Try something new they said. So that was my challenge for this week, and I also got to introduce a Galway audience to the brand of poetic humour that Dublin and Tullamore has come to expect from our Carty!

The open mic night at the Roisin Dubh was something I had wanted to partake in for a while. From the poetry to the comedy gigs down there, I am a regular attendee, normally a heckler in the crowd – where Steve Bennett lit on me! – or just sitting back enjoying other folk doing there thing: when there yesterday I put my name down, and joined the craic!

But before that, I had a few days off, and looking at the meetup groups in the city I saw two things I had wanted to try for some time. Veterans of watching the #CartyShuffle know that the only thing worse than my dancing is my singing (cynics would say my poetry!!!) so Id wanted to formally learn “proper” dancing.

So Carty goes to learn… salsa! Yep, not standard waltzing, or how to dance to normal music, but feckin Salsa.

This is how it should be done! I was nothing like this!

I think it will take me a while to learn this stuff. It was fun though, and I think Ill follow up on it.

Item number two on the bucket list was Tai Chi… why it of all martial arts? Well, Ive seen its about relaxation as much as combat, and it was on, so I said why the hell not? So I dawdled on out to the Treskill centre in Saltill today to give it a go.

I’m still alive!

There was no combat, just the basic movements, the stances and the hand movements, and that was hard enough. Just have to find somewhere to practice them now without looking weird! Its something I hope to follow up on, whatever about the Salsa dancing. Though the latter is better than the former if our Carty is to get a new muse!

So on to the next item on the bucket list to help our Carty through his recent early onset mid life crisis…

Duck number three is an ambition I have been working on for years, and never done much about. If I manage to wake up in time later today, I hope to take part in the CnaG Irish conversation circle in McCambridges in Galway city, and use it as the first step to learn Irish as a conversational language. Thats assuming I wake up on time, and as I write this Im on Facebook as well, which means it might be a while before I go to sleep…

But anyway, back to the Roisin Dubh…

The show opened with fantastic singing from Tracey, the host of the night, the MC, followed up by the sound guy, Steve Sharpe, so camp me makes Graham Norton look like a macho commando! He sang a gay love song about seducing straight chaps, which went down well, which shows how much as a nation we have come along from even five years ago.

Now that the referendum has passed, it truly is socially acceptable to be gay, sing songs about it, and joke about making moves on straight chaps, if that was ten years ago someone would have abused him if not attacked him in the pub for it. Well done Ireland!

The aformenetioned Steve Bennet went up and done what should be the new National Anthem “What The Fuck Am I Doing With My Life”, tailored to suit the audience of the night.

A plethora of artists went up then, but for me a chap singing a song called “The Sailor” was the highlight… an original song, ht was like something Robert Service would write, and he had a deep unique voice all his own. I cant remember his name bar both started with W- will update this when I find out who he is…

I was second last: I did my by now signature piece:

“read the words here” to a good if bemused audience. I don’t think they expected its like from a chap as formal as myself! Element of surprise!

So now, Galway, an Irish speaking region, knows me as Tom Carty, where as the English speaking parts of the country know me as Tomás Ó Cárthaigh… I would have to be a bollix, wouldnt I?

I doubt I’ll be in the next Jackie Chan movie, or even on Strictly Come Dancing, but if the roster goes to plan I will be at Body and Soul, and on stage, reading, on the same bill as Leftfield, my heros of dance music, with my fellow Tullamore Rhymers on the 19th to the 21st of THIS month, and not July like I told my boss when I applied originally for my holidays!

Leftfield – Song Of Life – YouTube (Can it be 20 fecking years ago???)

If you are interested in anything mentioned here, here are some links:

 

Vera Szurcsik – Tai Chi @ Treskill (also at Aras an Gael)
Open Mic @ Roisin Dubh
Roisin Dubh
Aras an Gael
Conradh na Gaelige