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Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
I've heard every reason why people hate pub sessions but insist on dragging their miserable asses along to every possible one going.
1. The smoke & noise
2. No sandwiches
3. No free beer
4. Drunk bar room pshychotics
5. Patrons love of the bodhran and singers
6. Land lord problems
7. Sports on T.V.
8. Too many beginer level players
9. Too many guitarists
10.Not enough real traditional instruments
The list goes on.
So why go to pubs to play, whats the attraction ? Why not go around eachothers houses where you can invite who you like to play what you like and you can drink and smoke whatever you wish without feeling short changed, and there is nobody to ring a bell
I'm starting to see the appeal people have for members folk clubs after many years of laughing at them as being a bit geeky. I honestly believe trad musicians secretly yearn an audiences affection and feel their music is a challenge on the public at the same time.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Well, a lot of times we do go round eachothers' houses for a few tunes....I guess the appeal of a pub session is (to me) that you never know who's going to show up. and you get a (usually) pretty apreciative audience.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Your list is so true, and as you said, it goes on. I have a certain level of tolerance for such things, one that is balanced by the quality of the music that's made. Once that level of tolerance gets passed, I don't go back.
I give public venues a chance, though, precisely because I do love to play music for others to enjoy. Many times in public sessions, I've encountered those who have never seen a violin played up close! I love to see punters, including children, clapping along and dancing while I play. There was the Kenyan family who resonated to the music and danced their traditional dances to it -- the family where the children finished their homework early to earn the trip to come hear us -- the newly-married man who tried to give me money to play his wife "a romantic song" (of course, I did it, but told him to tip the waitstaff instead),
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Seriously, I wouldn't want to be part of something as cliquish as that.
It goes back to the "House concert" discussions.
I realise that other parts of the world differ but "the pub" is a very significant part of the social scene in Scotland, Ireland, and also the UK. We don't have the same "house" mentality here.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Oh dear, I had thought about saying the "UK in general" or "the rest of the UK" but I was worried this would offend those in The Republic of Ireland who are obviously not in the UK.
I'm afraid not mentioning the English, Welsh, Manx, Channel Islanders and so on was just mainly down to laziness. Obviously, I include everyone in these here islands.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
I love the pub session! Anything can happen and usually does. I remember the reverential hush of the folk club in the '60s - I cringe with embarrassment to think I took my turn to strum and sing godawful stuff while people sat around looking earnest in their dufflecoats and goatees sucking their gauloises. I want to play in a pub, trying to make enough noise to be heard above the scrum at the bar, smoke billowing round, beer-soaked tables, the occasional fight (just play faster!) And the proprietors and staff of the two sessions I go to are just wonderful - here's a toast to them!
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Maybe they know subconsciously that they need boundaries.
I remember a session in one of the public rooms of a girls' college. We were doing it for free beer, Alvin Stardust was doing a gig upstairs for a lot more. Some luminaries of the trad scene, on tour, dropped in on the session. Alvin Stardust steadily lost custom to the latter. Somehow, we ended up in the Senior Common Room, and somehow, the members' store of fine sherry was liberated from the cupboards and consumed. The place was a bear-garden - into which the College Principal duly strode like an avenging Gorgon. (The session member on the college workforce had to do some explaining, but kept his job.)
So maybe pub playing protects players from consummating their own worst instincts - especially if they have an audience...
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Of course, even here, some musicians will meet each other at their homes where they will "practise" new tunes and sets together. Thereafter, they will "try them out" in the pub with a "See how good we are" look on their faces.
See how glum they become when they discover that you knew the tunes already or are able to learn them for the following week!!!
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Manx? IOM isn't in the UK. It has associate status or something. Anyway this whole thing is a dumb question, and Briantheb0ll0x knows that anyway.The answer, besides michael's obvious one, is, cos that's where sessions are held. Just because.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Precisely, michael. And that, allegedly, is one of the main reasons why Irishmen met in pubs in London and elsewhere, to play music in the....whenever it was, the late 40's or early 50's. When pub sessions are supposed to have started. So we're just continuing that tradition. No big deal really.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Hey key minicock lad, mind yer verbals or I will inform every sh*te bodhran player in london and the home counties down to your session on the promise that you are short of players and they get free pints and sarnies Then you will be asking questions like this, hows it going down there in the south far east anyway have you beaten anyone for dissing the southwark irish fest this year ?
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Because when you invite people over you have to clean off enough chairs for them to sit in and go to the store for snacks and beer. And the cats flee in terror when that guy shows up with pipes.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Batlady - very good point.
