Considering how special today was destined to be, it dawned rather unassumingly. The rain from Wednesday had ended and the prospect of sunshine was in the air. I had breakfast and walked back to downtown Cork to continue exploring and shopping. I wasn't quite ready to trust the weather forecast so I kept my umbrella in my pocket, just in case. Karsten was arriving by bus from Dublin around 1:30 and expected to be checked in at the same B&B as me by 2:00, so we planned to meet around 3:30 to give us both time to change and freshen up.
My first stop of the day was, not surprisingly, at the train station. Cork has a very nice curved station just outside of the tunnel that takes the tracks under the north Cork hills. My timing was perfect as the 10:40 train from from Dublin was on time and due in a couple of minutes. I took a few pictures and then waited to photograph its departure back to Dublin at 11:20. While in the station my phone buzzed which reminded me that Ireland Rail has free WiFi so I got caught up on Facebook and Twitter while I waited. Interestingly, the travel office there has a wall covered with plaques from railroads all over the world. The USA was well represented with at least 6, including the PRR and the N&W.
Returning downtown, I continued to look for a birthday gift for a certain fiddler but, despite there being over a hundred shops of various kinds in the shopping district, nothing struck me as being special enough. I wasn't worried because I have a backup plan at home but it would have been nice to get her something from her home country. My last stop before heading back was the shop where I had seen the chocolate sheep the previous day. I hadn't purchased them at the time because I didn't want to carry them around in the rain. Today I couldn't find them so I asked the shopkeeper and she sadly informed me that they were gone.
She said someone had bought five late yesterday and the last three had been sold earlier this morning. She saw the look of dejection on my face and then had an idea. She brought out a small confection in the design of a lamb's face, made with white and dark chocolate. This was actually better than the sheep so I asked how many she had to which she replied, "Kilos!" I didn't need
that many but I had her wrap some in small plastic bags tied with a red ribbon. Perfect.
Karsten and I met as planned and walked in the direction of Coughlan's. The plan was to stop at a pub somewhere along the way for an early dinner. We passed Hillbilly's Chicken and in hindsight should probably have stopped there since none of the many pubs we passed served food. And Karsten likes chicken!
We arrived at Coughlan's around 4:30 to the sight of a lovely Lisa Lambe poster outside the door. After taking the obligatory photos we stepped inside. I had been here yesterday for a sneak peek and the barkeep remembered me. I told him that I had two questions. The first was, "How do you pronounce the pub's name?" In Limerick I had been told that it was pronounced "cock-lans" but I didn't want to embarrass myself. It was a good thing I asked because I was told that while the pronunciation I had been given was correct for the rest of Ireland, in Cork it was pronounced "caw-lans", along with a lengthy discussion of why. With that out of the way, I asked if it was possible for each of us to get one of the posters and the answer was, "No worries. We'll get you some after the show." That reply was accompanied by a sly little grin but we wouldn't find out what that meant until later.
So, after confirming that Coughlan's didn't serve food either, we went off in search of something to tide us over. The closest places with "real" food were downtown but we managed to find a small café that was open. The menu was rather esoteric but the clerk told us that that she had some freshly baked apple pie. It looked really scrumptious (and was!) so Karsten had a piece and I had two. It was now around 5:30 so we headed back to Coughlan's to wait. The show was open seating so we wanted to be at the front of the line. After inquiring how that worked we were again told not to worry. Hmmmm. Karsten and I sat at a small table and watched the news on the telly. After that there was short program called "Tracks and Trails" featuring none other than Irish singer Eleanor McEvoy, who I had met on my first trip to Ireland. I made a mental note to try and find that on RTE's website later.
What came on next had me scratching my head for a while. It was darts. Oh, but this was not just a simple dart competition. This was big time darts. It took place in a huge arena that was filled with several thousand screaming fans. The contestants entered from under the bleachers and were led down the aisle by a buxom lass to loud roars from the crowd. Each one had a trademark outfit and a menacing nickname. There were cheerleaders on stage, big spotlights which constantly panned the stands and boisterous announcers with large microphones. If it hadn't been for the dart board it could easily have passed for WWF. The competition was fierce, complete with closeups of the darts hitting the board and the grimaces on the players' faces after a missed shot. This was serious stuff! Later, after Lisa's show, I asked the barkeep about it and he said that the game of darts is huge here and what we had seen was just the "minor leagues." Yikes!
