Anyone Going To The North-east Squeeze-in?

[Bob Tedrow]

Well, I darn sure hate to miss this party.

 

You all look out for my four children over the weekend, ok?

 

Bob Tedrow

[JimLucas]

Well, I darn sure hate to miss this party.

You all look out for my four children over the weekend, ok?

And borrowing from the "Protect Your Concertina" thread... remember that they're too young to drink.

[Alan Day]

Thank you Richard for the further information regarding the forthcoming weekend.I must say that I enjoyed all the info ,seeing the venue ,where you will be playing,eating, sleeping, etc. I wonder if others were as interested as me to see and read these details and to take this further would anyone be interested in details of UK festivals and sessions etc ? If you are interested many of us in the UK would be pleased to fill in the details and paint the picture like you have for me.

Al

[JimLucas]

...would anyone be interested in details of UK festivals and sessions etc ?

I know I would. I suspect many others would, too.

[Lakeman]

 

Richard's vivd description has got me all fired-up.I am already packing for my epic 6,000 mile round-trip to the BIG SQUEEZE-IN. Anybody else from the UK going?

Thinking of you all in the US of A on Sep 11 anniversary.Goodnes knows what security they will put me through at London and Boston airports. My concertinas always raise a few eyebrows in the X-ray machines.

 

Geoff Lakeman, Plymouth, UK.

[Steven]

The closer we get to this event, and the more you people keep talking about it, the more jealous I am of you! I can't go this year. Too many schedule conflicts here, and not enough vacation time.

 

I certainly plan to be there next year, though!!

 

Steven

[Ken_Coles]

I wonder if others were as interested as me to see and read these details and to take this further would anyone be interested in details of UK festivals and sessions etc ? If you are interested many of us in the UK would be pleased to fill in the details and paint the picture like you have for me.

Al

Back when I did the first edition of the North America Summer School (see link from C.net home page) list I made an inquiry on the old forum system (I think) stating I would love to see a parallel document for the U.K. and/or Eire...either general or with annual details about teachers etc. One day soon I will come over to visit, and I have no idea which week/weekend to come for (though Witney is unlikely, bad time to get away for me).

[David Barnert]

My concertinas always raise a few eyebrows in the X-ray machines.

Two things I have learned about taking concertinas through security checkpoints from reading concertina.net and rec.music.makers.squeezebox over the years which make good stories even if they might be exaggerated are:

 

1) If they ask you what it is, call it an accordion or a squeezebox, but don't call it a concertina. The word "concertina" is on the list of banned items (it can mean "concertina wire," or coiled barbed wire, a weapon) and it will be confiscated.

 

2) Do not place a concertina on the x-ray scanner on its side (so that the x-rays pass through the instrument from end to end). The resulting image, with its radially oriented levers and circumferentially arranged pads make it look like a known bomb construction and it will be confiscated.

 

See you, Geoff (and your duet concertina, if it survives the trip), next weekend.

[Michael Reid]

I've flown many times with concertina and/or small button accordion, and -- somewhat to my disappointment -- I've never had to remove either one from the case. Well, I guess one time they had me flip open the accordion case, which also had electronics (tape recorder, microphone, extra batteries) tucked in around the edges.

 

When asked, I've not hesitated to call it a concertina, though I've usually followed that up with, "It's a small musical instrument."

 

The most interesting reaction I've gotten to an instrument was from the passenger behind me in the security line last month at the Charlotte airport. As I put my black, hard-shell concertina case on the x-ray belt, he asked (in all seriousness, I think): "You got a live snake in there?"

[bellowbelle]

Two things I have learned about taking concertinas through security checkpoints from reading concertina.net and rec.music.makers.squeezebox over the years which make good stories even if they might be exaggerated are:

I've printed my e-mail of this post to this thread, and I'll stick it in my notebook! Though, I don't expect to be flying anywhere. Y'never know, though.

[Jim Besser]

I flew to Minneapolis for my brother's wedding, where I was playing the concertina, just a few days after the airlines resumed service following Sept. 11. I expected all kinds of hassles about the strange X-ray image.

