I know someone recently submitted a discussion close to this topic - "What IS your fav sesh?" - ie referring to real existing sessions.
I'm just curious on what people WOULD have as their IDEAL fantasy session - I thought this might get youse going!
Assume the other musicians are at a standard which you would be comfortable with: Good, Intermediate or Beginner, or a mix. Then make up your fantasy sesh.
For example, for me, being selfish, my Ideal Session would be numbering around 7-8, with 2 flutes, 1-2 fiddles, box, tame banjo, guitar/occasional song, tame but good bodhran. So plenty of emphasis on melody instruments.
A nice dark old pub with good (free)Guinness/real ale, with a sympathetic audience, and going into the small hours of Saturday or Sunday morning.
Like we used to have!
There would also be a brilliant, perfectly tuned piper. There would be a bias towards minor keys, and it wouldn't be just wall-to-wall reels, there'd be some airs, waltzes, set dances, etc. And it would be a warm summer evening when the session started, and a spectacular dawn when it finished. And there wouldn't be any smokers in the pub...
In my humble opinion, a session of upwards of five people would be good. I have thoroughly enjoyed, however, sessions of two, three, and four folks. With good musicians, it's wonderful.
Musicians? Being an embryonic piper, it'd be excellent to have at least one piper there, a fiddle, a flute, a concertina, and a guitarist. A bodhrán would be acceptable as well.
Levels? Could be a mix, and I think some tact is called for. If you know it, play it; if you're hesitant, play quietly or finger it, and if you don't know it, don't play it, although you can try to finger it or if possible, play very quietly.
Andy Irvine, Gerry O Connor, Paddy keenan, Kevin Burke, Jackie Daly, myself, and.......................................................... Cameron Diaz and Pamela Anderson (together)
Sorry i could'nt resist!
There would have to be two fiddles, one flute, one box, one banjo, one concertina and most importantly a good piano player!! Free drink (which we normally get when we play in sessions) good craic and reels played into the early hours of the morning!!
Carrie*
(P.S. I tink i postd dis reply twice. soz im new 2 d site - not used 2 it yet!!)
One where my wife played flute well. I'm certain that we'd be at all the sessions if she just played a little ITM. Maybe I'll just have to get divorced and marry Zina
Playing 80% rip roarin' reels and 20% jigs into the wee hours, stepping up the pace as the Guinness sinks in.
Re: Earlier comments - I've heard from a thoroughly reliable source (a man in a pub) that Pamela Anderson is highly proficient at playing the pink oboe.
LOL -- "an easy target"? Perhaps, Stace, but she's probably not a cheap one, at any rate. Mark, dear, we'd have to both divorce at that rate, my husband would probably object, but what the hell. *grin*
Zina - I'm afraid that is for the best. We'll just marry off the fiddles. Just send your fiddle and I'll make sure that mine doesn't run out on yours. I promise not to put any super sensitive strings on yours. Send your case and bow and your picture along with the fiddle. I don't want it to get too homesick.
Tommy Potts, Sean Ryan, Martin Byrne, Johnny Doherty, Liz Carroll, Kathleen Collins, Paddy Glackin, Tony Linane, Tommy Peoples, Brendan Mulkhere and Frankie Gavin on fidil, Matt Molloy, Josie McDermott, Conal O'Grada,Gary Shannon and Brian Finnegan on fluit, Mary Bergin, Micho Russell and Sean Ryan on whistles, Noel Hill on concertina, Joe Cooley, Joe Burke and Billy McComiskey on buttonbox, Alan Kelly on pianobox, Leo Rowsome, Seamus Ennis and Liam O'Flynn on pipes, Arty McGlynn, Steve Cooney and Tony McManus on Guitar, Alec Finn and Donal Lunny on Bouzouki, Gerald Trimble and Dow on Cittern, Mick Moloney on mandolin, Gerry O'Connor, Johnny Carty,Keiran Hanrahan and Mike Flanagan on banjo,'Ringo' McDonagh on the bodhran, Gino Lupari on the Bones, Maire Na Cathsaigh on the Harp, Charlie Lennon and Micheal O'Suillebhan on piano,Jolyon Jackson on cello,Divil the bit, Christy Moore, Ronnie Drew and Maura O'Connell singing in English, Sean McDonagh and Paddy Tunney sean nos, a brace of set dancers, Michael Flatley- hey, even I admit he was good before the ninties!
