Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
It seems that that the Sunday night trad session in Cruises Ennis Co. Clare has fallen victim to the disco trend. Management have decided to replace it with a 'trad disco' - an idea borrowed from the Ennis Trad Festival - is it possible that more trad sessions will fall victim to the disco just as the showband era of the 1960's did? Will the tourists be impressed? Only time will tell....
For those who are not aware Cruises is a pub that has largely built its reputation on live trad music 7 nights a week for years.
Any thoughts?
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
I'm not even slightly surprised. "Trad Session as adveriised by publicans in Kilkenny, means some gormless tuneless idiot(s) singing Wolf Tone sh*** . Yes the times they are a changin'
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Yes I made my debut and final gig at the swan stockwell a few weeks back in the same night It seemed the management want music by kylie, crowded house, men at work, with other disco and pop anthems this pub was a melting pot 4 years back for all london musicians meeting and playing there however they are now responsible for killing the folk irish music scene off completely by selling out to pop disco nightclub crap but they still insist on trading off the back of the "irish scene" by advertising stuff like rocking shamrock club and bands with names like green hot clovers etc etc
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Bad manner? Wow -so you know 20million people huh? thats pretty amazing that youve met every single australian there is. You'd have to make the guinness book of world records for that.
What to envy? How about the most beautiful country in the world...although - you'd have to have *some* taste to appreciate it.......and I wouldnt worry about that in relation to you as you are the one that wants bodhran backing tracks!!! Need I say more? Obvioulsy massively lacking in taste....
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
I was in Clifden in County Galway last summer where a few of the pubs got round there lack of trad by advertising Irish 'folk' sessions. These were mainly a couple of guys with guitars singing whisky in the jar and spancil hill. Pure drivel and sh*te. In one pub, they even had elctro acoustics with amplifiers. Needless to say we hit the road to Galway early the next morning.
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Oh -and MacThewife- how very terribley clever to hide behind a website nickname with nothing in your profile while slagging of someone else's race and culture- I dont really think youre aloud to be insulting to peoples race on this site, very poor taste.
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
No this tourist won't be impressed. I spend a couple of weeks a year in Ireland and for me the biggest attraction next to it's people are the traditional music sessions. We've always managed to find something going on and been welcome to join in.
However we've usually gone to the much smaller towns and villages, perhaps the tradition is stronger there.
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Musicians will always find somewhere to play but there's no reason why pubs should have to support them if they don't want to.
Most music playing tourists are lightweights when it comes to drinking anyway and just take up bar space. There is a dedicated few of us trying to redress the balance but it's a long road.
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Its taken me ages to reply to this thread.
The brevity of regog's announcement has been slow to sink in. Alone at school on Sunday afternoon, Irish music blaring, while catching up and setting up for the week ahead, it suddenly dawned, just how serious this is. Traditional Irish music sessions threatened, even in the home, the heart, of The Music.
Now its all very well for "sessions" around these parts to be "jams" of the bluesy, singer/songwriter, guitar kind of thing, where people get up in turn and sing a boring song or two into a microphone while some of the audience patter along on bongos, djembes, and shake eggs and tambourines. But, when I went home for Christmas I dropped into an Irish Club with a friend, and they wouldn't even put on a CD when we asked at the bar.
That was disturbing enough - but this is something else!
I recon alarm bells SHOULD be ringing. Bren, they'll still play, of course, but it will be underground.
That's me two cents worth. And I agree with Bridie, Australia is tops. Yay!!!! Up the antipodeans!
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Bren, I've noticed that most session frequenting tourists in our sessions are most definitely lightweights, when it come to drinking anyway.
They'll nurse a half pint or a glass of coke all night & nearly always leave early for the all important 'good nights sleep' & crucial 'early start'!
MacThewife, I'm sure your "bad manners, abrupbtness, boredom" comment was very much tongue in cheek.
Anyway, I personally know very few Ozzie musicians but we did have a couple of Australian musicians staying around here for a few months (I'm sure bb knows them) & they were of course charming people & fine musicians too.
That's the trouble with discussion pages, it's very hard to tell, sometimes, when folks are being aggressively antagonistic or just poking fun.
However, never having been to OZ, & incidentally not having actually visited EVERY country in the world, I am not in a position to agree or disagree with bb's assessment of Australia being the "most beautiful country in the world".
As with most things, beauty is in the eye of the beholder & I'm sure we'll all stick up for our own wee patch of turf.
I think we do have to be careful though.
I know from personal experience, or rather that of my German wife's, which I have witnessed first hand, that there is a very thin line between being funny & being hurtful.
