Here in Beantown (Boston) there seems to be a general consensus among session anchors that there are less and less sessions over the last couple of years. How is it in your neck of the woods? We need another Riverdance or something to fire up the Irish Americans again . Are we so far past the big moment of Irish culture being exported that sessions will continue to wither?
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
I get the impression the main threat to sessions in the UK right now is haemorrhage of exactly the kind of pubs sessions here usually happen in - corner pubs, codgers' pubs, one-off characterful places, rural pubs. They're closing hand over fist. Various reasons for this - cut-price booze in shops and chain pubs no doubt being one.
Sessions I go to haven't yet been affected by this one. But we've had a Performing Rights person round to check out what we're playing. That business could become a bit of a b*llache.
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
I can't speak for Milwaukee, but I know for a fact that the numbers of sessions in Chicago have declined in both number and quality in recent years. I don't enjoy sitting in a huge group of neophytes thrashing along (they sure aren't PLAYING ) with a "celebrity" host. I don't enjoy sessions where one alpha, usually a fiddler, calls the majority of the (obscure, overly fussy, recently composed) tunes the majority of the time. I don't enjoy hoards of bodhranii and cluelesss guitarists. They're all over Chicago sessions, there's no avoiding them, north or south side.
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Hey Salt,
Not to seem argumentative or nit-picky and all that, but -- being a Beantowner myself -- I'm curious about your fellow sessioneers' opinion that the local session scene is on the wane. A few thoughts/observations:
*Greater Boston is, as we know, a pretty amorphous geographical area. Obviously, it would encompass Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Watertown, Dorchester and Somerville; but often the demarcation can stretch into the suburbs and outlying areas, like Waltham, Quincy and Wakefield -- all of which have regular sessions.
If we add in those places -- which are about 30-45 mins. from downtown -- and others close by then that, in the words of our ex-president, would tend to "grow the pie."
*By my estimation, I can go to a session in Greater Boston nearly every day of the week, and there are some days with multiple sessions. (Disclaimer: It's certainly possible that some sessions I've lost track of are not taking place anymore.) That seems to me to indicate a pretty healthy session scene.
Now, a couple of the sessions I've gone to regularly do _not_ exclusively play Irish music; they also include musicians who are more versed in Scottish or Cape Breton, maybe even the occasional Appalachian or Scandinavian tune. So if you're talking about "purely Irish" sessions, I acknowledge that's certainly an important distinction.
*That said, I'm not sure the number of sessions by itself indicates how good the scene is. Let's say you have two weekly sessions in roughly the same geographical area: One of them draws about 10 people, many of whom are pretty inexperienced albeit dedicated; the other draws about the same number, except these musicians are more experienced -- but the turnout is spotty, people arrive late and/or leave early, the energy is never consistent, etc.
The latter session finally closes down, and then some of the regulars from that session start going to the other one. This not only boosts their numbers, but also the level of experience, and it becomes a place where musicians of different abilities like to go. So although you've lost one session, you've made the remaining one (theoretically) better.
*This may be fodder for a whole other discussion, but do we measure the health of a session scene exclusively by the number of sessions that take place in public settings? I know of musicians who gather frequently -- albeit more on a biweekly or monthly than weekly basis -- at house sessions. Now, one can argue the merits of public-vs-private, but in the end, does a house session not achieve the same result as a pub session, i.e., sharing tunes, building one's musical skills, etc.?
Again, no disrespect to you or your fellow session mates. Goodness knows, I don't get out as nearly as much as I'd like to, so I don't see all that others see. It's just that the idea Boston's session scene is waning seems to fly in the face of the impressions I (and others know) have cultivated.
Sorry to be so long-winded...
