A wonderful experience, indeed. We got there early to work with dancers for two of our sets, listened to GS’s sound check, did our sound check (they listened to us as well), got a bite to eat, then went on around 7:40pm. The venue was WorkPlay in Birmingham, and it was packed to the top of the balconies with people standing. The audience was there to hear Celtic music and we did our best to get them warmed up for Gaelic Storm. I’d consider our part of the show a resounding success! The audeince was into it, clapping along, stomping their feet, and dancing in front of the stage. We were pumped! The crowd wanted an encore, but our time was up. The dancers, ranging in age from about 8-15 were a nice addition, and a big hit. A photographer from the newspaper is sending me all the shots he took, so we’ll be adding them to our web site soon.
Gaelic Storm was just that… a storm! Their percussionist is phenominal, and they’re all excellent musicians. Very high energy, and if you like their CDs, you absolutley need to see them live. Not only are they superb musicians, but also very entertaining with their stage presence and crowd interaction. We learned a lot from watching them. I was pretty tired from getting only about an hour’s sleep the night before, and had some family obligations the next morning, so drove my weary self back home to Huntsville after GS’s first set. So unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to hang out with them. But I did get a chance to talk to Steve Wehmeyer and Peter Purvis for a while. Wish I could have met the rest of GS, but the opportunity just didn’t present itself. Next time…
A wondefully exciting evening, to be sure.
DC
SlipJig Celtic Band
http://www.slipjigband.com
(still grinning)