We started off The Ghost Country tour on Sunday 13th of Sept in Galway. The Crane Bar, one of the best little venues around. I was fairly nervous about this gig as I hadn't played a full show myself for some months in the run up to the album...Three songs in and I was back on track...
The Ruby Sessions were up next. This is a charity gig for the Simon Community, four acts a night. I played a short set and really enjoyed checking out the other acts on the night...Leaving Dublin that night I pulled up at a petrol station and noticed steam rising from the cars bonnet. Nice way to start a tour but it turns out it was just a tiny problem...Phew
I was looking forward to Cork a city I spent five years in. The Pavilion is run by Pat Conway who ran the legendary Lobby gig's I played so many of. The Pavilion is a big room with a dome ceiling and sounds great. I really got deep down into this gig..Great fun.
Waterford was next, I had never played Electric Avenue before and it was some time since I had played Waterford. I had a great sound at the gig. The venue was adjoined to a strip club. We were basically sharing toilets and dressing room's with some very scantly clad women. I like my job ;)
On to Limerick. Dolans ah Dolans..Great venue and sound here too as always. After this show I let the hair down and had a few after the show with venue booker, sound engineer and pedal steel player Sean Harold...Paddy Casey scooped me up off a stool and drove me back to my hotel about 4am.
We drove to Clonakilty for a day off before I played the Clonakilty Guitar Festival the next day. We arrived in Clonakilty checked into the hotel and went looking for some music, due to the venues being so  packed we ended up standing in doors all night.
Next day was gig day, I went for food and met my old friend Ger Wolfe. I arrived to the venue a total dump called The Brass Razoo, walking upstairs I noticed a rather shoddy looking PA system looking sheepish in the corner. As I set up and sound checked I noticed instantly the PA was shot, distorting like crazy, some festival guy ran about looking for different speakers and changed them just before I started.
A great crowd came to this gig but it was ruined but a totally shot PA provided by the festival...I played on but the sound just kept getting worst and worse. A total mess. As I said again a great great crowd, One of the worst venues I have ever set foot in and a totally brokedown PA system provided by the festival....Not good enough..!!
On to Ballymore Eustace a gig run by the great Larry Roddy. Mick Murphy's is a very small pub, Larry hand a fantastic PA set up and even though it was a small crowd we had a great gig a total contrast to the night before..JP Ryan my opening act for the tour had a great show this night too..
Next day was the long drive to Lahinch in Co Clare for a gig in Kenny's, I woke up this day with a nasty sore throat. Kenny's is a real great place run by great people. We were instantly made feel at home. Other that the unbelievably loud American golfers this was a great gig. I was a bit depressed by the stray kitten that I found outside the venue...no one wanted it at all, I was heartbroken as we pulled away from it at the curb and headed back to the B&B. The Cold and sore throat was taking a firm grip.......................

More to come