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Wether you like it or not the smoking ban has had a dramatic effect on the profits of your local pubs. As mentioned above the price of beer from supermarkets undercutting landlords has helped sink these dramatically as well. The thing is in the near future the only pubs that will remain will be the high street chain that sells cheap beer but doesn't hold entertainment licences (you know the ones that show Sky news all day with no sound just subtitles to get round this law.) I mean we could all play in these pubs just as long as you remove the strings from your fiddles, remove the reed blocks from your accordions and tape up the holes on your flutes. As for subtitles we could have some one holding up cue cards informing "listeners" as to what reel is playing at the moment and what's coming next. Imagine the banter after
"You missed a note there in the second part of The Maid Behind The Bar"
"How could you tell?"
"I could hear your finger movement it was just out"
A whole new meaning to air play.
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Around here, the number of sessions can only increase.
btw, beer in Spain has always been cheaper in supermarkets than in pubs, but this fact does not seem to prevent people from going to the pubs. Not me, anyway.
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Nicholas, was the PR person able to identify the tunes you were playing? What I'm getting at, I suppose, is whether they were an ITM afficianado who'd sold their soul, or if they were largely ignorant of ITM and were just checking if you were singing Ewan McColl uncredited. I'm horrified by the notion of the former...
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Robert Ryan - It was a she, with whom I did not converse. Others did. The state of her intellect and musical knowledge was not communicated to me. But it was definitely hinted to me that I should leave the ABBA hits alone that night.
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Here in Tucson, Arizona, it's remained remarkably constant for about 15 years... 1 session. But we switched from twice a month to weekly about 2 1/2 years ago
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
I can't speak for elsewhere, but in Bristol (England) I've noticed a recent upsurge in interest for traditional music and dancing generally. It started about 3 years ago, and seems to be continuing. So far, this trend doesn't seem to have been affected much by the recession, but of course things might change.
As a result of this interest, we have more sessions in the area than ever before, and I've heard that there is yet another one starting soon.
Pubs though, are closing down at an alarming rate. The best pubs for sessions in cities tend to be the ones with bare floorboards, no car-park (parking lot) and no covered smoking area. Just the kind of pubs that are the most prone to closure.
Hey nicholas - those performing rights people seem to be very active at the moment!
Did you see that story in the press? It seems that they visited a garage, and told the mechanics that they couldn't listen to the radio whilst working, as the garage was "a public place" and it didn't have a PR licence.
Still, if you have those people in at your pub session, at least you would have a good reason to refuse to play "Ashokan Farewell" if someone requested it.
.. I've heard that "Happy Birthday to You" is copyright as well!
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Those PRS people are a pain in the @rse. One turned up at a local burger stand the other day and informed the owner that she had to cough up for a license, as the radio was being played in a public place. The owner then handed over a pair of earplugs and said 'put these in, the radio's for ME, you don't have to listen to it!'
That being said, these people seem intent on stopping music being played anywhere......and oh dear....guess what happens then?.....could they be out of a job, perchance?
Serves 'em right then the b@$terds.
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
I know of sessions out around the Worcester, MA area. At Mulligan's Tavern In Westborough Ma on Thursday nights and on Sunday twice a month in Worcester at the Fiddler's Pub in the AOH building. I also hear of one in Groton, MA . So they do exist outside of the Boston area. Hopefully we won't be hearing of any "Performing Rights" group over here in the US anytime soon!
Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Here in Beantown (Boston) there seems to be a general consensus among session anchors that there are less and less sessions over the last couple of years. How is it in your neck of the woods? We need another Riverdance or something to fire up the Irish Americans again
. Are we so far past the big moment of Irish culture being exported that sessions will continue to wither?
Salt
# Posted on January 22nd 2009 by saltcast
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
There's still a considerable amount in the Milwaukee/Chicago area, although I don't hear too many Riverdance tunes.
# Posted on January 22nd 2009 by reenactor
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
I get the impression the main threat to sessions in the UK right now is haemorrhage of exactly the kind of pubs sessions here usually happen in - corner pubs, codgers' pubs, one-off characterful places, rural pubs. They're closing hand over fist. Various reasons for this - cut-price booze in shops and chain pubs no doubt being one.
