Hello all,
I don't post too often on this site, but I do take time to read the discussions because there's lots of useful tips and stories, and also because I'm nosey. Just wanted to share my St. Patty's day adventures that took place last night and wondered if others had any interesting times as well. My story involves an alternator, a "chuck-it" dog toy, and a harmonica player who was strongly against eating popcorn before playing. If it sounds interesting, read on; if not, just skip down to the bottom and share your story!
So my SO, his sister and I made our way downtown to our favourite Irish pub, intent on listening to some good tunes with frothy pints of Murphy's in our fists, only to find the line-up extending way out onto the street (and most of these patrons were sporting the typical North American St. Patty's day garb--giant, green, cloth top hats for the males, and slutty green mini skirts for the females *shudder*). We had two other places in mind as back-ups for the evening, so we headed back to the car only to discover that said car wouldn't start. Luckily my SO has BCAA (British Columbia Automobile Assistance), and they came to our aid with jumper cables and all. With the car started and only half an hour of the evening gone, we set out for the Bent Mast, where a session is held on Tuesday evenings. SO's sister ran in to see how full it was in there. Only a few seats taken in the musician-reserved area. Good, said SO, we can take a drive to the other pub fifteen minutes away and see what's happening there, thus giving the car battery a chance to charge, and if it's too full we'll head back to the Bent Mast and join the session (we'd come prepared with our instruments). The pub turned out to be quite full so we turned the car around again to go back to the Bent Mast, our decision finally made. As luck would have it, the alternator just couldn't go any further and the car gasped its last breath in the left turning lane of a busy downtown street. Hazard lights turned on, BCAA dialed yet again. Luckily a different driver came because the first one told us to take the car to a shop and leave it for the night because it probably wouldn't start again. We would have felt like even bigger idiots had it been the same guy to rescue us again.
So the different BCAA guy came to help us, hooked the car up to the tow truck, and talked a little bit about Star Wars. Random. We took what we needed out of the car, and that included our dog's "chuck-it" toy that we keep in the trunk (when you've got a 5 month old border collie you need any and all means of exercising him or else he'll go crazy; so the "chuck-it" was a necessity to bring with us, not knowing when the car would be fixed).
So there we were, stranded downtown with no car or change for the bus, but thankfully only about 5 or 6 blocks from the Bent Mast. By this time it was about 9pm and none of us had eaten supper(suffice it to say we were a bit grumpy). We made our way to the Bent Mast to find that it was stuffed full of people, including the session area. I got some strange looks, as the "chuck-it" toy (if anyone doesn't know, it's like a mini catapult arm that enables you to throw a tennis ball quite far without ever touching the slobbery tennis ball itself) was sticking out of my purse. We decided to just stay there and wait out the crowd, hoping to snag the seats of any early-leavers. We sat out on the patio, where it was quite chilly, and drank an entire pitcher of stout in about ten minutes. Others sitting out on the patio begged us to play our instruments for them outside, but it was too cold for that so we just sat there shivering and gulping down our even colder beer.
Finally three musician seats opened up inside and we jumped on them like flies on sh*te. The sessioners were extremely welcoming and friendly (even asking me what key my "chuck-it" was in), and although it was our first time there, they encouraged us to lead a few sets, which we did, and it was great fun (once our fingers warmed up, that is). Sitting on my left was a talented harmonica player, as mentioned above, who made pleasant conversation with me about the perils of eating before playing (my balancing my flute and a plate of perogies on my lap sparked the convo), specifically popcorn kernels.
So we forgot about the car for a while, played some tunes and drank some more stout, and when we stood up to leave we were enthusiastically invited to attend the session on a regular basis, which we fully intend to do. Back home we went (with a ride from a very generous friend who drove from uptown to get us and then back uptown again to take us home), sleep for five hours and up again at 5:30am for work this morning (SO's company van came in handy).
Maybe it's the lack of sleep that's causing me to think anyone cares to hear about my adventures?
As for the car, it now contains a shiny new alternator and re-charged battery, leaving the bank account with nothing but a couple of dusty moths.
All in all, with the excitement of finally finding a good session to go to, it was a good evening.
Thanks for reading!
