….several times but tis the season. The audience sang and went wild. They loved Oro se.. as Maggie predicted and I saw many a person singing along. The person who caught my eye was a young lad with day-glow green hair, decked in shamrock shorts who sang along with Maggie with such passion. I love to watch the audience as I play. Shamrock man jumped on stage with us and was simply fabulous! He was clad in a day-glow green suit that covered him from head to foot. He wore a dark green top hat and a well-positioned shamrock. He toyed with the crowd, had his photo taken and like all good super heroes disappeared.
A sea of green doesn’t adequately describe the scene that met us yesterday at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in San Francisco. Let me backtrack we were not initially surrounded by dancing, screaming adoring fans it was a later addition. The revelers arrived steadily as we took the stage and brought our interpretation of Irish music to the masses. I was lucky enough to take photos from up there as I could not believe the sheer wall of people dressed in green.I will post photos but the kids need me!
We don’t go all out on this holiday in England it is a reasonably quiet affair but people drink Guinness to support the traditional Irish drink. I remember being in the Guinness brewery in Dublin gazing out over the city and wondering if the company could ever have imagined such global recognition. The following morning we suffer from nasty hangovers and men are afflicted with Guinness arse- I say no more.
It was humbling to be part of such an historic event; the parade was in its 158th year. I am reflecting on all the social changes that have happened and how the plight and portrayal of the Irish has been changed. I am not going to attempt to unravel the political situation. I wish them luck, peace and freedom.
Naturally the whistle playing was good! I love that instrument and am on the hunt for a woodier sounding “D” I will do some research and keep you posted.
OK, so this is a tangent but I was stopped members of the audience yesterday after the show. One gentleman just wanted to thank us for playing and to tell me how much he had enjoyed the music and how we had touched him. One young lady shouted, “Go Mad Maggies!” as I walked along Market Street. It was lovely to be recognised and I am so happy that we were able to being a little joy. If you see us, please say, “hello” we are friendly.
It was a great experience to be part of this parade and the crowd were amazing.
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