What are you doing on St. Patrick's Day?

[JeffD]

I'll be in hiding.... I hate drinking with amateurs...

You got that right.

[Jill McAuley]

Just got back in from a LONG day of busking. Weather was lovely, the takings were great, but very interesting observation: Lots of folk about, decked out and resplendent in green, "Kiss me I'm Irish" shirts, etc etc and not a single one of them put any money in the case, literally not a single one! There were all kinds of folks, young and old, putting $$ in the case, all day long, but nary a one of the stereotypically clad Paddy's Day revelers dug in their pockets. I found that a bit odd to be honest.

Cheers,
Jill

[Eddie Sheehy]

Jill, they were probably asking themselves "What's that strange music she's playing? Doesn't she know any Beatles songs?"

Noli Illegitimi Carborundum...

[Jill McAuley]

Exactly! I was thinking to meself - if I belted out "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" or whatever, they'd probably be all over that - but there's me stood playing trad music and I reckon they'd not got a clue that it was IRISH traditional music.....

Cheers,
Jill

[Bren]

Did the annual gig with the Pogues tribute band. Went down well, crowd appreciative. No trouble being heard with our punk drummer and cranked-up PA, apart from the usual banjo feedback nightmares, but the venue soundman got on top of it eventually.

The usual green-hatted tomfoolery on the streets, lot f Irish students taking the day off :-) but all seemed very good-natured and it would seem churlish to moan about it.

[steve V. johnson]

Whew...

St. Pat's started last Friday when a fiddler pal who once lived here came back to visit and we had a Friday evening session in the Runcible Spoon Restaurant. Sat a.m. with same fiddler we played the Winter Farmers Market at 10:30am, then with a different fiddler an art gallery from 3 - 4:30pm, then a real surprise gig, a fraternity party at De Pauw Univ in Greencastle, IN. Frat gig was wild, but the guys were very polite. They wanted us all acoustic, so we went from the game room (very loud) to a nice lounge with a fireplace, except there was an outside door that kept partyfolk flowing thru the room, then to a larger fireplace lounge that was quieter. Folks very attentive, inquisitive and kind. And they paid us long dollars in cash! Loooong day.

The next day to the regular 2nd Sunday White Owl Winery session NW of Vincennes, IN, in Illinois! (Gluttony, I know. I can't help it.)

Yesterday, St. Pat's himself's own day, we played at the Claddagh Pub on 96th St. in Indianapolis. This was an even less likely gig for us than the frat. Fiddler Becka Schafer, Tim Piazza on banjo, mandolin (Sobell!), and fiddle, Min Gates on bodhrán & bones and songwriter Dave McConnell running the PA for us. Pub manager says, "Whatever you do, do it LOUD." LOL!! It was real work to get up over the crowd, but we played for four hours with just two little breaks. Tim rocks.

Here's a bit I wrote earlier today:

_2.5 Pipers, or You Know You're Finished When The Clown Pipers Come_

Last evening we played for the Claddagh North "Precedent" on 96th St in Indy.

We were scheduled to end at 9pm, and we were winding up a set of tunes, just starting the last tune in the set when we heard the skrawl of Scottich higland pipes. In thru the patio door, right beside our stage, came two pipers with full highland pipe sets, another guy and a drummer with a great deep parade snare, playing away.

The third guy had a smaller set of pipes, maybe a practice set or incomplete, and he just looked around the room with a completely happy and foolish grin on. He managed to keep the pipe bag inflated, blew into it from time to time, but made no real effort at playing.

From the waist down, these guys were properly dressed, with matching kilts, decorated stockings, matching shoes and all the hardware that goes onto a proper marching piper. Fromt he wais up they were in full halloween Irish toy costumes, with beads, wigs, funny t-shirts, an odd vest, face paint, all different.

They marched in line, joyfully around all the rooms of the Claddagh, and the patio, several times and then, with no warning, the house stereo system dropped some Dave Grohl song on us at volume 11, the crowd cheered and went back to ... whatever they had been doing before.

Thus endeth the evening. Wotta hoot.

[M.Marmot]

Eventually spent the day enjoying the very un-Irish sunshine followed by an evening making and then devouring a very fine Guinness stew.

Some trad in the form of an album by Ciaran O'Maonaigh and nary a Beatle request to be heard...

not the most hectic Paddys day but twas enjoyable alll the same

[M.Marmot]

[QUOTE=steve V. johnson;780715]

Here's a bit I wrote earlier today:

_2.5 Pipers, or You Know You're Finished When The Clown Pipers Come_

QUOTE]

I knew a group that used to use the Highland pipes as a sort of crowd dispersing device, like tear gas for the ears.

Whenever they were playing and the crowd would get too raucous or disruptive of the session one of the lads would run out to the car grab the pipes and then set up right beside the offenders and let blare with his full repetorire of three tunes. It was usually enough to disperse the offending crowd far from the musicians.

[Jim MacDaniel]

Turns out we visited neighbors a few doors down for a neighborhood St Patricks Day gathering. We dined on corned beef sliders, shepherds pie, green pea humus, and Guinness; with an eclectic soundtrack including The Clancy Brothers, The Bothy Band, Flogging Molly, and everything in between. (A pity it wasn't a pot luck, else I would have contributed a Guinness/Kerrygold fondue I developed for a fondue night in January. )

[Randi Gormley]

Have a last St. Pat's gig tonight, 8 p.m. to midnight at a college lounge/bar. The last time our band did this, we attracted all kinds of ringers, making us truly Connecticut's largest Irish band! Must have been 25 of us or more ... we outnumbered the patrons. No idea what tonight's going to bring, but I'm hoping for free pizza... This is the same university that had us playing in the lobby right before the Danu concert (trust me, they were WAY better than us!), so it's a real ego boost to all of us and a great way to end what is probably the most hectic two weeks we face.

[deadend3]

We played in Ulysses Irish Pub in lower Manhattan. It was our third year there on St Paddy's and we had a real blast. We mix it up pretty good with different types of material between acoustic and electric sets but the post parade crowd was very receptive to the Irish tunes. Even a more obscure song like Oro Se Do Bheatha Bhaile got a great reaction with lots of people singing along in Irish.

[steve V. johnson]

M.Marmot, that's great! Highland pipes as crowd control device! Excellent, thanks!

stv