The N8i St. Patrick's Day Marathon, 3.17.10

It all started at a fairly civilized hour, when Chris and I arrived at McCormick & Schmick's at (11th and J) to set up the sound system. We had plenty of time to get set up, do a quick check to make sure it was all functional, and even have a quick nip to get the blood flowing. That was around noon....

We left on foot to head toGig #1 at deVere's Pub, about 5 blocks away on L Street between 15th and 16th, for their 2nd Annual St. Paddy's Day Block Party. They had been setting up since 4am, and had closed off the street, installed portapotties and police cars, and the Block Party officially started around 8am that day, so when we arrived the stage was already set up, beer was being served, food was cooking and people were starting to stream in, all being recorded for several different local news broadcasts. Kenneally Dancers were everywhere with their curly hair and colorful outfits, gate lists checked, wristbands applied, cold beers gotten, and sound check completed, then we played from 1:30pm until 3:30pm. It was a decent crowd, and we were able to escape before the really REALLY crazy revelers arrived. (Did see one guy puke right in front of the stage, he was escorted out, but STILL HAD A BEER IN HIS HAND!!!!)

Then we walked BACK to McCormick & Schmick's for Gig #2, where we played from 4:30pm to 6:30pm for an Irish Happy Hour!! This restaurant is at the corner of 11th and J Streets, and is absolutely gorgeous! They have a fabulous bar, stocked with just about every Scotch you could imagine (OK maybe not EVERY one...), great food, and one of the best Happy Hour menus around! The crowd was appreciative, and starting to get a bit rowdy, so it seemed everyone had fun.

After Mc&S, we packed up the sound system and headed over to Gig #3, to BREW IT UP! This great brew-pub is located at 14th and H, and they had set up an outdoor seating area, plus they had menu specials throughout the day. We had sore feet, sore fingers and we're starting to get a bit cranky, but once we started playing, it was a blast!! For the third time that day!! Mike and the gang took good care of us, getting us past the crowds to set up, and then we played from 8:30pm to 10:30pm to a very enthusiastic fun crowd!! We only had one close call when a, shall we say MATURE woman was twirling around dancing, and almost took a stage dive over the monitors into the mic stands, but Brady was there and successfully caught her before any damage was done!!

All in all it was an exhausting but fabulous day, and we can only hope that the multitudes who saw/heard us has just a fraction of the fun we had!! We'll do it again next year, though we may decide that two gigs will be enough.
Irish and a wee bit more!!!

Linda

Sonora Celtic Faire, what a weekend!

Wow, what a week!! It would seem I have been lax in my blogging duties having not put one up about last weekend, but come on, we have been a bit busy hahaha. Well our St. Patrick's week started in Sonora, CA. at the Sonora Celtic Faire. We got to play alongside Golden Bough, those folks are great fun. We met up with some great NEW friends, and fellow Clan Inebriated members (more on that in a bit), and got to hang out with our old friends from Dallas, Needfire! Somewhere out there is video of them letting me sit in with my drum on a tune, that I must say was the highlight of the weekend, or at least the one I can tell you about Muahhaaha. What does that mean? It means you should have been there!

So about the whole Clan Inebriated membership LOL! I found a clan, or perhaps they found me, on the first night we were there, and it would seem I was living via their motto (to drink, to friends, to fun!) , so much so I was told I HAD to come to the clan tent the next morning! I'm surprised I even remembered that truth be told. What I do know is between the C.I. folks and the Kilt Lassies (<-- see photo!) from MacKinnon's Kilts we had a great time that night, and they made it a wonderful weekend that we won't soon forget. Thanks Ladies!

Here is the short video of Needfire with Chris sitting in on the bodhran...he and Mike (the fiddler) totally ROCKED it!!