SKYFORGER TOUR REPORT - BEALTAINE WEEKEND 2005

THURSDAY 28TH APRIL

9.30 am - myself and Saul are up bright and early to collect the 4 Skyforger members, as well as Ginz their soundman and Andis, their manager from Aldergrove airport.

11.00 am - Skyforger taste the delights of a traditional Ulster fry, then get their heads down for a few hours rest.

2.30 pm - Graham and Nails arrive with the van, our Declan arrives with his car, and with Saul driving the rest of Waylander, a three strong cavalcade departs Battlehill, bound for Derry.

The only eventful moments of the journey, was when the cops pulled Graham's van over and tried unsuccessfully to slap a motoring ticket on him for dodgy brake lights and the awe on Skyforger's faces as we ascended through the Glenshane pass. The beers by this stage had begun to flow...

After amazingly navigating our way to the Gweedore and bringing the gear upstairs, we then had to endure a long and anxious wait for the drumkit, as Dawn were stuck in traffic on the outskirts of Derry due to the closure of one of the bridges. The monotony was interrupted by beer, and the side-splitting sight of Alan playing jigs and reels on the whistle, while Skyforger guitarist Motors danced a wild Latvian jig.

Anyway, things finally got going with Symbiotick opening proceedings. It soon became all too clear, however, that the crowd would be sparse to say the least. Being left with no promoter, venue or soundman, a mere 3-4 weeks before the gig, certainly didn't aid our cause. Dickhead promoter.

After Dawn had entertained the crowd, it was time for yet another Waylander comeback, with this being Den's first gig in well over 4 years not to mention the fact that this was Alan's first Waylander gig ever. It was one of those nights, with the sound doing us no favours from the outset, then Alan broke a string at the start of the 2nd song, effectively ending his gig. We soldiered on, with the sound getting no better, and the microphone constantly cutting out, so with Alan on whistle for set closer "Born to the Fight", we were actually relieved to come off the stage. It was a stinker alright, but it happens, and better to do it in front of 22 paying customers than in a packed house somewhere.

Skyforger attacked the stage bedecked in Latvian warrior garb and immediately went about stunning the crowd into absolute obediance. After the initial shock, a mighty mosh ensued for the remainder of their set, with EVERY single person in the venue participating in the special atmosphere emitted from the stage. Ginz has to be congratulated on obtaining Skyforger a stunning sound, when all other bands had struggled. Skyforger gave their all and everyone lapped it up eagerly, in effect, turning what had looked like a complete disaster into quite a memorable night.

A huge thanks to John Norby, without whom this gig would not have been possible.

Packing the gear away and the drive back to Battlehill was no fun at all.

FRIDAY 29TH APRIL - DUBLIN

A beautiful Battlehill morning dawned, and after dining heartily upon the arrival of Karl for his driving duties, it became clear that we would be 1 vehicle short, so, Andis and I got the train to Dublin. The beer was flowing from early afternoon and a generally optimistic outlook was the order of the day.

We arrived at the Voodoo lounge in plenty of time, and after an anxious wait for all the gear to arrive [ due to the horrible traffic problems in Dublin ], the soundchecks ran smoothly enough and as it neared time for the show to get underway a healthy crowd was gradually filling up the venue.

The lights went out, and to a backdrop of a single red light, Wreck of the Hesperus took to the stage, embarking on their unique brand of tortured Doom. After a short while, with all my work done, I retired upstairs for a well deserved beer or 3, promising myself to catch W.o.t.H live again sometime soon. The changing room at the Voodoo is very impressive by the way, very spacious and luxurious.

Geasa and Old Season warmed the crowd up superbly, and being 2 of my favourite Irish bands I was more than pleased. Skyforger hit the stage and just like Derry, absolutely stunned the crowd into stupefied silence initially, when the collective penny had dropped, the large crowd eagerly lapped up the epic performance. The conviction with which skyforger played their songs had people going nuts, so much so, I sustained a nice shiner from a flying elbow or head or something. Well worth the war wounds though. Brilliant crowd, even better gig, a result in every department which is rare, I assure you.

A night of Buckfast fuelled mayhem followed, due to bumping into an old school friend at the gig. Had Andis drinking buckie too!! He claimed it done nothing for him while he was making me dizzy scooting round the place like a hyper active tasmanian devil.

SATURDAY 30TH APRIL - BELFAST

Woke up pissed and had to grab a few early morning pints just to get the ole head together for the journey up to Belfast. Ended up running a bit late, so upon arriving at the Rosetta the soundchecks were hurried to say the least.

7.30 pm - the doors opened to reveal a steady enough stream of northern Metalheads, with the attendance being around the ton mark, which is quite good for Belfast, believe me ! Fellow Co.Armagh band, Mirthless opened proceedings and went down well on their first visit to the Rosie. Fallen were up next, complete with the BBC tv cameras, who were filming them for inclusion on a N.ireland music type programme. After a nervous start it soon became clear why this band has been touted as being real bright hopes for the future. Aftermath, I've seen quite a few times recently, so I took the time to actually do a bit of work. Telling people what to do is not quite as gratifying as it sounds, you know!

Old Season, again warmed the crowd up superbly, despite Frank's voice starting to go, and it's clear that Epic Heavy Metal has great appeal in northern climes.

Waylander hit the stage next, this was Alan's "trial" for want of a better word so he was understandably a little apprehensive. The sound didn't make it as easy for us as it usually does in the Rosie, yet we heard enough to play quite well, making no obvious mistakes whatsoever [ apart from me forgetting words again [[ stress I assure you ]] ]. The audience response was pleasing and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves which is what it's all about really. We were buzzing backstage afterwards. We laid down the gauntlet with this performance, swearing that it was the absolute minimum requirement for all Waylander performances in the future.