Most importantly...an excellent sound engineer and ME manning the bar, supplying food and drink and whatever in a closed seisun where they play tastefully play reels, jigs, slip jigs, hornpipes,slides, polkas, marches, set dances, airs and songs. Actually, if you recorded what was in my head when I play at a session it would sound something like this
One of the best (?) sessions I was ever at was in Speedy Mullan's in Downpatrick. 10 musicians 10 instruments - Lawrence Montague on Fiddle, Danny Mc Greevy on Pipes, Sean O'Neill on 2 row Mengascini, me on Flute, John Mc Greevy on Bouzouki, Paul Phillips bodhran, Diarmuid McGuinness on guitar and vocals, Kieran Duffy banjo, John Rodgers mandolin and vocals, Joe O'Neill on whislte.
Speedy working the bar on a regular basis, a roaring fire in the grate, an intelligent and well informed audience, and four hours of humming, diddleying tunes ranging from slip jigs to slides, set dances to marches, waltzes and mazurkas, double and single jigs, hornpipes, polkas, reels and reels. Great singing and marvellous craic.
Strangely enough, my ideal session doesn't involve Pamela Anderson even slightly. My bucolic vision of perfection (I forgot to add that the Atlantic swell should be audible on the nearby shore, as well as the mewing of seabirds) is in danger of being besmirched...
Back to reality - two of my favourite sessions ever took place at the Return to Camden Town festival last October. At one of them, I got to sit with one ear about ten inches from John Carty's fiddle and the other about as far from John Blake's guitar - I was in heaven.
The other was led by Dermot Byrne, Mairaid ni M, Kieran Tourish & Co, and was the smiliest, warmest, most gorgeous session I've ever been at in my life. (Conan_Mc was there too, right in the thick of it!) Absolutely brilliant night. So I'd like them all at my fantasy session, please.
Thanks Helen, for steering the discussion back away from Pamela (bless her) & fiddle betrothals etc. She wouldn't be on my fantasy list either.
There used to be some great sessions down at the Coach & Horses in Harlesden of all places, about 12 years ago with Brendan Mulkere, Paddy Hayes, Johnny Carty, Brian Rooney, Mick O'Connor Sean/John Curtin and many more - and I had the cheek to join in! Those must have been my fantasy sesh's come true.
I forgot - there's photographic evidence of the Altan session, on the Return to Camden website!
Go to http://www.returntocamden.org , click on 'Last Night's Fun' and scroll down to 'all the fun of the sessions'.
(Some of the links to the images don't work properly, in which case you can still get to the images by noting down the address which appears in the bar at the bottom of your browser window, when your cursor is over the thumbnail image. A bit laborious, I know...)
I'm going to have to apologise to Conan here, cos this is him, just pausing for refreshment: http://www.returntocamden.org/gallery/718502855.jpg
and the harp player next to him is Harriet Earis (who's launching her new CD at the Hammersmith Irish Centre on Fri 31st Jan: http://www.harrietearis.com/cdlaunch.htm - and there are some other brilliant gigs coming up there, too.)
Great Pictures, I'm sitting next to Conan at the next session. He could be my brother. I hardly ever meet ITM players with less hair than me. Bald is beautiful!!!
Helen - excellent pictures. There's many a face I recognise among that lot - too numerous to list. I'd never been to that festival but the faces brought back a lot of memories of sessions gone by.
Perhaps Jeremy should have session photos as a seperate section on this site!
Hey Mark, glad you liked the pic. I'm surprised it came out at all - I thought the glare from my bonce would have reflected too strongly! Actually if you check some of the other pictures of Mairead, it looks like she's hovering beside Mount Errigal; it's actually the top of my head. Have to agree with Helen, that was one of the best sessions I've been to. One that rivals it was at the Belfast folk festival in '89. I was 16 and lucky enough to get a "foyer"gig, welcoming people to the festival. My friends and I got passes to everything, including a sesh at the York Hotel wher all the musicians werre staying. Name dropping time: Paddy Keenan, Davy Spillane, Arty McGlynn, Steve Cooney, Noel Hill and a host of other "big names" were there .And, er, us! Went to bed at 5 or so, woke at 1pm and apparently Davy Spillane still hadn't left the bar from the night before! Don't think he was gigging that night. If anyone knows big Stevey Mulholland from Glenavy, he'll verify the story as he was there too. That afternoon we spent with Paddy Keenan hearing about his various exploits in Paris. I'll not go into all the details - one of the more savoury stories was about a cartoonist friend of his who created a superhero flute-playing character called "Mattman" and who regularly drew Paddy on the toilet playing his pipes. That evening he did a gig with Steve Cooney and he dedicated a set to us, so the aftermath of the session was as good as the session itself.