Of extra-pub sessions, my favourites are the ones that happen spontaneously in the street, in railway stations, on night buses, in the backs of vans etc. Organised house sessions can sometimes have an element of dinner-party formality about them.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
There is an old nautical saying, "Sailors ain't happy unless they're bitchin'." Often, to understand what people really like and dislike, you need to watch their actions, not listen to their words.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Trying to get out of being stalked so easily? So long as spider removal takes place, it doesn't really matter whether they are dead or alive. In fact, it's better if they are not smashed into the wall. You have to be trained in these things. It's like session etiquette.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Michelle, you're not doing it right. Have them bring their own beer and snacks, and let anyone who shows up too late for a spot on the couch sit on the floor or on folding chairs or on chairs dragged up from the dining table. That's how it's done around here! If you're lucky, one of the guests shows up with something like a bottle of 12-year-old single malt and a friend who can play well. And everybody scooches closer together to make room for one more chair, the party runs until 2 AM, and people reminisce about it for a long time.
Besides smashing spiders and opening jars, there's also carrying large heavy objects.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
I went to my first session last Sunday, but I didn't see much of the things you talk about that. Of course, it was in the afternoon. There was no smoke, half price on food, no TV or radio, and a nice audience. It must be a very nice session.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Danny post your address, or I can if you like and a time and we will all meet round yours for a huge drinking, smoking & music session that can last into the early hours
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Brian - I live very near the Blythe Hill Tavern. Although we suffer from..........
1.smoke - that one does bug me.
2. No sandwiches - but I for one don't really like sandwiches when I'm sessionning (unless it's a marathon sesh, and you get hungry after several hours playing.)
4. Occasional psychotics - but these have always been dealt with accordingly and they don't last.
5. Bodhran & singers? - a good bodhranist augments a session and a good singer makes a welcome break from tunes tunes tunes.
8. Beginners - can be a problem sometimes - if they don't know their place in the scheme of things....
......it IS like a second home to me where we do actually
"meet ...for a huge drinking, smoking & music session that can last into the early hours"
frequently.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
I always sorted out the spiders in my relationships and I still do now I'm single (daughter terified of them). What I need a man for is to change my lightbulbs.
As for pub sessions - its the unexpected , the relaxed flow and the odd drunk who tells me I'm beautiful.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Slightly bemused by an earlier part of this thread; do you have to insult people before they will turn up to your sessions ?
In which case....
"All fiddle-players in North Lunnon have very small brains; and the male ones have brains smaller than their p*****s ! "
That should get some fiddlers along !
Why don't we have sessions at home ?
Because 'Er Indoors would make me clean and tidy the place first.
And where's Batlady been all this time ?
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
A few of the above list of grievances sour the local session for me from time to time, but then there are those evenings with only light smoke, little noise, and just the right combo of players for some great crack. That's why, despite the griping, hope springs eternal for the pub session. (Plus, at our session, the beer is free.)
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
1. The smoke & noise
Smoke is no longer a problem in UK - it's banned
2. No sandwiches
They're all dry and curlly anyway
3. No free beer
Many people on this site report receiving free beer either because the landlord provides it for players or because other punters give it to them in appreciation
4. Drunk bar room pshychotics
Probably they are the other session players so inviting them home is a bad idea
5. Patrons love of the bodhran and singers
Um... no comment
6. Land lord problems
Ah... some must be ok though, surely?
7. Sports on T.V.
OK fair point.
8. Too many beginer level players
Where did all the experienced people in this discussion go when they were beginers - we all have to start somewhere.
9. Too many guitarists
Suggest they bring banjos next time
10.Not enough real traditional instruments
Define traditional (actually, no, please don't, because that's the subject of countless arguments elsewhere with no satisfactory outcome)
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Pete-lurking, working, lurking, removing spiders from the house, gently, with a tissue and a cup......
Jfother: Yes! That's it! This happens! Gentlemen of a certain age don the beer (or whisky) goggles, wander up to musicians of a certain age and declare that we are (and I quote) "as cute as a button". Sometimes the significant other of the gentlemen is in the immediate vicinity during such exchanges, and there are uncomfortable moments. You rarely experience such random vignettes in the house session. And there are mirrors in my house....sigh.
Sara-I'm going to invite your friend with the single-malt!
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
The "irish" pub climate has changed somewhat since the swinging sixties where pubs were ram packed solid every night mostly with irish people and it was a community spirit sort of thing. Now you are playing in half empty sh*th oles with a small declining amount of customers and an atmosphere to match it. Also irish people these days are not into trad as much as the 'ole ones were years ago so the clientelle is your usual suspects who dont know why you are there or care if you are there. For me joining a gigging band had to be the way out or the next step if you wish as I personally just got bored of session after session however thats just me. I know there are many peeps out there that would tremble at the thought of microphones, individual playing etc everything a session isn't .
