Whew.

Went to see a Doctor. Her name was Sinead. Really nice, and quick. It's definitely strep - got my prescription and ibuprofen and I'm good to go. She said the antibiotics should really kick in in 24-48 hours and I should be in less pain by this time tomorrow. I have to miss the Clo Iar-Chonnachta [kloe ire-kon oct ta].
"Cló Iar–Chonnachta is Ireland’s fastest growing traditional music label with a catalogue of over 200 albums. Directed by master piper and musician Ronan Browne, hosted by the well–known broadcaster and flute player Marcas Ó Murchú, this concert will feature Ben and Charlie Lennon, Tony O’Connell, The Mulcahy Family and John Wynne amongst others." - from the Galway Arts Festival website.

I'm really upset about this - I was looking forward to it a lot! But I need rest, water, and sleep. And maybe I'll order some ice cream.

Ireland has a public and private health care. I think I was in a private clinic, seeing as there was only like, 3 rooms and one doctor. It cost 50Euro for the consultation and 17Euro total for the meds. I don't think it's that bad - especially since my insurance doesn't cover stuff overseas I guess.



More updates later...

This'll probably scare the crap out of my parents...

But I think I might have to see a doctor in Ireland. Today mostly, but coming on for a day or two was an extremely sore throat. And I think my tonsils are swollen. Ugh. It hurts real bad to swallow. And I think I had a fever yesterday in the evening... I'm going to buy a flashlight today so I can see the back of my throat. If there are white spots then I'm going to try and find a doctor - it's probably strep... and my glands are all swollen. If I was close to going home I'd just wait, but I have another 2 1/2 weeks and I haven't even started my internship yet (which is REQUIRED to graduate! Ah!). Drink plenty of fluids and rest I guess... Ugh. Just great... I wonder if my insurance covers over sea consultations...

Made it to Aran!

Well I made it over to Inis Mór [also known simply as Aran]!
What a simply beautiful place. It was a gorgeous day for it too! I could even tolerate the sea! I thought for sure, being the North Atlantic, I was going to have to sacrifice the contents of my stomach to Manannán [Celtic god of the sea]. Here's a bit of music reference for you: Cowell, wrote a piece called "The Tides of Manannán." Cowell is a modern composer so it may be completey different to most peoples ears but listen anyways. The tone clusters (the smashing of piano keys underneath) symbolize the rolling and turbulent waves of the North Atlantic while the Gaelic melody is played over the top. This piece belongs to a set of three pieces by Cowell depicting three Celtic legends; The Tides of Manannán, Hero Sun and The Voice of Lir.





I thought for sure I would want to rent a bike today but, I got over there around 1pm and had to leave on a 5pm ferry - only 4 hours. And knowing me, it would take me more than 4 hours to bike the length of the island and back (18 miles total) and stopping to see all the sites too...
Instead I took one of the local tour vans and he whipped us around the island in record time.

Today was ok...

Woke up early and get an awesome full Irish breakfast at the hotel. I really like this hotel. Got my tickets for the week. Walked around for a while, then went to see the Laughter Loft at 1pm. It was pretty good (I didn't get some of the jokes simply because I'm not from around here, but the comedian did a good job at keeping it universal).

Then I stopped in at the same pub as yesterday and listened to a tenor banjo (only has 4 strings and a much shorter neck) and a wooden flute play some trad (what the Irish call Traditional Music). Then I walked around again for a bit before heading over to Róisín Dubh (Black Rose) for Adrian Crowley.

Oh boy... I left ten minutes early (told the person I was sitting next to I had to go to the bathroom). First thing, they bring out this girl who at first, is really cute and she has a neat style... but all 6 songs she played were THE SAME. Same tone of voice, same tempo, same tonality. It was SO boring... And usually the pre-act is similar in style to the mainstage... so now I'm kinda going "oh crap..." Well I could stand him for a while because he was a bit different from her but EVERY song he sang he like, spoke sung poetry. It got kinda annoying. And the cellist that was playing was doing the same thing... long drawn out notes. Nothing more than a quarter note... and then the girl came up again to play the drum which didn't vary at ALL. I could predict everything he was going to play. Now he's not BAD... it's interesting at first... but then gets very VERY VERY repetitive. So I ended up leaving a bit early because it was late, and the same rhythm to every song was putting me to sleep...


