Two Down

A great time was had by all over at Tir Na Nog last night. They had one of their kilt nights and a banner line-up of entertainers. The evening started off with My Three Kilts, a Goldsboro NC based (OK, Elroy based) band. They did a fantastic job. Since they knew they'd only have about an hour to perform, the picked all their top notch, up tempo numbers. There were a couple of times when they were actually going to fast. Rob (lead singer) must have been an auctioneer in a previous life. All three of them played great and Rob's vocals we some of his best I've heard. the next group up was the Wake and District Public Safety Pipe and Drums. They have improved dramatically since I last heard them. The last time I had heard them was shortly after they had formed. The difference between then and now is dramatic. If I remember right, they did 4 tunes; not a very long set but it certainly fit right in with the evening. The last band was Albannach. I saw them last weekend up in Virginia and was looking forward to seeing them again. Especially since they did so well up there. They performed superbly. I am still debating whether I like them more at outdoor venues or inside. When they are inside, it definitely gets a tad loud. When they are outside, the "quieter" tunes/songs get lost easily. The crowd grew dramatically throughout the night and the bar was packed for Albannach. Not a whole lotta room for dancing, but I kinda cleared a space for myself.

I have to give Tir Na Nog some time here. The staff did a great job last night. It is difficult for the waitstaff to be at the top of their game when the bar gets extremely crowded like last night, but the staff did a great job none-the-less. There was the expected wait to get drinks, but it was a lot shorter than I was actually prepared for. I also need to mention that the new sound equipment out there is much, much better than the old stuff. I know they have had it for several weeks now, but I think it took a little while for the sound guys to fine tune it. Last night sounded great.

(I think I got all the bands right in this post, unlike the previous post where I mixed up the Kildairs with Rathkeltair!)

One Down

Well, the Marquise and I made it to the Williamsburg Scottish festival. This year it was held at the Rockahock campground. I was a little concerned at first when they moved the venue, but I must admit, it was a great move. The facilities they have there are almost perfect for a Scottish/Celtic festival. They have a great stage. It is jut about the right size for the kinds a bands that play these festivals. Large enough to hold 6 or 7 band members, but small enough so that bands with 2 or 3 members don't get lost. The had several places to buy beer and mixed drinks. Heck, they even had a full blown bar (pool tables, restaurant, tv screens, the whole nine yards). The one thing I would suggest in the future is more bathroom facilities. When there is a line for the men's room, you know there is not enough bathrooms.

We got there just a tad bit late (not very suprising for us) and missed the first couple of tunes from the first band, Poisoned Dwarf. I had not heard them before and I was really please with their performance. I am not a big fan of no-vocal bands, but they did a really good job. Their tunes were varied enough that it didn't even come close to sounding repetitive. You could actually tell the difference between a jig and a reel with them! The second band was Rathkeltair. The Marquise and I both thought there were more of them last year. There were only three of them here this year and I could have sworn there were at least 5 last year. We do know that they were pursuaded to leave vacation early (or cancel entirely) to attend, so that could have been part of the situation. I just don't know. I enjoyed their performance. The Marquise was not as pleased as I with some of their numbers, but we both agree that the bag piper/ flutist/ whistler player/lead singer was phenominal. Anyone that can play an arm bagpipe and a whistle AT THE SAME TIME is impressive. Anyone that can play 2 flutes AT THE SAME TIME is phenominal. The third band up was BarleyJuice and they cranked it out this time around. I heard them at Grandfather Mountain this past July and was impressed with them there. I was blown away by there performance here. Even though this was their third set on Saturday (there were 2 others during the day) and they also performed Friday Night, they gave a great performance. They had the crowd up and dancing for most of their set. The final act of the nit was Albannach. I have seen them now about 5 or 6 times. Outside of my first experience at Tir Na Nog in Raleigh, this was by far their best performance. Everyone was spot on with everything. The energy was higher and more intense than anyother time I've seen them. Everythng was perfect for them.

All in all, this was what a celtic music festival is all about.

Correction. I listed the Kildairs as the second band in the line up. It as actually Rathkeltair that was there. Don't know what I was thinking. My bad.

Celtoberfest!!!!!

Yeah, the great Celtoberfest starts this weekend! The Marquise and I are heading out to Williamsburg Va for the Williamsburg Scottish Festival. We will be there most of the day on Saturday. (at least that is the plan right now). They have a great music lineup with Albannach, Barleyjuice and Rathkeltair. The boys from My Three Kilts will be there, so it will be fun to drink with them again.

Speaking of M3K, they are going to be playing out at Tir Na Nog on Wednesday, Oct 8 for their kilt night. What is REALLY cool is that Albannach will be there also! It is pretty cool that they are opening for such a great band (YIPPEE!)

