St. Patrick's Day Festival Baby Rave

There’s certainly something for everyone in Dublin for this year’s St. Patrick’s Festival - even for parents who miss their clubbin’ days! I took my daughter to SS Michael and John in the West end of Temple Bar yesterday for her first rave party, where “the only drug is calpol,” according to the group’s MySpace page. The Baby Rave is being put on for this year’s St. Patrick’s Festival by Belfast arts charity, Young at Art.



Even at five-and-a-half months old, Caitlyn was wide-eyed in wonder as she watched the colourful flower-shaped lights float up the walls and across the ceiling. The music was just the right volume to “thump,” but not so high that I felt my little one’s ears were at risk. The staff were also very helpful, friendly, and sensitive.

Just seeing the happy faces of the 3 and 4 year olds pushing the fit balls around the room was enough to make my daughter beam and even giggle. At times, the curious toddlers would come over to the felt padded islands where my daughter and I sat for a break, just to see the baby and reach a finger out to give a careful poke. (Parents were usually close behind with a cautious admonishment to “Be gentle with the baby.”)

The only inconvenient thing about the event was having to take the lift (and a small one at that) to get up to the first floor where the party was going down. Even then, it wasn't so much the lift as it was the people who went up ahead of us who could not figure out how to work the lift.

[UPDATE: A quick little video I threw together.]

Falling Slowly

Yesterday, The Irish Times featured a cartoon that brilliantly synchronized two facets of Irish current events: the Oscar award to Glen and Marketa and the Mahon Tribunal.

All I know about this Mahon tribunal is that it has something to do with the Taoiseach (pronouned "tee-shook" for you non-Irish - he's essentially the Prime Minister of Ireland) accepting money 10 or 20 years ago that he shouldn't have accepted and that this "tribunal" is going on and on and on and on.

As for the Oscar award for the film "Once," what a moving experience to see Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová performing that simple, beautiful song from a simple, beautiful film on Hollywood's biggest stage. People here in Dublin who are tuned in to the music scene have always known that Hansard is a brilliant song-writer. Too bad that the YouTube video of Markéta's little speech has been pulled, but props to Jon Stewart for bringing Markéta back onstage to share.

Trad in Black & White

Saw this brilliant picture on Flickr the other day. Really captures the atmosphere of an Irish trad session. I'm usually impressed by the group of musicians in a given pub session, but it's when I really focus my attention in on one musician that I'm blown away. (Granted, it's not usually the bodhran person.) Really wish this pic was offered in higher resolution!

Off to hear some traditional story telling in Temple Bar after lunch. Hopefully the Little Miss will allow us to stick around long enough to catch some music as well.

Temple Bar Irish Trad Festival

One of my favourite bits of Irish culture is the Irish traditional music session where typically you'll have up to 10 extremely talented musicians sitting in the pub with their drink of choice, jamming together to a host of traditional Irish music. Instruments range from the bodhran, fiddle, banjo, guitar, and a small accordian-like instrument called a concertina, among others. My favourite spots in South Dublin for such craic are Johnnie Foxes pub (a well-known tourist stop), which features a whole range of Irish trad, including the folk singing and Irish dancing, and The Wishing Well in Blackrock (Monday nights).

This evening, the Temple Bar Irish Trad Festival kicks off with a host of concerts, workshops, children’s activities, and other events. For some of the shows, you must book tickets, but a good number of the pubs in Temple Bar (more than usual, anyway) will be hosting trad sessions at no charge. Festival goers will also have opportunity to meet the various musicians and performers each night at 11pm in the Project Arts Centre for conversation and craic.

My family and I are also looking forward to the action out on the street where there’ll be bagpipes and traditional storytelling. Hopefully the Dublin weather forecast will stay favourable!

Here's some rough footage of a trad session at a pub called The Celt here in Dublin:

Once in America

So it turns out that the independent Irish film "Once" is having loads of success in the U.S. It played at the Dublin Film Festival last winter, but sold out in a matter of hours. Critics are raving about it and Bob Dylan even asked The Frames to tour with him in Australia. (CLICK HERE for Channel 4's report.)

Can't wait for the film to make it's way back to Ireland at some point!

Indeed, the Sun DOES Show Up in Ireland!

It's the end of August, and summer has finally agreed to show up! The sun is out, it's 21° (70°F), and it's meant to reach a blistering high of 22° by Friday. Aaaaah, the Irish summer.

Just in time for the late summery weather, the Festival of World Cultures is happening this weekend in Dun Laoghaire. Also, on Friday evening, rumour has it that Fionn Regan will be playing Grafton Street in front of HMV. Looking forward to that! In recent weeks, I've really come to appreciate Fionn's music. Later, Friday night, I'll head over to the Crawdaddy to catch DeVotchka.

Should be a great weekend here in Dublin!

Strange Day in the News & A Riverdance Experience

Thursday was a very busy day in the news here in Dublin. During a regatta event for teens in Dun Laoghaire harbour, the weather went bad rather suddenly and capsized more than a dozen boats. (CLICK HERE for video coverage from RTE.) Earlier in the day, at the "Dead Zoo," a stone staircase collapsed on a group of school teachers involved in a training programme. If you've ever walked through the Natural History Museum, you won't be surprised at this. It's a fascinating place, but it's obviously been around for a while and probably due for some structural upgrades.

News stories aside, the wife and I had a brilliant time at Riverdance later that night at the Gaiety Theatre. You don't have to be a big fan of dance to be truly awed by this classy performance. The live musicianship, the theatrics, the lighting and effects, and of course the phenomenal dance routines combined to create an absolutely stunning theatre experience. Starting out with a Celtic flavour, the show did an amazing job of capturing the earthy, mythological feel of ancient Ireland. Late in the first act, a Spanish/Flamenco-flavoured theme was introduced, followed by a Russian dance routine - both of which were visually pulsating and brimming with aesthetic brilliance. The second act took on more of an 18th/19th century theme and collided with a more modern jazz tap routine that was very entertaining.

The show will move on from Dublin at the end of August and will tour through Europe and North America. We considered it a little extra special to be able to catch the show here in Ireland.

Dublin Video Collage

Dublin's Enigmatic Music Scene

Over the last several months that my wife and I have lived in Dublin, I've been very impressed with Dublin's music scene. The great song writers, bands, and intimate live venues all contribute to some great energy in that realm of Dublin culture. In fact, tonight we're headed off to see The Decemberists at Vicar Street, which I'm really excited about. Paste Magazine listed their latest project, The Crane Wife, as the top album of 2006. Seems that some of the greatest American acts in the categories "Under the Radar" and "Blog-Generated Fan Base" want to stop in to Dublin, including Sufjan Stevens a few months back. The brilliantly talented Josh Ritter has even acheived iconic status in Ireland, whereas he's relatively unknown in his homeland. And then there's the recent Oxfam Ireland compilation, The Cake Sale, which has a good share of soulful genius in both song writing and performance.

Having said that, I'm still trying to decide if Hot Press magazine is brilliant or a complete waste of €3.50. Depends on the issue I guess. And what's with this West Life crap? It's bad enough that they're trying to extend the curse of the "boy band" sub-genre. Now they've titled their latest tour "The Love Tour." . . . *long pause to let that sink in* . . . . I just can't think of anything more lacking in creativity and offensive to the art form.