An Appointment With The Waterboys

 The Wonderful Waterboys

Satisfying.  This is the paltry sounding word that came to mind...and I was later teased for...while watching The Waterboys make magic with the poems of W.B. Yeats in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin.

I also had the thought that often runs through my head when listening to them on my iPod..."I Effing LOVE THEM!" :)

But I WAS! I was SO satisfied by this concert.  Maybe satiated is a more emotional word?  I was satisfied like having a really amazing meal and the dessert was the encore which included "The Stolen Child," "Don't Bang the Drum," and "The Whole of the Moon."  Delicious.

"An Appointment With Mr. Yeats" was beautiful on so many different levels: musically, visually, energetically. There was so much to absorb!  Jet lag had put me into a mildly fuzzy-headed state so I was oddly observant.  I remember being transfixed by the way the flautist stood on one foot while she played, how all the guys seemed to be wearing pointy-toed shoes (Mike Scott's were black velvet?), Steve Wickham sang along when he wasn't playing his violin and closed his eyes when he was...

In fact, I loved watching Steve Wickham play so much, I found myself looking for him when he wasn't on stage. I suppose my years with the violin makes me partial :)

It's such a gift to watch artists, such as The Waterboys, so IN their music and clearly doing what they were meant to do. It captivates you.

The incredible Mike Scott!*

  The amazing Steve Wickham

The magical W.B. Yeats

This concert was the catalyst for my Ireland getaway. Back in July, when the box office opened, I thought I was slightly out of my mind to even consider purchasing concert tickets for a show in Ireland. After all, I had a two week trip to Scotland coming up!  But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the right thing to do (all be it a little crazy). So I bought 3 tickets and was put in row "L.":)

But wait! It gets better! The friend who introduced me to the band was going to take one of those three tickets! So I flew from America to Ireland to meet my English friend who lives in Scotland to see a band with a Scottish leader and an Irish fiddler put the work of W. B. Yeats (an Irish poet) to music.

I was a little frustrated at myself because afterward, jet lag was robbing me of recall!  It was like when I wake up in the morning and know I dreamed but I can't quite clearly remember.  It took me a few days leafing through my Yeats book and the help of a fellow blogger Alison Ní Dhorchaidhe (and her wonderful review) to piece things together. It was a delightful little puzzle. Some of my favorites: The Song of Wandering Aengus, The White Birds, Mad as the Mist and Snow, Sweet Dancer, News for the Delphic Oracle, A Full Moon in March, The Lake Isle of Innisfree, Politics, and a shimmery version of Down by the Salley Gardens.

"An Appointment With Mr. Yeats" keeps getting clearer upon reflection and I realize now that I was really forced to be in the moment during the show...and what wonderful moments!

XO

 *Photo of Mike Scott by Sara (Awesome) Osten