Well that was a good story Tasia! We had an amplified session at the Swan in Cambridge, a fairly short walk away, so I loaded my ancient combo amp on to a trolley and wheeled it down there with fiddle and mandolin - no breakdowns, and it all went well, lots of cheerful people in silly hats enjoying themselves in a big friendly pub. Probably a good thing that there was nothing eventful to report.
Last thursday evening the radio station I work for decided it was time to start looking for some Irish musicians to play at a live broadcast on location at an important client's car dealership. Needless to say, they could find none that weren't already booked. Panic. They asked if I could help. So some of my mates got together and played for them. Very fun.
If anyone wants to see what the North American celebration looks like (minus the beer), go to:
Oh it's actually an on-going typo, tnoumarap; I know three people named "patty" so when I hear it, I spell it with t's rather than d's (also I got four hours of sleep and have been up since before the sunrise chasing dogs around).
That must have been great fun, feardearg!
No, Tasia. About 27 million North Americans call it "Saint Patty's Day" and it raises the hackles every time I hear it. Silly, really, because back in Ireland I had no objection to "Paddy's Day."
"patty" puts me in mind of pat-a-cake, or putty, or dough, or something equally flabby and flatulence-inducing, not of the great saint who saved Western Europe from the dark ages.
As for our session we had a nice enough one which improved enormously once all the cockney wannabe paddies had f'ucked off
My name is Patrick, my nickname when growing up was Paddy - it REALLY irritates me when people say "St. Pa**y's Day". I can't even bring myself to describe it!!! Spelling it wrong says ALL kinds of things about the person using the wrong spelling - ESPECIALLY on a site with tons of Irish patrons!
Session started the 12.30, and all previous years it has been killed by noise and an indoor pipe band around 15.30. Not this year though. 8 fiddles, 2 banjos, concertina, bouzouki, guitar, whistle and 2 bodhrans carried the day with lovely tempo and great sets. When I left at 1900, the session was still going well.
Last year a few of my Norwegian trad playing friends and myself decided that an annual musician's St.Patricks Day party was called for, so I went there after the session, and the tunes were still flying when I left around 03.30 in the morning.
Had two great walks in the sun, then had visiting to do.
Escaped the family commitments to spend an hour in the company of Tom Cussen, Charlie Harris, Tim Lyons, Harry Horan and more for a few rousing tunes in Clarenbridge.
Broke my heart to have to leave so soon, but folks had to get home, and I was driving.
I see Leicester Tigers rugby shirts can be seen in far-flung places - even worn by flute players at sessions in the US. (See the link from feardearg's post near the start of this thread.)
Well, for us, our new landlady was hoping for a crowd, but it was not only severely crowded but about 10 minutes before closing time there was a brief ruckus, the other side of the bar from the session site ( fortunately ), before the protagonists and mates were prevailed upon to leave, whereupon they decamped to the churchyard across the road ( Holy Joe's, as it's known locally ), and were still there about 20 minutes later when FIVE police vehicles arrived. MY daughter was entranced, the best St Pat's she's been to, came home with the silly hat. Actual Irish member of session muttered something about "It's not usually like this", but the bar was so noisy that you had to play pretty loud to be heard, which is my usual experience.
Great story Tasia! Sounds like a win-win, a great session and some new friends to play with, sounds like. Wish I had as much fun. With times the way they are, I seized the opportunity to play paid gigs in places drenched in green beer, stupid hats, drunken eejits and giant "HAPPY ST. PATTY'S [note the 'T'] DAY!!!" signs everywhere.
At one point, a lady came up and offered to buy me a drink if I sang The Wild Rover. I took a Jameson on the rocks. Didn’t last long. She came back again and wanted Whiskey in the Jar. I wanted more whiskey. This went on several times, so…yes, flagrant musical prostitution, I know, but times are tight, pride is simply not an option. Besides, free whiskey. Come on.
Ah well, Sunday is session day for us at our local, back to a sense of musical normalcy again...
I've not heard it that much in the States but it's the most common form in Canada f'sure. I'm doing my bit, slowly bringing my in-laws around to a more nuanced understanding of the pronounciation. Paddy's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Lá 'le Phadraic, I'll do anything for love but I won't do that.
'Paddy' vs 'Patty'. Interesting observation that I didn't think was an item of sensitivity.
