Beta Band play to play Dublin, and I'm there in spirit

(5:13 p.m. Dublin time)

In a few hours time, Beta Band will take the stage in a Bud Rising Music Festival show at the Temple Bar Music Centre in Dublin. Unfortunately, I am back in America now and will not be there. The Beta Band is one of my favorites that I did not have a chance to catch live this year. As a consolation, however, I will be getting live phone reports from the show from a very special friend who promises me a first hand report and will hold her mobile phone up so I can catch a song or two. (Nary a doubt that Howwastheshow.com's reach is world wide!)

Recently, Beta Band performed a live studio session for London's 104.9 FM XFM (www.xfm.co.uk) which is archived in broadband hi-fi right here. Quite a lovely set, I might add. Though an older show, you can also watch a live concert from London's 93 Feet East from September 17th, 2001 archived here.

(7:05 p.m. Dublin time)

Erin rang me from the venue where she just heard the sound check. The Beta Band played all of Assessment and Easy, the 1st and 4th songs from their new LP "Heroes to Zeroes." In a weird twist, she was just hanging out outside with the band, but didn't realize it because she hadn't seen a picture of the lads, who are: vocalist Stephen Mason, drummer Robin Jones and DJ/ sampler John MacClean who all hail from Edinburgh and bassist, Richard Greentree (pictured above.)

(9:39 p.m. Dublin time)
I just got my anticipated phone call, and for the first time was on the other end of a multi-minute transatlantic mobile phone transmission of a live show as the Beta Band played "Assessment." In the past I'd always thought it was odd to see people holding up cell-phones at shows (Jim Froelich had commented on this weird phenomenon to me at one point), but having now received one of these calls I must change my opinion. I definitely picked up a bit of the energy of the show, which was only augmented by Erin's enthusiastic words, "This is awesome, I wish you were here." I really felt "jacked in", to borrow a phrase from Neil Stephenson's Snowcrash.

See Erin's full review on the main site here.