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June 05, 2005

Hmm Bop!

Tuesday 9th November

Why can you never find your keys when your just about to leave the house and are in the mother of all hurries? You always think there sitting on the table or on top of the microwave but when the taxi pulls up, they’re gone. Its like fate is somehow trying to stop me from getting to the gig of one of music’s most legendary bands. So after waving at the taxi driver as if to say, “gimme a minute, I’ve lost my God Damn keys again!” I run around the house frantically searching until I realise my keys are in my pocket. Regaining my cool, I head out to the taxi and we’re on our way to the train station. But, as I rummaged through my wallet, I notice it’s missing any form of currency. What in the Hell is going on here? Strike two for fate to try and hinder my attempt to see three of the music industries living geniuses playing live in the Temple Bar Music Centre. Damn it! The taxi does a wild 360’ spin as we drive back into Newbridge to get to an ATM machine and back to the train station before my train leaves. So eventually, after withdrawing my life savings to supplement any further twists of fate, I’m finally on the train to Dublin. In my haste I’ve forgotten to bring any books or CD’s so I have to make do with staring out the window and trying to ignore the little brats who are running amuck in the carriage. I meet up with $chmackey and Paula outside Eason’s on O’Connell St. Now we’ve just got to kill some time while we wait for Rich Clifford to finish up college. We agree some retail therapy is in order so HMV on Henry St. it is.

While browsing through the store a song began playing. A really, really beautiful song about Galileo, love and the stars. It reminded me of Don McCleans “Vincent”. More frantic searching ensued to find out who sung the song so I could get the CD. Turned out to be the brand new album of Declan O’Rourke called “Since Kyabram”. When I got to the counter with my copy of the album, the guy at the till was like “This is such a great album! Have you heard it yet?” “I just heard the song about Galileo there a few minutes ago,” I replied. He was beaming. He continued to tell me how he loves the album and also love The Killers and did I like The Killers? And was I going to that big concert next week with such and such a band? This was it. Perfect time to announce where I was headed. Surely he would be mightily impressed at the epic band I was going to see that very night but, when I uttered the bands name he just stared at me, raised his arm and pointed towards the door. “Get out,” he said with disgust. So I left with $chmackey and Paula and we ambled down to Abrakebabra, got some fries and cola and sat at the kids table on the second floor. Eventually Rich turned up and now we needed to kill some more time as we waited for Hash Brown make his way from Heuston to O’Connell St. $chmackey suggested the big arcade up the street a bit so that’s where we went and weaved in and out the slot machines and arcade games.

After inserting far too many euros into one particular shooting game than one ought to, I began blasting various assailants jumping out from behind rocks and things. $chmackey was shouting words of encouragement. “See those guys there!” he said, “they read the rival newspaper!” Suddenly my aim became a lot more precise. After that we went to play pool to which I insisted I couldn’t play but which everyone else insisted I should play so who was I to disagree. Me and Rich were Team Ireland and $chmackey and Paula were Team Canada. Our team’s star player Mr. Rich Clifford played terrifically. $chmackey played good. Paula played well and me? Lets just say I played. Regardless Team Ireland were victorious in both games, a slight exaggeration that $chmackey will likely dispute. So anyway, we eventually met up with Hash Brown and headed across the Happenny Bridge and into Temple Bar towards the Music Centre where a snake-like queue was slithering its way around the corner and way down the street!

We joined the ever-growing queue and a crowd of fans from Newbridge arrived right behind us. As we inched closer and closer to the door a panic stricken fan without a ticket was offering any of us €100 for one our tickets. Ha! She’d be lucky. We weren’t about to give up or golden tickets to the band of the century, now were we? Don’t answer that $chmackey. Inside, Keara joined us and all six of us were ready hand over our souls to those Devils of music. The place was packed. In fact, it was actually sold out. Chants of “I love you Tyler!” and “We want Zac!” could be heard screaming from the crowd. Everyone was growing anxious and nervous. A thousand butterflies fluttered in a thousand tummies. And then they walked on stage. The room erupted with screams. Hanson had just walked on stage. Yet during the course of the night, while out smoking with Keara, we missed the pen ultimate song. The song of the decade. The song that had brought us all here. I missed it. I missed “Hmm Bop!” I went to see Hanson and missed “Hmm Bop!”

Trains, Buses & Automobiles by Liam Geraghty appears every week in the Kildare Nationalist (page 6)

Posted by LiamG at June 5, 2005 09:52 PM