American Irish don't use Paddy from what I can tell because of its association with the significant anti-Irish sentiment and outright discrimination of the mid to late 19th Century. (Google "No Irish Need Apply" and I am sure you will get a fascinating set of posts.)
Anyway, from growing up in an area with significant first generation Irish, as well as marrying into a family was in the Chicago Big-Steel Industry and whose immigration occurred in the 1860's, there is an unusual resistance to discuss the anti-Irish attitudes and difficulties the families faced once they got here.
I was told being called a 'Paddy' was considered derogatory (our Police Trucks in Chicago are called 'Paddy Wagons'- Some say because they were driven by Irish Cops, others say because they hauled away many Irish considered to be inebriated ne'er-do-wells as it were.)
I recall being in third or fourth grade (1959) and (being a naive Polish Kid) saying 'Erin Go Braugh' to some freinds. The parents quickly corrected me and suggested it was not appropriate. And that was at a Catholic School.
Oh Well. I like helping the Irish Celebrate...in spite of the amateurs who seem to flirt with alcohol-poisoning ( half a dozen or so by rumor at our parade this year) and wear all those gaudy green clothes.
HA! Well, I don't 'have' to, it just gave me the illusion of having more of it than there really was...
I don't even want to talk about the Heineken I had to drink. Oh, where for art thou Sunday, with my frothy pints of stout and long sets of sweet tunes? Not long now, not long...
Hahaha SWFL, the things we do for free booze eh?
By the way, a bit of trivia, "where for" means "why", not "where"; she was actually saying " 'why' art thou Romeo" as in "Montague", since his being part of that family was the reason they couldn't be together.
It's amazing how much energy people waste on feeling strongly about the letters 't' and 'd' in a word. I quite like the letter 't'. It's the start of my first name, the middle of my SO's name, and T-shirts are pretty comfortable. D is also a good letter; it's the start of words like dumpling and dinner and Dinny Delaney's. They can also be used interchangeably in the endearing form of the name Patrick (ie. Patty and Paddy); some spell it one way, others spell it another.
WHO CARES.
Thanks muchly to those who read my story.
Thank you for the interesting story, Tasia. And thank you to the others who contributed interesting stories about their adventures on St. Patrick's Day.
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I didn't have any interesting adventures or stories on St. Patrick's Day this year.
I was invited to play piano at a session but I didn't go because there was no money involved and I didn't really feel comfortable sitting in and playing music with this particular group of mixed nuts.
Instead, the wife and I went to the grocery store and spent some of our meager supply of hard-earned money on food.
Great story, Tasia. I was hoping that the dog was along for the adventure, but that would have been too much for the sensitive soul.
I also cringe at the "tt". But then I get disturbed by sign painters that can't decide if they need apostrophe's (!!). :-*
I have always avoided the whole scene, but this year got tossed into the pit. I have never seen quite so many drunks lurching about in broad daylight. People seemed to appreciate the music, at least those sober enough to hear it. And those hats....
Some good came of the whole thing; made contact with some musicians and a wandering dancer; we may have added to our pool of people to play tunes with.
For the sixth year running we played for our local Friendly Son's of Saint Patrick's annual banquet. They gave out a scholarship, recognized the Man of the Year (a nun involved in literacy work, the first woman so recognized) and enjoyed the fellowship of friends and family. No phony stuff, green beer, silly hats, etc. And they love the old favorites that I love to sing, like I'll Take You Home Kathleen, When Irish Eyes are Smiling, Danny Boy,etc. Not the songs that the cool kids at the sessions like, but the ones that I remember from my childhood. The Friendly Son's wonder why we are willing to come back and play for them every year, but I can't think of a better way to recognize the holiday by celebrating the best of Irish American culture.
First gig of the day, someone leaving the pub: "Maybe they will have green beer at the next place."
The second gig was in a tent set up outside the pub, over the parking lot (chuckholes, rain puddles, patches of gravel). The singer signaled me to repeat "Garry Owen" on the whistle (for the song Mick Ryan's Lament) because some young ladies were dancing to it.
Third gig, at a huge tribal casino with a state-of-the-art sound system and a wonderfully helpful sound tech, to one of the deadest audiences I have ever seen.... we got a request for Danny Boy. (We obliged.)
