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tpryan
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Irish Music discussion
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Nov 14 19:30 UTC 2001 |
An item in the music conference for discussion of
Irish music.
I've given up and forgoten the John Cussack item.
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| 32 responses total. |
albaugh
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response 1 of 32:
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Dec 1 22:16 UTC 2001 |
Clan na Dore...
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krj
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response 2 of 32:
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Dec 2 06:04 UTC 2001 |
This is probably as good a place as any to make various people jealous
again. I got to see Clannad on their first US tour, at the old Ark, the
house on Hill Street. This was 1979, when I still loved them.
We got to sit on the cushions on the floor, right under the band's
noses. I had to move my legs out of the way every time Pol Brennan
wanted to put his upright bass down.
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albaugh
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response 3 of 32:
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Dec 5 19:46 UTC 2001 |
I think it was when the ARK moved to somewhere on Main that I saw Eric Bogel.
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krj
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response 4 of 32:
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Feb 28 22:06 UTC 2002 |
Mickey mentioned a band called Cuig to me today. They're playing the
Ark at the end of March; they have five full-length medium-fi MP3
songs and tunes at their website at http://www.cuig.co.uk which
I found pretty enjoyable. They're a young band and so this is a cheap
show at the Ark: just $12, IIRC. They have a somewhat pop-influenced
rhythm section with mostly traditional melody instruments.
(At least, if you consider the Chieftains traditional... :) )
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krj
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response 5 of 32:
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Mar 3 03:29 UTC 2002 |
I guess I need to mention this here, since Twila did not know it.
"The Thistle and Shamrock" airs in Ann Arbor at 8 pm Saturday, on WUOM,
91.7 FM.
Intermission music for the Muzsikas show at the Ark was the new Altan CD,
THE BLUE IDOL, which sounds *very* good on first listen.
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mcnally
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response 6 of 32:
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Mar 3 09:50 UTC 2002 |
I suppose I should check whether or not Muzsikas will be showing up in
my neck of the woods. Is Marta Sebastyen still with the group?
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krj
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response 7 of 32:
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Mar 3 10:05 UTC 2002 |
Yes. She only sings on about half of the numbers, though.
Maybe a little bit less than half. I really need to rasp out some concert
reviews instead of sitting in party so much.
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eeyore
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response 8 of 32:
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Mar 17 14:04 UTC 2002 |
I know the feeling....I've got to punch something out for last night's GBS
show.
Have any of you guys heard of Carbon Leaf? They were the opening act last
night, and were really really good! They also won an AMAin January for
"Best New Group"(?), and preformed there as well.
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krj
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response 9 of 32:
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Mar 18 04:58 UTC 2002 |
This year's ritual St. Patrick's Day purchase was Altan's new CD
"The Blue Idol." (Which I bought on Friday, because it's almost
$4 cheaper at Elderly in Lansing than at Borders.)
This is the most engaging Altan CD I've heard in a while.
Guest vocal appearances from Paul Brady on a very nice version of
"Long A-Growing," and by Dolly Parton. Can't think of much else
to say, it just sparkles.
The other St. Patrick's observance was to (finally) open up the
live CD from Sharon Shannon and the Woodchoppers. The copy I have
was produced as a CD-R for sale at gigs in the USA last year, but
it's now become a more formal release with some artwork added -- there's
a copy for sale at Schoolkids'. This is a pure instrumental set,
with Shannon's accordion in the forefront. Pretty lively and energetic
the whole way through, and it winds up with Penguin Cafe Orchestra's
"Music For A Found Harmonium," which has now passed into the tradition
of instrumental tunes.
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krj
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response 10 of 32:
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Apr 26 20:02 UTC 2002 |
followup on resp:4 :: the band Cuig, at the Ark, late March:
So is it folk-rock/electric folk if the front line is all acoustic
instruments? Cuig's front line is accordion, fiddle and cittern;
with a rhythm section of electric bass and trap drums.
The drum kit was a bit too loud.
Presentation of this material with a rock rhythm section is what
originally attracted me to folk music back in 1975, so it was
pretty clear I was going to like this band. When the accordion
takes the lead, they sound like Sharon Shannon's band.
Their big weakness is singing, which was rougher than I heard on
the MP3 files; I think their youth and inexperience shows somewhat
here. The band is from Northumbria, but they focus on
Irish music.
OK, now here comes the really big caveat. Cuig are flogging their
debut album PROSPECT. I had assumed that the MP3 files on their
web site, which were very good, were from that album.
Alas, no. PROSPECT was recorded before the drummer joined the
band, and that album is very uninspired and flat. The MP3 files
are mostly songs and tune sets which also appear on the CD, but
the MP3s are new recordings with the drummer.
Summary: download and enjoy those MP3 files and hope the band sticks
around to make a second CD.
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gelinas
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response 11 of 32:
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Apr 28 03:21 UTC 2002 |
Sounds like something I should keep an eye out for.