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
But gigging can be boring too ... How many times do you play a completely new tune/song at a gig - one you've never played before? But, at the sessions I've been going to recently, there's hardly ever a night when there's there isn't at least one tune that I've never heard before, and then there's new people to meet (sorry, I should say "peeps" - I liked them too until they changed the actor playing Groove - couldn't watch it after that)
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
I've done both and infinitely prefer sessions (good ones that is.) I know the type of sessions you're meaning Brian. Fortunately I haven'thad that experience for a fair while
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
i am answering in typical female style but if you had sessions at your house you would have to clean up after all the mess made and clean beforehand! fine if you have a batchelor pad but i wouldnt want a load of men who are going to get roaring drunk coming round to my house to play tunes. pubs are much better because you can leave whenever you want to and can chat to people who you wouldnt normally see.....
Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
I've heard every reason why people hate pub sessions but insist on dragging their miserable asses along to every possible one going.
1. The smoke & noise
2. No sandwiches
3. No free beer
4. Drunk bar room pshychotics
5. Patrons love of the bodhran and singers
6. Land lord problems
7. Sports on T.V.
8. Too many beginer level players
9. Too many guitarists
10.Not enough real traditional instruments
The list goes on.
So why go to pubs to play, whats the attraction ? Why not go around eachothers houses where you can invite who you like to play what you like and you can drink and smoke whatever you wish without feeling short changed, and there is nobody to ring a bell
I'm starting to see the appeal people have for members folk clubs after many years of laughing at them as being a bit geeky. I honestly believe trad musicians secretly yearn an audiences affection and feel their music is a challenge on the public at the same time.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Well, a lot of times we do go round eachothers' houses for a few tunes....I guess the appeal of a pub session is (to me) that you never know who's going to show up. and you get a (usually) pretty apreciative audience.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by BE
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Your list is so true, and as you said, it goes on. I have a certain level of tolerance for such things, one that is balanced by the quality of the music that's made. Once that level of tolerance gets passed, I don't go back.
I give public venues a chance, though, precisely because I do love to play music for others to enjoy. Many times in public sessions, I've encountered those who have never seen a violin played up close! I love to see punters, including children, clapping along and dancing while I play. There was the Kenyan family who resonated to the music and danced their traditional dances to it -- the family where the children finished their homework early to earn the trip to come hear us -- the newly-married man who tried to give me money to play his wife "a romantic song" (of course, I did it, but told him to tip the waitstaff instead),
So that list goes on and on, too.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by cathrynb
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Why does any one go to the pub?
To meet your mates and have a laugh
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by llig leahcim
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Some of us might never get invited to another musician's house. They don't call me "Johnny no mates" for nothing.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by John J.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Seriously, I wouldn't want to be part of something as cliquish as that.
It goes back to the "House concert" discussions.
I realise that other parts of the world differ but "the pub" is a very significant part of the social scene in Scotland, Ireland, and also the UK. We don't have the same "house" mentality here.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by John J.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
ha, "Scotland, and also the UK" ? Showing your colours there mate
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by llig leahcim
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Oh dear, I had thought about saying the "UK in general" or "the rest of the UK" but I was worried this would offend those in The Republic of Ireland who are obviously not in the UK.
I'm afraid not mentioning the English, Welsh, Manx, Channel Islanders and so on was just mainly down to laziness. Obviously, I include everyone in these here islands.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by John J.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
I love the pub session! Anything can happen and usually does. I remember the reverential hush of the folk club in the '60s - I cringe with embarrassment to think I took my turn to strum and sing godawful stuff while people sat around looking earnest in their dufflecoats and goatees sucking their gauloises. I want to play in a pub, trying to make enough noise to be heard above the scrum at the bar, smoke billowing round, beer-soaked tables, the occasional fight (just play faster!) And the proprietors and staff of the two sessions I go to are just wonderful - here's a toast to them!
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by RichardB
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Maybe they know subconsciously that they need boundaries.
I remember a session in one of the public rooms of a girls' college. We were doing it for free beer, Alvin Stardust was doing a gig upstairs for a lot more. Some luminaries of the trad scene, on tour, dropped in on the session. Alvin Stardust steadily lost custom to the latter. Somehow, we ended up in the Senior Common Room, and somehow, the members' store of fine sherry was liberated from the cupboards and consumed. The place was a bear-garden - into which the College Principal duly strode like an avenging Gorgon. (The session member on the college workforce had to do some explaining, but kept his job.)