50 years after 1945 & the UKs football fans are still being warned about their behaviour when they head to matches in Germany & our glorious press here are still churning out the old stereotypical headlines with quotes from Basil Fawlty etc
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Hey old scraper, I'm actually all for those "bluesy, singer/songwriter, guitar type sessions" you describe, where "some of the audience patter along on bongos, djembes, and shake eggs and tambourines."
In fact I wish all the bashers of weird objects would go to THOSE sessions & leave the ITM ones alone!
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
I can't spell! I wasn't consciously being anti - podean. I meant, Up the antepodeans! Antepodeans like bb are the backbone of Irish Traditional Music in Australia (and in her case, elsewhere too). She's committed, and doesn't deserve to be slagged.
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Crossed, Ptarmi. Yeah, well they ARE all here, and they have no wish to attend ITM sessions, which AREN'T anyway. And even here, there was a blues jam session that went on Sunday afternoons for eons at a local bar. There was a big stink when it got replaced by a live internet radio broadcast - DJ music. Lots of noses out of joint. Never go there meself, hate the place. Tourists from the Old Countries, well actually all over the world, in town for a night or two. Drink big! Spew a lot. Get in a bus in the wee small hours without sleeping for Uluru (Ayre's Rock).
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Well, it may not be the most beautiful country in the world (of course it depends on taste)- but it has something for everyone, desert, tropical rainforests, temperate woodlands, beaches, coral reefs etc etc. I've been very many places and it isnt often that you find all that stuff in the one place. Plus aussies are very laid back, which I love. Anyways - I see nothing funny in the *way* that MacThewife said what he/she/it said........sounds to me that it was being quite serious. Its all very well to slag off people and where they are from, I do it to Zina and Conan all the time, but of course I let them know straight up that I'm just having a laugh.
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Guess what bb my mammy is a £10 1970's pomi who still lives in vic park Perth so dont even go there about taste and culture. I have been there and done it I decided to come back to Europe as it wasn't the place for me.
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
But you are still incredibly insulting. Maybe you should work on the MacThewife, because really - I find it quite boring. You talk about aussies being rude - Youve proved yourself very rude with no manners at all. Its fine it isnt the place for you - but you slagged off aussies as a people, not the place. Why dont you cop onto yourself or get over yourself or whatever you prefer.
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Home is where the heart is
bb for your information I said it light heartidly in the same way people take the mick out of the micks etc there is absolutley no point in making a mountain out of a noelhill and trying to jump on the race bandwagon anyway back to the origional thread Londons old late night haunts that used to be dominated by irish folk are now packed wall to wall with antepodeans which is a great thing or they would be all closed for business otherwise. I just dont understand why these pubs still try and trade off the back of being all things irish when they are anything butt
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Sessions only from Wed-Fri now...Monday & Tuesday apparently 'stopped for the winter' ......the Sunday morning session was 'stopped for the winter' approx 1.5 years ago and hasn't started back since.....There has been a big shift in emphasis by the management - although they obviously like to give the impression of still being a music friendly pub with the Christmas edition of Geanntrai (Irish music programme on TG4) being broadcast from there....
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
no the funny thing is I actually am after something to play my mandolin along to at gigs that sounds less synthetic than a roland dr-3 so the joke is still on me you people are just jealous because of the origionality of it all
bb one more for you
Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
It seems that that the Sunday night trad session in Cruises Ennis Co. Clare has fallen victim to the disco trend. Management have decided to replace it with a 'trad disco' - an idea borrowed from the Ennis Trad Festival - is it possible that more trad sessions will fall victim to the disco just as the showband era of the 1960's did? Will the tourists be impressed? Only time will tell....
For those who are not aware Cruises is a pub that has largely built its reputation on live trad music 7 nights a week for years.
Any thoughts?
# Posted on March 3rd 2006 by regog
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
An inevitable result of the onward march of capitalism. It all comes down to the bottom line.
# Posted on March 3rd 2006 by Ottery
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
I'm not even slightly surprised. "Trad Session as adveriised by publicans in Kilkenny, means some gormless tuneless idiot(s) singing Wolf Tone sh*** . Yes the times they are a changin'
# Posted on March 3rd 2006 by Backer
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Yes I made my debut and final gig at the swan stockwell a few weeks back in the same night It seemed the management want music by kylie, crowded house, men at work, with other disco and pop anthems this pub was a melting pot 4 years back for all london musicians meeting and playing there however they are now responsible for killing the folk irish music scene off completely by selling out to pop disco nightclub crap but they still insist on trading off the back of the "irish scene" by advertising stuff like rocking shamrock club and bands with names like green hot clovers etc etc
WHY WHY WHY
# Posted on March 3rd 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Why Kylie, Crowded House, men at work? Do they love all the stuff from down this way?
