Saturday, March 24, 2007

More from St. Patrick's Day

What could be more fun than playing the night away on St. Patrick's Day?

Dave, Jim, Lee, Josh, and Pat are in recovery mode now, working on new material for our next gig. Thanks to everyone for coming out to hear us!

Sunday, March 18, 2007

St Pat's 2007

Well, three-fifths of the band started out the day with a warm-up session at the Keegan and O'Sullivan St. Patrick's feast at the Maxwell Inn in bustling Maxwell, California. It's a big family-and-friends affair that's been going on for years, and we've played there once before. Many young dancers (2 to 6 years old) were there. Others who probably didn't start out the day feeling so young also joined in, and looked more youthful with every bouncing step! Thanks to the family for having us, the Maxwell Inn for a fantastic buffet, and most of all, Great-Grandmother Rose Ann Burns Lang, without whose genetic contribution I wouldn't be Irish at all.

On the way out of the Maxwell Inn, Lee had a surprise encounter with a bear. It's really not that uncommon in Maxwell. At first Lee was little startled, but it turned out after a brief conversation they realized they were actually related. You know, wasn't I just hearing that everyone's Irish on St. Paddy's Day? And so the bear grabs this huge pillow, gives it a squeeze, and buys Lee a drink. You just can't beat small-town hospitality.

Later on, the three-fifths drove down to Davis, picked up another fifth or two, and the whole band enjoyed great weather and a fine Saturday night crowd for St. Patrick's Day dinner at Little Prague in Davis! Great, great, great! Many thanks to the mysterious, small pair of step dancers (Are the wee folk about?), a dinner crowd that was happy to clap and shout at appropriate intervals, and Vaclav, Eva, and their crew who turned the cozy Czech restaurant into a C(z)eltic haven if just for the night. Oh, and many thanks from the band to the generous tippers who remember that, yes, applause is all very well and good, but by itself it don't put rosin on the bow (or bread on the table).

I'll post some shots of the Little Prague gig shortly. Til then, just look at the photo up at the top right of this page and imagine us all a year older: some taller, some balder, some . . . well, altered in shape. On second thought, let's not imagine that. You'll see when we get some new photos online.