òran mór

It was a damp and drizzly Tuesday eve  – a soft night that was Irish enough to suggest it could be fun to swing by the Barley House in Concord.  Our cohort Bob Dunleavy is a regular there, but I rarely get the chance to make a visit.

I was happy to see another sometimes-visitor R.P. Hale (no relation, that I know, to our Pete Hale) was there with one his own customer hammered dulcimers.

Paddy Keenan happened to drop in to listen and chat. As I’d noticed him sporting a nice camera the last few times I’d seen him, I enjoyed talking with him a bit about the picture-taking opportunities that become a part of his musical travels.

Greg Heppe stayed later than me – no worries about getting the store opened on time in the morning.

All in all it was a great night, with good fun all the way ’round.

Because we had a gig later that night, we all did something that’s become a rarity   – Pete, Bob, and I all made it to the Press Room on the same night.  Being May 1st, there were many a May Day song and tale of spring and springtime fancy.

After a cautious start, Peter Hale  declared the session ‘swine flu free’

Before heading across town to our Shriners Dinner gig, we enjoyed some songs and tunes.

Last night in April — we were lucky enough to have a few good friends drop for some tunes and songs.  Mike Jeanneau, of Boghat fame, was first,   traveling light with just a fiddle and banjo, but he lit things up as he’s known to do.

Then Greg Heppe,  who runs the General Store and great concerts at the Old White Church in Tuftonboro, NH, stopped in with flutes and whistles in hand.

And then — Mr. Bill Zecker arrived with bouzouki in hand — to help us sail through the rest of the night.

A good time was had by all.  I’ll post some sound clips ASAP.

Pete and I dropped into the first Monday session that Eamon Coyne and Mike Jeanneau are starting at  The Port Tavern, 84 State St. in Newburyport, MA.  It was a good and a lively group, as you might imagine, and they are rocking the place with a great mix of tunes and songs.

The session runs from 7-10PM every Monday.  They want to get the word out and invite all to drop by.

You know you’ll be in for some great music AND a bunch of laughs (what, when Mike plays the banjo, and all).

See how many folks you can identify in this collage of last nights group…
(click to enlarge)

Seamus Creagh, the great fiddler who we lost too soon, about a month ago, will be remembered later today in an RTE steamed  broadcast called The Rolling Wave.

I’ve loved and learned from his playing – from the day I bought my first of his albums ‘The Dawn’ at a little music shop in Killarney – to the time a couple years ago that I was lucky enough (thanks to Mary Lou Philbin) to play with Seamus in his little session at the Pier Head Pub in Blackrock, just outside of Cork.   He was most friendly and gracious to Jim Burke and I, a couple of yanks who were keen to play a little fiddle next to the master.

I believe these shows are archived  – will investigate and update this post as appropriate.