òran mór

It’s September 17, and that means there’s just six short months before it’s time to get your green on!

As I mentioned last month, McMenemy’s in Portsmouth holds “St. Practice Day” on the 17th of each month with food and drink specials and more…and we’ll be there tonight playing tunes and singing songs as we do every Thursday and Saturday. Guinness is sponsoring tonight’s festivities as well, so we’ll be looking for free swag and $3 pints. YAY!

I know…not the most high-brow post we’ve ever done, but I’m at work now and really looking forward to some music tonight.

Everyone knows that the traditional high holiday for celebrating all things Irish is March, 17, the Feast of St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. Here in the States, of course, St. Patrick’s Day has become a bit cartoonish with the green beer, “Kiss me, I’m Irish” buttons, and guys wearing kilts who wouldn’t have the stones to wear one any other time of year…but, hey, it’s all in good fun!

Ewww...green beer.

Somewhere along the line, a funny name was given for March 16th…St. Practice Day…since people would get together to have a few jars and celebrate before the actual celebration. It’s kind of like Christmas Eve, but will mass quantities of alcohol.

Well, our friends at McMenemy’s decided that there really shouldn’t be an off-season for celebrating Irish-ness, so they’ve designated the 17th of every month as St. Practice Day. Talk about dedication to the cause! And this Monday is August 17 and òran mór will be on hand to provide the appropriate music!

Festivities start at 7 pm, so come on by!

Just thought it’d be worth sharing a quick snippet about what Dave has been up to (see the article I’m talking about HERE). Thanks to Jeff Murdock for the heads up on this addition to Dave’s celebrity status!

Can’t wait to hear him play his creation with a nice set of jigs at the session. Maybe, if we all ask really nicely, Dave will let us know how the new fiddle is coming. 

Master Craftsman or Master Fiddler? You decide.

What is that doing here?

If you’ve been walking near the intersection of State and Penhallow in Portsmouth on a Thursday or Saturday night, you may have heard a familiar song or a set of tunes floating on the breeze. Nothing too blaring, mind you…but just something loud enough to catch your ear.

Like Dylan at Newport, we’ve gone electric! This propably isn’t huge news to most people, but to the session purist, it may come as a shock.

Our thinking is that since the windows are open for the summer and people are out walking, it’d be nice to broadcast a bit to make sure passers-by know that there’s good food, drink and music waiting for them upstairs at McMenemy’s. So during the last few weeks we’ve worked with a couple of mikes and speakers…and things seem to be going pretty well. We’re doing our best to ensure guest players at the session are getting picked-up by the gear, and the reports so far is that the mix sounds terrific both in the pub and on the street.

Of course, there’s nothing like honest input from our trusted friends…let us know how you think the experiment is going!

Here in the Seacoast area we often thank our lucky stars that there are so many great musical people and events to enjoy – every night of the week.  The Irish, Scottish, and (yes, even) English music interweaves with  the sounds and songs of the sea, and in that connection we enjoy a camaraderie  with our friends around Gloucester, MA.  They host a gathering  every Tuesday night at Cameron’s Restaurant  in Gloucester, where shanties, forebitters, and the occasional song or tune from anywhere anyone wants fill the air from about 8:30 to midnight.

We knew that last night at Cameron’s  would be special, as Danny Spooner,  one of our favorite folk and shanty singers would be visiting in.

Peter Hale headed up after work, and Chris Maden, Marty Stock, and I headed south from NH to arrive in time to enjoy the whole night.

Peter and Joanne Souza informally lead the event, encouraging the many folks around the big comfy room to get in the songs or music they’d like to share.

You never quite know what you are going to hear next – and that’s a big part of the fun.  Shanties from time to time involve the whole group in work-songs, and plenty of songs about sailors and their lives on and off ship come to the fore.

Beyond that – last night we enjoyed hearing ‘The King of Rome” telling the story of a heroic homing pigeon, and the now infamous “Cow Song” led by Colin and friend (in the collage below) which cracked everyone up.

Barry Finn was there in strong form, gathering his own set of pictures to document the special night.