The Sober Chronicles, 70's edition

(Photo courtesy of Hailey K Stuart) 

This Saturday just gone I found myself bravely heading out into the night on my own without the crutch of alcohol to steady my nerves. I was dressed in what can only be described as 70ish clothes. A patterned top and unflattering somewhat flared jeans with wedges that were hidden under the jeans and a fringed bag. I was on my way to the fourth Songs From the Parlour event which was 70s themed so I was not just dressing up for the fun of it but I had not pulled off the look with the same easy glamour that most women seem to. I had arranged to meet at least one of the women from Girlcrew in a bar beforehand but I was so unsure of who was actually going that I almost talked myself out of it several times before deciding to go and then rushing to get my very disobedient hair into flicking out and staying there. I just arrived at the bar on time feeling very self conscious and wishing I was ordering something more soothing than water. I was waiting a few minutes before the girl I was meeting arrived and I could not have behaved more awkwardly in that time, especially given that I didn't have a table to lean against just a ledge. I was wishing I had brought a book but if anything that would have made me stand out more. I survived the awkwardness and my fellow girlcrewer arrived not long after me. We headed across to The Parlour for 8.30 before the bands were due to start but all the tables were already taken so we had to make do with sharing a chair. 

I knew some of the other Girlcrew ladies might be arriving later but I hadn't made any firm plans so I reverted to my usual awkward self, nodding and smiling at people I recognised without actually going over to talk to them. 

While all this was going on (mostly in my head) The Ocelots got up to play. The band is twin brothers Brandon and Ashley who are from Wexford. They are only 18 but are already generating a good bit of interest mostly due to how talented they are but their ridiculously good bone structure probably doesn't do them any harm either. They have a folksy Bluesy kind of sound. Ashley sings lead vocals and plays guitar while Brandon sings back up vocals and plays the harmonica. Or its the other way round, I'm not quite sure but in my defence they are almost identical twins so I am sure I am not the first one to get them mixed up. 

They have an absolutely lovely sound and you could tell conversations in the room (not all chatter but a lot of it) had paused so people could hear them play.  Backroad Smokers club even got up and played a song with them which was something pretty special to watch.  I'm looking forward to hearing more from them but I have feeling it won't be long before everyone is talking about them.

(photo courtesy of Mark Power)

In the interim between the two bands, some girl crew ladies I recognised arrived but I was too nervous to approach them and I stayed perched on my chair until they beckoned us over. Now there was 5 of us sharing a chair instead of two but it was good to be mixing in a bigger crowd plus I no longer had to feel bad about not introducing the girl I was with to other Girlcrewers. 

 Backroad Smokers Club were up next, a band most of Waterford know well. I believe they are all from this fair city (but I could be wrong because let's face it I don't research these things extensively) and their music is rock/ funk/ psychedelic so actually very well suited to a 70's theme. I only heard them play for the first time at a Waterford Walls event last summer and I find I enjoy their music even more each time I hear it. At this point I know enough of their songs to find myself singing along (at a very quiet, not quite audible level as I am not a natural singer). They were the perfect band to finish off the night and the crowd was still buzzing as they left the stage.

For once I didn't run off as soon as the music finished and instead I grabbed myself a couch and sat down to chat to the girls I was with, later when they headed off for food I  tracked down my other half who was busy in conversation with The Ocelots and joined them. Normally I'd be tired at this stage in the night but I was buzzing a little from great music and conversation so I stayed up past my bedtime. One of the joys of going out sober is it really effects my longevity on a night out. I often get tired or just bored of drunk people and go home to my lovely warm bed. I remember the Tea Rooms clearing out and then later looking at my phone to see it was 1.15, when I next looked it was 2.30 am and I couldn't get over how quickly time had passed. I naturally had forgotten the clocks were changing at 1.30 and that magic of time going super fast was actually only 15 minutes and the clocks going forward. I seem to be one of the only people who is consistently flummoxed by this every year. At 3.30 I fell into bed and was awake for another hour until I fell into a fitful sleep which left me waking with a fairly convincing hangover. Except this time my liver was grateful, I had no blank spots in my memory only fragments of another great night.