Come West Along the Road

Are you (if you're a U.S. resident) a Netflix member? If so, you might be interested to know that Netflix has Come West Along the Road, one of RTÉ's DVD compilations of music recordings from its archives.

Like a lot of compilations, it's a mixed bag. But there's some brilliant material on the DVD. There is (brief, unfortunately) footage of Frankie Kennedy, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, and other Ó Maonaigh family members playing in a pub in Gaoth Dobhair. There's footage of Joe Cooley, Denis O'Brien (Donncha Ó Briain), Tommy Peoples, and Matt Molloy.

While I was watching one of the segments — it must have been Planxty or The Bothy Band — my wife came into the room and said, "They look like hippies!" I laughed and replied, "They are hippies; this was taped in 1973!"

Sure, most of this has been pirated onto YouTube, but the DVD quality beats the heck out of Flash video. I'm not sure I'd pay $30 for it, but getting it "for free" (as a Netflix subscriber) is a great deal!

Granville Irish Festival

Seems there's another Irish festival in town, somewhat smaller than that other one in Dublin. The Granville Irish Festival will feature local bands The Drowsy Lads (trad) and Homeland (rock), plus dancers from Scoil Rince Ní Chiara.

2007 Dublin Irish Festival

I've just had a look at the 2007 Dublin Irish Festival entertainment lineup. Tucked in amongst the "Celtic rock," I found some pretty good reasons to attend, including the following out-of-town acts:

• Téada
• The Boys of the Lough
• Eileen Ivers

There are also some local bands I like. My teacher's band, The Kells, who played a great house concert in April will be performing. Occasionally-local Changeling is a husband-and-wife duo featuring the fiddle playing of Deborah Clark Colón. Aisling reformed last year after significant personnel changes; I haven't heard them in their current incarnation, but they were quite good in the past.

An intriguing-sounding group I'm unfamiliar with is the Armagh Rhymers, from, of course, Co. Armagh, who do folk theatre from the mummer tradition.

There's also a great deal of utter dreck on the bill. I'll elect to follow the "if you can't say anything nice about someone, say nothing at all" rule here, and simply write this off as the price of having a festival which can bring good acts in from overseas.

But since the festival generally has at least four stages running concurrently, plus session tents and other stuff, you can generally find something good to hear or see.

Chris Norman

Nova Scotian flute player Chris Norman came to the Ohio State University this past April as part of the Johnstone Woodwind Master Series in conjunction with the Central Ohio Flute Association. He and guitar player Andy Thurston played a rather unusual show on the night of 21 April. The first half was an informal concert featuring mostly traditional Scottish tunes, with some Irish, Cape Breton, and original compositions as well. He was joined, at times, by Robert Aitken on piccolo and a local woman named Casey (I didn't catch her last name) on piano. Chris said that he had met Casey at a Kinko's the day before. The concert became even less formal in the second half of the show as he invited the conference attendees to get out their instruments and play along with some tunes. There were perhaps 50 or so Boehm system flute players, a couple guitarists, a pianist, one other simple-system flute player besides Chris and myself, and one bassoonist!

The photo above shows Chris playing the Scottish smallpipes. Although they're fingered like the GHBs, Chris said they originate in the music of the Scottish Travellers rather than the mainstream Scottish music tradition.

Here's Chris, Andy, Casey, and Robert playing a tune together.

The photo above is from the second half of the show. Chris projected the scores for the tunes, played them through a couple times, had everyone play along, and then gave some feedback to the audience, mostly on rhythm.

The show wasn't particularly well-publicized outside of OSU. I was lucky to hear about it, because it was a great concert.

The Kells

Some photos from a house concert featuring The Kells last month...

John Sindt video

Here's a two-minute video about whistle maker John Sindt.

Oidhreacht an Chláir

Oidhreacht an Chláir, the Clare College for Traditional Studies, now has a CD shop. Check it out!

Closer to Columbus, OH, those who like their Irish music without U2 covers or Michael Flatley would do well to see The Kells at a private house concert this coming Friday 9 March. My teacher will be playing the flute, whistle, and pipes.

Vermont Considers Tin Whistle Ban

...while driving, anyway.

The dangers of playing the whistle while driving are well-documented. But Vermont may actually ban it:

Put down the flute and keep your eyes on the road.
[...]
Vermont lawmakers are considering a measure that would ban eating, drinking, smoking, reading, writing, personal grooming, playing an instrument, “interacting with pets or cargo,” talking on a cell phone or using any other personal communication device while driving. The punishment: a fine of up to $600.
[...]
He said his wife recently saw a driver playing the flute, which led him to include the instrument ban in his bill.

The Night-Rambler’s Companion

You can hear two tracks from Harry Bradley's new album, The Night-Rambler’s Companion, on his MySpace page.

Tannahill Weavers Requests

The Tannahill Weavers are taking requests for which tunes and songs they'll play on their next tour.

Their blog is worthwhile, too, since it features "Roy's Joke of the Week.