What would be your IDEAL session?
What would be your IDEAL session?
I know someone recently submitted a discussion close to this topic - "What IS your fav sesh?" - ie referring to real existing sessions.
I'm just curious on what people WOULD have as their IDEAL fantasy session - I thought this might get youse going!
Assume the other musicians are at a standard which you would be comfortable with: Good, Intermediate or Beginner, or a mix. Then make up your fantasy sesh.
For example, for me, being selfish, my Ideal Session would be numbering around 7-8, with 2 flutes, 1-2 fiddles, box, tame banjo, guitar/occasional song, tame but good bodhran. So plenty of emphasis on melody instruments.
A nice dark old pub with good (free)Guinness/real ale, with a sympathetic audience, and going into the small hours of Saturday or Sunday morning.
Like we used to have!
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Alf Tupper
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
There would also be a brilliant, perfectly tuned piper. There would be a bias towards minor keys, and it wouldn't be just wall-to-wall reels, there'd be some airs, waltzes, set dances, etc. And it would be a warm summer evening when the session started, and a spectacular dawn when it finished. And there wouldn't be any smokers in the pub...
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Nell
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
...perfectly tuned piper? We are talking fantasyland. I like the rest of your post as well though!
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Alf Tupper
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
In my humble opinion, a session of upwards of five people would be good. I have thoroughly enjoyed, however, sessions of two, three, and four folks. With good musicians, it's wonderful.
Musicians? Being an embryonic piper, it'd be excellent to have at least one piper there, a fiddle, a flute, a concertina, and a guitarist. A bodhrán would be acceptable as well.
Levels? Could be a mix, and I think some tact is called for. If you know it, play it; if you're hesitant, play quietly or finger it, and if you don't know it, don't play it, although you can try to finger it or if possible, play very quietly.
Rambling . . .
*Jonathan*
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by j.hohl.kennedy
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Andy Irvine, Gerry O Connor, Paddy keenan, Kevin Burke, Jackie Daly, myself, and.......................................................... Cameron Diaz and Pamela Anderson (together)
Sorry i could'nt resist!
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Celtic1234
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Ewwwwwwwww.... Pamela Anderson? Wouldn't you have to have a mild bleach bath afterwards?
zls
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Ya probably,
but it's her or Jackie Daly?
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Celtic1234
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
What does Pamela Anderson play?
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by ragaman
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Some kind of flute?
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by dirk
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
She must be a good singer looking at those lungs.
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Celtic1234
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
There would have to be two fiddles, one flute, one box, one banjo, one concertina and most importantly a good piano player!! Free drink (which we normally get when we play in sessions) good craic and reels played into the early hours of the morning!!
Carrie*
(P.S. I tink i postd dis reply twice. soz im new 2 d site - not used 2 it yet!!)
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by carrie
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
One that plays all five tunes that i know!
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by glauber
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
One where my playing improves after every Guiness I drink.
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Caoimghgin
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
One where all the players were backers and there were no melody players!
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Dow
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Very good Dow - just make sure they don't escape from Oz. Thanks.
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Alf Tupper
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
One where my wife played flute well. I'm certain that we'd be at all the sessions if she just played a little ITM. Maybe I'll just have to get divorced and marry Zina
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Mark Cordova
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Fiddle/Flute/Button Box/Guitar/Bouzouki/Bodhrán
Playing 80% rip roarin' reels and 20% jigs into the wee hours, stepping up the pace as the Guinness sinks in.
Re: Earlier comments - I've heard from a thoroughly reliable source (a man in a pub) that Pamela Anderson is highly proficient at playing the pink oboe.
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Concertina Player
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
I've heard her technique is deplorable in the most rudimentary aspects...
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by greenman
The humble bodhrán...
I've just noticed that the bodhrán features in many of the ideal session line-ups. Good to know a good player's appreciated! Does Pamela play?
