On Tuesday, February 23rd, I attended a Hudson Taylor concert at the Black Box Theatre, which is just a short walk from my apartment.  For any of you who don’t know, Hudson Taylor is an Irish band, formed by two brothers from Dublin, Alfie and Harry Hudson-Taylor.  I’ve been a fan of their music for years, but they aren’t very popular in the United States.  When I found out that they were playing a gig in Galway back in the fall of 2014, I bought tickets as soon as I could (which meant waking up early on a school day and ordering them on my phone… at the time, I wasn’t in the right time zone for getting them at a decent hour!).  Whenever I had anxieties about leaving home before coming to Ireland, I would remind myself that I had tickets to Hudson Taylor because I knew there was no way in the world I would ever miss that!

Three of my friends joined me: Amara, Kaity, and Kelly.  We got ready at my apartment before heading over to the venue early, but on the walk over, we got caught in a torrential downpour that made straightening my hair completely useless!  But we laughed it off and took a photo of ourselves to remember how we had been soaked by the Irish rain… and definitely not for the first time!

Arriving early was definitely a good thing, as the concert was general admission, or standing room only.  The four of us were delighted when we entered the theatre and walked straight up to the front to claim our space.  We couldn’t have been any closer – front row was better than any of us had expected.  Needless to say, I was over the moon.

There were two opening acts, one of which was a band called Southern composed of a brother and sister from Belfast as well as a drummer and bassist from England.  They were really great and I definitely hope they gain popularity.  Below is a video of a song they performed at the concert:

After Southern finished, there was a period of excruciating anticipation while the stage was set up for Hudson Taylor.  In the interim, I tried to guess which of the brothers would be directly in front of us on stage, and I decided it was going to be Alfie because the microphone was shorter and Alfie’s instruments were eventually brought out and placed on our side.  And soon enough, my prediction came true.

Alfie took his place just in front of us as he, Harry, and their band started the concert with a high energy performance of “Just A Thought” – a song I’ve been singing so much that by now all my housemates should know the lyrics from memory.

Fortunately for me, they played a bunch of my favorite songs, so I got to sing along very loudly.  Because of that, I’ll include a Hudson Taylor music video for you to watch instead of the ones I took from the concert… I didn’t realize how loud I was singing until I could hear myself on the video when I got home.  It’s equal parts embarrassing and funny, but it’s more pertinent for you to watch a video of Hudson Taylor, not Hudson Taylor featuring special guest Maddison.

The video I’ve included below will always hold a special place in my heart because it was filmed in Galway, not too far from where I’m living now.  As of late, I’ve adopted it as my Galway theme song, so it’s frequently listened to on my iPod on walks to and from class.  In fact, I had a conversation with a kid I met one night in a pub and we got talking about Hudson Taylor, and surprisingly enough he told me that he was there the day Hudson Taylor filmed this video.  Apparently, he was asked to spot Harry and Alfie when they jump in the water at the end of the video.  He could have been making it all up, of course, but part of me wants to believe it.  Even if it isn’t true, it makes a good story, so I’m sticking to it.

I didn’t want the concert to end, but the guys did mention that they would be going to the Roisin Dubh pub afterwards if any of us wanted to meet them there.  After singing, dancing, and cheering for hours, my voice was all but gone by the time the concert ended.  I booked it out of the theatre with my friends in tow so that we could stop by the merchandise stand and then get to the Roisin.  Luckily, I was already familiar with the Roisin and how to get there quickly, so Kaity, Kelly, and I made it there in record time.

The pub was packed when we arrived, as expected.  It took us 35 minutes just to weave through the crowds to get up to the bar.  After we all ordered drinks, we found a seat with a good view of the entrance so we could see if Alfie and Harry showed up.  After the better part of an hour, a lot of people started leaving, probably because they were impatient and didn’t think the guys were coming after all.  However, I was determined, so we enjoyed our drinks and our conversation, gleefully aware that the thinning crowd worked to our advantage.

Soon enough, I saw the band walk in the front door, so I assumed Alfie and Harry weren’t too far behind.  But then, I thought it would make sense for Alfie and Harry to come through a back door if their band came in the front, so I told Kaity to hold our seats at the bar while I checked the upstairs area for Alfie and Harry.  As soon as I reached the top of the stairs I ran into Harry, who was surrounded by girls… which made me cringe at the thought of being associated with fan girls, so I turned the corner instead and saw Alfie talking to a group of guys.  But I ended up catching Harry and having a conversation with him before a group of guys came over and asked me to take their photo with Harry.  I did and since I had asked Harry previously if I could get a photo with him, I thought one of the guys would take my photo for me.  Unfortunately, though, one of them dropped their glass and it shattered on the floor, so Harry was ushered to another location before I could catch him for a photo.

Though I was disappointed about that, later in the night I ended up standing next to Harry and talking to the drummer from Southern, Eoghan.  He was really nice and was also glad that I was having a Guinness, so we drank to that and to Southern’s successful performance that evening.  I still didn’t manage to get a picture with Harry – soon after, he left the Roisin, but I was glad I got to talk to him.

Meeting Alfie was my favorite part, though.  I just went up to him and said “Hi Alfie!” and we started talking.  He was really friendly; he gave me a hug when he found out I was from America and had been wanting to see them for such a long time.  He asked me my name and when I told him, he said that Maddison was a “lovely, beautiful name,” which, of course, made me melt! Alfie seemed really genuine – he even introduced himself to me and shook my hand (as if I didn’t already know who he was) and he kept using my name in conversation, which made me feel like I was having a chat with a friend.  He also got a little bit emotional when I told him I wished that their show would never end.  Similarly, he was humbled by the fact that I was American; it must have been amazing to realize that his music has a wider reach than expected.  After a quick photo and one more hug, we said goodbye, though I didn’t want to!

All in all, it was a great night that I will never forget.  My friends and I might be going to see Hudson Taylor again in early May, but this time we’ll take more friends along with us.  I’m sad that the concert is over, but I’m thankful I had the opportunity to see Hudson Taylor from the front row and meet them at a pub afterwards.  Only in Ireland!

Until next time,

Maddison

Location: Galway, Ireland