Skyforger - I think I'm running out of ways to describe their performances. Again, absolute shock, surprise, then heads down [ complete with silly grin ] seemed to be the general reaction. The crowd warmed to Skyforger more and more as the set progressed, culminating in an encore which brought the house down. Skyforger made a lot of friends here tonight, they sold a lot of merchandise and told me that Belfast was their favourite show of the whole tour.

It was great to see everyone in the rosetta having such a good time, I deliberately tried to make this one of the strongest bills imaginable and I honestly believe every band played brilliantly. It was great to meet Waylander fans of old, not to mention those Downpatrick lads who came to their first Waylander show. We sold quite a few t-shirts as well which is always a nice bonus.

The monotony of the drive to Naas was broken only by the insane humour of Ding Dong Dinny o'Reilly, and by the time we got there, everyone simply crashed out as a few days of hard partying had obviously taken their toll.

SUNDAY MAY 1ST [ BEALTAINE ] - CORK

This turned into the most stressful day of the whole tour due to unforeseen circumstances. Nails' mother took sick and had to be taken to hospital in an ambulance [which understandably delayed our departure]. Thankfully, Mrs. O'Neill was well enough to allow nails to travel on to Cork. On behalf of ClanWaylander I'd like to wish her a swift and speedy recovery.

We made it to Cork only to find out that Epoch would not be playing due to a band member's mate being killed in a car crash. To top it all of, the Dublin bus didn't bother to turn up, leaving an irate Geasa and a dozen fans stranded with no way of getting to Cork in time. It had most definitely been one of those days so far.

While soundchecking a few locals popped their head in to proclaim their surprise that the Skyforger gig was still on, as they had heard it was cancelled. Obviously concerned, a few of us took to the streets to hassle people into attending the show. If I ever catch up with the scumbag loser who put this rumour about......... well, you figure it out. We didn't expect to get much of a crowd after hearing this, but by showtime, some 70 punters had paid admission, which was ok considering.

A local Black Metal band opened proceedings, and for the life of me I can't remember their name.

Co. Armagh based folk Metallers Runecaster [ featuring Gaz who had been our session bassist ], were up next , but unfortunately, as I was in charge that night, I had a number of problems to overcome, and resultantly had to miss most of the bands throughout the night. It transpired that we couldn't get a hostel for Skyforger anywhere in Cork so we [ Saul and I ] had to get a taxi to Blarney, which is 15km out of Cork city, pay the hostel, and taxi it back to the venue. The journey was eventful, considering Saul was very very drunk, I was stressed out, and neither of us could understand a word the taxi driver was speaking. I swear they should claim Corkish as a language all of its very own!

We arrived back at Nancy Spains just as Old Season were hitting their last notes. Skyforger again played out of their skins, made more new friends, and sold out of their merchandise that night which is cool. After Skyforger were safely placed in taxis with accurate directions given, the rest of us tried to find a pub for a well earned pint, and more importantly, try to find somewhere to stay. Mission was accomplished when the lads from the black Metal band from the gig offered us a roof for the night, which we are extremely grateful about. Sleep deprivation overcame everyone yet again.

MONDAY 2ND MAY - CORK

It took a monumental effort for everyone to be at the venue for noon to collect the gear. It seemed to take hours to pack everything into the van, at which point the rain began. We drove out to Blarney to collect Skyforger and simply couldn't leave without visiting the Castle and seeing the Blarney stone. The Skyforger lads were impressed, as was I, at the sheer size of the castle. While waiting to see/kiss the stone, we passed the time by admiring the view and laughing at stupid american tourists. After numerous potential diseases were discussed it was decided to forego the chance to kiss the Blarney stone as we figured several beer would have an equally impressive effect.

The rain never stopped. We decided to go see a Metal gig during late afternoon but by the time we got there we were decidedly late, not to mention dizzy, from the circles we were walking in. Most of Skyforger and Alan, Saul and Gaz and me, found an off-licence, bought beer, cider and Buckfast and retired to a nice wee car-park for some rinsing of the tonsils. The craic was so good that we almost forgot to make our way to Fred zeppelins for the end of tour folk session.

Upon arrival of Peter's folk instrument via a bus from Athy [ don't ask ], a very drunken waylander tried to put a few acoustic tunes together. With Alan losing his whistles, Gaz being barely able to hold his guitar and no rehearsal whatsoever, we proceeded to absolutely murder Morrigans Domain and Walk with Honour, at which point I apologised to the 5 paying customers and awaited while Skyforger got themselves ready to play. We ended up just taking donations and not really having a door as such, as we had decided to keep this as an intimate end of tour chill out session for all the bands and organisers of the tour. The Murphys was flowing constantly and everyone was in very high spirits, but as soon as Skyforger began playing a strange hush fell upon the room. The folk set was a very moving experience for many in attendance, not least Horse and Motors from Skyforger who really did bare their soul during the all too brief performance.

After we packed up the lads' bags into the van for their lift to Cork airport, there was an emotional parting of ways as Skyforger made friends with everyone due to their laid back and friendly demeanours. They did seem to thoroughly enjoy their tour of our Island and hopefully it'll not be too long before we see them back here. Overall this was a great, yet oftimes trying experience, which learnt us so much about tour organisation and sleep deprivation !!

Many thanks to Nails, Saul, Graham, Pope, Declan and Karl, without whom this would not have been possible and everyone else who played their part in making this tour a relatively decent success.

BAIL O NA DEITHE ORTHU

ARDCHIEFTAIN
BEALTAINE 05