But before that (out of order I know, but I want to end on a good note!), I saw "The Execution of the King" at the King's Head Tavern. A parade of a few men, two kings, mourning and begging women, and an executioner stopped in front of the tavern. It was kinda cheesy but I'll post some of the video anyways. I apologize for shakiness - the crowd was huge and I was on my tip toes and holding the camera as high as I could to get a video. I wanted to see it later too because Lord knows I couldn't see the actual thing while in the crowd!
It got me thinking... hmm... history lesson? Click below to read on!

Also...

the times of these postings are all screwy. From this post on everything SHOULD be the time I posted it in Ireland. (5 hours PAST time on the East Coast of the US).

Galway isn't so bad!

Much better day today! Except for the crappy restaurant...
I got my tickets, saw a parade, walked around town, and went to a great pub for 4 fiddlers playing traditional music.
Mustard. The name of the restaurant. It looked nice - I was hoping to get a seat outside, which was right next to the river... but they said they had none left - totally understandable. I saw some 2 person tables near windows and figured they'd probably stick me in one of those. No. They figured since I'm all by myself I wouldn't mind being stuck in the dark corner by the water wheel (which all the kids in the restaurant insisted on running up to and then screaming that it wasn't working... parents did nothing even though they were six inches away from me being obnoxious). Ok, so maybe they want to give the good seats to people who will give them more money - fine. I can understand that even. But I ordered, a soup and sandwich combo and a coffee afterwards. Usually takes maybe half hour to 45 min to get and eat that right? No. 1 hour and 45 minutes. RIDICULOUS. I had to flag my waitress down to even get her to get a menu for me, order my meal and order my coffee. 15 - 20 minutes waiting in between each thing. After waiting 30 minutes for my bill I went up and got it myself. No tip whatsoever. It's like they plunked me down in the darkest corner they could find and then ignored me the rest of the time I was there. Terrible service - food was ok, but TERRIBLE service.
Besides that... I had a great day! The first thing I saw when I got into town was the parade, The Wild Hunt. It was great. It was also the EPITOME of steam punk style. Steampunk is this strange combination of 1800s wear and weird mechanics:
Fantastic! Here's some clips of it (just a few short ones, the whole thing was quite long):



After that I walked around town for a while and to the south into Claddagh (yes, just like the ring. It was actually first forged here! Hence the name!). It wasn't too impresive but I wandered out onto the piers and open quays. There are a lot of swans in Galway...Later on I went to a pub called Tig Cóilí. I got in at 7 and the music started around 8:15 (had to get a decent seat you know). Then four fiddlers showed up - just them. The first thing that popped into my head was "what the heck? there's no rhythm section?!" But after they started playing I realized they didn't need it. Some of them would harmonize, others would play chords, and each played a slightly different variation which lent itself beautifully to creating this great rich and dense texture of sound. The stomping of feat provided percussion and the switching of bowing sound like strumming - what more would you need?



What better way than to end the day with rainbow?

I think I might take a day tour to the Aran islands on Tuesday. I don't have anything scheduled until 20:00 (8pm) and they are one of the last few strongholds of the Irish language and ancient traditions. I'll see if I can catch a session!

Galway is full of creepers...

So I get on the bus for Galway in Dublin... Great there's enough seats so that everyone gets a pair! Well then we start picking more people up on the way, and some creepy guy sits next to me. Didn't speak English well, and when I say creepy I mean creepy! He kept leaning towards me and his hand kept rubbing against my side the WHOLE trip. I was an inch from telling him off when we came into Galway. So creepy.
Then after checking into my hotel (which is right on the harbor) I was waiting to cross the street to check out this menu at a restaurant, when this guy came up to me. Started talking about wanting to buy me a drink sometime, looks like I'd be a good friend, can I get your mobile number, blah blah. Says he's from Galway and has a Jamaican accent hmm... Anyways he was creepin' me the hell out. I was trying to be polite and I think he finally got the hint to just give up. Then walking through Eyre square (still looking for a restaurant) another guy (true Irish this one) came up to me (with two of his friends tagging along behind us) askin' me stuff like where am I from, what am I doin' here. I asked him for a decent place to eat and he pointed out this pub. I headed in and he and his friends followed. He bought me a Bulmers and then another E50 worth of guinness for his friends! It was crazy. Was really chatty with me and then got his beer and gave me my Bulmers, told me to enjoy, and then walked completely away.
At that point I just chugged the Bulmers and left (it was crowded and noisy anyways). Of course, chugging a pint of alcohol in ten minutes when all you've eaten that day was toast and eggs 8 hours ago isn't the soberest of ideas. So I kept walking to find a restaurant and at this point I didn't want to be hit on, or whatever you might call it, anymore so I dove into the nearest one.
Well I happened to dive into a RIDICULOUSLY expensive one (think E16 for a bowl of pasta). I ended up getting two appetizers - muscle and coconut chowder (which was AMAZING and that's saying something because I hate coconut, but this was SO damn good) and fish cakes with thai flavored butter. Came to E17 but I think it was worth it, especially since I hadn't eaten much else today.

