provincial round-up

After a quiet night in on Friday night the weekend called for something to kickstart it. Luckily the Don Rosco was on hand to whisk me off to the Sibín Festival on Saturday night. It took place in a far flung part of North County Dublin called Man O'War. It was a last minute thing and we only got out there around midnight. It was in the middle of nowhere but the set up was pretty good as these things go. The whole thing was in full flight when we arrived and it was a good buzz to see a load of heads that I hadn't seen in ages. I had a great conversation about The Wiggles live show with Giles from the Electric City crew. Both he and Sunil Sharpe were playing in the techno tent. The Man O'War pub housed the Worries Outernational crew who were blasting out the reggae and dancehall vibes. The Reach crew had a dubstep/drum and bass tent where I caught sets by Bailey and Storm. The organisers had managed to get a big top from Fossetts circus and there were live acts playing in it. I caught some of the set by Noise Control and much of it owed a massive debt to the Underworld back catalogue. I also saw General Levy but he was a load of pony. Unusually for a full on rave in the middle of nowhere it was fully licensed and the police came in and had a good mingle but found nothing untoward. Fair play to the organisers. Top buzz.

After that country break I felt it necessary to catch up with some action in the city on Sunday night. I'd planned on going to hear Kittsers weekly DJ set in Hogans but instead found myself down in The Dice Bar. I'd stumbled into a rockabilly night in full flight. Walking throught the bar I felt like an extra in Grease. There's a whole new generation of rockabillys on the Dublin scene. I was having a chat with a few of the tribal elders who informed me that the resurgence is due in part to the great interest in inking and also the style element of the scene. They ruefully mourned the fact that the newer members of the rockabilly tribe weren't into the music and dancing as much as the older ones were. That's young people for you.

Like Detective Columbo returning to the scene of the crime i found myself back in North County Dublin today, about three kilometers away from Man O'War. Today I was in Ardgillan Castle, an old country house on a rolling estate. Apparently most of Dublin took the same notion as there were thousands of people out there. In good Irish fashion I got myself one of those nice tans that involves a burnt neck and nose. I look like I've done a hard days work in the bog.