Kicking Off a New Season of Music, June 9, 2013

The inaugural 2013 Edgartown Irish trad session was lovely altogether. Looking forward to many more where this came from.

A Rabbi, a Priest, and a Minister Walk Into an Irish Session

Okay, so it was only a priest and a minister, but what a great Saturday night session it was.

We've been playing in the living room lately - a great space now that it's painted and furnished - and with the screen door propped open, the music blasting out into the street, and the Irish colors flying, passersby - the cool ones, anyway - are likely to wander in. It's quite fun, actually.

Along with the above-mentioned men of the cloth (Susie's husband and FOCUS' Woody Bowman, and Fr. Augustine, one of our summer priests at the island's RC parish - a fan of Irish music due to his having taught for a few years in Dublin), I was vaguely aware of a scattering of folks who had wandered in and out on Saturday night, but the most memorable visitors had to have been the ladies who came in and step-danced across the living room floor.

The session resumed on Sunday afternoon, on the porch. I don't see all of what's going on around me - busy thinking about what note comes next and whether it's the second or third time around - but what I do see, I like. I am occasionally aware that a crowd has gathered on the sidewalk and that people have cameras out, but what I am mostly aware of is that people are smiling. Even people who have their serious "I'm on vacation but I'm stuck in nasty Edgartown traffic" faces on, when they see - and hear - a group of musicians playing happy Irish music on a porch, they break into smiles. I love it.

We played well into the evening on Sunday - right up until Emily, Dirk, Adrienne, and Eric had to hop onto VTA bus #1 to catch the last boat from Vineyard Haven. Several people stopped by, including Ann Tucker, from Co. Clare, who spends every summer in Edgartown; also Anita and Don - here from Chicago for a wedding. Anita graced our evening with stories of her folk years in Cambridge - with the obligatory "Do you know so-and-so?" game, and by singing - beautifully - an Irish song she had written. Just lovely.

I gotta say, I just love bringing people from various musical pockets together - from the Boston and Massachusetts area - and beyond; a true joy.

Thanks, everyone, for filling my home - and Upper Main Street - with music and life!



Welcome!


Elias, Adrienne, and Dirk.


Emily, Susie, and Alex.


Emily, Susie, and Alex.


Elias


Adrienne, Dirk, Emily.


Adrienne, Dirk, Emily, Alex.


Adrienne





Eric


Don and Anita, from Chicago.


Don, Anita, and Eric.


Adrienne

More Porch Magic

Edgartown Porch Session, August 13, 2011 from Sara Piazza on Vimeo.

Another magical Saturday night in Edgartown, featuring top-notch music, a steady stream of friends - including a healthy dose of townies, as well as many happy passersby, with special guests, Jose - from Bolivia, making a return visit with his charango; Eric, down from Boston; and Irene, who regaled us with a few more stories and songs from her childhood in Ireland. Thanks, everyone - especially the stalwarts, David, Bob, and Susie, for helping me to fill my home - indeed, the whole neighborhood - with music and making these sessions and the summer of 2011 truly wonderful.

Irene Max Introduces The Lonely Woods of Upton from Sara Piazza on Vimeo.

Irene Max Sings The Lonely Woods of Upton from Sara Piazza on Vimeo.

Tommy Doyle's, Thursday Night, August 4, 2011

So great to be back in town for a couple of days.

Tommy Doyle's, Thursday Night, August 4, 2011 from Sara Piazza on Vimeo.

Messing with Premiere Elements - not enough time in the day to learn all I want to learn - in every department. Shot with G12. Great to be back in Cambridge - love you guys!

Umbrella Musings

A few weeks ago I floated over to Tommy Doyle's in a torrent of rain. By evening's end, the rain had stopped, and it wasn't until I got back home that I realized I had forgotten my umbrella at the pub. I called Liam, who said - even before I could say hello - "Eric's got your umbrella."

I did see Eric a couple more times since that night, but I never did reconnect with that umbrella. Oh well, it probably cost me all of $5.00, and the only time I ever thought about it was when it rained (which has been a lot this month, actually). I figured it would become one of those things where I would think about Eric and the umbrella every time it rained and it would remain a conversation opener for a period of time until the memory of that particular umbrella (but never you, Eric!) faded into oblivion and I eventually remembered to pick up a new one.

But I received a text from David yesterday, on his way to the island from New York (apparently via Boston), which said, "....I've got your umbrella."

Okay, I've said it before: it's not just the great music. It's this ineffable feeling of family; of being connected to an amazing community of people who care about each other's comings and goings, life-cycle events (baby yet, Liam?), concerns, and yes, even umbrellas.

I Love a House-session

Ryan and Chiara hosted a fab house-session on Sunday afternoon. Really, is there any better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than with a group of friends, playing music?

Here's a slide-show I had fun putting together, combining some of the stills I shot with one of the audio files from the afternoon. This was my first attempt at this kind of thing, something I've always been interested in trying. It was tricky timing everything - fitting the photos with the music, and I look forward to getting better at this.




This slide-show features Augusto, Brad, Cormac, Eric, Emerald, Liam, Mike, Ryan, Roisin, and Sean, with music by the company.