Sessions I go to haven't yet been affected by this one. But we've had a Performing Rights person round to check out what we're playing. That business could become a bit of a b*llache.
# Posted on January 22nd 2009 by nicholas
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
I can't speak for Milwaukee, but I know for a fact that the numbers of sessions in Chicago have declined in both number and quality in recent years. I don't enjoy sitting in a huge group of neophytes thrashing along (they sure aren't PLAYING ) with a "celebrity" host. I don't enjoy sessions where one alpha, usually a fiddler, calls the majority of the (obscure, overly fussy, recently composed) tunes the majority of the time. I don't enjoy hoards of bodhranii and cluelesss guitarists. They're all over Chicago sessions, there's no avoiding them, north or south side.
# Posted on January 22nd 2009 by Seosamh Ui Sinan
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Hey Salt,
Not to seem argumentative or nit-picky and all that, but -- being a Beantowner myself -- I'm curious about your fellow sessioneers' opinion that the local session scene is on the wane. A few thoughts/observations:
*Greater Boston is, as we know, a pretty amorphous geographical area. Obviously, it would encompass Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Watertown, Dorchester and Somerville; but often the demarcation can stretch into the suburbs and outlying areas, like Waltham, Quincy and Wakefield -- all of which have regular sessions.
If we add in those places -- which are about 30-45 mins. from downtown -- and others close by then that, in the words of our ex-president, would tend to "grow the pie."
*By my estimation, I can go to a session in Greater Boston nearly every day of the week, and there are some days with multiple sessions. (Disclaimer: It's certainly possible that some sessions I've lost track of are not taking place anymore.) That seems to me to indicate a pretty healthy session scene.
Now, a couple of the sessions I've gone to regularly do _not_ exclusively play Irish music; they also include musicians who are more versed in Scottish or Cape Breton, maybe even the occasional Appalachian or Scandinavian tune. So if you're talking about "purely Irish" sessions, I acknowledge that's certainly an important distinction.
*That said, I'm not sure the number of sessions by itself indicates how good the scene is. Let's say you have two weekly sessions in roughly the same geographical area: One of them draws about 10 people, many of whom are pretty inexperienced albeit dedicated; the other draws about the same number, except these musicians are more experienced -- but the turnout is spotty, people arrive late and/or leave early, the energy is never consistent, etc.
The latter session finally closes down, and then some of the regulars from that session start going to the other one. This not only boosts their numbers, but also the level of experience, and it becomes a place where musicians of different abilities like to go. So although you've lost one session, you've made the remaining one (theoretically) better.
*This may be fodder for a whole other discussion, but do we measure the health of a session scene exclusively by the number of sessions that take place in public settings? I know of musicians who gather frequently -- albeit more on a biweekly or monthly than weekly basis -- at house sessions. Now, one can argue the merits of public-vs-private, but in the end, does a house session not achieve the same result as a pub session, i.e., sharing tunes, building one's musical skills, etc.?
Again, no disrespect to you or your fellow session mates. Goodness knows, I don't get out as nearly as much as I'd like to, so I don't see all that others see. It's just that the idea Boston's session scene is waning seems to fly in the face of the impressions I (and others know) have cultivated.
Sorry to be so long-winded...
PS: Which sessions do you go to?
# Posted on January 22nd 2009 by sts
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Wether you like it or not the smoking ban has had a dramatic effect on the profits of your local pubs. As mentioned above the price of beer from supermarkets undercutting landlords has helped sink these dramatically as well. The thing is in the near future the only pubs that will remain will be the high street chain that sells cheap beer but doesn't hold entertainment licences (you know the ones that show Sky news all day with no sound just subtitles to get round this law.) I mean we could all play in these pubs just as long as you remove the strings from your fiddles, remove the reed blocks from your accordions and tape up the holes on your flutes. As for subtitles we could have some one holding up cue cards informing "listeners" as to what reel is playing at the moment and what's coming next. Imagine the banter after
"You missed a note there in the second part of The Maid Behind The Bar"
"How could you tell?"