On top of that when I got to the ticket office (at 5:45) I discovered that it closed at 5:30. Ugh so I couldn't get my tickets for the show I was supposed to see tonight. I hope I get a refund! So now I'm back in my hotel for the night... I'm tired anyways. Maybe I'll transcribe some of the songs I've recorded.

Also it's cold here. Like, 50s. Brrrrr... long sleeves for sure tomorrow!

Irish Traditional Music Archives

I wish I could spend more time here...
The WEALTH of information is unbelievable! They had an entire volume of books on Irish fiddling bowing techniques! AH! In heaven I tell you! But I did some general research on stuff I was really interested in - like the different kinds of music and the different instruments used in Irish trad music and where they come from. It's also interesting seeing the different types of music from the different counties. Click below to read my notes (though they are a bit long, and perhaps sporadic, I was there for 4 hours! Gimme a break!)

I also learned today, that looking for a good place to eat cannot only be judged by the menus posted outside - one must also look for places WITHOUT CHILDREN. Or least ones with mothers who know how to discipline. 3 yr olds throwing a temper tantrum in a cafe because they don't serve pizza is ok. Having that temper tantrum last more than ten minutes, or even more so before the mother decides "Oh hey, people are angry. I'll bring you outside and try to talk you out of it" is NOT OKAY. Ah!
Also, I now have a pair of shoes I will NEVER wear again. I have blisters all over my feet :( One HUGE one on my pinky two (think the size of a nickel,and the height of about a quarter inch) and another on the back of my heel (size of a quarter, height of a half inch). GROSS. And painful. And annoying. Flip flops it is! I don't care what anyone says, they're comfy!

How to Tell and Irishman from a Tourist

1) When it rains, all the tourists run for cover.

2) The Irish Prime Minister rides in the front of the car (next to the driver). They are the only nation in the world to do this.

3) When told they are leaving a pub in 5 minutes:
A tourist will: finish their pint
An Irishman will: panic and order 3 more pints

Perhaps a little kitchy...

But a learned a hell of a lot from the bus driver!

He was so informative - he spoke Irish, French and a bit of Dutch too! He was in the Irish military until he was 38 and he helped me figure out the license plates haha!
E.G. 00 D 3456 = a vehicle registered in 2000 in Dublin, and the chronological number of which it was registered - in this case it was the 3,456th car registered in that year.

-interesting I guess.

The Merry Ploughboy was great. Food was FANTASTIC - I got the beef, which I normally wouldn't do, but man am I glad I did! I got a goat cheese appetizer and everyone got an apple and berry crumble dessert. All so good. I was by myself and the people next to me, French, bought me a round of Bailey's - a toast and a smile are universal. I wish I could have bought them a round back... back I don't have 25Euro to spend on drinks unfortunately.

The band played some really really traditional stuff, but also played some really ... touristy stuff (think Danny Boy and Molly Malone). The dancers were fantastic and after the show the guitarist from the band came up to me. He said in his Irish accent "I knew there was one person here alone, and I thought to myself "I've got to meet this person and find out what they're up to!"" After finding out I'm here for school (and my finding out that he's one of the owners of the place) he invited me back, whenever I could, free of charge! (which is 55Euro!) I'm wondering if I could come back the night we get back to Dublin at the end of the trip... not sure yet.

Anyways, my bus driver, Willy, who I spoke with the whole trip, recommended some things for me to look for on my travels:

1)Sean-nós [Shan-nos]: one of the finest of the traditional Irish arts. It is often characterized by unaccompanied performance in Irish or in English; free rhythm, relative lack of vibrato or dynamic change, and especially by the use of rapid, melismatic ornamentation.

2)Sean-nós dance: a highly improvisational, low to the ground, rhythmic dance form in which the dancer is free to interpret the music. The dancer is the visual/ percussive expression of the musical tradition and musician and dancer are in conversation. Using hips and arms, the dancer beats rhythmic steps that are closely linked to the music and musician. Traditionally, a dancer danced solo on the hardwood of a half door or the round top of a barrel, as a result the steps are confined to a small space.

