Thursday last saw myself, ITF and “merch girl” a.k.a. Emer hit the town of Clonmel during their arts festival. We were really well received from the get go with plenty of offers to carry gear from volunteers and others there looking forward to see us play. It helped that the day was a sunny one free from the nuisance of rainfall, so it was warm and it felt like summer, as funny as that sounds. We brought the gear into a tent-like room covered with designs and interpretations of contemporary sculpture. It was cosy. The stage was not really a stage but it didn’t matter. I began the ultimate pleasure of setting up my kit (note sarcastic tone) while the engineer Louis blasted some Korn through the stereo. Only the bass drum was being mic’d up but it was a small enough area I thought to myself. When we had finished setting up the sound check began. The kit sounded awesome to me, everything was punchy and clear. Overall it sounded pretty good and it got us psyched for the night.

After that we headed down to the Piper which is the venue for our next gig in Clonmel to check it out. We got some drinks in while Jimmy hung up posters wherever there was an empty space. It had a stage for definite and a decent desk, overall a standard setup. I remember thinking how nice it would be to arrive at a venue a week or two before the gig and know what compromises you’ll have to make, if any.

Back at the festival we waited outside while a play was in full swing across the way from us. To quote one of the organizers “..as soon as you hear the applause coming from there, you have the go ahead to make as much noise as you want!”. The tent was already full bar a few who hung around us outside asking how to become a groupie or a roadie. Everyone was so friendly that the atmosphere was relaxed, a feeling i never had before a gig. Inside we went and made final adjustments to our instruments getting ready for John McClane to sound through the speakers…..

On went the show, picking up momentum with every track. We hadn’t played a gig in a while (Carlow gig being the last one) but it didn’t matter. It was a great gig, also the freedom we had with time made it more enjoyable. All the songs we had been working on over the last few months were played and with such intensity. It was visceral!! It was fun!!! The crowd was cheering even between breaks in songs. We finished on an absolute high and probably could have played all night from the adrenaline that was left over. T-shirts were sold and signatures given out much to our amusement. What a fun gig!

I want to thank everyone that came and supported us on the night for your kind words and your enthusiasm and we hope to see ye all again soon. For anyone else we hope to see you at the Cd launch on Sat 21st or Sun 22nd in the Zoo Club on Parliment Street, Kilkenny.