Tom McShane

Irish Tour: Part Four

There are a couple of things I’d like to write about quickly while I have the chance. I’ve been totally swamped over the last few weeks and I’ve not been very successful at finding the time to get caught up with emails, blogging etc. I’m playing a show in Belfast tonight so my usual two hour drive home from work is not required, creating a neat little pre-sound check window.

So we concluded our tour the weekend before last, with two great shows in Cork and Limerick. I love Cork (city and county) so much. I first visited there in 1995. I went to the Feile Festival there when I was 15. It was an amazing experience. I think Cork has to be the prettiest county in Ireland, though that whole south west coast seems pretty spectacular. Anyways, we played in a great bar called the Quad. It was a strange show though as they have an open door policy. The lack of cover charge meant the bar was consistently busy but on the flipside most of the punters weren’t there for the music. The contrast between this and our experience of Baker Place in Limerick could hardly be more stark. There, punters paid in gladly with the understanding that they were going to hear new music and were respectful throughout.

Both shows were great though. I was glad Escape Act were headlining Cork though, as they stood a better chance with that crowd. Originally in fact, I hadn’t wanted to headline either of these shows as my band was stripped down to a three piece. Conor was unavailable so Ross provided the bass duties for the entirety of both shows. I had wanted Rich to join us on bass at the end of the Limerick set and for Ross to play guitar for a song but that wasn’t to be. I thought it would’ve been a good note on which to end the tour and I was a little sad it didn’t come to pass. I digress. As it turned out, my worries about headling in Limerick were without merit. We rocked things up a little for both shows but especially in Limerick. I think it was my favourite performance of the tour. I wish Conor could’ve been there too though, that would’ve made it complete.

Some snaps from The Quad:

And some from Bakers Place:

My very good friend, Maria, who lives in Cork really helped us out by getting loads of her pals down to the Quad show. We’re all in her debt! She then joined our road trip and came to party with us in Limerick. I’m glad she came along, it was great to see her. Our friends Amberlea and Suzanne were also along for the ride and helped keep the party ship afloat!

As well being joined by old friends we had the pleasure of making some new ones. Tim and Brian of Vertigo Smith opened both the Cork and the Limerick show. Tim is an awesome songwriter, and if he wasn’t clearly going to be and international rockstar (which he so obviously is) he would still have an extremely promising career as a professional songwriter. His songs are so smart, witty and intelligently constructed that he’d have no difficulty securing success in that field. Brian, his bass player is as pleasant a person as I’ve encountered in a long time; he simply exuded friendliness. They both made us feel so welcome. I look forward to playing more shows with these folks in future.

Vertigo Smith:

So that’s it. The tour is over. A mixture of highs and lows but thankfully, mostly highs. I’ve received a lot of great feedback about our shows which is always welcome. Maybe some negative feedback would’ve been useful too, to help improve things for the next tour but then again, I’ll not complain too much about the lack of negative comments. For now I’ll take all the positivity I can get; my confidence needs the boost!

Now I’m heading to the Limelight. I’m playing there tonight with Driving By Night who are launching their new single, Departure. It’ll let you know how we get on!

Tom

PS: As always, more pictures can be found on my flickr!