Karsten and I watched the clock on the wall with increasing anticipation, counting down the minutes on Facebook. The early pub crowd had come and gone and people started arriving for the show. I heard them ask where they should go and the place began to fill up. The venue is a small room in the back of the pub and I was worried that we might be in the wrong area. We relocated to another table farther back, closer to the door but still not adjacent. It was becoming increasingly difficult to move around. We struck up a conversation with some others who were sitting around us and we quickly became "stars" because of how far we had come. One of the barkeeps joined our group and I told her that we were still hoping to be in the front row. Once again, we got a smile and a "No worries." This was getting spooky.
The advertised door opening time was 9:00 but that came and went with little notice; this is Ireland after all. Then one of the barkeeps came over and motioned for Karsten and me to follow him. We were escorted behind the bar and through a door into a back corridor. From there we continued through a dimly lit hallway and through, I believe, a few more doors (I lost track) until we eventually popped into the venue through the stage door. And there we were, the first ones in with our choice of seats. The meaning of the earlier smiles, winks and "No worries" suddenly became clear. We were being given the VIP treatment! I don't know if Lisa had anything to do with it but it was MUCH appreciated.
We, of course, chose the two middle seats in the front row. We were literally right up against the low and small stage and only about three feet from her microphone. There were four rows of six or seven chairs, a few stools and a couch along the back wall. There couldn't have room for more than about 50 people total. This was going to a very intimate show indeed! We had a few minutes before the rest of the audience began to enter so we were able to take some people-free shots of the stage. Because of the venue's small size, physical tickets weren't required (although I had mine just in case), the staff just checked your name off their list and stamped your hand. We got our hands stamped, as a mere formality, before the door opened. Simon came in and greeted us warmly. He gave me the thank you cards that Lisa had signed for the LLN charity drive and we chatted a bit before he had to leave.
The anticipation was at a fever pitch now and we waited with increasing impatience as people entered and chose their seats. I was fidgeting constantly; I needed to do something to try and calm myself down. Finally (FINALLY!) the members of Lisa's band entered to a smattering of applause. They were her album producer, Gavin, on keyboard; Gerry on cello; John on lead electric and acoustic guitar; and Jack on acoustic guitar. They did some last minute tuning of their instruments and the room got quiet. My eyes were glued to the stage door.
At last that magic door opened and out came a vision with red curly hair wearing a long black gown with decorative orange accents. With the band members in place, the tiny stage was too full for her to enter from the side so she had to walk directly in front of us to get to her place in the center. No complaints here! Smiles were exchanged and we were off. She started with a non-album song (the first of several) called
I Can Hear You Shine by the Gabe Dixon Band. It was so wonderful to hear that angelic voice again. I felt a calmness come over me and I just settled in for the ride. She then sang several songs off her album. I had told her previously that my favorite was
Days Go By and as she introduced that one she said, "I have two friends in the audience. One is from Germany and one is from America. This is for you." Then she gave me one of those looks that melts your heart and makes the rest of the world just disappear. A few songs later she threw us a curve by singing the Beyonce song
XO. I had never heard the original but this was nice. She finished the first act with another of my favorites,
Locked Up in Heaven. Wait, was it intermission already? Even though I had my camera in my lap the whole time I hadn't picked it up once. I regained my faculties just in time to grab a quick shot before she left the stage. I wasn't sure if she would return in a different gown and I wanted at least one picture of this one. She had to leave the stage the same way she entered so Karsten offered his hand as she stepped off the stage. My brain was still not functioning fully or I would have done the same.
At intermission, the husband of the couple next to me went to the bar to get refills and Leah turned to me and asked, "So, you're from America?" She had spent some time in California and we compared the coasts for a bit. She told me that they had never seen Lisa before but she very much liked what she was hearing. We talked some more about Lisa and how I came to know her until her husband, Ed, returned, just in time for the show to restart. Ah, such friendly people here.
