Berea Irish Fest...

Yesterday Zen Librarian and I headed to the Irish Fest. We missed last year so figured it was time to check it out again. Especially since a band we have long wanted to see was playing. We decided to stop at one of our fav brewpubs for an early dinner and a couple of beers.I had the Sandstone Lager and the Angry Gorilla. Both get high marks for me. The bartender told us that later that night they were going to show the movie The Goonies outside. They were going to project it on the side of the local bank. We both would have liked to stay for that but the Irish Fest was calling.

Not sure if it was the heat or the threat of rain, but the parking lot for the fest was not that crowded. It was a short walk to the gate and then time to pay the $10 admission. This was one of those events that requires you to stand in line to buy tickets and then stand in line again to get your beer. I understand it consolidates where the money is handled but it is still annoying. And they need to fix the sign at the ticket booth. It says beers are 3 tickets ($3), but when you actually go to the beer stand you find that Guinness, Smithwicks, and Harp are 4 tickets. Bud and the other cheap stuff is 3 tickets. So that means my initial purchase was off since I budgeted our beers at the 3 ticket level. More standing in line to come...

A few text messages and we found our friend Jon and his brother Cliff at the main stage. We also saw our friend George and got to finally meet Gino. The band The Elders were playing. I had never heard them before and was pleasantly surprised by how good they were. After the Elders a short intermission and then the band Seven Nations took the stage. We have seen them before and it was good seeing them again. They put on a really good show. Unfortunately the rain started at this time and we were out in the open. We tried to stick it out since it was a light rain but we finally moved under the stands to wait it out since the covered area was all full. Another couple of beers and we headed back out after the rain ended. We found a spot with Jon and George to stand that had a really good view. Then came the final band of the night and the one we came to see--The Young Dubliners. We have been wanting to see them for a number of years so we were excited to finally be able to see them. I only recognised a couple of songs but it was still a high energy show. Towards the end the rain came back a bit harder so we moved to a covered spot to watch the rest of the show.

One of the fun things to do at an event like that is to people watch at the shows. I just don't get some of these people. I don't remember acting like some of these idiots at shows when I was that age. Am I getting that old? When did going out to see a band become an excuse to take pictures of each other? Do they need a reminder of how drunk they got? And how stupid they were acting? Watching these people hanging all over each other and spilling their beers everywhere is not my idea of a good time.

Overall it was a fun night. I had some good beers. I enjoyed meeting up with friends and seeing some good music. And that is what is important.