Gunternation

A busy week here in Dublin. Monday and Tuesday night we had church stuff that kept us out until at least 11:00. Wednesday we went out to celebrate the nuptials of a work mate of Bill’s. Thursday we saw the man with the golden flute. Last night we had a nice evening in the apartment; Bill made dinner and blogged about it. Today we are chillaxin, as the kids say. (Bill says it sounds like a drug, fast actin’ chillaxin.)

Here are some highlights from our recent flurry of activity:

• Bill and I have been meeting at the pub for dinner on Tuesdays before small group. This week as I came in, the barkeep brought me two menus and said, “Bring you your Bulmers?” She knows my drink! “Yes,” I said. “And what about him? Bring his now or is he on his way?” Awesome. We have a local.
• The wedding get-together was at a restaurant & bar called Market Bar. The wedding party was to arrive at 8:00 so Bill and I met early to have dinner. We ordered a bread basket, meat, olive and cheese plate, salmon with lime creme fraiche and pickled cucumber, chorizo and chicken skewers, and patatas bravas. Delicious! We love having loads of bits and bobs to choose from. It was one of our favorite meals in Dublin, and the place had a kind of Austin vibe. The newlyweds showed up about 9. We had a pint and met some of their friends. One guy was ready with a question, “Can you cross the United States driving only through states that start with a vowel?”
• Thursday night Bill and I saw James Galway in concert with his wife, Lady Jeanne, and the Ulster orchestra. That guy can toot! The program included classical pieces (Mozart’s Flute Concerto in D and Bizet‘s L’arlesienne: Suite No.2), some classical/trad fusion pieces (Badinereelerie and Loch Mozart, with some tin whistle thrown in) and a Mancini set with the Pink Panther and Baby Elephant Walk. Galway is quite cute and funny and truly seems to be having a great time. We had a great time too.
• Before the concert we had dinner at Wagamama, a quick-paced Asian eatery. We both had tasty noodle dishes with edamame, and got to eat with chopsticks! We’ll be back.
• Heard this snippet of conversation while walking through the park to meet Bill on Thursday: “What were those birds in Waco?” “Grackles.” Yes, evil, evil grackles.

Meat and cheese plate at Market Bar

Miso ramen and edamame at Wagamama

We made our first foray into the Dublin arts scene last night. The Wizard of Oz was showing at the Helix, but it was unlike any Oz we’ve ever seen. For one thing, there were no commercials. The most important difference, however, was the music. It was provided not by a scratchy soundtrack but by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. The orchestra was on stage with the movie shown above them sans soundtrack. It was amazing to hear Judy Garland’s voice soar over the rainbow backed by a full orchestra. More amazing, though, was the story of the movie score. Back in 1969 MGM suffered a corporate takeover. The new CEO decided to have all this scrap paper lying around in boxes removed and used as landfill in a new golf course. The “scrap” paper included the scores for High Society, Ben Hur, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and almost every Judy Garland movie ever made, including The Wizard of Oz. The guy who bought MGM in 1969 wanted only the real estate, and appointed a former head of programming at CBS known as “the smiling cobra” to downsize the film division. Downsize, indeed.

So what were we listening to if the original score was buried under the 12th hole? A wonderful score painstakingly reconstructed note by note by composer and film buff John Wilson, who also conducted the orchestra. The score was utterly familiar, and of course the point was to match the film exactly. But the orchestration was also exposed in a new way, at times overwhelming the dialog or lyrics. But that was okay, because even if we didn’t already know what was being said or sung, the music was telling us how to feel. It was nice also to be distracted momentarily by some interesting sound coming from the percussion section, and to have the pumping bows of the string section add another visual element to soaring melodies or driving action.

Afterward we finished our night of arts in fine Dublin fashion with a couple bags of chips and battered sausages from our local take-away. It was a good night.