Soon the band returned and Lisa was not far behind. She was still wearing the same gown so I needn't have panicked about the earlier photo. The second act was also a mix of album and non-album songs. She started with
Heaven, introducing it and its association with Alone Ireland. I had told her that I hoped she would sing
Knock, Knock because I needed a "visual" for that one. She did not disappoint, either aurally or visually; what a hoot that song is! To quote Lisa, “Yee Haw!” The next non-album song was
Hurricane, a lovely ballad by Mindy Smith that needs to be on Lisa's next album. (Don't worry, I already told her that!) A bit later she sang two more non-album songs, a clap-along
Come On Let the Good Times Rock (no, not the Hendrix one) and
One Moment More, another beautiful Mindy Smith ballad.
As the show came to a close she said, "We have two songs left but since I can't get off the stage for an encore we'll just do them together." Before that she thanked everyone including the band, the venue and the audience. What would have been the encore,
Wild Mountainside by Eddi Reader, was her tribute to West Cork where she had spent much of her youth. It is a stunningly beautiful song with great imagery and got a resounding ovation from the mostly local Cork audience. Unfortunately, there was really no room to stand or Karsten and I certainly would have.
And with that it was over. The entire show was over 90 minutes. She sang all 14 tracks from her album as well as six non-album songs, much more than I expected. We helped Lisa off the stage one last time and she quickly disappeared backstage, but only for a short while. We waited for the room to clear and by the time there were only a few people left Lisa returned. I expected her to be in street clothes but she was still in her gown. She talked for a while with some of the other people who hadn't gone into the bar yet. Karsten and I just stood to the side and waited; we knew our time was coming.
At long last it was just us. Lisa gave Karsten a big hug, welcoming him back, and then she came over to me. She broke into a big smile, spread her arms wide and moved in for the hug. And what a hug it was. It seemed to last forever and yet it seemed like it was over in an instant. In reality, it must have lasted at least a minute. She just wouldn't let go and I didn't want her to. I needed one of her hugs so badly last May and this made up for that one and all the other missed M&G hugs since. She thanked us profusely for coming and for supporting her and I told her that, of course, I wouldn't have missed it. I gave her the chocolate lambs and she snatched them up quickly saying that if Simon saw them they'd be gone in an instant. Then she signed the posters which the venue, as promised, had delivered to us as well as our souvenir tickets. She asked us to stick around so we could share a pint, a request to which we readily agreed.
Gerry, the cellist, joined us just before Lisa headed for the bar and we had a nice chat with him. We talked about where we were from and he told me that had studied in Indiana for a few years, joking that he was now part Hoosier. The small audience had included several of Lisa's close friends, a few cousins and the brother of the writer of a few of the songs on her album so she spent time with them for a while. Simon joined us at the bar, treating Karsten and me to a pint. Well, ginger ale for me and Murphy's (Never Guinness in Cork. Never!) for Karsten and himself. We toasted to Lisa's success and talked for quite a while about their future plans. I am not permitted to reveal anything about what was discussed but I will say
. I told Simon that the fans will be there if she ever comes to America and offered our assistance in suggesting locations or venues.
Lisa then came over and Simon took photos of each of us with her, still in her lovely black gown. Her drink of choice was a Hot Whiskey, which is hot water with honey, lemon and cloves. And some whiskey, of course. She talked me into trying one which the barkeep quickly took care of, minus the alcohol. It took a little getting used to but it wasn't bad. Lisa excused herself to change and ended up getting into another conversation with her cousins. By the time she got back it was well after 1am and the bar was in "lockup," meaning they were officially closed. However, Coughlan's has an excellent relationship with the Garda (police) and are allowed to stay open for a while longer. She apologized for not being able to spend more time with us and insisted on a group photo so she could post it on Twitter. And with a last couple of hugs and a kiss on the cheek we finally walked out the door around 2:30am. Or maybe floated is a better word.
Coughlan's Pub from the outside:
Coughlan's Pub from the inside:
The concert venue inside Coughlan's Pub:
The chocolate lambs:
Lisa:
Me with Lisa:
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