Whelan's

I've had a really, really, wonderful time touring the coastal countryside of Ireland. Wandering pastures, beaches, and tiny towns on my own was a mind expanding experience, but I must admit I was getting a bit lonely. So, I made my way back to Dublin, back to the home of Katrina and family. It felt really good to be in Dublin again. It is so similar to Portland, to me, that it felt a bit like coming home. It was good to see the residents of the Corcoran household. Tiny hugs from Hanna and Liam were very welcoming. After dinner Kat and I had a nice long walk around the neighborhood and talked the stuff of life, as we do. 


The next day I headed into Dublin looking for lunch. Wound up at Sinnotts around 3ish. The pub was pretty cool. Pictures of famous writers hung on the walls. I sat underneath a photo of WB Yeats and ordered a burger. The pub was pretty empty except for a couple folks at the bar. I hung out there and read my book for a while, then walked over to Road Records, a cool little local, independently owned, record store. I had seen in the local paper that Mark Geary was to perform at Whelan's and I could purchase a ticket there. I discovered Mark when he came through Portland on tour with The Frames several years ago. Guy with guitar stuff. I liked it. Plus, Whelan's is one of those Dublin things you have to do. It's a very intimate place to see music, similar to Satyricon, back in the day. The sound is good, and the vibe is relaxed. All the tables and chairs were occupied when I got there, so I got a pint at the bar and settled myself in, standing against the wall by the sound booth. I was standing next to a guy, that, seriously, had about 4 pints to my 1 in the span of an hour. Mark played really well, and since this was going to be his last performance in Dublin for a long time (moving to NYC), he had invited some local musicians to join him. Some folks I hadn't heard of before got up and sang a few songs. Good voices, good songs. The set was just about over when Glen Hansard made his way up to the stage. The crowd ooh'ed and ahh'ed and even heckled him as he joined Mark for a few songs. He and Mark did one duet, then all the folks that had sang that night joined in for a last song. Mark thanked the musicians, thanked the crowd, then everyone hung out and chatted for a bit. I introduced myself to Glen. He asked me where I was form (because I had and accent. ha!) then we talked about how much he liked Portland and Stumptown coffee. We chatted about a lot of things, he is very genuine and charming. It's good when you meet one of your heros, and they exceed your expectations. There were several wonderful moments during our conversation that I can't really relate in words. His undivided attention, how expressive his eyes and face were, the touching of hands and shoulders, how I made him laugh. Folks starting interrupting us to say hello to him, so I made a graceful exit. I walked about 40 minutes, through Rathmines, in the rain, to Kat's house. Got home a little after midnight. I didn't have a rain coat or umbrella, and didn't care how wet or cold I was. It was a really cool evening.