So, what now? Well, a customer at work and I got to talking and it turned out that he knows the band personally. He said there was going to be another concert in Covington on March 12 (at Madison Theater this time). Since that was a Wednesday (which I rarely work), I could do it. I immediately called Sarah and we planned to go to that one. Things were looking great!!
So, armed with our ticket confirmations and directions (and map) we were all set!!! We left WAY early, around 5 pm--the doors were opening at 7, plus there was an opening act. Plenty of time to get there (it takes about 45 minutes for normal people LOL), plus stop to eat somewhere. *ahem* But some people are just suckers for getting lost. Okay, we got lost like 5 times. BUT!! After a lot of laughing at ourselves, we finally found the Madison Theater. And after Sarah nearly KILLED us because she saw Patrick outside, we found a parking lot and made our way to the theater.
We only had to wait in line about 15 minutes this time. And once we were stamped as over 21, and given our nifty green bracelets, we were in!! We first went to find a table--which was hard! We grabbed one on the second level of seating, right at the aisle. It sucked--we were way back, and the people in front of us were all taller, so I had to lean into the aisle to see the stage. I told Sarah I'd probably end up standing behind my chair--there was a pillar, so I wouldn't be blocking anyone. But for then, we had about 10 minutes and the opening act came out. They were called Cincinnati's "Flying Pigs" and they were a jug band. Yes, we WERE in Kentucky. LOL They were funny and interesting and I must say my favorite song was "I want to have a 3-way with everyone in here", written during the "Cincinnati chili wars". LOL
After the "Pigs" left the stage, there was a brief 10 minute interlude before Gaelic Storm went up. FINALLY (LOL), they came onstage. They said they wanted us to fill the dance floor and for people to get down there--so I dragged Sarah down there by bribing her with how close to Patrick we'd be. LOL I haven't gone dancing in YEARS, and I had so much fun!! Sarah isn't much for getting down, getting funky, but she clapped and bumped butts with me ocassionally. LOL
When Intermission came, I had only a few pictures left on the camera. Sarah ran to the potty, and when she came back, I pointed out to her that Patrick was down near the stage talking to some people. *hint hint* LOL So, this time SHE nearly dragged ME down there. LOL We went up and got a picture with Patrick and chatted with him for a while. He went from the usual friendly Patrick to suddenly REALLY brightening up when I said, "I see the DVD for 8 Mile is coming out soon, and last time we talked, you told us about your brother working on the graphics." He seemed SO pleased that we remembered talking about that and he told us a little more about it. Sarah was her usual verbose self, saying stuff like, "Yeah" and "Uh huh" and "well, sure". LOL
OH yeah!! And when we were about to take the picture, I had asked, "Would you be willing to take a picture with us?" He replied, "I will do ANYTHING." So I made a sly face and said, "Oh reallllly? Hmmm, I have some notes in the car!" *wink* He chuckled and said, "And some stuff from the Kama Sutra too!" WHOOOHOOO!!! LOL
After talking to him, we went in search of a guy Sarah had dealt with over the phone about this year's Celtic Festival. We found Bob and had a lady take our picture. LOVE LOVE LOVE BOB!!! LOL Then he said, "Now I wanna see you both down there dancing!" I told him we HAD been down there, and at least I had been dancing! He laughed and said he'd be watching for us.
We made our way to our seats, but I remained standing since I was going to get us some water. Patrick was walking by and I stopped him to ask if he was going to play "Before the Night is Over". He said yes, they were, and told us about his ear infection which was draining and making his throat terribly sore. He mentioned he left his lozenges back at the hotel. Ready for Helen being cool and smooth? I came SO close to saying, "Want me to go get them?" LMAO Yeah, THAT wouldn't have been creepy. I also had to stop myself from rambling on about the song because I said something stupid: I mentioned that my mom LOVES that song and that she said I should play it at my wedding. Jokingly, I said maybe I could get the actual band to play it! He replied with, "Uh, we don't do weddings". D'OH! LOL Hope he knows I was kidding! LOL
After that, I went and got us some drinks, but before we had a real chance to relax, the band came back onstage. So we went back down to dance. Of course! LOL
I ran out of film on the first camera real quick, and I didn't want to miss any of the show, so I just stuck it in my pocket!! I missed a great shot of Bob too!!
During the encore, Twigger got 2 women up on stage, passed them to Patrick, who passed them to Bob. He had them face each other and you could see him explaining something to them. Then he put his bow in their hands, made sure they were holding it right, and got his violin. He knelt between them and nodded to Patrick, who announced that Bob was going to play a reel like this. And then....he DID!!! It was SOOOO COOL!!! I found a pic online that shows what he did, so click HERE. Go on. Do it. It's not that hard. But come back! LOL
Well, far too soon, the show was over. Patrick said they were all going down to Jack Quinn's, so everyone was welcome to join them. Sarah and I were DYING to go, but we both had to work the next day. POOP!! I think next time, we should make SURE we don't work the next day so we can stay as late as we want. LOL But before they could make a run for it, we had to get pics with as many of the others as we could!!
