It's been a long time since my last post, but not too much has happened in the past week or so.
Last Saturday I went on a field trip with my archeology class to a few sights around Dublin. First was an ancient monastic site and church in Kildare. We then stopped at an ancient burial ritual site and lastly an unfinished castle. It was pretty cool. The professor was very passionate about archeology, which was refreshing, but I can't say that I have found a new calling in the field. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera so I don't have any pictures.
The rest of the week was pretty much dedicated to finishing a history essay on total war in the world wars. I played soccer on Tuesday evening, and took an unlucky hit to a sensitive area. On Thursday I submitted the essay then went to a small party at a friend's apartment and met some more people from Ireland, Scotland, and the States. Then I went to the student bar to hang out with some friends from Canada, and I also met two more American girls.
On Friday I left for Cork with the UCD Jazz Society to go to the Cork Jazz Festival. Now, I was told beforehand that we would be getting tickets to see Snarky Puppy and the Mingus Big Band. To my utter dismay, I found out that those plans fell through, so I missed two of the great actual jazz groups of the festival. I say actual jazz groups, because apart from maybe one or two performances, no group I heard played any traditional jazz music. I probably should have seen that coming though...jazz is the American musical art form, so to think I could find it live in Ireland may have been a bit farfetched. Along with this disappointment, there was more to come, but I'd like to focus on the positives. Friday we saw the Hot 8 Brass Band, who I've seen before online and in a movie. They were amazing, and afterwards, I was able to talk football with one of them for a few minutes which was pretty cool.
On Saturday I went to a masterclass-like session held by the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. It was pretty good, but nothing that I hadn't heard before. Then I saw the Pat Elgart Band, which is basically a group of really, really old guys, but they were great, especially for their age. They played some old swing tunes, and at one point, Pat Elgart played a tea pot using his trumpet mouthpiece. It was...interesting. Later that night we had a small jam session at our hostel, but seeing as not a lot of people could bring instruments, it didn't really amount to much. The main event that night included a fantastic performance by the New York Brass Band. Then the night ended with a performance by a swing band called the Swingin Bluecats.
Sunday was okay. I had a late morning, but I eventually met up with everyone else for some food and small performances around town, including a Spanish guitar duo and an oldies rock band. We also saw a performance of one of the Jazz Society members, which was really good. After some dinner, we saw Jaime Nanci and the Blue Boys. They were pretty good for the most part. Jaime Nanci was very talented and it made for an interesting performance. Then today we took the bus back to Dublin, and after arrival we got some lunch at a Chipotle-like burrito place.
Coming up this week...Dublin city walking tour with my Irish Studies class, possible Halloween party, and maybe going to Belfast this weekend. Should be a good week. Here are some pictures from the weekend in Cork...despite having my camera on me, I didn't find a lot of opportunities to take good pictures, and Cork isn't exactly picturesque. Check out the Pictures link here or the bar above to see all the photos.
Last Saturday I went on a field trip with my archeology class to a few sights around Dublin. First was an ancient monastic site and church in Kildare. We then stopped at an ancient burial ritual site and lastly an unfinished castle. It was pretty cool. The professor was very passionate about archeology, which was refreshing, but I can't say that I have found a new calling in the field. Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera so I don't have any pictures.
The rest of the week was pretty much dedicated to finishing a history essay on total war in the world wars. I played soccer on Tuesday evening, and took an unlucky hit to a sensitive area. On Thursday I submitted the essay then went to a small party at a friend's apartment and met some more people from Ireland, Scotland, and the States. Then I went to the student bar to hang out with some friends from Canada, and I also met two more American girls.
On Friday I left for Cork with the UCD Jazz Society to go to the Cork Jazz Festival. Now, I was told beforehand that we would be getting tickets to see Snarky Puppy and the Mingus Big Band. To my utter dismay, I found out that those plans fell through, so I missed two of the great actual jazz groups of the festival. I say actual jazz groups, because apart from maybe one or two performances, no group I heard played any traditional jazz music. I probably should have seen that coming though...jazz is the American musical art form, so to think I could find it live in Ireland may have been a bit farfetched. Along with this disappointment, there was more to come, but I'd like to focus on the positives. Friday we saw the Hot 8 Brass Band, who I've seen before online and in a movie. They were amazing, and afterwards, I was able to talk football with one of them for a few minutes which was pretty cool.
On Saturday I went to a masterclass-like session held by the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. It was pretty good, but nothing that I hadn't heard before. Then I saw the Pat Elgart Band, which is basically a group of really, really old guys, but they were great, especially for their age. They played some old swing tunes, and at one point, Pat Elgart played a tea pot using his trumpet mouthpiece. It was...interesting. Later that night we had a small jam session at our hostel, but seeing as not a lot of people could bring instruments, it didn't really amount to much. The main event that night included a fantastic performance by the New York Brass Band. Then the night ended with a performance by a swing band called the Swingin Bluecats.
Sunday was okay. I had a late morning, but I eventually met up with everyone else for some food and small performances around town, including a Spanish guitar duo and an oldies rock band. We also saw a performance of one of the Jazz Society members, which was really good. After some dinner, we saw Jaime Nanci and the Blue Boys. They were pretty good for the most part. Jaime Nanci was very talented and it made for an interesting performance. Then today we took the bus back to Dublin, and after arrival we got some lunch at a Chipotle-like burrito place.
Coming up this week...Dublin city walking tour with my Irish Studies class, possible Halloween party, and maybe going to Belfast this weekend. Should be a good week. Here are some pictures from the weekend in Cork...despite having my camera on me, I didn't find a lot of opportunities to take good pictures, and Cork isn't exactly picturesque. Check out the Pictures link here or the bar above to see all the photos.
Hot 8 Brass Band
Not really sure what this was, but had to take a photo
Pat Elgart playing a teapot...
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