Monto

It feels like it's been a very busy weekend. The Electric Penguins were set to play in The Academy on Abbey Street on Friday night. We had a week of great rehearsals with a new drummer - Tony from Sack. I was worried we wouldn't have enough time to get through all the tunes with him, but he flew through all the stuff very quickly. Everyone felt very relaxed and at ease. On the day of the show we arrived at the venue with plenty of time, loaded in, and had a very easy soundcheck. There was good backline onstage waiting for us, and the sound engineer knew exactly what he needed to do without our complicated gear setup. It almost felt luxurious. We only had a couple of hours to wait before playing our set, so I hung out backstage and chilled out. There was a comfy sofa to relax on, and a poster on the wall of Liza Minelli looking pretty hot. We were sharing the room with The Keds, who were lovely guys. All in all, it was very nice. In no time at all, it was ten o'clock, and time for us to play. A pretty big crowd had gathered by this time, with a sizeable contingent of hot indie girls with short hair. I was really enjoying myself. We walked onstage, set up our equipment, and started playing. I don't know how it sounded to the audience, but the sound for me onstage was great. I felt so comfortable that my mind started to wander a little bit and I forgot to count in the drums when they were meant to come in, but it was only a minor slip-up. We only had a thirty minute set, so time absolutely flew by. The crowd seemed to like it, too.

On Saturday night, we had birthday celebrations for my friend Johnny who had turned 31 a few days previously. The plan was to head to Mulligan's for a few pints before heading off somewhere else. JFK and James Joyce had been there, and it was finally my turn to go. It's a nice place, just a traditional Dublin pub. It's just a pity Apollo House is on the far side of the street, destroying the view outside. After a few drinks there, we all headed down to the Gypsy Rose, a new rock bar on the quays. It was my first time there on a Saturday night, and the place was jammed. In the basement there was a dancefloor that was as slippery as ice for me and my Converse. I nearly fell on my ass walking across it, even though I was surrounded by loads of drunk people who apparently had no problems on it at all.