As most of you know I did my own little YCMS tour last week. I went to the gigs in Limerick, Dublin, Cork and Waterford (and some other gigs of other artists in between).
My tour started off in Limerick. Unfortunately not the best gig for me. During the second song, someone broke a pint on my foot. I spent half the gig getting the glass out of my (open) shoes and socks. Luckily I got away with just a few scratches. But I did miss the first part of the gig, which had loads of the new songs. I spent the rest of the gig in the back where I could get both some distance and some perspective. It's always a good experience to see a band you love from a distance. When you're not too close to the stage, you no longer see Ró doing this, Kieran doing that and so on.. you see the band playing their songs and you see the audience's reaction to it. You do miss some of the atmosphere, but you gain a different sort of atmosphere. The lads played a really good gig, a great mixture of old and new songs. Idle Conversation come up somewhere in the middle of the set but Ró explained it was not yet the end. They ended with Stop. I would have prefered to see Stop somewhere in the middle and Idle Conversation at the end, but as one of them mentioned at a later gig, you have to be open to change.
Really enjoyed the support that night as well (the second support, the first one was some random dude singing songs with an accoustic guitar, actually he was not that bad but when I tried to tell him that later that night he nearly fell over on top of me.. literally couldn't keep on his feet), they're a band from Dublin called Planet Parade. I bought an EP off them and it's brilliant. Go see them if you get a chance.
I met the new merchandise manager (I love that title) Niall that night. He went to school with Kieran and is now.. well.. managing their merchandise. He's a very nice guy and we had a lovely chat, actually at each gig I went to. I met Gouj too.. multiple times.
So Dolan's was a little bit of a let down not because of Delos but because of the whole broken pint thing, but I knew I had three more to go.
Delorentos in Dolan'sThe next day I got up at a crazy hour to get a bus to Dublin. I wanted to see the Villagers play an instore at Road Records, so I had to be there in time.
Delorentos played Whelan's that night and I was very excited about this for multiple reasons. First of all I'd never been to Whelan's before and I had heard so many great stories. Second, it was my birthday the next day so I was preparing for midnight birthday hugs. Third and most of all, I was meeting loads of great friends that night! Met up with Emma in the afternoon and Niall joined us later on in Whelan's. Great to see Parissima as well, she's not on here, but she's a great and dedicated fan from France, living in London. Nice to know I'm not the only one, huh?
Met Hazel there as well and her mum, it was great to see everyone. You could really tell that this was going to be a special gig. It was sold out, the place was buzzing with excitement. The support was alright in my opinion. They weren't bad at all, I just didn't believe they were really into their music. It seemed like an act and I didn't feel it at all.
Delorentos, however, they were into it! It's such a wonderful thing to have fun at a gig and see that the band are enjoying themselves as well. They played the same set as in Dolan's but with the adition of two songs, Neon (Kieran had told me the previous night they wanted to play an old one, I voted for She's So Modern but he wanted to get "the other band members' opinions".. anyway, Neon was great as well) and The Rules. At the beginning of the gig it looked a little bit like Ró was going to take apart the entire stage. He broke a string first and then his microphone stand. Luckily that was it
I loved being in a group of friends during this gig. There was lots of dancing, singing along, throwing our hands in the air.. things I am always a bit reluctant to do when I'm at a gig by myself. It was such good fun. Kieran was doing his male-affection thing, hanging into Níal and Ró while playing. I love seeing that, it makes me feel like they enjoy themselves and like they're a band, together, all four of them.
Sticked around for a bit after the gig to collect my birthday wishes, haha. Got loads of hugs and at least three Happy Birthdays from Ross.. he got a bit confused I guess.
I had a little break from things before I travelled over to Cork to see them play Cyprus Avenue. I got there a bit early because it was raining the whole day and I wanted to be inside. And also because Kieran said I could have a peek at the soundcheck. If anyone's wondering what it's like backstage before a gig.. well.. just a bunch of lads waiting for something to happen really. It was fun to see though. Ross kept asking if I was bored. I may have been a little bit, but it was still a nice experience for me.
Planet Parade were supporting again, they were as great as in Dolan's.
Delorentos played a good gig. The crowd was into it, just a really good gig altogether. It wasn't as special as Whelan's though and I found myself wondering if I should have stopped at the peak. It was still fun to meet with some more friends and hang with Niall at the merchandise stand. The conversations you have with people there, very interesting. I made it a relatively early night. Doesn't mean I didn't have trouble getting out of bed the next morning. All the travelling and all the gigging as starting to take its toll.
Delorentos in Cyprus AvenueNiall from the merchandise and his friend Sandra, showing off the gorgeous Secret t-shirtMy last Delos gig was in Waterford. I met with Hazel in the afternoon to go to the outdoors instore they did at BPM Records. It was really cool to see them do an instore. I never get to be around for these kind of things, so I was happy I got to see this during my trip. Ró and Kieran were playing outside and we were standing on the opposite side of the road watching. Lots of people walked past, looking at us funny, looking at the band funny or sticking around for a bit because they were interested. It made for a good amount of laughs. So funny to see Ró sing his song while his eyes are following a passed by. There was a dog barking through the whole thing, a little kid who walked past, caught Ró's eye and stood in his steps completely mesmerized (until his mum pulled him along with her). Ró said afterwards that he had found it embarrassing, but I really didn't feel that way. It was relaxed and funny and they played some beautiful songs. Of course it's different from a gig where people know you and cannot just walk past, but I still think they did a great job.
Instore performanceDelorentos weren't on until half twelve that night, and I was about to start falling apart completely. I did however manage to gain enough energy to get me through the largest part of the gig in Electric Avenue. It was a weird gig. Very weird. The crowd was mad.. lots of really drunk people. Some of them just stood there gazing at the band, others thought they should tell all the band members separately that they LOVE them.. during the gig. It wasn't a very nice crowd to be in and we noticed that Delorentos also didn't like it that much. They played a good gig however. Besides the crazy audience (that actually had some really nice people in there as well, I have to mention) and half the stage falling apart. As Hazel mentioned, the banner (that was taped to the wall) came down at some point. Kieran broke a string and his microphone stand. Ró's guitar didn't work for about a song and a half and on top of everything he nearly fell into Ross' drum kit. Níal's bass had already broken before the Dolan's gig, so he was playing a spare that he wasn't completely happy with. I can imagine this is hell for a band, you're trying to play the best gig possible and things are just going wrong. And it
is very important to play a good gig, because there are always people there, new souls, that you have to convince. Hazel and I enjoyed ourselves so much, despite all the little mistakes, but people who'd never seen them before could perhaps have required more from the band.
Ró sort of apologised to me afterwards saying he wanted to play the best gig ever. I think they did play the best gig possible considering the circumstances. I certainly wasn't the best audience member ever because I was too tired for that, but I really did enjoy this gig with all its madness.
Delorentos in Electric AvenueHazel and I stayed around for a bit after the gig, especially to say my goodbyes to the lads. I have to miss them again for I don't know how long (it sucks living over here.. well, when it comes to that.. I won't miss the Irish prices and the Irish drunkeness that I witnessed last week). We ended up being kicked out of the venue by a very cranky crew member. What the hell?? You can't put a band on
that late and then expect them to f*ck off straight after the gig.
I had a great week with lots of ups and some moderate downs. This proves to me once again that I love this band, I can see them play four times in a week and not get completely bored with them. I love the album so much and I loved to see the songs live. It was great to see my friends and to have some proper chats with the band. They're lovely guys, all four of them and I am really grateful that they're always so nice to me. I'm travelling over to see the gigs and everything else is a wonderful bonus.. a wonderful wonderful bonus