First, we got Twigger, who was so nice--he put his arms around us and said, "Just don't mind my sweaty armpits!" So I said, "As long as you don't mind ours!" We all laughed and this lady--who Twigger nabbed for us--took the pic.
And then...there's Steve. Now, let me tell you a little about him. He's HOT. I don't mean, he's cute--I mean, he's a guy that if he gave you the time of day, you'd swoon. But, he's married, with a new baby. Nuts. LOL Well, after Twigger left us and went back to work putting their stage equipment away, we saw that Steve was talking to two guys. (He was kneeling at the edge of the stage to talk.) Being the polite person I am, I made sure we were close enough that he'd see us, but not so close that I might interrupt them. I turned to say something to Sarah, and when I looked back, the guys were walking away, and so was Steve!! LOL
Not to be denied, I leaned on the stage and waited for him to look my way. He glanced up a few times, but I didn't know if he was looking at us or the crowd. Eventually, he looked straight at me and I waggled the camera at him and smiled. He dropped what he was doing (literally LOL), came forward, and hopped off of the stage. "Pictures?" he asked and we confirmed it. So first, I took a pic of him with Sarah. Unlike most people, he wrapped his arms around her, perpendicular to her, squishing his cheek against hers. And at the LAST second, he turned and kissed her right on the cheek!!! Then he cried, "Your turn!" And I replied, "WOOHOO!" LOL He did the same thing, but he mis-timed it and kissed my cheek AFTER the pic. So he said, "OH no, we have to do it over again!!" Like I was going to argue! LOL So, SAME thing happened, only we didn't realize it. It could have gone on all night!! LOL
After the pics, I asked him how the new baby was doing--I kid you not, he literally lit up and GLOWED, gushing about how beautiful she is and how much he loves her and how smart she is--"You know, she can HOLD things now!" LOL He also said several times, "Thanks so much for asking!" It was so touching!!! Sarah and I kept saying, "Aaaaaaw!!! That's so sweet!" And variations thereof. LOL
After Steve, we ran into Bob again (did I mention I LOVE Bob?) and to my delight/horror, he said he SAW us dancing and "Dang, girls, you really know all the words!" If I wasn't already flushed from Steve's antics, I would have turned beet-red right then. LOL
We made our way slowly to the front of the theater and by now, I was dying to PEE. Yes, you DID need to know that. It's my page and I can tell you that. Nyah nyah. LOL So I left Sarah and ran to the potty. While on my way back out again, I snatched a poster about Gaelic Storm off of the wall. Oh come on, they would have just thrown it away!! LOL So I came out and found Sarah buying another T-shirt. If I wasn't so broke--again, next time I will make sure to have $$! LOL--I would have bought myself a shirt too, or a hat. Instead, I used my LAST 2 one dollar bills to buy a bumper sticker. I'm so cool. LOL
Well, while Sarah signed for her purchase (credit card), I turned and saw Patrick talking to some people not too far from us. Just when I noticed him, he started walking away from them. I waved and said goodnight and he came over. He hugged me soundly, said thanks for coming, and kissed me on the cheek. As we parted, he said, "Thanks for the nice kiss!" Hey, no problem, anytime. LOL Note: 4 days later I was sick as a dog!! Thanks so much, Patrick! LOL
Well, I told him I hoped he would feel better, he thanked me, and as he started to walk away, another person grabbed him. So he was still closeby. Thank God, because I KNEW Sarah would KILL me for getting a kiss when she didn't. So she straightened and I pointed him out to her and said, "Are you ready to kill me? *sing-song voice* Patrick kissed me on the cheeeeeek!" She made a face, so I quickly added, "But he's right there!"
Luckilly, at that moment, the person walked away and Patrick started getting ready to walk away. Real fast and smooth, I said, "Oh, Patrick! My friend wanted to say goodybe too!" So he came back over and hugged and kissed her cheek too. However, his reaction to the encounter wasn't as sweet as mine. Instead as they pulled apart, he cries, "Didja see that?! She head-butted me!" Sarah's eyes about popped out of her head and she looked panicked! LMAO He proceeded to stumble away, clutching his head and complaining about how violent she is!! I thought it was SO funny, but poor Sarah looked tramautized!! LOL
After that, as we walked back to the car, we talked about how great they band is. Not just their music and showmanship. But their gratitude is genuine and their personalities are so fun. I can hardly WAIT to see them this summer at the Dayton Celtic festival!!!
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