I noticed in the local paper that an Irish session has recently started up at Squires Everyday Gourmet (not actually in Williamsburg proper, on Mooretown Road near the new hospital). I haven't been yet, but I'd be interested in any feedback from someone who has. For instance, how "traditional" or liberal are they about session "rules"? What sorts of instruments show up? Would a mandolin stand a chance of being heard?
What are the times and dates for these sessions ? Know a couple people here that might be interested jumping in :-D
As posted in the Virginia Gazette: Monday evening, 7-9
Stopped by Squires last nite and spoke with the proprietor. Irish session is 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month.
Hey if anyone goes please post a review I for one would like to check it out!
FYI: Just got this from Jim Mahone's email wire: Jim, Our session has been cancelled. We are scrambling to find another venue; Squire's can no longer afford to stay open most nights. I'll email you when I'm sure about what we're going to do next. Dan
Darn, come and gone before I could make it one time. I'll be interested where the session ends up.
Didn't take him very long! The Williamsburg Irish Session Barnes & Noble Booksellers 345 West Duke of Gloucester Street, Williamsburg Near Market Square and the College 757-564-0687 The Irish session formerly held at Squire’s Delicatessen has moved to Barnes & Noble. We’re hoping to see our friends from Squires and new fans of the Irish music tradition join us. This will be an Irish session - the one constant is that it's nearly all Irish music in the traditional Irish style. We'll play at an intermediate to fast tempo … if newcomers know the music and can keep up with our pace, they're welcome to join in. We hope you and other lovers of Irish music show a reasonable measure of appreciation to Barnes & Noble for hosting us. Contact Daniel Jackson at 757-565-0542 or at plantune@verizon.net for information. First, and Third Mondays, 7-9 p.m.
I went with Bern on the 3rd Monday this month. There were two flutes, bodhran, Bern on fiddle, and my plinking the mando. The session was held upstairs in the corner across from the cafe. The AC was so cold that everyone wore long sleeves ... lol. The store closes promptly, so had to keep an eye on the clock. Otherwise, good music in the traditional session format.
Went last night, but didn't take the mandolin. Three, sometimes four, flutes, one guitar, one bodhran, one uiliean pipes. No fiddle or other instruments, unless they showed up after I left about an hour into the session. Please take the following as coming from a relative newbie with respect to ITM. I expected that everyone would play in unison and they did. There were no individual "breaks" as in bluegrass. I noticed the musicians didn't "call" the tunes or keys before they started playing. It seemed that someone just started playing a tune and at some point everyone else joined in. How does one get to know all the tunes to be able to participate in a session? How did the musicians know when to end the tune? The musicians seemed to move from one tune to another tune without stopping between them. How did they know which tune came next? Are there set sequences of tunes that all the musicians know? I was leery of taking my mandolin because I didn't really know what to expect. The situation seemed like one where you had to know an awful lot before you could participate.
John, It sounds as though it's a typical advanced session. In ITM it's pretty common for a group of tunes be played in succession. Part of the repertoire is not just how many tunes you know, it's putting 2, or sometimes 3 of them together and playing them out. If you look at the songlists on many ITM recordings you will often see 2-3 jigs/reels/slide's, etc. per track number on the recording. Usually, the player that started the set will call out when it's time to move on. If it's a small group sometimes just a raise of the eyebrows, or a nod of the head will be the cue. Especially if they are used to playing with each other. It's also common for the A/B sections to be played through just a couple, maybe 3 times before moving to the next tune.
So if I want to participate, how would I get started? Since the musicians don't announce the tune they are doing, how would I know which tunes of the hundreds that exist to learn from either a book or a recording? This is quite different compared to my experience with old time and bluegrass jams.
