About 3 months ago I booked tickets for the London Feis in Finsbury Park, North London... It's rare I would go to something like this, some 50 acts over a two day period...It's what, financially, we would call (including a hotel for 2 nights) an arm and a leg job! Naturally I've been to a few good gigs - maybe peaking with Bruce Springsteen a couple of times in Paris and also him and the Killers at a lovely little festival in Brittany... the festival of the 'old cart' or something. I often think they could do with a bit of marketing help - but not a two day festival. But... I had been listening to www.lastfm.com which is my regular all day long music 'fix'...and they have this neat link for when people are on tour...you can check who's appearing where... And I was listening to Gaslight Anthem and clicked the 'on tour' button. Before I picked up on the Gaslight Anthem on 'last' I had never heard of them and so I didn't realise they were popular enough to hold the main stage at a major festival (what do I know?). Anyway I was able to check the lineup at the Feish. I was astounded. There was hardly an act on there that wasn't already on my playlist on 'last' (OK then stages one and two)...Even without the headline acts, Bob Dylan and Van Morrison it was a very worthy show. I thought "in for a penny"... I remember being amazed that it seemed a lot of money I was spending on the tickets but then I thought - to hell with it - something hideous could happen tomorrow... Just do it! Well, it wasn't quite the next day but two weeks later....on April 29th I had a heart attack!
Fortunately I was dealt with by that team of angels we all moan about in the British National Health Service... and so, come the time to join the other 45,000 festival goers I was well up for it...
First of all... Vince (That's the organiser) where were the big screens?
The weather on the first day wasn't very inspiring and it was definitely 'wellies win the day!' But the crowd was friendly (mostly Irish you see) and so warm they turned the rain to steam! It was a terrific weekend...
The Waterboys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoGbbKV0hUU
Sharon Shannon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snHjbY-LxNw&feature=related
The Undertones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAtUw6lxcis
Nancy Griffith http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnMajQgYgqo&feature=related
Foy Vance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL8A-b9XZaI
Foy Vance does some sampling and sequencing when he kicks off some of his songs and builds a fantastic music bed within the first minute of each one...within just a few seconds he builds up to sounding like a whole band... Absolutely magnificent!...My personal favourites:- Foy Vance (he's gonna be really famous), Sharon Shannon (so passionate about her music) and Paul Brady (we chose to listen to this guy over Van(short change) Morrison and...it was a good decision)... I'm not so sure we missed anything earth shattering. We've seen him quite a few times and if it's one of his 'headache nights' it's too late... Paul Brady was great. His song, The Island, is magnificent. We saw, but not under brilliant circumstances, Nancy Griffith perform a couple of songs. Poor thing, she must have thought it was all her birthdays come at once because, just as she began her set, the marquee, which would probably hold a thousand people, suddenly filled to capacity - there was almost a rush. We were already standing inside the outer edge by 'the door' (I just love two of her tracks... Speed of the Sound of Loneliness & Late Night - Grande Hotel) and she was singing the first one as we made our way in....when a surge of extra people loaded the tent up as if it would burst... a deluge as the clouds had just opened up had caused a stampede for shelter away from the main open air stage
Anyway, away from the music, I have made a resolution (and it isn't even new year)...based on having had a heart attack and coming out of the other side OK... What my Ma used to call 'shit or bust'... And my dad used to nod philosphically in agreement and say..."She's right you know... There's no pockets in a shroud"!
So, we are going to do stuff that previously we might have just mused over and allowed to pass over us in a 'that would have been nice' kind ofway... Or say... 'there certainly isn't time for that'! Well not any more.
What's next? Well I'm thinking that maybe in September we'll be flying up to the Highlands of Scotland and picking up a camper van (RV) and driving along the shores of Loch Ness and along the Caledonian Canal to the west coast.
Wish us luck!
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