I tell people that me playing for St. Pats is like a wine connosieur tending bar for Spring Break... Americans will know what I mean.
"One of the deadest audiences I have ever seen" Where were you playing? In a cemetery? Or were the people in the casino more interested in gambling instead of music?
I have definitely had audiences that were "lumps of wood" to use Martin Carthy's expression. They're pretty dead, organic but dead.
You also hear of the "lumpen proletariat" who have no energy to rise above their situation, like the audience I played for under the Heathrow flightpath at Hounslow - "can't get these people to move much", said the organiser, and he was right. If you can't move out from the flightpath, you can't shift your arse for anything.
On the rare occasions when I have been inside a casino, the majority of the people in there did seem to be more interested in gambling than in anything else.
st. patty's day adventures
st. patty's day adventures
Hello all,
I don't post too often on this site, but I do take time to read the discussions because there's lots of useful tips and stories, and also because I'm nosey. Just wanted to share my St. Patty's day adventures that took place last night and wondered if others had any interesting times as well. My story involves an alternator, a "chuck-it" dog toy, and a harmonica player who was strongly against eating popcorn before playing. If it sounds interesting, read on; if not, just skip down to the bottom and share your story!
So my SO, his sister and I made our way downtown to our favourite Irish pub, intent on listening to some good tunes with frothy pints of Murphy's in our fists, only to find the line-up extending way out onto the street (and most of these patrons were sporting the typical North American St. Patty's day garb--giant, green, cloth top hats for the males, and slutty green mini skirts for the females *shudder*). We had two other places in mind as back-ups for the evening, so we headed back to the car only to discover that said car wouldn't start. Luckily my SO has BCAA (British Columbia Automobile Assistance), and they came to our aid with jumper cables and all. With the car started and only half an hour of the evening gone, we set out for the Bent Mast, where a session is held on Tuesday evenings. SO's sister ran in to see how full it was in there. Only a few seats taken in the musician-reserved area. Good, said SO, we can take a drive to the other pub fifteen minutes away and see what's happening there, thus giving the car battery a chance to charge, and if it's too full we'll head back to the Bent Mast and join the session (we'd come prepared with our instruments). The pub turned out to be quite full so we turned the car around again to go back to the Bent Mast, our decision finally made. As luck would have it, the alternator just couldn't go any further and the car gasped its last breath in the left turning lane of a busy downtown street. Hazard lights turned on, BCAA dialed yet again. Luckily a different driver came because the first one told us to take the car to a shop and leave it for the night because it probably wouldn't start again. We would have felt like even bigger idiots had it been the same guy to rescue us again.
So the different BCAA guy came to help us, hooked the car up to the tow truck, and talked a little bit about Star Wars. Random. We took what we needed out of the car, and that included our dog's "chuck-it" toy that we keep in the trunk (when you've got a 5 month old border collie you need any and all means of exercising him or else he'll go crazy; so the "chuck-it" was a necessity to bring with us, not knowing when the car would be fixed).
So there we were, stranded downtown with no car or change for the bus, but thankfully only about 5 or 6 blocks from the Bent Mast. By this time it was about 9pm and none of us had eaten supper(suffice it to say we were a bit grumpy). We made our way to the Bent Mast to find that it was stuffed full of people, including the session area. I got some strange looks, as the "chuck-it" toy (if anyone doesn't know, it's like a mini catapult arm that enables you to throw a tennis ball quite far without ever touching the slobbery tennis ball itself) was sticking out of my purse. We decided to just stay there and wait out the crowd, hoping to snag the seats of any early-leavers. We sat out on the patio, where it was quite chilly, and drank an entire pitcher of stout in about ten minutes. Others sitting out on the patio begged us to play our instruments for them outside, but it was too cold for that so we just sat there shivering and gulping down our even colder beer.
Finally three musician seats opened up inside and we jumped on them like flies on sh*te. The sessioners were extremely welcoming and friendly (even asking me what key my "chuck-it" was in), and although it was our first time there, they encouraged us to lead a few sets, which we did, and it was great fun (once our fingers warmed up, that is). Sitting on my left was a talented harmonica player, as mentioned above, who made pleasant conversation with me about the perils of eating before playing (my balancing my flute and a plate of perogies on my lap sparked the convo), specifically popcorn kernels.