It sounds like this one is an advanced session. These are folks that have been playing awhile and have built their tune library up pretty well. The only ITM sessions I've played where people were reading, or following charts were beginner, or "Slow" sessions. The Fibber McGee sessions back home in Phoenix were a great set up. We played every Sunday afternoon. The folks just getting started would come at 1p.m. and the slow session went from 1p.m. to 3p.m. when the salts would show up and things pretty much took off from there. The guy that runs the one down there has said it's an intermediate to advanced session. It sounds like it leans more toward the advanced than anything else. Probably not the best way to learn the stuff. I used to sit off to the side at the advanced sessions and play along when I was learning tunes. I had never played an OT jam until I came here. I find them much more relaxed and welcoming to newcomers. ITM is pretty intense. There have been a few sessions I quit attending as they were nothing but speed trials.
Hey Gerry, thanks for the insight. I thought I was missing something. I guess even with "advanced" bluegrass jams, you know what they're playing because one of the musicians suggests/announces it and usually the key also. If you're not playing because you're not up to speed, at least you can make a list, find the music/recording, and practice it on your own. And my experience matches yours, most old time/bluegrass jams are pretty relaxed and welcome the less experienced. If you here of beginner's ITM in our general area, I'd appreciate knowing about it. I'm not a beginner on mandolin, just a beginner with respect to ITM.
Using info posted earlier in this thread, I contacted Daniel Jackson, plantune@verizon.net, to ask about a beginner Irish session. (I'm not ready for that myself but thought to ask). He replied that he has been talking about starting one on the other Mondays of the month (2nd & 4th) and has okayed me to post this as way of advertising. If he can get 3-4 players willing to show up he will start a slow session. He went on to say that "a loose group of Irish music lovers has been trying to get a regular Wmbg session going for years. It's been tough as no pub or tavern is willing to host it, and players are almost non-existant. Right now, half the session crew is coming from out of town. I hope that can change over time. If we can become an "institution", then Irish musicians coming here from all over the US (& elsewhere) would know they can stop in and have a good time." So, if interested, contact him via the e-mail address above.
I'm in. It would be helpful if we had a list of tunes and their key signatures ahead of time.
Arrrgh! This is killin' me! I'd love to be closer so I could commit. A good, slow session would be great to help me get my chops back. John, having a fair share of songs in the different keys isn't that critical in ITM. There really aren't many 5 string banjo's in ITM. The 4 string Tenor Banjo is common, but it's generally tuned in 5th's and doesn't need to retune for keys like they do in OT. If you search in the Celtic/ITM forum threads you will find a few threads with suggested "Must Know" songlists listed.
I haven't looked at them myself, but here is a Youtube channel link for severavl videos from this past Monday's session. http://www.youtube.com/user/rproark
Most of those looked to be at a nice, intermediate pace. There's a couple of flute players that seem to really know their stuff. Most of the tunes were standards. It looks as though they are starting to get a nice seisiun going on down there! I've got a new Octave Mando due next month. A trip down there for this seisiun might be a good workout for it!
From Daniel Jackson (Plantune@verizon.net) Hi Everyone, Just a reminder that the last summer session in Wmbg is this Monday (yes - the 3rd Mon of August) starting at 7pm - at the W&M bookstore Barnes & Noble. I will be at the beach in Avon but I'm sure the tunes will flow freely in my absence. Please come out to enjoy a couple of hours of fun. For any questions contact Beau Carr at the bookstore. Then the following Monday will be the first session of the fall. So, two Mondays in a row. Also, it appears that there is enough interest in a slow session. So, I'm going to start that up in Sept on the even Mondays of the month. Please help to put me touch with anyone interested in this. My intention is play tunes slowly over & over to help with the aural learning process. Also, I'll give out a tune or two for learning in between sessions. We will be seeing Stuart off to Limerick on Tues, Sept 1. He will be there at the University studying for the semester. Hopefully, we can have a session on his return after Dec 20. See you all in Sept!
From Daniel Jackson (Plantune@verizon.net) OK - I think I'm ready to do this. Please have anyone interested in joining the slow Irish session to email me please. It will be on the even Mondays of the month at 7pm at the W&M Barnes & Noble downtown Wmbg. The first one (if I get enough of a response) will be Sept 28. My plan is to tailor the session to the group that shows up. We will play tunes at a slower pace. I want 4 people at least to start. Questions? email me. Dan (Plantune@verizon.net)
