Starting out yesterday I couldn't have told you last night was going to be one of those epic nights I would be talking about for ages ( once my voice recovered) but those are the best nights, the ones you don't expect. I was working a good part of the day but I got home just before 5 and then I spent a while running around like a headless chicken trying to get everything ready because I really wanted to catch some of Art Beat before going to dinner with himself. So I was pretty delighted with myself running out the door a few minutes later, dressed for the summer we're only starting to have.
It's probably a terribly vain habit to snap a quick picture on those occasions when I manage to juggle that combination of well behaved hair, nice make up and outfit I am not going to be pulling out of all night but I haven't managed to break it ( and I wouldn't hold your breath) I was really lucky with timing and the fact that Baileys New Street is only around the corner from me. If you have never heard of Art Beat then I will paint you a very quick picture of it. It's a series of free gigs happening on Baileys New Street ( just around the back of the Munster Bar) on an outdoor stage with the backdrop of Greyfriars Church ruins. They have set up seats and tables in little clusters all around the stage (plus bean bags for the kids) and you can get drinks or food from inside in the Munster and bring it outside. It's happening every Saturday from 4pm and there's a fantastic line up of bands coming to the city especially for this. All the bands are booked by Central arts which as you already know I am a huge fan of. I missed last Saturdays because I was stuck in work until after 9pm which is probably what had me in such a rush to get down there in time today.
(that's me in the corner listening to the music or laughing at Stephen probably)
I got down just in time to catch most of Twin Headed Wolf's set, unfortunately to be down in time to hear the lovely John Keane play support I'd have had to break major traffic laws. Twin headed wolf are twin sisters hailing from Co. Clare but now living in Dublin and they play music like nothing I have ever heard before. Their style is very eclectic folk and they have the most creative use of objects as instruments that I have ever seen. From a tea pot to a tin can to a saw. It was an absolutely gorgeous set, the sun was shining, there was a great crowd and the girls were singing this beautiful old world folk (mostly original but some covers) reminiscent of an older Ireland. I was glad I was enjoying their music so much because we had committed to going to hear them play in the Red Door in Thomastown later and I would have been in for a long night.
Once the gig finished we made a dash for Momo Restaurant to meet a friend of Stephen's for some food before the rest of festivities. I have always been vocal about how much I enjoy the food Momo have to offer and I knew they had just launched their summer menu so I was really excited to see what that would consist of and thinking about how many of those things I could eat. Once I saw the new menu I was not disappointed and within seconds I had picked out a three course meal for myself. Seeing as I wasn't going to be having any alcohol, I was happy to treat myself with food.
This was my starter, a dish I really didn't need because a main course usually fills me but I was intrigued by the description of these potato, chilli and mozzerella balls with a parsley aioli and lime puree. They were so good and tasty in my mouth that I actually didn't talk at all between bites except to make little yummy eating noises so a good choice all round.
For my main course I got their summer Risotto. The risotto they were serving all winter was delicious but I was promised this one was much lighter and summery with smoked cheese and peas and once I heard that I knew I had to get it all in my belly. I was not disappointed. There were so many flavours in this that I didn't know what to do with myself. I let the others have a tiny taste and then I don't think I really spoke to anyone until it was done because I was enjoying it so much.
On the other side of the table, Stephen and Lou were sharing a meaty and fish sharing platter which looked like this. I am told it tasted every bit as awesome as it looked and it was really filling too because I was the only one able for dessert by the end of the meal.
I was actually quite full myself but I had promised myself a dessert and sure if I started breaking my promises to myself now then where would I be.
The dessert I went for was an Eton mess, a beautiful concoction of strawberries, cream and meringue. I think Stephen might have told me to slow down while I was eating it but I did NOT. I think he was just hating on me because he wasn't getting a dessert of his own. By the time it came to pay the bill I was in a bit of a food coma and had to shake myself awake as there was much more of the night to come.
After our meal we went to The Bearded Lady on Michael street. It's a funky barbers that hosts gigs sometimes after hours and its run by Stephen's friend Lou whom we had just been out to dinner with and we were popping down so I could watch Stephen drink some beer before we moved on. As I was driving us to Thomastown later there were no drinks for Laura. There I am against the back wall of the bearded lady. It took about 15 attempts to take that photo because I kept blocking the pictures on either side or sticking out my chin way too far. The decor in the Bearded lady is absolutely fantastic, as you would imagine there are a lot of pictures of bearded ladies. Last night there was a dj playing and it was a bring your own beer event so it had a nice little vibe to it. My favourite thing of all in the shop though is this little quote on the wall.
If you don't recognise the above quote it's from Empire records, I film I might have watched to death when it came out.
After about an hour we had to move on to collect my car and make our way to Thomastown, making one quick pit stop so Stephen could put on fancier clothes. We had a great little moment just before we set off because Stephen had given his apartment keys to the band and it had his bottle opener with it. So he was sitting in my car at the traffic lights with a closed bottle of beer, the light was due to change at any second and Stephen recognizes a guy he knows on the street so starts shouting to see if he had a bottle opener. Amazingly he did and ran over just in time to open the bottle before the lights changed and we drove off.
I pass through Thomastown a lot but I have never actually stopped there and Stephen has sent a lot of bands from Art Beat to the Red door so we were very interested in checking the place out. From the outside it looks like any other bar but once you step through the door you find yourself in somewhere else entirely. Its a fantastic venue with tonnes of possibility because they have a small bar and then another room with a stage and candle lit tables perfect for smaller plays , then out the back they have a smoking area with a little stage area for intimate gigs (its also where they host their open mic night) and beyond that they have a great outdoor space for barbecues and the big stage which opens up so you could easily do a gig for a few hundred. Hopefully we will get over for a few more of the gigs coming up this summer.
Twin Headed Wolf were playing in the smoking area which had a lovely cosy vibe to it and gave the whole gig a lovely intimate atmosphere. When we arrived they were busy charming the locals and as I was getting my bearings I ran into a girl I used to go to college with who was down for the night with her boyfriend. Ireland can be a really small place like that but in a nice way.
The band played to an entirely rapt and silent room, you could tell the crowd was awed by what they heard and it was a truly magical experience. Their performance earlier in Waterford had been beautiful but somehow all clustered together in this tiny room it was elevated to another level. You could tell how much everyone was enjoying it because every so often people would pass through chatting to each other and the whole room would turn to give them a stare of death. The girls have a real other worldly charm to them that really adds to their performance. I enjoyed some of the between song banter as much as their songs. There is also an element of theatre to it and a strange beauty to watching someone create music using a tea pot, tin can or decapitated trumpet and a saw. The whole room was under their spell as they talked of poetry and faery folklore.
Fiona and Barry who run the Red Door were really friendly and welcoming both to us and the band and kept Stephen topped up with really nice Belgian beer, although that was probably goodbad as he became merrier I was more aware of my soberness and as the gig drew to a close I became more aware of how tired I was. It was probably a good hour after the gig finished before we headed home. Everyone was standing around chatting and much of the crowd there wanted to talk to the band and I managed not to yawn too much as overtired Laura kicked in. I do have a nervous habit of talking too much or too fast and when I get very tired, I get a little hyper so it was all kinds of not good. I am pretty sure I was speaking mostly rubbish and it got worse as we all got into the car. To be honest my incessant chatter was probably the only thing keeping me awake on the drive home so even if my passengers arrived back in Waterford feeling a little shell shocked, I am sure they were glad to get back in good time and in one piece. By the time we got home my throat was sore from talking but I'd had another great night and I can't wait to get out again for more music and culture.
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