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GIGS-WHERE DID WE PLAY?Let us know if you have any memories of any of the venues at which we played!!! Click on a year below to see all the dates the band played!Posters (click on thumbnail for full size image)
Special Focus: Marquees
The photo above is of the marquee for the July, 1982 Geesala Festival in County Mayo. During their five years in Ireland, the band played many such venues. Every summer, across the length and breadth of Ireland, these makeshift dancehalls dotted the country side, bringing "showband" entertainment to the most rural settings. Usually, the tents were pretty crude, cold and damp. As you can see, there was little in the way of creature comforts. Bands usually had to change clothes either in their van, or behind the stage, neither of which was an enviable task. Usually sponsored by local football clubs, or other volunteer organizations, Festivals provided a way to earn some much needed operating funds, as well as provide "professional" entertainment for the masses. Festivals were a major local event, garnering extensive newspaper coverage, and usually tied into other events in the locality. They generally lasted two weeks, were held in the summer, and were accompanied by bar extensions in local pubs. Although some still exist, this form of Irish entertainment, like the era of the showband itself, all but died in the 1980's as discos and bars replaced the dancehall as the main form of entertainment across Ireland. Kim and the band pay tribute to the cold tents, wobbly stages, questionable power supplies, and horrible acoustics which were the Irish Marquee! Partial List of Festivals the band played: Borrisokane Festival, Co. Tipperary |
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