Meet and Greet with Gadan

 

Today I worked on campus and walked with Seabird at lunch. In the afternoon Hardingfele and I went to the campus ice cream shop to try the new flavor in honor of the new Humanities building, but it was closed, even though it was allegedly open until 7:30. Worse, when I got back, I had an email saying I had to complete my performance review by today, but I hadn't gotten it from my boss yet. Then I saw that she had submitted it, but she had also sent an instant message saying don't do it, she accidentally put the information for another employee into my review and the person who could help her fix it had left for the day. So then I was in a bit of a grumpy mood.

After work I drove to the neighborhood around the music club because the Shamrock Club was going to a meet and greet at Atwood Music Hall with the band Gadan. I passed the music club on the way and popped in to use the loo and have some snacks, and my timing was perfect because the singalong group was on break so nobody paid me any mind, since they were all milling about and not singing. The owner gave me a hug and said it was good to see me even if I was just there to powder my nose. Then a bunch of us from the Shamrock Club met in front of Atwood Music Hall. I was wearing my argyle beret, my Shamrock Club shirt, and the new shamrock fanny pack I got free on Amazon with gift cards.

It was so great to see my Shamrock Club peeps! And the band members were a lot of fun too.

You can see we got there before the big crowd, because the place was packed by showtime. The band consisted of a banjo player from Galway, another from California, and three Italian guys: a mandolin player who also played banjo, a fiddler, and a guitarist. They were also joined by the guitarist from Socks in the Frying Pan, an Irish band, who has just moved to Madison, and later they were joined by some young local fiddlers for a set of jigs and reels. Gadan plays both Irish and bluegrass music, and they were so good! And they understand me - just as I was thinking I'd have to sneak out to the loo, they took a break. What timing! I wanted to get a T-shirt and a CD, but there was a long line at the merch table, and it was late, so I headed back to my car.

When I passed the music club, I could see the lights were on inside, and the owner was sitting on a couch, looking at his phone. I tried the door but it was locked, and he looked up a bit, but not enough to see me. I decided to keep going... and just then a train came, so I went behind the music club and watched it. What a wonderful ending to a magical evening!

Famous Hat