So we forgot about the car for a while, played some tunes and drank some more stout, and when we stood up to leave we were enthusiastically invited to attend the session on a regular basis, which we fully intend to do. Back home we went (with a ride from a very generous friend who drove from uptown to get us and then back uptown again to take us home), sleep for five hours and up again at 5:30am for work this morning (SO's company van came in handy).
Maybe it's the lack of sleep that's causing me to think anyone cares to hear about my adventures?
As for the car, it now contains a shiny new alternator and re-charged battery, leaving the bank account with nothing but a couple of dusty moths.
All in all, with the excitement of finally finding a good session to go to, it was a good evening.
Thanks for reading!
# Posted on March 18th 2009 by Glass of Beer
Re: st. patty's day adventures
Well that was a good story Tasia! We had an amplified session at the Swan in Cambridge, a fairly short walk away, so I loaded my ancient combo amp on to a trolley and wheeled it down there with fiddle and mandolin - no breakdowns, and it all went well, lots of cheerful people in silly hats enjoying themselves in a big friendly pub. Probably a good thing that there was nothing eventful to report.
# Posted on March 18th 2009 by RichardB
Re: st. patty's day adventures
Last thursday evening the radio station I work for decided it was time to start looking for some Irish musicians to play at a live broadcast on location at an important client's car dealership. Needless to say, they could find none that weren't already booked. Panic. They asked if I could help. So some of my mates got together and played for them. Very fun.
If anyone wants to see what the North American celebration looks like (minus the beer), go to:
http://sessionite.com/index.php?in=stpatrick/stpatricka&pic=001
# Posted on March 18th 2009 by feardearg
Re: st. patty's day adventures
St.Patty's day???
Who the feck calls it that?!
# Posted on March 18th 2009 by tnoumarap
Re: st. patty's day adventures
Oh it's actually an on-going typo, tnoumarap; I know three people named "patty" so when I hear it, I spell it with t's rather than d's (also I got four hours of sleep and have been up since before the sunrise chasing dogs around).
That must have been great fun, feardearg!
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by Glass of Beer
Re: st. patty's day adventures
No, Tasia. About 27 million North Americans call it "Saint Patty's Day" and it raises the hackles every time I hear it. Silly, really, because back in Ireland I had no objection to "Paddy's Day."
But, then again,isn't Patty a girl's name?
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by grego
Re: st. patty's day adventures
"patty" puts me in mind of pat-a-cake, or putty, or dough, or something equally flabby and flatulence-inducing, not of the great saint who saved Western Europe from the dark ages.
As for our session we had a nice enough one which improved enormously once all the cockney wannabe paddies had f'ucked off
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by Rudall the time
Re: st. patty's day adventures
"If anyone wants to see what the North American celebration looks like (minus the beer), go to:"
=AWESOME!
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by Gzeg
Re: st. patty's day adventures
feardearg,
What a fantastic site. Someone put a lot of work into the site, and I plan on visiting it again and again as a resource.
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by Anew
Re: st. patty's day adventures
My name is Patrick, my nickname when growing up was Paddy - it REALLY irritates me when people say "St. Pa**y's Day". I can't even bring myself to describe it!!! Spelling it wrong says ALL kinds of things about the person using the wrong spelling - ESPECIALLY on a site with tons of Irish patrons!
Irritated in WV
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by plunk111
Re: st. patty's day adventures
My usual session venue was packed with happy drinkers. No room
at all for a session. Also a celto-pop band was playing loudly.
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by Hup
Sat the 14th
Session started the 12.30, and all previous years it has been killed by noise and an indoor pipe band around 15.30. Not this year though. 8 fiddles, 2 banjos, concertina, bouzouki, guitar, whistle and 2 bodhrans carried the day with lovely tempo and great sets. When I left at 1900, the session was still going well.
Last year a few of my Norwegian trad playing friends and myself decided that an annual musician's St.Patricks Day party was called for, so I went there after the session, and the tunes were still flying when I left around 03.30 in the morning.
A great day!
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by snorre
Re: St. Patrick's day adventures
Had two great walks in the sun, then had visiting to do.
