òran mór

Terry Weir

So a couple of weeks ago, our friend Terry Weir (from Co. Wakefield) asked if Dave and I could would be interested in playing a gig with him in Newburyport at The Port Tavern. It would be a slightly different set-up than usual – normally we play his session at Harringtons or he joins us in Portsmouth — but this collaboration would be more song-focused and a gig instead of a session. We figured it’d be great craic, however, so off we went to Newburyport to play under the name Sligo Road, which is the band name he uses on occasion.

The Port Tavern

As always, it was great fun to play with Terry. His mandolin added a great deal to the songs we do, and we had a blast keeping up with him on his songs. He definitely attacks the songs in a unique way, flavoring the Irish music he loves with hints of bluegrass from his musical past.

If you missed that show, however, and want to see what the collaboration was like, we’ll be doing another Sligo Road gig at The Port Tavern on Sunday, August 30 starting at 5:30 pm. If the weather cooperates, they’ll be throwing the front windows open for a blast of summer fun. Hope to see you there!

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!

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.

This past Sunday, I had a chance to help out our friends from the band Celtic Tribe since their regular rhythm player wasn’t available for a gig. We were playing at the fest for the Murray Irish Dance Academy in Stratham, NH. What a fantastic afternoon! The dancing was great, featuring absolute beginners (around 4 and 5 years old) to incredible displays by some of the students who will be competing at the World Competitions in a few weeks! I even got to see Sue Dunlavey — wife of bandmate Bob — as she was part of the set dancing group.

Of course, playing with Celtic Tribe was a hoot. As another Portsmouth-based group, we get to play with them at sessions regularly and they frequently join us at McMenemy’s. Their approach to the music is high-energy and driving, so I was working hard to keep up. I also had never played with a full drum kit behind me (particularly one with a superb jazz drummer at the wheel), so I got the chance to play around with a few new strums. It was a great time playing music with friends!

The Tribe was also joined by Patrick Bowling for this special appearance…a fantastic flute, bodhran and pipes player. Perhaps the best bit, however, was when Paddy got out from behind the mike and started step dancing to a set of reels we did. A former competitive step dancer, he was LAUNCHING himself off that stage. Good on you, Paddy!