"Blues music is the wail of the forsaken, the cry of independence, the passion of the lusty, the anger of the frustrated and the laughter of the fatalist," wrote Paul Oliver in his book The Story Of The Blues. He might also have added "the craic of the Guinness Temple Bar Blues Festival".
Throughout the weekend, Dublin's lager-fuelled "left bank" was filled with blues of every hue, from Chicagostyle to delta, from jump jive to acoustic.
Unlike previous years, however, when the festival opened with a large, free, open-air gig in College Green, this year's bash began with a 1,100capacity gig in the Red Box on Friday night, featuring the legendary Taj Mahal.
The only open-air session was at Meeting House Square yesterday afternoon, where the "Acoustic American Stage" showcased the talents of blind piano-tinkler Henry Butler, a vibrant and youthful-looking Eric Bibb, and old hand extraordinaire John Hammond.
And while there were no big outdoor shows, organiser Una Johnston said the festival was not shrinking and had actually expanded to take in venues outside the immediate vicinity of Temple Bar, and featured a larger number of headline performers like Dr John, Robben Ford, Paul Lamb & The King Snakes, and The Memphis Horns performing in places like The Red Box, Whelans, The Mean Fiddler and the IFC.
"The blues trail is still the backbone of the festival," said Ms Johnston, "but now there's a wider choice of events in different places. We've taken a lot of the pressure off Temple Bar and spread it around a bit."
On Saturday night, however, Temple Bar was stuffed with revellers who squeezed into every available licensed space. The Garda had blocked off the area to traffic so at least the trail wasn't blocked by cars trying to get through the throng.
There was also a free flow of musical ideas during the weekend; at the Acoustic Room upstairs in the Norseman, Eric Bibb was joined on stage by gospel singer Sharon Vanbinsbergen, creating a heavenly blend of acoustic blues and church-going spirituality.
The festival ended late last night with a party in the Red Box, and a host of special guests were there to keep the fatalists laughing until this morning.