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by greenman
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
I'm biting my lips to hold back all the comments I *want* to say. Pam's just an easy target.
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by katiebythegate
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
I'm afeered that your "perception of sweetness" where I'm concerned would be worse for the wear. LOL
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by katiebythegate
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
LOL -- "an easy target"? Perhaps, Stace, but she's probably not a cheap one, at any rate. Mark, dear, we'd have to both divorce at that rate, my husband would probably object, but what the hell. *grin*
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Before we do this Zina - We should send some recordings of our fiddle playing to each other. Let's make sure we are compatible. ;)
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Mark Cordova
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Heee...Mark, I'm not certain that my fiddling is compatible with *any*thing...perhaps we could marry our fiddles off and be done with it...
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Zina - I'm afraid that is for the best. We'll just marry off the fiddles. Just send your fiddle and I'll make sure that mine doesn't run out on yours. I promise not to put any super sensitive strings on yours. Send your case and bow and your picture along with the fiddle. I don't want it to get too homesick.
Bwah ha ha......
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Mark Cordova
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
LOL -- it's going to have to be a long distance relationship, Mark...
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Tommy Potts, Sean Ryan, Martin Byrne, Johnny Doherty, Liz Carroll, Kathleen Collins, Paddy Glackin, Tony Linane, Tommy Peoples, Brendan Mulkhere and Frankie Gavin on fidil, Matt Molloy, Josie McDermott, Conal O'Grada,Gary Shannon and Brian Finnegan on fluit, Mary Bergin, Micho Russell and Sean Ryan on whistles, Noel Hill on concertina, Joe Cooley, Joe Burke and Billy McComiskey on buttonbox, Alan Kelly on pianobox, Leo Rowsome, Seamus Ennis and Liam O'Flynn on pipes, Arty McGlynn, Steve Cooney and Tony McManus on Guitar, Alec Finn and Donal Lunny on Bouzouki, Gerald Trimble and Dow on Cittern, Mick Moloney on mandolin, Gerry O'Connor, Johnny Carty,Keiran Hanrahan and Mike Flanagan on banjo,'Ringo' McDonagh on the bodhran, Gino Lupari on the Bones, Maire Na Cathsaigh on the Harp, Charlie Lennon and Micheal O'Suillebhan on piano,Jolyon Jackson on cello,Divil the bit, Christy Moore, Ronnie Drew and Maura O'Connell singing in English, Sean McDonagh and Paddy Tunney sean nos, a brace of set dancers, Michael Flatley- hey, even I admit he was good before the ninties!
Most importantly...an excellent sound engineer and ME manning the bar, supplying food and drink and whatever in a closed seisun where they play tastefully play reels, jigs, slip jigs, hornpipes,slides, polkas, marches, set dances, airs and songs. Actually, if you recorded what was in my head when I play at a session it would sound something like this
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by Greenwiggle
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
One of the best (?) sessions I was ever at was in Speedy Mullan's in Downpatrick. 10 musicians 10 instruments - Lawrence Montague on Fiddle, Danny Mc Greevy on Pipes, Sean O'Neill on 2 row Mengascini, me on Flute, John Mc Greevy on Bouzouki, Paul Phillips bodhran, Diarmuid McGuinness on guitar and vocals, Kieran Duffy banjo, John Rodgers mandolin and vocals, Joe O'Neill on whislte.
Speedy working the bar on a regular basis, a roaring fire in the grate, an intelligent and well informed audience, and four hours of humming, diddleying tunes ranging from slip jigs to slides, set dances to marches, waltzes and mazurkas, double and single jigs, hornpipes, polkas, reels and reels. Great singing and marvellous craic.
HEAVEN!!!!!
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by breandan
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
You would have to keep Pammy at arms-length!
# Posted on January 22nd 2003 by geoffwright
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Strangely enough, my ideal session doesn't involve Pamela Anderson even slightly. My bucolic vision of perfection (I forgot to add that the Atlantic swell should be audible on the nearby shore, as well as the mewing of seabirds) is in danger of being besmirched...
Back to reality - two of my favourite sessions ever took place at the Return to Camden Town festival last October. At one of them, I got to sit with one ear about ten inches from John Carty's fiddle and the other about as far from John Blake's guitar - I was in heaven.
