Buffalo Irish Festival

[Wompet]

Okay, so I'm about a week and a half posting this, but August 24-26th was the annual Buffalo Irish Festival. (Actually, I mentioned this as a potential SOKS gathering, but not in this forum.)

Anyway, every year about the third weekend in August, the local Irish societies (of which there are a lot of in Buffalo) hold this festival which starts on a Friday night, and goes through Sunday night. There are the usual booths, t-shirts, buttons, jewelry, knick-knacks and such (didn't see anything too cheesy), but the main draw is the music. In addition to local and regional talent, they also have nationally and internationally named talent.

It started (officially) with the parade of the 32 counties:


and then the musicians started playing on the three separate stages.

Of the sixteen different musical acts, I only caught a half dozen or so.
Top of the list was Paddy Keenan. I had heard recordings of Uilleann pipes, but I had never seen them played or heard them live. I was lucky that the first time I experienced both, Paddy Keenan was the person playing them. I caught two of his shows. I have never seen a piper finger so fast, and the music was amazing.



This next bit has nothing to do with the music, but you can't have an Irish festival without Irish Wolfhounds, can you?

This little fellow was 12 and a half weeks old. He and his older (and bigger) brother took part in the Parade of Counties, and he came back again Saturday. I'm waiting to see what he'll look like in a year.

[Wompet]

Let's see - I missed the Glengharry Bhoys completely, but caught Scythian (good), Penny Whiskey (good), Greenwich Meantime (eh), The Dublin City Ramblers (more relaxed than I generally care for, but very good).
(It sort of says something, doesn't it? I wouldn't normally listen to relaxed Irish folk music, but my brother and I stopped and listened to them.)

For a good bit of light entertainment, Seamus Kennedy was there this year. It was interesting to see him split the one show I did see between his adult material (sanitized for a family audience) and his children's material.
And his outfit was something to see:

With the lighting and distance from the stage, this is the most in-focus picture I took. Of course, my camera may have kept from focusing as an act of self-preservation.
Well, it can't be a kilt don't if there's no photographic evidence, can it?

[Wompet]

And finally, there was Barleyjuice. Despite what Jimmy Carbomb may say, their first two shows weren't that bad. The guy running the sound board for the first one should be beat about the head and shoulders with a shillelagh.

(Sorry, Jimmy, you were in the picture after all.)

How can I put this ... BARLEYJUICE ROCKS!
Yep, that pretty much covers it - music, performance, energy. All there.
And they had couple of Kilt DOs: do wear a cowboy hat with your kilt, and do play a squeezebox kilted.


One last thing about Barleyjuice, or at least Jimmy Carbomb. While my brother and I were strolling around Saturday night, we walked behind the tent/stage where Barleyjuice had their shows. Jimmy, who I hadn't met before, looks at my Sackett kilt and says 'nice tartan,' and we start talking. When I mentioned XMarks, he asked why we hadn't made a kilt night out of it. To the SOKS - I gave him your excuses, but he was disappointed in you guys. And then he takes a good look at my brother and asks him where his kilt was. My brother answers that he doesn't have one yet, so Jimmy eyeballs him, says "You're about a 31 waist, right?", goes over to his car (which was parked there), opens the trunk, and pulls out

We went for the music, and came out with a free kilt.

Anyway, since the festival is held annually, I would recommend anyone who likes Irish music and dancing (I didn't mention them earlier, but there were five dance schools) and is in the region to try and stop by next year.

[Yaish]

I'm originally from Buffalo, born and raised there. I did move out when I was 20, joined the Marines and havent been back except to visit.

When I lived there I didn't remember any Irish festivals, despite there being a HUGE Irish population there. I do remember lots of Polish festivals though.

Cool pictures, brings back some memories. I may have to arrange to take the wife back to see where I grew up.

[Panache]

Sounds like a really fun time, and bully for Jimmy Carbomb kilting the unkilted!

By the by, no excuses needed foer the cute puppy.

Cheers

Jamie

[Livingston]

For a good bit of light entertainment, Seamus Kennedy was there this year. It was interesting to see him split the one show I did see between his adult material (sanitized for a family audience) and his children's material.
And his outfit was something to see:

With the lighting and distance from the stage, this is the most in-focus picture I took. Of course, my camera may have kept from focusing as an act of self-preservation.
Well, it can't be a kilt don't if there's no photographic evidence, can it?

Seamus has been at the Estes Park games just about every year. He always seems to have one day that he wears a Hawaiian shirt. Claims to be part of the McHo clan and that their Cheif is Don McHo

I DO have photographic evidence.

[Livingston]

Let's see - I missed the Glengharry Bhoys completely, but caught Scythian (good), Penny Whiskey (good), Greenwich Meantime (eh), The Dublin City Ramblers (more relaxed than I generally care for, but very good).
(It sort of says something, doesn't it? I wouldn't normally listen to relaxed Irish folk music, but my brother and I stopped and listened to them.)

For a good bit of light entertainment, Seamus Kennedy was there this year. It was interesting to see him split the one show I did see between his adult material (sanitized for a family audience) and his children's material.
And his outfit was something to see:
[SNIP}
With the lighting and distance from the stage, this is the most in-focus picture I took. Of course, my camera may have kept from focusing as an act of self-preservation.
Well, it can't be a kilt don't if there's no photographic evidence, can it?

Here's a better pic I got of Seamus last year at the games in Estes.

[Livingston]

Let's see - I missed the Glengharry Bhoys completely, but caught Scythian (good), Penny Whiskey (good), Greenwich Meantime (eh), The Dublin City Ramblers (more relaxed than I generally care for, but very good).
(It sort of says something, doesn't it? I wouldn't normally listen to relaxed Irish folk music, but my brother and I stopped and listened to them.)

For a good bit of light entertainment, Seamus Kennedy was there this year. It was interesting to see him split the one show I did see between his adult material (sanitized for a family audience) and his children's material.
And his outfit was something to see:
[SNIP]
With the lighting and distance from the stage, this is the most in-focus picture I took. Of course, my camera may have kept from focusing as an act of self-preservation.
Well, it can't be a kilt don't if there's no photographic evidence, can it?

Here's a better pic I got of Seamus last year at the games in Estes.

[McClef]

And Seamus is in a County Antrim!

Just like what I wore in Ireland!