. Let it be known that it takes a lot of energy to keep that dancing up, so we'd kinda take turns, either alone or in pairs, showing off what moves we don't have while the others would clap and rest for a spell. The band kept getting better, we think, or at least we were having enough fun on our own that they seemed better.
At this point, the lead singer made an announcement: He had a special guest singer for us. Russel Crowe. Yes, the actor. He came out and sang a Johnny Cash song, and then another Irish drinking song. Carbon Leaf also came back out for the drinking song. It was something to see, that's for sure. As the special guests left the stage, the jigging resumed, all the way through the encore. A great time was had, and the festival was over.
The Metro ride home was fun, as we had a bunch of other drunken Shamrockers with us. The entire car broke out into songs and screams of "Ole ole ole!" Pretty amusing stuff. But I lost my cellphone somewhere along the ride. Still waiting to get it back. I know it was turned in, my father got a text message saying such, but I'm waiting for the bureaucracies to catch up.
Then we went home and played more Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Brendan, Scott, Brigid, and Mike came over, joining Russ, Matt, and I. It was fun. I didn't get much sleep that night. Completely worth it. Awesome experience, all and all.
Concert write-up for Shamrockfest '08!
Shamrockfest is on Saturday, but our tale starts the Friday night prior. The group numbers four: Russ, Andreas, Matt, and myself. We all gather to hang out and crash together so we can get up and get on the road, but there is an ulterior to the evening. And that motive is mohawks. While we take turns playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Andreas and Russ sneak up stairs. Of course, sneak is the wrong word. We all knew it was going to happen, even those who weren't suppose to know, but sneak they did. Russ ends up with a five to six inch mohawk, narrow, with maybe a half inch of hair all around to hide his self-labeled bumpy skull. Andreas' 'hawk is wider, shorter, and buzzed particularly short. Both are rockin'. Some more Brawl, and eventually we all crash. End Friday.
We all wake up somewhere between eight and nine in the morning, a scant six hours of less of sleep. Some grab showers, and it becomes grooming time. Both 'hawks need to be spiked, along with me spiking my own mass of hair. Matt also tried to spike his hair into dual-hawks, but they fall over and he gives up. Beyond defying gravity, the three spikeheads all go green. It's in honor of St. Patrick, after all, so we're a bunch of green punks with very limited Irish blood.
Eventually we get on the road, a bit later than originally expected, as always. While running around, hitting banks for cash, Matt has an inspiration. We stop off at Party City, get some more spray, and his hair becomes the flag of Ireland. Orange, white, and green. We happen by sheets for some quick refreshments and the use of a restroom, and away we go, off to the Metro.
Metro ride is pretty smooth, with lots of other green-wearing patrons. We arrive, take the long walk, and finally get to the show. It's a little after one, the show started at twelve, and we missed Scythian. Oh well, it's basically tradition to never catch the opening act.
Russ and Matt stop to get some beer, and learn the sad truth... Unless you purchased the hundred dollar VIP pass, the only beer you could get is Bud Light, also known as piss water. Sadness. But we can't let our spirits fall, so we go wandering the grounds, which are considerably larger this year around. Matt and Russ race up a rock wall in exchange for beer tickets, although both claim to have won. Matt and Russ also joust, American Gladiators style. Both claim to have won.
Anyway, this is supposed to be about music, so we decided to go find some. We stop at the DC101 stage to catch Rude Buddha. Russ and I had caught them before, and they're a pretty good act that's always kinda screwed by scheduling. Lots of energy, amusing fellows, but they have few people who know their stuff, and no one is drunk enough to make fools of themselves quite yet. Oh well. We ditch half way through to go watch Irish step dancing.
Yay, cute little girls in plastic looking dresses prancing around! That's what it's all about! ...or not. We were simply waiting for Street Dogs to come on. However, they teach the crowd a simple jig, which was fun. Matt, Andreas, and Russ all get to dance with middle-aged ladies. I was left without a partner, but that's really nothing new... But the experience would prove useful later.
Anyway, Street Dogs! We saw these guys last year, and they were just as good this year. Lots of energy, crazy circle pit, a lot of good fun. Mike, the lead singer, once again climbed the steelwork that made up the stage, much to the chagrin of the stage manager. But it was a good time with some catchy tunes, and tunes we actually knew this time around! Good show, see them if you get a chance.
Mike, aforementioned lead singer, jumps into the crowd at the end of the set and surfs. At some point in this, Andreas grabs his balls. Woohoo! Once the crowd runs out, those left carrying him, myself included, just keep carrying him further into the parking lot. After about twenty feet, we let him down, and a crowd circles for autographs. At this point, Mike inadvertently steals Andreas' black sharpie. He never did get that back.
