With the dust having settled on the experience, Jeff Courtney from Dublin quartet Jet Setter gives us an insight into the band’s recent performance at Westmeath’s Life Festival.
Photos by Tara Thomas.
So I’m turning the key, trying to get the van to start and the poor things not making a sound – the battery is dead. We’d arrived at the studio in good time on this fine Saturday morning to collect our equipment ready for our Life Festival debut. The van had a reputation for this kind of thing and whilst it came as no surprise; it was all together pretty inconvenient.
We devise a few plans to overcome the situation. Ross and Nate (our friend) will make their way back to my house; a short walk away and look for the keys to my Fiat Panda – a choice city car but not exactly ideal as a means of shifting equipment cross country. In the meantime Neil, Paddy and I will convince the surprisingly friendly mechanic based in the retail park where we rehearse, to assist us in a jump start. Two hours and three jumps later there is no sign of the engine starting and no sign of my car keys either.
Next plan. Paddy and I grab a cab to his parents house where there is a spare key to the family jeep, a Toyota Rav4. Like a couple of thieves in a bakery we tear the house apart until we find the spare in a jar on the living room mantle.
Fifteen minutes later we’ve packed the car, collected the rest of the band
(plus Nate) and we’re away.
We’ve arrived at the rear of the main stage just as ‘Me And My Dog’ have strummed their final chord. A shame as we were keen to catch their set. Another time I suppose. Ten minutes later after a quick sound check, reception of a white envelope with the agreed fee plus a bag of cans has arrived on stage, we’re ready to rock. Ready to rock to the half dozen heavies (including Nate) that came to check out a rock n roll show at what is primarily a dance festival. Needless to say we rocked their boots off. This would to be the last show of our tour and our last show for some time as we work on our first full length LP.
After the show Ross departed with Nate (our friend) back to Dublin with the help of Tara Thomas – the photographer for this article. Paddy Neil and I decided to stick around, brave the weather and see what Life had to offer. We had one more errand to run before we could truly dip our toes into the action and that was to collect our expenses agreement. This took a lot longer than anticipated due to some confusion in coordination as well as receiving another bands cheech rider as appose to our gas money.
As a music fan, Nas was the major highlight of my weekend. I have Illmatic on record and have been a fan for many years now. Props to the Simma crew who did an amazing job with their slice of the festival space. Truly Zen like. And thanks to the Thin Air for taking an interest in this Jet Setter’s life experience. Jeff Courtney