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dbratman
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response 12 of 32:
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Apr 29 18:11 UTC 2002 |
Ken, I find it so amusing that the combination of rock rhythm and folk
music is what originally attracted you to folk music. Don Keller has
told me the same thing.
The reason I find this amusing is that for me the pathway went in the
other direction. I could never find any appeal, or hear any sense, in
loud rock rhythm, until I heard Steeleye Span apply it intelligently to
folk songs.
Sure, it can be "electric folk" if the instruments are acoustic: the
early Steeleye, except for the electric bass, was all acoustic
instruments. They were just amplified up the wazoo.
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orinoco
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response 13 of 32:
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Apr 30 18:30 UTC 2002 |
...and also, the "electric" in "electric folk" describes the attitude the band
brings to the music, not the way the music's amplified. The Clancy Brothers
could get the loudest amp in the world, and they'd still be a far cry from
Steeleye Span.
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dbratman
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response 14 of 32:
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May 2 00:04 UTC 2002 |
Dan, are you sure? Early Steeleye played the same kinds of
arrangements, in the same way, as their members had when they were all
pure folkies. It was just amplified, very very loud. It wasn't until
after Bob Johnson and Rick Kemp, who had more of a rock background,
joined, that they began incorporating rock riffs and other rock
elements.
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orinoco
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response 15 of 32:
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May 3 19:38 UTC 2002 |
Hrm. The early Steeleye Span that I've heard -- which, granted, isn't much
-- still seems to have a lot more... attitude than the pure folk from around
the same time that I've heard -- which, again, isn't much. More rough around
the edges, maybe. Of course, there could have been "pure folk" musicians
doing the same sort of thing at the same time, and I just don't know it.
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dbratman
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response 16 of 32:
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May 4 00:26 UTC 2002 |
Dan, I don't know what you mean by "attitude", but if you mean the
aggressively heavy noise-making caused by amplification, yeah. But
only a couple songs on their first three albums _sound_ like rock
songs. Afterwards, most of them do. On "Please to see the king", for
instance, I'd say "Boys of Bedlam" is the only one that has anything of
a rock feel to it; "Prince Charlie Stuart" and "Lovely on the Water"
are just massively-amplified folk, and most of the rest are hardly even
that.
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krj
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response 17 of 32:
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May 4 05:11 UTC 2002 |
Doesn't an electric guitar count? Carthy plays electric all over
"Please to See The King."
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dbratman
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response 18 of 32:
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May 6 23:18 UTC 2002 |
Compare Carthy's with Bob Johnson's _style_ of electric guitar playing,
and the difference will illustrate the point I'm trying to make.
To oversimplify, Carthy tended to play electric guitar rather as if it
were an acoustic guitar. Thus: acoustic style, only amplified. I
realize this could be quibbled, but remember, this is a comparison.
Johnson didn't do anything of the sort. Indeed, Carthy's making so
much noise this way is a large part of what distinguished Steeleye of
this period, and (so I've read) caused some difficulties in the band's
musical style.
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krj
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response 19 of 32:
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Oct 10 02:17 UTC 2002 |
Out this week is Sinead O'Connor's new album. "The Album I've Always
Wanted to Make!" says the sticker. It's an album of (mostly?)
traditional Irish folk songs; the one track I heard on the BBC today
(on a replay of last week's Mike Harding show) was pretty good.
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anderyn
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response 20 of 32:
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Oct 10 14:18 UTC 2002 |
Oh, hmmm. I will have to listen to this one. I've always liked her covers of
traditional Irish songs much more than her contemporary music. (I Will Sleep
on Your Grave leaps to mind!)
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micklpkl
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response 21 of 32:
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Oct 10 15:32 UTC 2002 |
"I am Stretched on Your Grave" --- yeah, that's a good one. This new Sinead
O'Connor, SEAN-NAS NUA, is definitely on my list of things to buy.
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anderyn
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response 22 of 32:
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Oct 10 15:48 UTC 2002 |
Yeah, I got it wrong. :-) But I am SURE someone used that title.
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krj
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response 23 of 32:
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Mar 13 06:00 UTC 2003 |
Quick name-drop for Wednesday night's show at the Ark by Patrick Street.
It felt like a warm cocoon, sitting up close with those greying old
pros. Ged Foley on outstanding rhythm guitar and some vocals;
Andy Irvine on bouzouki, harmonica and most vocals; Jackie Daly on
button accordion; Kevin Burke on fiddle.
Patrick Street, as the promotional material reminds us, is a genuine
"supergroup", with every member having been a part of previous renowned
ensemble. Ged Foley is probably my favorite, though he's very
restrained here in contrast with his role as frontman with
The House Band.
The final encore was their setting of "Music for a Found Harmonium"
from Penguin Cafe Orchestra, a tune which is well on its way to
becoming a folk instrumental standard.
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anderyn
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response 24 of 32:
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Mar 13 14:03 UTC 2003 |
Sorry I missed them. Bruce didn't get home until nineish.
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