However, disappointment sets in at this point. The Tossers, another Irish Punk band that we were all looking forward to seeing, apparently missed the flight in and wouldn't be playing. Lament. This left us with nothing to do for a while, so we started wandering around. There were coverbands and a few unheard-ofs playing, so we just kinda wandered a bit, hitting bathrooms and hanging around the Street Dogs tent. Andreas eventually got his shirt signed by the entire band, and Matt bought a shirt to have the same thing done.
Somewhere in the wanderings I run across Kieran, Brendan's little brother. He tells me that Brendan is around, and Russ and I hunt him down. More people, woohoo. Turns out that the whole family was there, and we eventually meet up with Brigid and her boy as well. Most of this part of the concert is a blur, and entirely unentertaining, involving lines for beer, lines for porta-potties, and some general wandering around. Andreas picks up a matching set of claddagh, for himself and Mary. It was cute.
Russ and Andreas go to check out a coverband while waiting for Carbon Leaf, Matt and I wait in line for the bathroom. Brendan got lost and Brigid and Mike are fighting. Eventually Brigid joins Matt and I, and we go searching for the others at the coverband. Meanwhile Russ and Andreas leave to go to Carbon Leaf. We must have passed each other at some point, but never noticed. Oh well. At this point we bid farewell to Brendan and his clan, as they're leaving early.
Carbon Leaf time. We eventually find Russ and Andreas, near the front of the show. Now, this is a bit mellow for mohawks, you need to understand. There wasn't even a mosh, which was a first. The other times we'd seen Carbon Leaf, people were drunk enough to mosh regardless of the mellow nature. Odd... Anyway, we fight across the crowd to get into good position for the next act on the side stage. We almost leave because it's kinda boring, but the next band is the last of those we came to see, so we hold out.
It was worth it once The Pubcrawlers came on stage. There had to be twelve people in the band, including fiddles, steel guitar, bagpipes, and heavy metal pirate screaming. Yes, pirate. You'd have to be there to understand. But we were ground zero for the moshpit this time around, which was exactly what we intended. Kickass. We smashed and crashed and swung and even enveloped the pit into a massive line jig. I'm surprised everyone made it out of there alive, but it was a hell of a lot of fun, that's for sure. The music was perfect for it, driving beats and words that can't be understood even by sober ears, and an unending sense of energy. The band even came back out after enough screams of "One More Song!" That almost never happens. The sound guys had cut them off, and the band and the entire crowed started screaming at the sound tent to turn them back on. We got one more song, to go out in a blaze of moshing, crashing, pirate style. What's more stylish than an Irish Pirate?
At this point we almost leave. Andreas is severely dehydrated, and needs to rest a bit, and we all just kinda chill as the last band takes the stage. And we start asking ourselves "Who the hell is Great Big Sea?" They're a band from Newfoundland, apparently, and they open with a song about riding on a donkey, completely with traditional Irish hand drum. Uhhhh...? We were contemplating leaving, but we kinda needed a cooldown anyway. Russ and Matt listen for a while, near the edge of a very weak mosh pit. People will mosh to anything when drunk enough. Andreas and I chill along the fence, until Andreas says he wants to dance.
And dance we do. Dance we do my friend.
The band starts picking up the beat a bit, and Andreas and I start to dance and jig and generally make fools of ourself, but having a great time doing so. We even had a few random girls come jig with us, which was rather shocking. Can't say I've ever had a strange girl come up behind me and hook me by the arm, but I ain't gonna complain. We get our groove on for a while, while Matt and Russ hit the (now deserted) porta-pots. Eventually Matt and Russ join us in the jigging, and we have a foursome. Let it be known that it takes a lot of energy to keep that dancing up, so we'd kinda take turns, either alone or in pairs, showing off what moves we don't have while the others would clap and rest for a spell. The band kept getting better, we think, or at least we were having enough fun on our own that they seemed better.
At this point, the lead singer made an announcement: He had a special guest singer for us. Russel Crowe. Yes, the actor. He came out and sang a Johnny Cash song, and then another Irish drinking song. Carbon Leaf also came back out for the drinking song. It was something to see, that's for sure. As the special guests left the stage, the jigging resumed, all the way through the encore. A great time was had, and the festival was over.
The Metro ride home was fun, as we had a bunch of other drunken Shamrockers with us. The entire car broke out into songs and screams of "Ole ole ole!" Pretty amusing stuff. But I lost my cellphone somewhere along the ride. Still waiting to get it back. I know it was turned in, my father got a text message saying such, but I'm waiting for the bureaucracies to catch up.
Then we went home and played more Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Brendan, Scott, Brigid, and Mike came over, joining Russ, Matt, and I. It was fun. I didn't get much sleep that night. Completely worth it. Awesome experience, all and all.