Escaped the family commitments to spend an hour in the company of Tom Cussen, Charlie Harris, Tim Lyons, Harry Horan and more for a few rousing tunes in Clarenbridge.
Broke my heart to have to leave so soon, but folks had to get home, and I was driving.
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by RockyRoader
Re: st. patty's day adventures
I see Leicester Tigers rugby shirts can be seen in far-flung places - even worn by flute players at sessions in the US. (See the link from feardearg's post near the start of this thread.)
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by Lissagriffin
Re: st. patty's day adventures
Well, for us, our new landlady was hoping for a crowd, but it was not only severely crowded but about 10 minutes before closing time there was a brief ruckus, the other side of the bar from the session site ( fortunately ), before the protagonists and mates were prevailed upon to leave, whereupon they decamped to the churchyard across the road ( Holy Joe's, as it's known locally ), and were still there about 20 minutes later when FIVE police vehicles arrived. MY daughter was entranced, the best St Pat's she's been to, came home with the silly hat. Actual Irish member of session muttered something about "It's not usually like this", but the bar was so noisy that you had to play pretty loud to be heard, which is my usual experience.
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by Guernsey Pete
Re: st. patty's day adventures
Great story Tasia! Sounds like a win-win, a great session and some new friends to play with, sounds like. Wish I had as much fun. With times the way they are, I seized the opportunity to play paid gigs in places drenched in green beer, stupid hats, drunken eejits and giant "HAPPY ST. PATTY'S [note the 'T'] DAY!!!" signs everywhere.
At one point, a lady came up and offered to buy me a drink if I sang The Wild Rover. I took a Jameson on the rocks. Didn’t last long. She came back again and wanted Whiskey in the Jar. I wanted more whiskey. This went on several times, so…yes, flagrant musical prostitution, I know, but times are tight, pride is simply not an option. Besides, free whiskey. Come on.
Ah well, Sunday is session day for us at our local, back to a sense of musical normalcy again...
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: st. patty's day
I've not heard it that much in the States but it's the most common form in Canada f'sure. I'm doing my bit, slowly bringing my in-laws around to a more nuanced understanding of the pronounciation. Paddy's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Lá 'le Phadraic, I'll do anything for love but I won't do that.
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by Patkiwi
Re: st. patty's day adventures
'Paddy' vs 'Patty'. Interesting observation that I didn't think was an item of sensitivity.
American Irish don't use Paddy from what I can tell because of its association with the significant anti-Irish sentiment and outright discrimination of the mid to late 19th Century. (Google "No Irish Need Apply" and I am sure you will get a fascinating set of posts.)
Anyway, from growing up in an area with significant first generation Irish, as well as marrying into a family was in the Chicago Big-Steel Industry and whose immigration occurred in the 1860's, there is an unusual resistance to discuss the anti-Irish attitudes and difficulties the families faced once they got here.
I was told being called a 'Paddy' was considered derogatory (our Police Trucks in Chicago are called 'Paddy Wagons'- Some say because they were driven by Irish Cops, others say because they hauled away many Irish considered to be inebriated ne'er-do-wells as it were.)
I recall being in third or fourth grade (1959) and (being a naive Polish Kid) saying 'Erin Go Braugh' to some freinds. The parents quickly corrected me and suggested it was not appropriate. And that was at a Catholic School.
Oh Well. I like helping the Irish Celebrate...in spite of the amateurs who seem to flirt with alcohol-poisoning ( half a dozen or so by rumor at our parade this year) and wear all those gaudy green clothes.
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by zippydw
Re: st. patty's day adventures
SWFL, you drink your Jameson's on the rocks? shudder...
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by Reverend
Re: st. patty's day adventures
HA! Well, I don't 'have' to, it just gave me the illusion of having more of it than there really was...
I don't even want to talk about the Heineken I had to drink. Oh, where for art thou Sunday, with my frothy pints of stout and long sets of sweet tunes? Not long now, not long...
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: st. patty's day adventures
At least the Heineken is in a green bottle...
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by Reverend
Re: st. patty's day adventures
Hahaha SWFL, the things we do for free booze eh?
By the way, a bit of trivia, "where for" means "why", not "where"; she was actually saying " 'why' art thou Romeo" as in "Montague", since his being part of that family was the reason they couldn't be together.
