on beer and music, not in that order (in which our heroine drinks beer she doesn't like)

I didn't post last weekend, did I? Oops. Well, I didn't do much last week. Since getting back from Canada, I have mostly been working a lot. I need to write the first chapter of my thesis by Christmas! Scary! And Lionel wants the first ten-or-so pages by October 23. I spent a year reading and researching, and still I don't feel prepared to actually start writing the thing... eesh...


Other than that-- which really takes up a lot of my time, even though it doesn't make for a very interesting story-- the only 'blog-worthy thing that has happened lately was last night. My friend Jenn called me up and offered me a free ticket to "an outdoor concert" in Galway for Saturday night, somewhere "down at the docks." I had not seen one piece of advertising or heard one word about this, but I agreed, because hey-- free concert! So I went along with Jenn, her boyfriend Brian, and our friend Brianne.

It turns out that the "free concert" was the Coors Light Peak music event. Like I said, I hadn't seen any advertising for this thing, so I had no idea what was going on or what to expect. I kind of vaguely imagined a small crowd and a small platform for a couple performers. It turned out to be a huge extravaganza-- a "music event," as they called it. There were dance bands, and rock bands, and at one point a drum line standing along the walls of the stage area! There was a pretty good-size crowd, as well, with lots of people dancing. The show itself took place by the harbor, with a serious outdoor stage set up. I was surprised by the location of the concert, but the signs all said that they were playing "in the heart of shipyards and ports across 5 cities." (The other cities being Limerick, Cork, Waterford, and Dublin.)

It's actually a pretty genius marketing idea on the part of Coors Light. Get smaller bands that will play for cheap or free, just to get exposure. Play in outdoor areas that don't typically host concerts. Give away free tickets... and then only sell Coors Light to the attendees. The drinks were €5 apiece, which isn't that much more than you'd pay in a pub, but also enough that I'm sure they made a huge profit.

Of course, I don't actually like Coors Light. I bought one, just to have something to sip on during the show, but it tasted like watery pee. Then when I had about 1/3 of the pint left, Brian went and bought us all another round. I appreciated the gesture, but I also didn't want another one! So I finished the first drink quickly, which gave me a stomachache. I never finished the second pint. I'm not a beer snob, really-- I just don't like beer that tastes bad. And I happen to think that most lagers and pilsners, especially the big brands, taste bad. I'll stick with my ales and porters, thank you!