brewing up some fun

As I mentioned in my last post we went away last weekend to attend a concert in the mountains with our cousins at a Pisgah Beer Brewery.

OMG! Did we have fun!! And did I mention there was beer?

More than a bit worried that we drove five hours in the rain and would end up being rained out but we ended up being very lucky. When we arrived at Black Mountain NC and it was clear and dry and surprisingly warm for the end so September.  My cousin Colleen her friend Jim, our cousin Hans and his wife Amy met Bill Matthew and I at a local cafe for a quick bite to eat before checking in to our hotel.  Shortly after that we all headed out to the brewery..

Where is that brewery???
I have an idea! Pull out your smart phones, lets see who can find it first!!

my cousins, jim and matthew 

And the winner is Matthew in the red hoodie!!

As I mentioned the concert was at a brewery so there was beer, lots of beer. The event was called Shamboozle. There were vendors with food and local crafts, artist  besides the music. People of all ages showed up to enjoy the three bands who were playing on the outdoor stage. There was an indoor stage as well but that was for the after show and we didn't go to that.

local artist was showing some of his very colorful art by some concert goers

The first band which was playing when we arrived was called The Kidney Stones and although I've never heard of them I enjoyed them very much. What a great sound, I would categorize it has happy music. We didn't get there at the beginning of the set but we heard four or five songs one just as good as the other. Very enjoyable sound.

The second band was called Carbon Leaf which is actually a Richmond band which was a group my son was very familiar with.There sound is very influenced by Irish music, anyone just listening to them could tell.  Matthew had several of their albums on his I-pod. Carbon Leaf is an alternative country Celtic folk infused if you understand what that means.

You parents of little ones might be familiar with this band since they did a bunch of songs for Curious George ll (life less ordinary, the friendship song, heart of the day,let your troubles roll by,walk in the sun &California sun.)  I have to tell you because of my Irish roots Celtic music just makes my toes tap and my blood race a bit faster. And the bagpipes! They have to be my favorite instrument in the entire world. Their sound can be so achingly sad when played at a funeral but when played like tonight with such joy and in an outside space is a beautiful thing.

Carbon Leaf

The headliner band was called Gaelic Storm. My cousins had seen them many times and they were very familiar with their music. The band was a mix of Irish, English and Canadian men and one woman who played the fiddle. The music had a more traditional Irish sound but the music was much more modern and all theirs. They were very funny and interacted with the audience a lot. Clearly many of the audience were fans and followers. They had some pretty funny songs which if you know anything about Irish songs they can be like a soap opera set to music. One particular song that had me just about peeing in my pants (sorry for that visual) The song was about when the head singer  punched Russell Crow (the actor) in the head while working in a bar because Mr Crow refused to put out his cigarette. So he wrote a song about it; hilarious!

In the video he fist explains what happened between him and Russell Crow, then they sing the song! It's long but it's very funny.
Enjoy!