A good session (a bit long-sorry!)

["Steve Shaw" <moorcot@xxxxxxx>]

We had such a good session on Friday at the Tree Inn at Stratton, Cornwall, 
that I thought I?d tell you about it.  We usually have seven players but 
tonight we were down to six as acoustic guitar man John had had a cortisone 
jab in his shoulder and was indisposed.  That leaves Gwyn (mandolin and 
singing, occasional guitar), Martin C. (same as Gwyn plus fiddle), Tony 
(12-string, D/G box and singing), Alastair (banjo), Martin F. (fiddle) and 
yours truly with a bunch of harps on the table in front of me, low D, G,A,C 
and low F 10-holes and two double-sided tremolos, with a lapel mic (I hold 
the mic in my hand-cup with the cable sticking through my fingers) and my 6 
watt Yamaha amp, set to sound as clean as possible, just a tiny bit of 
delay, next to me on a cardboard box.  We all sit round a long wooden table 
in one corner and the pints flow free all night (malt whisky in Tony?s case, 
though he?s having to drive tonight, which should help his playing if not 
his overall demeanour!).  The room is only about 30 feet by 15, low ceiling, 
bar at one end and a wood-burning fire, not lit tonight of course, and the 
clientele were more attentive than usual to the music, which helps us to 
raise our game.

First to arrive were yours truly, Martin C. and Gwyn.  We?ve been calling 
ourselves ?Three In The Bush? and we?ve played up on stage for dances and 
concerts for a good few years now, so we were more than happy to start 
without the others.  They live a 30-minute drive away around Wadebridge and 
Tintagel (King Arthur country, some would have it), and arrive later.  So 
the trio launched into our usual warm-up set of reels, Wise Maid and St 
Anne?s.  Gwyn on guitar for now, Martin on mandolin.  Fast tunes but both 
1st position on low D.  Pretty tight tonight, though some insect got inhaled 
after the first time through St Anne?s, resulting in an uncalled-for Dylan 
blow cluster.  Big applause and expectant air, so we?d better keep going.  
We went into a set of jigs ? Shandon Bells, Rakes of Kildare and Kesh Jig.  
?Shandon? on low D, then a switch of harps to a G for ?Rakes? in 3rd 
position - Martin carried the changeover with the usual aplomb ? then ?Kesh? 
which is a great tune and simple in 1st.  Getting fired up by enthusiastic 
audience, so on to a lively set of hornpipes with Martin on fiddle.  ?Jacky 
Tar? first, 3rd position on a G, then ?Lainey?s Legs? in A, so a harp 
switch.  You?ll have gathered that I?m no Howard Levy.  Lainey is Martin?s 
wife, and Martin wrote that tune ? it?s a killer!

Opened one eye towards the end of that set (anyone else play mostly with 
their eyes closed?) to spot the Wadebridge cavalry arriving.  Five minutes 
later, after beer replenishment time and tuning, the augmented forces are 
off into a lovely reel called Trip to Durrow.  We now have two fiddles, Gwyn 
over to mandolin, Alastair?s characterful and tasteful banjo (yes, it IS 
possible!), me on low D (I do love ?em ? keeps me at the same pitch as the 
fiddles), and Tony accompanying impeccably on 12-string.

We play Ashokan Farewell with me harmonising on low D, the fiddles taking 
the melody, then follows what has become a ritual part of the proceedings.  
Martin F. sets the agenda, more or less, for around the next half-hour with 
his favourite sets, such is his enthusiasm, always kicking off with Flowers 
of Edinburgh and Soldier?s Joy, for which I ring in the sonic changes by 
playing tremolo for the first time.  The Echo D/G comes in handy as I can 
flip it over for Soldier?s Joy.  Great reception for that even though our 
sound level has doubled (or BECAUSE!).  He has a great D minor fast tune 
next that I?ve worked out in 4th position on low F.  Then back to the 
tremolo for Barren Rocks of Aden/Waiting for the Federals.  Great barn-dance 
set there!  Then he has a couple of sets of hyper-fast (the way he plays ?em 
anyway!) Scottish/Northumbrian tunes that he gets me to join him on, and I 
always have to affect a pained ?reluctance? to play as part of the ritual, 
but we still always end up doing ?em of course! The tunes in question are 
Morpeth Rant, Roxburgh Castle, Durham Rangers and Willafjord.

