Trad Fest

Each day, I wake up, eat breakfast and pack lunch, go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to bed. 

I am in one of the coolest cities in the world, and during the week right now, I basically see my office and the inside of my apartment.  Same old, same old. 

I'd like to say it's not my fault - I don't know many people yet, so when they cancel plans or don't want to do anything, then I have no one to go out with.  I could also blame safety.  I don't want to go out at night by myself because it's not safe to walk alone on unknown streets in the dark.

During the week, I reluctantly give in to the pattern, but tonight is Friday.  Tonight is going to be different!  There are a ton of concerts going on all over Dublin because this week is Trad Fest.  Every afternoon and evening, bands are playing in all of the major pubs and Irish heritage films are being shown in the cinemas.  If I am lucky enough to be in a city during a festival, then I want to take advantage.

I ask at work if anyone wants to hang out...."I'm too tired" is the response. 

I ask my roommate if she wants to go out for a pint after dinner..."It's too expensive" is the response.  Yes, a pint is expensive, but if you are only having one then paying 5 euro for a whole night out is actually pretty cheap if you ask me. 

Sigh...another early night.  I decide to at least go out and get my grocery shopping done for the week.  I wasn't quite sure where the Tesco was located, but I made my way.  While I was walking, I started to feel more adventurous.  I was out at night right now, and everything seemed safe enough.

There must have been something in the night air because I felt downright intoxicated with fortitude by the time I finished at the store.  I would go out, even if I had to go alone!  I was not going to let my decisions be ruled by other people's availability.  I wanted to spend a night at Trad Fest, and nothing was going to stop me! (Right after I put away the groceries of course....but that kind of deflates the excitement I was attempting to build.)

The Temple Bar area is the heartbeat of Dublin and was also where most of the musical acts would be performing.  There is a pub on every corner and shops line the cobbled streets.  The sector is so much more alive at night, as though it runs on a reverse time schedule from the rest of the city.   I realized right away, however, that I was not quite dressed appropriately.  I had just thrown on sneakers in my haste to get down to Temple Bar (and besides, my apartment is a half an hour walk away from city center - who wants to do that in heels?).  Most people were bundled from the cold (except for a few crazy drunk girls wearing mini skirts), so I would have been fine in jeans but sneakers are out.

 I decided to just walk towards music and enter the first pub that made the loudest noise. That pub turned out to be The Auld Dubliner.  Despite my newfound fortitude, I still felt a little weird going to a bar by myself.  I didn't want to be "that person" who sits alone and drinks in a corner.  I figured that I would try to find a table with one or two people and see if I could join them.  When I opened the door, however, I changed plans. 

The room was packed like a sardine can!  The guitarist was sitting right next to the door; I had to maneuvar so that I wouldn't hit the neck of his guitar as I came in.  I was greeted by a sea of bodies, a hundred people stood elbow to elbow listening to the music.  I inched my way in between an older woman and a bunch of guys, and I literally only made it two feet inside the door.  If I moved slightly to let someone else get in, my space was sucked up right away and I had to inch my way back.

I quickly gave up on the idea about getting to the bar area.  Instead, I just stood as part of the crowd and enjoyed the most beautiful music.  A guy played a guitar while his partner sang.  She also played the fiddle and the penny whistle (though not at the same time, of course).  They played popular songs like "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" by Marvin Gay, but they Irish-ized them.  The duo put a whole new twist on the songs by adding traditional licks and improvising new strands. 

The guy played his guitar so hard that a string actually burst and flew off in the middle of a song.  The girl had a gorgeous alto voice which could be both ribald for a drinking song, and hauntigly lyrical for a slow mourning song.  At times, you could hear a pin drop as everyone was silent to listen.  At other times, every single person in the pub sang along to the chorus with one hand holding a drink and the other hand holding a friend.  The weather outside was cold, but everyone inside was snug and warm, singing close together.

When the girl wasn't singing, she was playing the fiddle to join the guitar.  Her fingers would fly over the strings as she stamped her foot to the beat.  You could almost see the notes dance across the room as she slid her bow across. I could have sat for hours listening to them.  I have never heard a fiddle played live before, but now I am in love.  You can't appreciate the sound until you have heard it right in front of you in the atmosphere of a genuine pub. 

I left after they finished their set because I didn't want to stay out too late (baby steps, baby steps).  On my way home, I passed a group of people giving out free hugs.  They all carried signs that said "Free Hug from Mexico," or from France, or from Australia.  It sounds weird in written form here, but it was actually quite cute in a hippie sort of way.  Everyone in the Temple Bar area is very chill and happy....and also very drunk.

As I crossed the bridge to get back to O'Connell Street, I thought two guys standing next to the edge seemed a little strange.  What were they doing?  I wished that I hadn't looked.  Let's just say that I won't be taking a drink out of the Liffey River any time soon. 

All in all, it was a nice night.  I still think it's nicer when you can go out with another person so that you can share the experience, but I'm also glad that I didn't let being alone stop me from doing something new.