"I could hear your finger movement it was just out"
A whole new meaning to air play.
# Posted on January 22nd 2009 by upmine3
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Around here, the number of sessions can only increase.
btw, beer in Spain has always been cheaper in supermarkets than in pubs, but this fact does not seem to prevent people from going to the pubs. Not me, anyway.
# Posted on January 22nd 2009 by Ramiro
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Yes Ramiro but in Spain people don't mind sitting outside for a smoke you try that in England.
# Posted on January 22nd 2009 by upmine3
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
True. Or inside, for that matter.
# Posted on January 22nd 2009 by Ramiro
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Nicholas, was the PR person able to identify the tunes you were playing? What I'm getting at, I suppose, is whether they were an ITM afficianado who'd sold their soul, or if they were largely ignorant of ITM and were just checking if you were singing Ewan McColl uncredited. I'm horrified by the notion of the former...
# Posted on January 22nd 2009 by Dragut Reis
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
afficionado, even
# Posted on January 22nd 2009 by Dragut Reis
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
None in Victoria, BC.
# Posted on January 23rd 2009 by pat mcgregor
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Robert Ryan - It was a she, with whom I did not converse. Others did. The state of her intellect and musical knowledge was not communicated to me. But it was definitely hinted to me that I should leave the ABBA hits alone that night.
# Posted on January 23rd 2009 by nicholas
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Here in Tucson, Arizona, it's remained remarkably constant for about 15 years... 1 session. But we switched from twice a month to weekly about 2 1/2 years ago
# Posted on January 23rd 2009 by azfiddle
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Our local sessions have increased in number within the last few years.
# Posted on January 23rd 2009 by vonnieestes
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
I can't speak for elsewhere, but in Bristol (England) I've noticed a recent upsurge in interest for traditional music and dancing generally. It started about 3 years ago, and seems to be continuing. So far, this trend doesn't seem to have been affected much by the recession, but of course things might change.
As a result of this interest, we have more sessions in the area than ever before, and I've heard that there is yet another one starting soon.
Pubs though, are closing down at an alarming rate. The best pubs for sessions in cities tend to be the ones with bare floorboards, no car-park (parking lot) and no covered smoking area. Just the kind of pubs that are the most prone to closure.
Hey nicholas - those performing rights people seem to be very active at the moment!
Did you see that story in the press? It seems that they visited a garage, and told the mechanics that they couldn't listen to the radio whilst working, as the garage was "a public place" and it didn't have a PR licence.
Still, if you have those people in at your pub session, at least you would have a good reason to refuse to play "Ashokan Farewell" if someone requested it.
.. I've heard that "Happy Birthday to You" is copyright as well!
# Posted on January 23rd 2009 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
ABBA, nicholas? AABB, surely!
# Posted on January 23rd 2009 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Those PRS people are a pain in the @rse. One turned up at a local burger stand the other day and informed the owner that she had to cough up for a license, as the radio was being played in a public place. The owner then handed over a pair of earplugs and said 'put these in, the radio's for ME, you don't have to listen to it!'
That being said, these people seem intent on stopping music being played anywhere......and oh dear....guess what happens then?.....could they be out of a job, perchance?
Serves 'em right then the b@$terds.
# Posted on January 23rd 2009 by Freddy Frog
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Which Session was this Nic?
# Posted on January 23rd 2009 by bazouki dave
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
Mix - do you know of any song sessions in Bristol? I only know of the one, out at Stockwood, so would be glad to hear of others.
# Posted on January 24th 2009 by suesinger
Re: Sheer no. of sessions- Increasing or Decreasing
I know of sessions out around the Worcester, MA area. At Mulligan's Tavern In Westborough Ma on Thursday nights and on Sunday twice a month in Worcester at the Fiddler's Pub in the AOH building. I also hear of one in Groton, MA . So they do exist outside of the Boston area. Hopefully we won't be hearing of any "Performing Rights" group over here in the US anytime soon!
# Posted on January 26th 2009 by bagpiper58