So maybe pub playing protects players from consummating their own worst instincts - especially if they have an audience...
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by nicholas
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Of course, even here, some musicians will meet each other at their homes where they will "practise" new tunes and sets together. Thereafter, they will "try them out" in the pub with a "See how good we are" look on their faces.
See how glum they become when they discover that you knew the tunes already or are able to learn them for the following week!!!
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by John J.
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Manx? IOM isn't in the UK. It has associate status or something. Anyway this whole thing is a dumb question, and Briantheb0ll0x knows that anyway.The answer, besides michael's obvious one, is, cos that's where sessions are held. Just because.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Rudall the time
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Also, everyone I know lives in a flat. With neighbours on all sides. In the pub we can make a racket til gone 1 in the morning.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by llig leahcim
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
guinness on tap
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Kheelch
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Why do women marry men if all they do is moan about them?
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Conán McDonnell
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Precisely, michael. And that, allegedly, is one of the main reasons why Irishmen met in pubs in London and elsewhere, to play music in the....whenever it was, the late 40's or early 50's. When pub sessions are supposed to have started. So we're just continuing that tradition. No big deal really.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Rudall the time
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
To kill spiders and open jars, Conan. Men have their uses. So do sessions.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
"To kill spiders and open jars"
I don't kill spiders. No wonder I'm not married.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
I don't kill spiders either ... and I'm separated ... hmmm ...
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by ethical blend
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Hey key minicock lad, mind yer verbals or I will inform every sh*te bodhran player in london and the home counties down to your session on the promise that you are short of players and they get free pints and sarnies
Then you will be asking questions like this, hows it going down there in the south far east anyway have you beaten anyone for dissing the southwark irish fest this year ?
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Because when you invite people over you have to clean off enough chairs for them to sit in and go to the store for snacks and beer. And the cats flee in terror when that guy shows up with pipes.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Michele Sims
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
q-quaking w-with f-fear!
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by Rudall the time
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Batlady - very good point.
Of extra-pub sessions, my favourites are the ones that happen spontaneously in the street, in railway stations, on night buses, in the backs of vans etc. Organised house sessions can sometimes have an element of dinner-party formality about them.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
There is an old nautical saying, "Sailors ain't happy unless they're bitchin'." Often, to understand what people really like and dislike, you need to watch their actions, not listen to their words.
# Posted on November 21st 2006 by AlBrown
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Al Brown: yes
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by timmy!
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
St st stop it now your making me ner ner nervous as Gareth Gates facing a plagarism lawsuit
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
I take it you didn't take me too seriously then
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by Rudall the time
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Silver Spear I enjoy closing jars and breeding spiders in them. I am therefore completely and utterly useless. I still get the odd stalker though ;)
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by Conán McDonnell
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Trying to get out of being stalked so easily? So long as spider removal takes place, it doesn't really matter whether they are dead or alive. In fact, it's better if they are not smashed into the wall. You have to be trained in these things. It's like session etiquette.
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Michelle, you're not doing it right. Have them bring their own beer and snacks, and let anyone who shows up too late for a spot on the couch sit on the floor or on folding chairs or on chairs dragged up from the dining table. That's how it's done around here! If you're lucky, one of the guests shows up with something like a bottle of 12-year-old single malt and a friend who can play well. And everybody scooches closer together to make room for one more chair, the party runs until 2 AM, and people reminisce about it for a long time.
Besides smashing spiders and opening jars, there's also carrying large heavy objects.
*Ducks as husband throws one of same*
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by sara g
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
I went to my first session last Sunday, but I didn't see much of the things you talk about that. Of course, it was in the afternoon. There was no smoke, half price on food, no TV or radio, and a nice audience. It must be a very nice session.
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by enirehtac
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Nice??? Nice??? There's a law against nice!
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by oldstrings
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Don't know of any musicians who would choose to sit on the couch to play. We'd all rather have the chairs from the dining room table
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by minijackpot
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Danny post your address, or I can if you like and a time and we will all meet round yours for a huge drinking, smoking & music session that can last into the early hours
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
we go to get payed
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by tina concert
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Brian - I live very near the Blythe Hill Tavern. Although we suffer from..........
1.smoke - that one does bug me.
2. No sandwiches - but I for one don't really like sandwiches when I'm sessionning (unless it's a marathon sesh, and you get hungry after several hours playing.)
4. Occasional psychotics - but these have always been dealt with accordingly and they don't last.
5. Bodhran & singers? - a good bodhranist augments a session and a good singer makes a welcome break from tunes tunes tunes.
8. Beginners - can be a problem sometimes - if they don't know their place in the scheme of things....
......it IS like a second home to me where we do actually
"meet ...for a huge drinking, smoking & music session that can last into the early hours"
frequently.
