A night Between the Bars

Last night my boyfriend, Stephen, launched Between the Bars, a series of atmospheric gigs in St Patrick's Gateway happening over the next few months. It has been a long time in the planning and was just one of the many ideas he had for his new company, Labyrinth Management and Events. I have been more than a little nervous as the date for the big night has drawn closer, especially as I myself know less than nothing about what is required to put on any event more sophisticated than a children's party. Fortunately this would be where Stephen's meticulous nature comes in handy and he planned it all down to the tiniest details. 

The very first night he showcased up and coming Wexford band Corner Boy and they were followed by the very brilliant Ronan O Snodaigh (Kila). With Carefully planned Facebook posts, Radio Interviews and this Inspired poster (designed by the fantastically talented Leon Murphy) Waterford was beginning to whisper about this new venture.

Along the way he has had the most fantastic support and its really great to feel this sense of community within the arts world. Barry McCormack from Suirdzign has gone above and beyond to help, Brian from Hive Gallery & Studios has gone out of his way and Magdalena Karol did some completely inspired work for him on set design among others. This is all rather lucky because I have been working crazy hours the last while so I haven't been the whole lot of practical help, mostly falling asleep far too early in the evening, when I do make it home at a reasonable hour.

I think the whole concept is great and as someone who is no longer overly keen on wrestling drunk people in a bar just to see some decent music, I find Waterford has been somewhat lacking on this front. With a special deal being done with my favourite restaurant, Momo

and a fantastic after party in Downes' bar, it was set to be quite a night. As the responsible sober one who had foolishly agreed to work Sunday morning, I decided to not drink and just have an extra coffee on the day. Always a wise choice. While Stephen double checked every detail I was busy deciding what to wear and wondering how the night would go. The pre concert deal with Momo turned out to be an unprecedented success, so much so that we barely got a table ourselves. It was rather good timing that the launch coincided with Momo's unveiling of their much anticipated winter menu. 

I arrived on the night just in time to hand in our dinner orders to Momo and headed down to dinner with Stephen, Roddy Cleere (well known Radio Personality and host for the night) , Brian (from Hive) and Ronan O Snodaigh.

I got this delicious bean burger with chilli fries and devoured it in moments. 

I'm always delighted for something else on Momo's menu to look forward to. We all took a few minutes to savour the lovely food and relax before all the madness began before heading back to St Patrick's for the night ahead.

I was asked to do front of house for a few minutes and suddenly all my customer service training came in handy. I actually enjoyed seeing all the people coming in and having a bit of a chat. I was told that I looked like a secretary but that was completely unintentional, I swear.

As soon as people had finished arriving, which took a little while thanks to the creative approach many people take to interpreting a gig's start time, Roddy Cleere stood up to make a speech and introduce the first band of the night Corner Boy, a folk band from Wexford that everyone seems to be talking about at the moment. As always I am the last to hear new bands so this was to be my first time actually hearing the band but I was as always incredibly impressed with the raw talent they displayed. They played an absolute storm and you could see the audience really getting into it. The set provided a fantastic backdrop and the acoustics could not have been better, it all made for a truly spectacular experience.

It was so good that I turned at one stage to see Ronan O Snodaigh at the back having a bit of a dance to the music which can only be a massive compliment to any band. I met a fan of Ronan's who insisted I snap this photo of them together and Ronan was only happy to oblige.

At the interval the whole place was buzzing because it was clear something great was happening in Waterford and it felt great to be there as part of it. Then Ronan took to the stage with many instruments. Usually speaking I am not a massive fan of traditional music but after that performance I might have to rethink that statement. The way he performed brought to mind the history we have here in Ireland, going back to ancient times of being storytellers and singers. He played an array of songs in both English and Irish and there was something almost magical about the beat of a Bodhran inside hallowed ground. Between each song he told us another story, the history of a song or an anecdote or perhaps just insight into the man himself and we all sat rapt, hanging on his every word. In a way it made the whole experience feel more intimate than the space called for. 

We listened and laughed and I think everyone left with a smile on their faces, wanting to know more about Between The Bars. Once the crowd had parted we had the long process of taking down the stage and when I say we, I was mostly there in a supervisory, 'you missed a spot' type capacity. We did make it down to the after party in Downes' where everyone was talking about the night. The next one is on November 14th and will feature In The Willows, The Cassanova Wave and Elm. It promises to be a truly special experience and I will be out front collecting tickets and just being my lovely self, hope to see you there.