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Hello from Belfast!  Suba O'Sankaran Before we get started, we saw this earlier in the trip, on the train from London to Holyhead, and it needed to be shared:  it's pronounced [ÌlanvairÌpulawjnÌajlaoÌa[rYÌÇwYrYnÌdrobulÌlantjÌsiljoÌaoaoÈaoÐÇ], okay?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llanfairpwllgwyngyll
and of course, they have a website:
http://www.llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.co.uk/
I kid you not.
anyway, on with the show:Aug 23rd
We performed at the Bay View Hotel on Clare Island in what turned out to be a major highlight event. The previous night was the island's major music festival, Big Fat Mamma's Extravaganzia!, and there were loads of musicians and music fans around (both from the island, and from up and down the coast). Autorickshaw played a long set to a completely new audience, but that was only the beginning! A band from Cork, called Soup Symphony (Nile, Dave, Dave and Alan), decided to play a set once we were done, to take advantage of the crowd and the listening vibes. These guys were fantastic.
 click for video!
 Nile and one of the Daves
They played for 90 minutes, took a break, and then started again. By this time, word was spreading that BFME! was still alive (it had only finished at 6am that morning...) and people started to pack the pub. A large, santa-esque German priest named George, who lives on the Island, sang an amazing blues tune, after which members of Autorickshaw were invited up to join in on various songs. This continued for another 2 long sets, and we lost count of the number of pints that arrived magically at the stage for the musicians (beer leprechauns?).
 Click to hear George sing the blues!
We finally headed home at about 1am, though the party continued until 5am. Apparently, 7 hours of music were played, when all was said and done.
We were told by a number of people that that evening was going to go down in Clare Island legend, and we've not only been invited back to the Island, but to Cork, and a number of other communities.
Many thanks to Rory McCabe who organized the Bay View Hotel gig, and to Ciara and Christophe, who made the whole Clare Island trip a reality.
 Rory McCabe..thanks Rory!  L-R: Olivia, Suba, Dyl, Ciara, Christophe, PG, Ed, kids-Maude, Una & Theo Aug 24th
We had the next day off, and spent it catching up on sleep, hanging about our lovely cottage. It rained. We also decided to use our down time to work on some new repertoire and revisit old songs. Aug 25th
We started the day with a long hike across the island. It rained several times, and we saw sheep (some of whom had invaded our yard that morning). The landscape is lovely, and very green with an amazing blend of flat land, rocky hillside, ocean and mountains. So many things will be etched into our brains of this picturesque island, but three memories in particular stand out: one - the constant howling of the wind, two - looking up every night at the cloudless sky chock full of stars, and three - sheep, sheep and more sheep. That evening, we performed at Christophe and Ciara's place again for a new batch of Yoga retreaters (after another fantastic all organic vegetarian meal), and premiered a new piece of Autorickshaw rep: Aadu Pambe, which is a Snake Charmer's song.  mmmm...organic salad flowers  mmmm....organic homemade bread After the gig, a bunch of us went down to the community centre pub to see an evening of traditional music This is a gov't funded monthly event to preserve culture in the community, and it was very well attended. Patrick played several songs on bodhran, and Dylan and Suba performed their arrangement of Simon and Garfunkel's Old Friends interspersed with a Bach prelude as a vocal duet!  Patrick playing with the trad musicians at the pub Aug 26th
After our farewells, and the requisite group photos, we boarded the ferry for Westport for our Cabot's Source gig. It was calmer, and we were on a bigger boat.  old Smugglin' Hubert Cutler Bell on the boat
Redmond Cabot and his never-absent dog Frodo met us at his restaurant/venue Cabot's Source (delicious, locally produced food), we set up for the evening gig, then we went to the legendary pub Matt Malloy's (yes, of the Chieftains fame) for an outstanding pint of black gold. Redmond, our man in Westport  Matt Malloy's pub Spent the night at Redmond's house in the country. More rain. Aug 27th
The bus ride to Belfast. We had toyed with taking the train to Belfast, but it meant returning to Dublin and changing stations and trains, but a bridge collapse in Dublin convinced us to take the bus. The route: Westport to Sligo, Sligo to Enniskillen, Enniskillen to Belfast. 7.5 hours total travel time, plus 6 bouts of slogging gear on or off busses.
Belfast Mela is housing us at Elms Village, and student residence of Queen's University, Belfast.
That eve, we went for a meal at the first restaurant we came upon, and it turned out to be a great choice...I'll let Patrick tell the story:
Our first night in Belfast is hopefully a sign of good things to come.... or at the very least, some fabulous meals ahead. We dined at the Barking Dog, an absolutely smashing restaurant up the road from where we will be staying over the next few days. The spot is very simply laid out, but elegant, recycled wood tables, a kind of un-pretentious, homey Ulster vibe. But make no mistake, this is a great restaurant. Not only was the service really friendly and efficient, the food was honestly fantastic. Almost every item on the menu was Irish-inspired: lamb, prawns, duck, shepherds pie, sweet potato chips, right down to locally brewed Belfast beers. Even gnocchi (OK, not so Irish, but delicious!). It was all perfectly prepared and it all arrived right on time. It is such a great feeling to be in a restaurant that knows how to deliver: taste, service, ambiance.... when you eat on the road all the time, you really, really notice the difference. The four of us all remarked on how awesome it all was- a fine performance indeed. If you visit Belfast, take the Barking Dog out for a stroll: www.barkingdogbelfast.com  yummy Aug 28th
Day off. The plan was to get up, shower, do laundry, and explore, but we spent a bit of time rearranging our accommodation due to the lack of any hot water in our building.
We eventually made it out for coffee, and a planned meeting with Debashis Sinha http://www.debsinha.com/ (original Autorickshaw drummer and electronic-music artist) who was in town for an electronic music/art conference. As will happen in situations like this, we bumped into him on the street, and amidst the clock-work downpours of ... yes, More Rain!... we started our reunion early with a visit to a couple of Belfast's finest pubs: The Crown, and Whites (which dates back to 1630).  Deb! Deb! Deb!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Liquor_Saloon  379 years old.
Whites has an interesting approach to restrooms. There are 2:
all for now!
Ed, Suba, Patrick and Dylan
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