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by Rudall the time
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
I always sorted out the spiders in my relationships and I still do now I'm single (daughter terified of them). What I need a man for is to change my lightbulbs.
As for pub sessions - its the unexpected , the relaxed flow and the odd drunk who tells me I'm beautiful.
J
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by jfother
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Slightly bemused by an earlier part of this thread; do you have to insult people before they will turn up to your sessions ?
In which case....
"All fiddle-players in North Lunnon have very small brains; and the male ones have brains smaller than their p*****s ! "
That should get some fiddlers along !
Why don't we have sessions at home ?
Because 'Er Indoors would make me clean and tidy the place first.
And where's Batlady been all this time ?
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
A few of the above list of grievances sour the local session for me from time to time, but then there are those evenings with only light smoke, little noise, and just the right combo of players for some great crack. That's why, despite the griping, hope springs eternal for the pub session. (Plus, at our session, the beer is free.)
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by mcswiss
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
1. The smoke & noise
Smoke is no longer a problem in UK - it's banned
2. No sandwiches
They're all dry and curlly anyway
3. No free beer
Many people on this site report receiving free beer either because the landlord provides it for players or because other punters give it to them in appreciation
4. Drunk bar room pshychotics
Probably they are the other session players so inviting them home is a bad idea
5. Patrons love of the bodhran and singers
Um... no comment
6. Land lord problems
Ah... some must be ok though, surely?
7. Sports on T.V.
OK fair point.
8. Too many beginer level players
Where did all the experienced people in this discussion go when they were beginers - we all have to start somewhere.
9. Too many guitarists
Suggest they bring banjos next time
10.Not enough real traditional instruments
Define traditional (actually, no, please don't, because that's the subject of countless arguments elsewhere with no satisfactory outcome)
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by JonB
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Pete-lurking, working, lurking, removing spiders from the house, gently, with a tissue and a cup......
Jfother: Yes! That's it! This happens! Gentlemen of a certain age don the beer (or whisky) goggles, wander up to musicians of a certain age and declare that we are (and I quote) "as cute as a button". Sometimes the significant other of the gentlemen is in the immediate vicinity during such exchanges, and there are uncomfortable moments. You rarely experience such random vignettes in the house session. And there are mirrors in my house....sigh.
Sara-I'm going to invite your friend with the single-malt!
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by Michele Sims
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
MW Smoke is no longer a problem in UK - it's banned....eh? well they haven't told the Blythe Hill Tavern yet.
Don't you mean your bit of the UK?
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by Rudall the time
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Fair point about beginners though.
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by Rudall the time
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
The "irish" pub climate has changed somewhat since the swinging sixties where pubs were ram packed solid every night mostly with irish people and it was a community spirit sort of thing. Now you are playing in half empty sh*th oles with a small declining amount of customers and an atmosphere to match it. Also irish people these days are not into trad as much as the 'ole ones were years ago so the clientelle is your usual suspects who dont know why you are there or care if you are there. For me joining a gigging band had to be the way out or the next step if you wish as I personally just got bored of session after session however thats just me. I know there are many peeps out there that would tremble at the thought of microphones, individual playing etc everything a session isn't .
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
But gigging can be boring too ... How many times do you play a completely new tune/song at a gig - one you've never played before? But, at the sessions I've been going to recently, there's hardly ever a night when there's there isn't at least one tune that I've never heard before, and then there's new people to meet (sorry, I should say "peeps" - I liked them too until they changed the actor playing Groove - couldn't watch it after that)
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by ethical blend
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Speaking of gigs, that reminds me of a reason why I like sessions--no speakers, amps and mics to haul!!!!
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by AlBrown
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
I've done both and infinitely prefer sessions (good ones that is.) I know the type of sessions you're meaning Brian. Fortunately I haven'thad that experience for a fair while
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by Rudall the time
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Maybe I'm turning into a grumpy old man already,
Er... I should like sessions in that case
# Posted on November 22nd 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Stop moaning about people moaning!
# Posted on November 23rd 2006 by eurbanjo
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
i am answering in typical female style but if you had sessions at your house you would have to clean up after all the mess made and clean beforehand! fine if you have a batchelor pad but i wouldnt want a load of men who are going to get roaring drunk coming round to my house to play tunes. pubs are much better because you can leave whenever you want to and can chat to people who you wouldnt normally see.....
# Posted on November 26th 2006 by frafyduck
Re: Why do session musicans play in pubs if all they do is moan about them.
Because they live in hope and die in despair...
# Posted on November 26th 2006 by bowburner