Trying again...
Note To Self:
If you're planning on dancing yourself silly like that again, get some practice in beforehand. Ouch.
My calves are killing me at the moment because I went dancing on Sunday night, which is something I don't do very often. I spent the weekend at a folk festival (much more exciting than you might think) with my friend Jay and had a fantastic time. I learnt that everything up to and including Dancing Queen sounds better in thirteen-piece harmony, the words are not more important than the music and that Jae is far too talented.
Highlights:
The Spooky Men's Chorale:
They are a group of about thirteen hat-wearing tool-loving men who sing amazingly. They are hilarious, though they do serious pieces as well. Listen to a sample of their version of ABBA's Dancing Queen here. Plus, one of them was wearing a tricorn and a kilt. Plus he was the sort of guy that looks good in a kilt. How was I supposed to resist that?
Proof that Jay is too talented:
My friend Jay plays trumpet piano and tin whistle and she can play flute but isn't interested enough. I have banned her from picking up a saxophone, because I know she'd be better than me. Anyway, she knew one of the bands that were playing (who were also extraordinarily talented teenagers), so after talking with them she then proceeded to play with them at a couple of gigs since she had brought two of her tin whistles (I think she has about five). She also entered and won the Young Person's Talent Competition, which meant she got to play at another gig on Sunday. I'm just glad that she's my friend, so I hopefully won't be crushed when she takes over the music world.
The Sunday Night Cabaret:
I may have sore legs three days later, but it was sooo worth it. The Kazakstan Kowgerls were up first (an all-female group who wear colourful cowgirl costumes and sing hilarious songs), followed by The Spooky Men. They also did a few numbers together, since they know each other. Unfortunately for the next group I spent most of their act thinking about what the lovechild of a Spooky Man and a Kowgerl would look like, after someone made a comment to that effect. There was a group called Jugularity on later, whom I love but haven't seen in about eight years, so that made me very happy. At the end of the night Trouble In The Kitchen came on and provided us with something to dance (read: jump up and down) to, which went on for about an hour. The fiddler commented that we must all be very fit, but I blame it on the adrenaline.
All in all, it was a great festival and I'm looking forward to going again next year. I'm also going to the National Folk Festival in March, which is apparently a fantastic experience.