The other was led by Dermot Byrne, Mairaid ni M, Kieran Tourish & Co, and was the smiliest, warmest, most gorgeous session I've ever been at in my life. (Conan_Mc was there too, right in the thick of it!) Absolutely brilliant night. So I'd like them all at my fantasy session, please.
# Posted on January 23rd 2003 by Nell
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Thanks Helen, for steering the discussion back away from Pamela (bless her) & fiddle betrothals etc. She wouldn't be on my fantasy list either.
There used to be some great sessions down at the Coach & Horses in Harlesden of all places, about 12 years ago with Brendan Mulkere, Paddy Hayes, Johnny Carty, Brian Rooney, Mick O'Connor Sean/John Curtin and many more - and I had the cheek to join in! Those must have been my fantasy sesh's come true.
# Posted on January 23rd 2003 by Alf Tupper
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
God free pints are always a bonus, I think helen and Domhniaill's sessions sound pretty much unbeatable
# Posted on January 23rd 2003 by shoddy fiddle player
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
I forgot - there's photographic evidence of the Altan session, on the Return to Camden website!
Go to http://www.returntocamden.org , click on 'Last Night's Fun' and scroll down to 'all the fun of the sessions'.
(Some of the links to the images don't work properly, in which case you can still get to the images by noting down the address which appears in the bar at the bottom of your browser window, when your cursor is over the thumbnail image. A bit laborious, I know...)
I'm going to have to apologise to Conan here, cos this is him, just pausing for refreshment:
http://www.returntocamden.org/gallery/718502855.jpg
and the harp player next to him is Harriet Earis (who's launching her new CD at the Hammersmith Irish Centre on Fri 31st Jan: http://www.harrietearis.com/cdlaunch.htm - and there are some other brilliant gigs coming up there, too.)
Here's a couple of Dermot, Kieran and Mairead:
http://www.returntocamden.org/gallery/1329626900.jpg
http://www.returntocamden.org/gallery/275090823.jpg
and just to prove I was there - I'm squished into the top left-hand corner of this one: http://www.returntocamden.org/gallery/1523364157.jpg
Would anyone else like to confess to being somewhere in the Return to Camden gallery?
# Posted on January 23rd 2003 by Nell
IDEAL session / photos!
whoops - sorry about the big blank space there - timed out and got confused...
# Posted on January 23rd 2003 by Nell
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Great Pictures, I'm sitting next to Conan at the next session. He could be my brother. I hardly ever meet ITM players with less hair than me. Bald is beautiful!!!
# Posted on January 24th 2003 by Mark Cordova
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Helen - excellent pictures. There's many a face I recognise among that lot - too numerous to list. I'd never been to that festival but the faces brought back a lot of memories of sessions gone by.
Perhaps Jeremy should have session photos as a seperate section on this site!
# Posted on January 24th 2003 by Alf Tupper
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Paddy Keenan and my friends who laugh between tunes, and No Kesh Jig!!!
# Posted on January 28th 2003 by marathoner
Re: What would be your IDEAL session?
Hey Mark, glad you liked the pic. I'm surprised it came out at all - I thought the glare from my bonce would have reflected too strongly! Actually if you check some of the other pictures of Mairead, it looks like she's hovering beside Mount Errigal; it's actually the top of my head. Have to agree with Helen, that was one of the best sessions I've been to. One that rivals it was at the Belfast folk festival in '89. I was 16 and lucky enough to get a "foyer"gig, welcoming people to the festival. My friends and I got passes to everything, including a sesh at the York Hotel wher all the musicians werre staying. Name dropping time: Paddy Keenan, Davy Spillane, Arty McGlynn, Steve Cooney, Noel Hill and a host of other "big names" were there .And, er, us! Went to bed at 5 or so, woke at 1pm and apparently Davy Spillane still hadn't left the bar from the night before! Don't think he was gigging that night. If anyone knows big Stevey Mulholland from Glenavy, he'll verify the story as he was there too. That afternoon we spent with Paddy Keenan hearing about his various exploits in Paris. I'll not go into all the details - one of the more savoury stories was about a cartoonist friend of his who created a superhero flute-playing character called "Mattman" and who regularly drew Paddy on the toilet playing his pipes. That evening he did a gig with Steve Cooney and he dedicated a set to us, so the aftermath of the session was as good as the session itself.
# Posted on January 29th 2003 by Conán McDonnell