Speaking of Tir Na Nog, Hercules Mulligan should be playing the following Friday out at the Nog. It is always a treat to see them play. They are all such great entertainers.

I don't have a "speaking of" segue for the next events. Great Big Sea will be here the end of October (the 29th, I believe, it should be a Wednesday) and somewhere near the end of October (think it is the Saturday after Halloween, M3K will be at their annual festival at the Nutless Hound Pub in Goldsboro.

It's a good thing there are 3 pay periods this month! I'm gonna need the extra money!

Williamsburg Scottish Festival

Well, The great Marquise and I made it to the old homestead and the Williamsburg Scottish Festival this past weekend. We left on Friday around noon and had a really nice drive up there. The weather was perfect for driving and the traffic was good, until we hit 664 and 64. We ran into the normal 5 o'clock Friday traffic that started at about 4. All in all, not that bad. The original plan was to head on out to the Yorktown Pub for dinner and drinks Friday evening. Unfortunately, the Pub has had its liqueur license suspended for 30 days, so no drinking for us. We asked the server how much more time they had left and she said 27 days. They had just started their suspension. I kinda feel for them. The place was empty. We ate there and then walked around the Yorktown waterfront for a little while and then headed into Newport News to Keagan's pub. My mom had said that they have music every Friday night there. The place was busy. The beer was not so good. The Marquise and I both ordered Smithwicks. When they arrived, they were .....horrible. I don't know if it was old beer, stale beer, flat beer, or just plan bad beer, but it did not taste like Smithwicks. I am fan of Smithwicks, so I am familiar with how it is supposed to taste, and it should NEVER taster like a cider, or even remotely fruity. The Marquise kept hers, but I sent mine back and got a Guinness instead. The Guinness was a little on the "robust" side, even for a Guinness, but it was much better than the Smithwicks. Keagan's did have music. The band was good, the singer was not. All in all, not a stellar night out.

Saturday afternoon, we went back down to the Yorktown water front and walked around a little there before heading on up to the Yorktown Victory Center. I had been there before, but it was several years ago. I had not realized that they had expanded the facilities a lot. We went out to see one of the reenactments (firing a mortar cannon) first and then went inside to see the "museum" part. We went in through the back door and so actually started from the end of the exhibit. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out why none of this seemed in the least bit familiar to me. It wasn't until about 1.5 - 2 hours later that I realized what was going on. Of course by that time, we were tired and heading out the door for lunch.

Just an aside, the next time someone says that previous immigrants were quick to learn English as their new "native" language, there is an exhibit in the museum praising the German immigrants of the late 1700's for managing to keep their native language and customs. There was even a German language newspaper that circulated throughout the colonies. Something to make us all go Hmmmmmm.

Saturday night, we meet up with my brother, his wife and my nephew to head on out to the music festival. One rule: if you drink the "harder" beers, don't order first, or at least watch what the rest of your party is ordering. I was the first to order and everyone else kinda followed along. I ordered a porter. I ended up finishing my brother's beer, my nephew only managed to drink about 3/4 of his and that was over about 2 hours. My sister-in-law finished about half of hers before throwing in the towel. We got there at about 7p and heard 4 bands. The first 2 were not very good. The would have been fine for "daytime" gigs, but I would have preferred something a little more exciting for the evening shows. I was worried that the rest of my family would not really like the experience, and I think that was true of the first half. They seemed to enjoy the second half a lot more. The last two bands, Rathkeltair and Albannach were very good. I had never heard Rathkelter before and was quite impressed. They have one of the most talented bagpipers I have heard so far. Albannach gave probably one of their best performances I have heard this year. Actually, it was the best by far this year. The only better was last year at Tir Na Nog when I first heard them.

Road Trip!

Here we go again!!!! My ever willing travel buddy, The Marquise and I are heading out to the Williamsburg Scottish Festival in a couple of weeks. We have not yet had our fill of our favorite Scottish band Albannach. (Davey! Woof!) This will make three times this year. The festival is the 28th - 30th of September at the Jamestown Beach Campground in Williamsburg, VA. Now since this is a trip to my old stomping grounds (I grew up down the road in Yorktown) we'll be staying at moma's place, lovingly referred to as Camp Garrett. I am going to try to convince my brother and his family to come on out. I may even try to get my oldest nephew on out there also. I'll even bring a couple of extra kilts for them, just in case. Pictures will be courtesy of the Marquise. Hopefully, it'll be a big family affair. If nothing else, I'll get to eat and drink at the venerable watering hole, the Yorktown Pub. I'll let y'all know how it goes.