 

They just waved me through -- but took my daughter's school backpack apart and inspected it minutely because a little toy bird apparently looked like something dangerous.

 

My only travel hassles have been getting into Canada with instruments. We had been instructed before driving up for an ale: when they spot your instrument, they'll ask "are you PEFORMING?" Always answer no.

 

I did -- but a dancer in the back seat simultaneously chirped in with "yes."

 

Fortunately the border officer did not hear her.

[JimLucas]

Two things I have learned about taking concertinas through security checkpoints from reading concertina.net and rec.music.makers.squeezebox over the years which make good stories even if they might be exaggerated are:

"Over the years"? Must be pretty recent, as I've never heard of them, and I've certainly never had any trouble. The "worst" I've experienced is being asked to actually play my concertina.

 

1) If they ask you what it is, call it an accordion or a squeezebox, but don't call it a concertina. The word "concertina" is on the list of banned items (it can mean "concertina wire," or coiled barbed wire, a weapon) and it will be confiscated.

I always call mine "concertina". If they don't seem to know what that is, I explain, "like a small accordion" (or "som en lille harmonika", or "как маленкая гармонь", or whatever ). Nobody's ever even hinted at confiscation. And nobody's ever suggested that there's a list of forbidden names for things, for which I'm glad. If there's anything I find scarier than the prospect of my concertina being confiscated, it's somebody entrusted with security being so unaware of what they're looking for that they'd confuse a concertina with concertina wire... or a bomb, or anything else.

 

2) Do not place a concertina on the x-ray scanner on its side (so that the x-rays pass through the instrument from end to end). The resulting image, with its radially oriented levers and circumferentially arranged pads make it look like a known bomb construction and it will be confiscated.

Again, not only have I never heard of such a thing, but I find it highly unlikely that there is any sort of bomb which would resemble the concertina under an x-ray, no matter the orientation. From an engineering standpoint, it doesn't make sense. The worst reaction I've gotten is puzzlement; the best are the exclamations as to the beauty of the pattern.

[Patrick Brown]

I've always had to open my concertina box, but normally the people working the security desk seem to get a kick out of it. I'm still waiting for the time I'll to play it for them.

~patrick

[lildogturpy]

On a trip over to the UK this summer the Canadian Security screen at the airport asked what I had in the box - a small musical instrument, a concertina I replied. It then went through the X-ray machine and they asked me what it was again. Finally they swabbed the outside of the box for drugs/explosives I guess and then let me through. In the UK all they said was - is it an anglo or an english?

[Ken_Coles]

Every single time I've been through a U.S. airport in the last two years they opened the concertina case (I'm not allowed to touch it) and then immediately said, "Oh that's fine." Maybe a Morse has a different x-ray pattern?

 

We seem to have drifted to related matters, but after seeing the custom name tags again, it occurred to me to ask myself if I should make one and/or illustrate it here. No, I'm sure you'll know me. I'll be the only one there with one or two button accordions and ... EIGHT concertinas (thanks to Mr. Tedrow and a newly repaired one I'll be picking up from the Button Box folks). It would be nine, but I think I can maybe leave my Morse at home as we'll have other examples of that one!

[premo]

My only travel hassles have been getting into Canada with instruments. We had been instructed before driving up for an ale: when they spot your instrument, they'll ask "are you PEFORMING?" Always answer no.

 

 

Why? Are visitors to Canada forbidden from playing musical instruments !!!

[David Barnert]

Why? Are visitors to Canada forbidden from playing musical instruments !!!

No, non-Canadians are forbidden from being paid to play musical instruments in Canada without special permission. Same goes for the USA and most other countries.

[Kurt Braun]

Weather security is looking to be more of a problem than airport security. As it stands now, I'm supposed to change planes in Atlana Friday morning on my way to Hartford. NOAA is currently forcasting Ivan to be a tropical storm centered very close to Atlana on Friday morning.