I'm adding a few random favorite still shots - to enjoy at a slower pace than the slide show offers. As always, I'm happy to share the low-res version of these shots (for FB, Match.com; J-Date :-)...whatever), which you will find here (or if you click on these photos you'll be redirected to the original gallery). For higher-rez, there's a buy option - for convenience rather than big bucks  (via Bay Photo, which does a great job) - and I can usually be talked into printing something up if there's a shot you love (8 1/2" wide, max, for now, until I get my new printer). I've also got a few videos that I'll be adding over the next few days. Please do share the video(s).

Eric (Rosanne in b.g.)


Brad


Ryan


Liam


Cormac


Augusto and Cormac


Augusto


Liam


Mike


Sean, Eric, and Rosanne.


Sean and Eric.


Emerald and Sean


Emerald, Sean, Eric




Roisin




Cormac




Rosanne

Here's more footage from Sunday. I'm totally new to video and video editing, so I'm still finding my way. I hope I've given everyone proper credit, and if anyone is inclined to add the names of these tunes, so much the better.And thanks, everyone, for putting up with me and my cameras! 

 

Thursday at Tommy Doyle's, 1/6/11

My fourth night out in a row. Not bad for this grandma. A good circle of musicians tonight, though we are missing Sean, who is in Ireland at the moment. (And I wonder if he's at some pub in Ireland, thinking of us and singing, "Missing you, all for the price of a flight.") Also, Cormac and Alex have not yet returned from their travels abroad. Still, for a cold January night, there was a good crowd - a nice mix of regulars, folks who knew each other from other venues, and folks meeting for the first time. Good to have David back among us, as well.

All shot with G12 on Low Light setting, mostly at ISO 3200, though a couple were shot at 6400. 






Jon, David, Liam, Chris.






Jon, David, Liam.And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg CountyDown by the Green River where Paradise layWell, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away.From John Prine's Paradise.



Clockwise, from top, center: David, Liam, Chris, Wynter, Rosanne, Ben, Levi, Eric, Jon.


Rosanne

The Tinker's Son, Norwell, 1/5/11

I had been wanting to get down to Laura and Stuart's session in Norwell for a while, so a nudge from Laura, coupled with my diminished travel schedule this week, was enough to divert me from my usual Wednesdays at Tommy Doyle's routine. A rumor that David might be in attendance was also a motivating factor.

I don't mind driving, and actually enjoy the adventure of looking for new places. I had certainly heard of Norwell, and have driven past the Norwell/Hanover exit on Rt. 3 many times, but had never actually been there, so I was not sure what to expect. As far as I knew, Norwell was some small town, of no particular note, tucked into the hinterlands south of Boston. I was pleasantly surprised to find the exit (15/Rt. 53) come up much more quickly than I had anticipated, and figured the rest of the drive would be a piece of cake - which turned out to be not exactly the truth. Most people in 2011 would have Google-mapped the directions prior to leaving home, but I guess I'm stuck back in the twentieth-century because my style is more along the lines of: 1. Drive until I get to a sign for Norwell; 2. Keep driving until I come to Main Street; 3. Continue on until I see something that looks like there might be Irish music going on inside.

Okay, it didn't turn out to be exactly that easy - the center of Norwell was not immediately obvious and did require some searching and patience and trust on my part: searching that involved one wrong turn and a little back-tracking, patience to just keep driving down what seemed like a road to nowhere with a dearth of signage, and trust that I would eventually end up in Norwell and that its Main Street would figure prominently in the geography - which all did happen, eventually (yeah, yeah, yeah - I've got a couple of maps in the front pocket of my car, but that would have taken all the fun out). The fact that there were no numbers displayed on the buildings did not make my search any easier (I just love the small-town mentality that assumes you live there and know where you are), but when something - my inner GPS that is often right-on - told me to pull over at the Dunkin' Donuts to inquire as to what number Main Street we were at and the young lady at the counter said, "707," it was definitely one of those "bingo" moments, as that was the exact number I was looking for (I tried this method for finding my d-i-l's apartment in the East Village once, figuring I'd just turn left off of Rt. 95 someplace. It didn't work so well that time, however.).

Lovely session with some of my favorite people - Laura, Stuart, Eric, and David - and made a few new friends as well, including Paul, Peter, Judy, Jack, Stephen, and a banjo player whose name I missed.

As I have come to expect from the Irish pub, The Tinker's Son was quite dark (and why, oh why, do all sessions seem to be relegated to that cold corner next to the door?), so the photography was challenging, to say the least. The G12's Low-Light setting did come through for me (though I so much prefer being able to shoot in RAW/manual - I definitely see either a 5D MarkII or 7D in my future) - though these over-processed JPGs do leave a bit to be desired. But who knows, maybe this style will be the Polaroids (now collector's items) of the future.

Anyway, this was a sweet little pub - great music and treasured friends in a homey atmosphere - let's just call it craic, shall we - and now I know where Norwell is. Hey, I've even been there.


Boys of Ballysdore/Swallowtail/Trim the Velvet (reels).


Pipe on the Hob/Rose in the Heather/Sixpenny Money (jigs).


Ivory Flute/Humours of Ballyloughlin/Choice Wife (a/k/a An Phis Fhliuch)(jigs/slip jig).
Ran out of memory on this one - damn!



Eric, David, and Laura.




Paul



Eric and David.




Eric, David, Laura, Stuart, and Peter.




Judy, Jack, and Eric.



 Kevin and Eric.




Laura and Stuart.