Last night the rain turned to snow for a while, and for some reason that made the weather more tolerable for a bit. Rain is just wet when it's cold; snow has the added benefit of being beautiful. So although my walk to dinner and the pubs was somewhat miserable, the walk home was kind of magical.
Dinner was unexpected, as in, I didn't get what I'd ordered. I popped into a Tex-Mex-type place...not exactly fast food, because everything was made to order. I asked for a chicken burrito, but the counter guy didn't hear me correctly, and 10 minutes later I was staring at a chicken burger. I was so hungry I just took it anyway. He felt badly for getting the order wrong, I guess, because a few minutes later he delivered a cheese-and-tomato-sauce-laden plate of chips (fries). Just awful, but I ate about half of them anyway.
I was ready for some music, so I went first to Tig Coili Bar nearby on Shop Street. Got me a pint and waited. And waited. I saw instrument cases. A couple of guys were miming playing something and discussing it intently over in the musicians' corner. But after an hour, still nothing. It being 9:30, the time the bar across the street, Taaffes, advertised "live trad music at 5:30 and 9:30," I meandered over. Bouncers greet you at each pub, though they're not too menacing looking.
Taaffes was packed--packed--with a handful of locals and a ton of tourists and students. The musicians began to set up. At around 9:55--finally--they began to play. Though it was hard to see anything, the first set of tunes was dominated by someone playing spoons. It was difficult to tell whether he was part of the act or a drunk student, but everything was so loud that it didn't seem to matter. The second tune was an old pub drinking song and I was out of there. This was a performance for tourists, and I was in the wrong place.
Back across the street, Tig Coili's session was in session, but by then it was unbelievably packed, loud, and difficult to hear. I left there not 5 minutes later, ready to go home. By then the snow had begun to fall, and the streets were fairly empty, save for a few cars rushing to get home.
On a hunch, I figured I'd stop by the Crane Bar on the way home. As I walked by, I heard a lively button accordion playing, so I popped in and up the stairs to where a much quieter and civilised audience was sitting and listening to a group playing--fiddle, a couple of guitars, and accordion--some wonderful and intense music. I sat down at a table near the door, and I was in my element. I sat next to a Canadian woman who is studying music and perception (whatever that means), and in talking with her during the break she invited me to participate in a study for her research. We talked about the music and the musicians and we compared stories for a bit.
I walked home through the falling snow, tired and sated, and awoke to more rain. It'll be a good day for curling up with my Kindle and reading in front of the artificial--but very warm--wood-burning stove in the living room.
Dinner was unexpected, as in, I didn't get what I'd ordered. I popped into a Tex-Mex-type place...not exactly fast food, because everything was made to order. I asked for a chicken burrito, but the counter guy didn't hear me correctly, and 10 minutes later I was staring at a chicken burger. I was so hungry I just took it anyway. He felt badly for getting the order wrong, I guess, because a few minutes later he delivered a cheese-and-tomato-sauce-laden plate of chips (fries). Just awful, but I ate about half of them anyway.
I was ready for some music, so I went first to Tig Coili Bar nearby on Shop Street. Got me a pint and waited. And waited. I saw instrument cases. A couple of guys were miming playing something and discussing it intently over in the musicians' corner. But after an hour, still nothing. It being 9:30, the time the bar across the street, Taaffes, advertised "live trad music at 5:30 and 9:30," I meandered over. Bouncers greet you at each pub, though they're not too menacing looking.
Taaffes was packed--packed--with a handful of locals and a ton of tourists and students. The musicians began to set up. At around 9:55--finally--they began to play. Though it was hard to see anything, the first set of tunes was dominated by someone playing spoons. It was difficult to tell whether he was part of the act or a drunk student, but everything was so loud that it didn't seem to matter. The second tune was an old pub drinking song and I was out of there. This was a performance for tourists, and I was in the wrong place.
Back across the street, Tig Coili's session was in session, but by then it was unbelievably packed, loud, and difficult to hear. I left there not 5 minutes later, ready to go home. By then the snow had begun to fall, and the streets were fairly empty, save for a few cars rushing to get home.
On a hunch, I figured I'd stop by the Crane Bar on the way home. As I walked by, I heard a lively button accordion playing, so I popped in and up the stairs to where a much quieter and civilised audience was sitting and listening to a group playing--fiddle, a couple of guitars, and accordion--some wonderful and intense music. I sat down at a table near the door, and I was in my element. I sat next to a Canadian woman who is studying music and perception (whatever that means), and in talking with her during the break she invited me to participate in a study for her research. We talked about the music and the musicians and we compared stories for a bit.
I walked home through the falling snow, tired and sated, and awoke to more rain. It'll be a good day for curling up with my Kindle and reading in front of the artificial--but very warm--wood-burning stove in the living room.
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| The view from my bedroom window. |
what a lovely report, you could have come to Portland :) and we have voodoo donuts! last night we heard a rousing bluegrass band, greensky something or other. the fastest bluegrass I've ever heard, and the crowd was mostly wearing the same outfits as the band. lots of checkered shirts and bluejeans. no tourists...
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