Next up it?s Martin C. with the Planxty version of the song Jolly Beggar, 
complete with fast reel at the end.  We hope no-one notices that it?s the 
same tune we had played, a little more sedately, at the very beginning!  I 
start to join in singing on the choruses but think better of it and play 
accompaniment on low D instead.  While he?s fired up I launch straight into 
a pair of Scottish tunes, Barrowburn Reel followed by Far From Home, low D 
then G harp, then a couple of polkas on low D but both cross-harp as they?re 
in A ? Ger The Rigger followed by Bill Sullivan?s Polka.  There are tons of 
polkas like that, great for making up tune sets with key-changes in but 
without having to switch harps.

At some point about now Tony gets his box out and plays a Carolan tune ? 
Planxty Irwin. That reminds me of another called Carolan?s Welcome for which 
I use a C harp to play in 4th position.  We haven?t played it for months so 
one or two rough edges are showing? To quickly erase this wobble we move 
straight into one of our favourite reel sets, Spootiskerry/Merry 
Blacksmith/Mason?s Apron.  Three tunes, three keys, three harps!  Enough 
melody players to carry the changeovers ? in fact, dropping out and coming 
back in can be used to good effect.  The rhythm is really driving now.  One 
of those nights when we seem to get every set off to a good start at the 
right tempo.  Another set of jigs ? all on low D for me but all different 
positions ? Gillian?s Apples in 12th, Tripping Upstairs in 1st and 
Morrison?s in 3rd.  Tony would never let us escape from the pub unless we?d 
played that set.

And so it goes on.  Some nice modern waltz tunes to the fore, then  a 
cracking set of reels ? Maid Behind the Bar, Concertina Reel, Earl?s Chair ? 
great harp tune, that last one.  Well, all three really.  I go to the little 
boy?s room, and when I get back the buggers are up their usual tricks ? 
bluegrass!   They expect me to pretend to despise it, but I?m ?forced? to 
join in with my two bluegrass riffs (ARE there any more? ;-)  ).  Gwyn sings 
Little Cabin Home and Roseville Fair.  Then we have Duelling Banjos, 
featuring Alastair.  You haven?t heard anything like Alastair?s Duelling 
Banjos, especially after he?s had about five pints of Abbot?s!  We would 
have had more bluegrass songs, and maybe Dirty Old Town, had John been 
around.  Martin F. does his party-piece - a set of three fiddle tunes with 
Tony on 12-string culminating with Sweet Georgia Brown, with Martin C. 
adding tasty vocals.  I sit this one out (I should do it more often) but I 
have been known to attempt to play the bones in this set?

The booze is kicking in slightly, but we still manage a full-of-feeling 
version of The Butterfly.  The guys have a really tasteful guitar 
accompaniment for that one.  A set of three jigs on a G Lee Oskar, two out 
of three in 2nd position, to follow.  They are Connaughtman?s Rambles/Saddle 
the Pony/Calliope House.  Phew, made it before the Guinness addled my brain 
too much.  No more technical stuff from now on!

The Tree has  new owners (though we've known them for years), who are 
sympathetic to our music, but better still Robbie, one of the partners, is 
about the best bagpipes player you've ever heard.  He has some Scottish 
smallpipes in A, but tonight he chose to bring in his Bb warpipes for The 
Jig of Slurs and Atholl Highlanders.  I was deaf in one ear for ten minutes!

More beer, more tunes, a lot of laughs, slow things down at the appropriate 
hour with a song version of Midnight on the Water?.We?re finally winding up 
at about 1a.m., four hours and a lot of music after we started.  We have no 
game plan, we don?t take turns, we have no issues and it?s all about as 
convivial as it can get.  And, just before the end, someone at the bar 
booked us to play at her daughter?s wedding!

Steve Shaw




Want more than the blues?  Try Irish!
http://mysite.freeserve.com/trad_irish_harmonica

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