# Posted on March 3rd 2006 by bb
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
regog - does cruises still have sessions the other 6 nights a week?
# Posted on March 3rd 2006 by bb
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
catering for the massive influx of antepodeans i guess
bloody kiwis and ozzies
# Posted on March 4th 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Hmmm - MacThewife - Do I detect a bit of Antepodean envy??
# Posted on March 4th 2006 by bb
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
no, what is there to envy anyway apart from ? bad manners, abrupbtness, boredom
# Posted on March 4th 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Bad manner? Wow -so you know 20million people huh? thats pretty amazing that youve met every single australian there is. You'd have to make the guinness book of world records for that.
What to envy? How about the most beautiful country in the world...although - you'd have to have *some* taste to appreciate it.......and I wouldnt worry about that in relation to you as you are the one that wants bodhran backing tracks!!! Need I say more? Obvioulsy massively lacking in taste....
# Posted on March 4th 2006 by bb
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Oh....oh....singer in a cheesy bar with a backing track???? Oh - that is too priceless!
# Posted on March 4th 2006 by bb
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
I was in Clifden in County Galway last summer where a few of the pubs got round there lack of trad by advertising Irish 'folk' sessions. These were mainly a couple of guys with guitars singing whisky in the jar and spancil hill. Pure drivel and sh*te. In one pub, they even had elctro acoustics with amplifiers. Needless to say we hit the road to Galway early the next morning.
# Posted on March 4th 2006 by Aberandy
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Oh -and MacThewife- how very terribley clever to hide behind a website nickname with nothing in your profile while slagging of someone else's race and culture- I dont really think youre aloud to be insulting to peoples race on this site, very poor taste.
# Posted on March 4th 2006 by bb
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
No this tourist won't be impressed. I spend a couple of weeks a year in Ireland and for me the biggest attraction next to it's people are the traditional music sessions. We've always managed to find something going on and been welcome to join in.
However we've usually gone to the much smaller towns and villages, perhaps the tradition is stronger there.
Kjohn
# Posted on March 4th 2006 by kjohn
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Musicians will always find somewhere to play but there's no reason why pubs should have to support them if they don't want to.
Most music playing tourists are lightweights when it comes to drinking anyway and just take up bar space. There is a dedicated few of us trying to redress the balance but it's a long road.
# Posted on March 5th 2006 by Bren
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Its taken me ages to reply to this thread.
The brevity of regog's announcement has been slow to sink in. Alone at school on Sunday afternoon, Irish music blaring, while catching up and setting up for the week ahead, it suddenly dawned, just how serious this is. Traditional Irish music sessions threatened, even in the home, the heart, of The Music.
Now its all very well for "sessions" around these parts to be "jams" of the bluesy, singer/songwriter, guitar kind of thing, where people get up in turn and sing a boring song or two into a microphone while some of the audience patter along on bongos, djembes, and shake eggs and tambourines. But, when I went home for Christmas I dropped into an Irish Club with a friend, and they wouldn't even put on a CD when we asked at the bar.
That was disturbing enough - but this is something else!
I recon alarm bells SHOULD be ringing. Bren, they'll still play, of course, but it will be underground.
That's me two cents worth. And I agree with Bridie, Australia is tops. Yay!!!! Up the antipodeans!
# Posted on March 5th 2006 by Clear Drops
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Bren, I've noticed that most session frequenting tourists in our sessions are most definitely lightweights, when it come to drinking anyway.
They'll nurse a half pint or a glass of coke all night & nearly always leave early for the all important 'good nights sleep' & crucial 'early start'!
MacThewife, I'm sure your "bad manners, abrupbtness, boredom" comment was very much tongue in cheek.
Anyway, I personally know very few Ozzie musicians but we did have a couple of Australian musicians staying around here for a few months (I'm sure bb knows them) & they were of course charming people & fine musicians too.
That's the trouble with discussion pages, it's very hard to tell, sometimes, when folks are being aggressively antagonistic or just poking fun.
However, never having been to OZ, & incidentally not having actually visited EVERY country in the world, I am not in a position to agree or disagree with bb's assessment of Australia being the "most beautiful country in the world".
As with most things, beauty is in the eye of the beholder & I'm sure we'll all stick up for our own wee patch of turf.
I think we do have to be careful though.
I know from personal experience, or rather that of my German wife's, which I have witnessed first hand, that there is a very thin line between being funny & being hurtful.
