We went to The Homecoming concert last night in The Coach House, Dublin Castle. Four wonderful musicians gave a sold out concert that I thought was exceptional.
The line-up was
- Susan McKeown voice
- Paddy O’Brien accordion
- Cillian Vallely uilleann pipes, low whistle
- Aidan Brennan guitar
A combination of traditional and folk songs, mixed with jigs, reels, polkas and marches kept my foot tapping from the first tune to final note.
Traditional Irish music wouldn’t be my first choice normally. But since it was organised by The Music Network, who I believe always offer great value for money, and it was in The Coach House, Dublin Castle, a lovely intimate venue (perhaps a little chilly last night) and the musicians themselves are highly regarded by those in the know – it seemed like a no brainer.
Here’s a chance to see Susan McKeown and Aidan Brennan in action at Irish Center in Philadelphia.
In the clip Susan is having a bit of fun introducing the next song, and I think she and her three fellow musicians appeared to have a lot of fun last night also. Susan and Paddy were probably the most talkative, but they all seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Now my knowledge of traditional music is not the best. There’s no way I’d put myself out there and claim I knew the difference between a jig and a reel. To me a polka seems like a waltz with a bit of extra bounce! At one point I thought I got the feel for the different rhythms involved but after a while I just gave up and sat back and enjoyed the music for what it was. My mother, who loves ceilis, set dancing and hangs on Kieran Hanrahan’s every word on RTE’s Céilí House would despair at my lack of true trad tradition.
I know that having a greater understanding of styles, techniques and forms can make listening to music more enjoyable. In fact based on comments made by Paddy O’Brien during the concert, I think many of the audience last night were traditional musicians or traditional vocal artists. Certainly many of the people there seemed to know each other, and the artists, very well. My lack of understanding might be the reason I’d tend to shy anyway from listening to traditional music at home, thinking that its proper place is in a dark pub with a turf fire. But last night I may have finally got a little insight into how much fun it can be if you just let yourself enjoy it.
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Hi there,
Your nephew mentioned to me that you wrote this blog so I thought I’d check it out – it’s really entertaining! You’ve inspired me to start writing a blog of my own I’m working on one on ex-pat life in Ireland (http://www.slowlybecomingirish.com). I’m also working on a secnd which I use to get my various embarassing stories down so that I can remember them if I ever want to put a “tell all” autobiography together one day (http://www.whativelearnedthehardway.com) – you never know!. Check them out if you’d like to – they’re nowhere near as polished as yours as I’m just starting out. I’d appreciate any feedback which you might be able to give me!
Cheers,
Lora
Wow! Getting a new reader is always fantastic but to be told I inspired you – now that’s special.
Your blogs sound great. Straight away I like the idea of Slowly Becoming Irish
I’ll happily take a look over the next few days and give feedback – I bet it’s all positive.