Another random tidbit - I also learned that the Irish for road, bóthar, [bo-har] literally means "the way of the cows," as most roads came from old cow paths.

I also learned another very important word on this trip: Sláinte [Slan-cha], meaning "health." It is usually used in a toast, shortened from Sláinte mhaith [Slan-cha why], meaning "good health." Most Irish will say it translates to "to your health!"

I'll see if I can get some audio clips up soon!

[EDIT]: Here's a clip!



This is a song done mostly on the Uilleann [ill-in] Pipes. Uilleann translates to "Elbow" and is adequately named so. It differs from the Scottish bagpipes in many ways.
For starts you HAVE to sit to play these pipes. Instead of blowing straight into the bag, a bellows is placed between one elbow and the body and the bag the other. You pump the bellows with your elbow to put air into the bag, and then squeeze the bag against your body to blow air through the chanter (the part on which the finger play). On top of this and moving your fingers to create notes, not only are there drone pipes but also harmonizing pipes. By place the heel of your hand, wrist, or free fingers onto the holes in these extra pipes you can create chords. Complex indeed. Most pipe players are such because the skill has been handed down to them from generations past. They are a sitting musical instrument, while their Scottish cousin is a war instrument - it's blazing sound heard for miles was to announce their march and strike fear into their enemies.

I also learned that Bodhrán is pronounced [bow-ron], the h makes the d silent. It comes from 'bodhar' meaning "dull sounding" or "deaf" in Irish.

Hmm... the bar below me is playing "Piano Man"...

So I went out for the musical pub crawl - which THANKFULLY wasn't all touristy. There was a small group, maybe 20 people... and two musicians - a fiddler and a guitarist, who also played bodhran. They were great and when they asked someone to come up and sing a song or something, well, I asked if I could borrow her fiddle. :)

Cue audio! Jerusalem Ridge on the Musical Pub Tour!




I screwed up the ending - I was so nervous! All these tourists and I was competing against the traditional players! But I think all were impressed :)


Here's a song that they did, I have yet to figure out the name:




So happy I went on this tour - if you want authentic go with this! These musician's also play in the sessions in the pubs around Dublin and know who's good and who's authentic. It's great - I plan on going to Boes, where there are usually a great fiddler, piper, and percussionist. Sessions usually start around 9pm, but really get rocking around 10:30 or so, after their "requirement" to the barman has been paid and their cigarette break has been taken.

I go to sleep tonight listening to "Drowsy Maggie" coming from the restaurant/pub below me. I love Ireland.

[EDIT] I am continuing to update this post as I get the files uploaded and useful... takes a while.

Coming from JFK

What a LONG FLIGHT. Ugh. Especially when sitting next to this old broad shouldered British guy who refused to stay on his side of the seat and REEKED of wine... reminds me of a UK version of George Carlin's "guy in the Grateful Dead T-Shirt and the F*@! You hat!"

But anyways - it really was no problem. I was worried a bit about getting my violin on board but it worked out just fine. I just acted like I did it all the time and no one questioned me at all. I took an AirCoach bus from the airport into Dublin's city centre - I got off one stop more than I probably should have but whatever, just a bit more exercise. Bought me a "mobile," as they call cell phones over here. Got batters and some adapters - cuz I forgot mine :( Stupid. Fairly cheap though, 9 E. Not too bad.

There was a girl playing themes from the Titanic on her violin in the middle of the street... case open for tips of course - I've found quite a few people do that over here. I guess in some places you need a license for it - but not here.

So I finally got into the hotel room after the people at the front desk realized I fell asleep (and was probably snoring) on their couch. And now I'm typing this from my bed. It's a great room - only one floor up and just straight across the hallway - kinda noisy though; most rooms in hotels in Ireland don't have air conditioning so my window is half open right now. I must say though, it's quite nice - it's only around 65, 70 here. So windows open is just fine with me!

I can deal with the noise - especially after being awake for 24 hours straight, sitting next to a guy who took up 1 1/3 of 2 seats for 6 hours straight, walking around Dublin for 2 hours straight, and all the while having traveling ...sicknesses. Oh yummy. I've discovered I don't travel well... at least not by plane.

Anyways I need some rest if I'm gonna go on that musical pub crawl tonight!