50 years after 1945 & the UKs football fans are still being warned about their behaviour when they head to matches in Germany & our glorious press here are still churning out the old stereotypical headlines with quotes from Basil Fawlty etc
# Posted on March 5th 2006 by Ptarmigan
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Hey old scraper, I'm actually all for those "bluesy, singer/songwriter, guitar type sessions" you describe, where "some of the audience patter along on bongos, djembes, and shake eggs and tambourines."
In fact I wish all the bashers of weird objects would go to THOSE sessions & leave the ITM ones alone!
# Posted on March 5th 2006 by Ptarmigan
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
I can't spell! I wasn't consciously being anti - podean. I meant, Up the antepodeans! Antepodeans like bb are the backbone of Irish Traditional Music in Australia (and in her case, elsewhere too). She's committed, and doesn't deserve to be slagged.
# Posted on March 5th 2006 by Clear Drops
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Crossed, Ptarmi. Yeah, well they ARE all here, and they have no wish to attend ITM sessions, which AREN'T anyway. And even here, there was a blues jam session that went on Sunday afternoons for eons at a local bar. There was a big stink when it got replaced by a live internet radio broadcast - DJ music. Lots of noses out of joint. Never go there meself, hate the place. Tourists from the Old Countries, well actually all over the world, in town for a night or two. Drink big! Spew a lot. Get in a bus in the wee small hours without sleeping for Uluru (Ayre's Rock).
# Posted on March 5th 2006 by Clear Drops
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Well, it may not be the most beautiful country in the world (of course it depends on taste)- but it has something for everyone, desert, tropical rainforests, temperate woodlands, beaches, coral reefs etc etc. I've been very many places and it isnt often that you find all that stuff in the one place. Plus aussies are very laid back, which I love. Anyways - I see nothing funny in the *way* that MacThewife said what he/she/it said........sounds to me that it was being quite serious. Its all very well to slag off people and where they are from, I do it to Zina and Conan all the time, but of course I let them know straight up that I'm just having a laugh.
# Posted on March 5th 2006 by bb
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Guess what bb my mammy is a £10 1970's pomi who still lives in vic park Perth so dont even go there about taste and culture. I have been there and done it I decided to come back to Europe as it wasn't the place for me.
# Posted on March 5th 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
But you are still incredibly insulting. Maybe you should work on the MacThewife, because really - I find it quite boring. You talk about aussies being rude - Youve proved yourself very rude with no manners at all. Its fine it isnt the place for you - but you slagged off aussies as a people, not the place. Why dont you cop onto yourself or get over yourself or whatever you prefer.
# Posted on March 5th 2006 by bb
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
OK, everyone, it's time for the big group hug, again.
Ptarmigan, "it's 50 years past 1945"?? Where have you been these last 10, old fella?
# Posted on March 6th 2006 by oldstrings
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
I can see why MacThewife didn't get on very well in Australia.
...he said with deliberate ambiguity in order to cover his tracks
# Posted on March 6th 2006 by Dow
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Home is where the heart is
bb for your information I said it light heartidly in the same way people take the mick out of the micks etc there is absolutley no point in making a mountain out of a noelhill and trying to jump on the race bandwagon anyway back to the origional thread Londons old late night haunts that used to be dominated by irish folk are now packed wall to wall with antepodeans which is a great thing or they would be all closed for business otherwise. I just dont understand why these pubs still try and trade off the back of being all things irish when they are anything butt
# Posted on March 7th 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Put a smiley face after it and I'll take it as a joke....Although - I shouldve guessed it would be humour - after that bodhran backing track thread.
# Posted on March 7th 2006 by bb
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
I am impressed bb with that last quip, straight to the jugular vein, and taking no prisoners.
Mind you I did say on the other thread that the bodhran backing track was a wind up.
Aussies are great, just not very good at cricket.
# Posted on March 7th 2006 by bodhran bliss
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
Sessions only from Wed-Fri now...Monday & Tuesday apparently 'stopped for the winter' ......the Sunday morning session was 'stopped for the winter' approx 1.5 years ago and hasn't started back since.....There has been a big shift in emphasis by the management - although they obviously like to give the impression of still being a music friendly pub with the Christmas edition of Geanntrai (Irish music programme on TG4) being broadcast from there....
# Posted on March 7th 2006 by regog
Re: Death of the Showbands-could history repeating itself?
no the funny thing is I actually am after something to play my mandolin along to at gigs that sounds less synthetic than a roland dr-3 so the joke is still on me you people are just jealous because of the origionality of it all
bb one more for you
# Posted on March 7th 2006 by Ripthecalico