It's amazing how much energy people waste on feeling strongly about the letters 't' and 'd' in a word. I quite like the letter 't'. It's the start of my first name, the middle of my SO's name, and T-shirts are pretty comfortable. D is also a good letter; it's the start of words like dumpling and dinner and Dinny Delaney's. They can also be used interchangeably in the endearing form of the name Patrick (ie. Patty and Paddy); some spell it one way, others spell it another.
WHO CARES.
Thanks muchly to those who read my story.
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by Glass of Beer
Re: st. patty's day adventures
Thanks to all for the shoulder to cry on, much appreciated.
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: st. patty's day adventures
Thank you for the interesting story, Tasia. And thank you to the others who contributed interesting stories about their adventures on St. Patrick's Day.
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I didn't have any interesting adventures or stories on St. Patrick's Day this year.
I was invited to play piano at a session but I didn't go because there was no money involved and I didn't really feel comfortable sitting in and playing music with this particular group of mixed nuts.
Instead, the wife and I went to the grocery store and spent some of our meager supply of hard-earned money on food.
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by fauxcelt
Re: st. patty's day adventures
Great story, Tasia. I was hoping that the dog was along for the adventure, but that would have been too much for the sensitive soul.
I also cringe at the "tt". But then I get disturbed by sign painters that can't decide if they need apostrophe's (!!). :-*
I have always avoided the whole scene, but this year got tossed into the pit. I have never seen quite so many drunks lurching about in broad daylight. People seemed to appreciate the music, at least those sober enough to hear it. And those hats....
Some good came of the whole thing; made contact with some musicians and a wandering dancer; we may have added to our pool of people to play tunes with.
# Posted on March 19th 2009 by Michele Sims
Re: st. patty's day adventures
For the sixth year running we played for our local Friendly Son's of Saint Patrick's annual banquet. They gave out a scholarship, recognized the Man of the Year (a nun involved in literacy work, the first woman so recognized) and enjoyed the fellowship of friends and family. No phony stuff, green beer, silly hats, etc. And they love the old favorites that I love to sing, like I'll Take You Home Kathleen, When Irish Eyes are Smiling, Danny Boy,etc. Not the songs that the cool kids at the sessions like, but the ones that I remember from my childhood. The Friendly Son's wonder why we are willing to come back and play for them every year, but I can't think of a better way to recognize the holiday by celebrating the best of Irish American culture.
# Posted on March 20th 2009 by AlBrown
Re: st. patty's day adventures
For the first time in forever, I didn't hear a single request for Danny Boy. Thank God. It was a landmark day, for sure.
# Posted on March 20th 2009 by meredithrachael
Re: st. patty's day adventures
First gig of the day, someone leaving the pub: "Maybe they will have green beer at the next place."
The second gig was in a tent set up outside the pub, over the parking lot (chuckholes, rain puddles, patches of gravel). The singer signaled me to repeat "Garry Owen" on the whistle (for the song Mick Ryan's Lament) because some young ladies were dancing to it.
Third gig, at a huge tribal casino with a state-of-the-art sound system and a wonderfully helpful sound tech, to one of the deadest audiences I have ever seen.... we got a request for Danny Boy. (We obliged.)
I tell people that me playing for St. Pats is like a wine connosieur tending bar for Spring Break... Americans will know what I mean.
# Posted on March 20th 2009 by John Galt
Re: st. patty's day adventures
"One of the deadest audiences I have ever seen" Where were you playing? In a cemetery? Or were the people in the casino more interested in gambling instead of music?
# Posted on March 22nd 2009 by fauxcelt
Re: st. patty's day adventures
I have definitely had audiences that were "lumps of wood" to use Martin Carthy's expression. They're pretty dead, organic but dead.
You also hear of the "lumpen proletariat" who have no energy to rise above their situation, like the audience I played for under the Heathrow flightpath at Hounslow - "can't get these people to move much", said the organiser, and he was right. If you can't move out from the flightpath, you can't shift your arse for anything.
# Posted on March 24th 2009 by Guernsey Pete
Re: st. patty's day adventures
On the rare occasions when I have been inside a casino, the majority of the people in there did seem to be more interested in gambling than in anything else.
# Posted on March 24th 2009 by fauxcelt