Irish Button Accordion Encounter

[Mark Evans]

I went to the Tuesday evening session at John Stone's Inn for the first time in six months. What a lovely evening. New faces, old ones too along with some great music making.

 

As the evening progresses, an older gentleman comes in with a Paulo Soprani Irish button accordion. In my thirty years knocking about with Irish music I had never encountered one. What would the thing sound like live? Would this Irish fellow take kindly to an English concertina?

 

The fellow could ever lovin' play that thing and the tone was sweet and subdued. I was seated next to him for a while, but the fiddler next to me wanted to switch seats with me. She's a bit sweet on him methinks. The music they made together...whew! It was gentle and classy and at times in danger of loosing its PG rating. Me poor Albion sounded a bit brash in contrast with its rather forward voice. I felt a bit like the cousin at a family reunion who's laugh is very loud but appreciated.

 

Had such a good time that I forgot to have even one pint. Moments, that's all we have on this earth. Got to take the time to drink them in and enjoy. Seems I have to re-learn that lesson from time to time. I'll think about those two today and smile.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Mark Evans

[Ken_Coles]

John Stone's - is that the session I couldn't get to a year ago on my visit because of the blizzard?

[Animaterra]

Lovely, Mark. Thanks for sharing such a memorable experience!

[Mark Evans]

John Stone's - is that the session I couldn't get to a year ago on my visit because of the blizzard?

 

 

Yup! Now that I've got my daughter's equitation lesson changed to Wednesdays, I'll go more often.

[Jody Kruskal]

...the tone was sweet and subdued.... The music they made together...whew! It was gentle and classy and at times in danger of loosing its PG rating. Me poor Albion sounded a bit brash in contrast with its rather forward voice. I felt a bit like the cousin at a family reunion who's laugh is very loud but appreciated.

 

Had such a good time that I forgot to have even one pint.

 

Mark, what a great story. The way you told it, I almost thought it happened to me.

 

When musicians are communicating well and agreeing most of the time, intimate setting, nonverbal feelers spread wide to catch the vibe... the rest of the world ceases to exist. It can be so sexy, sex being another intimate form of nonverbal communication.

 

I’ve often found that at such moments I wished my Jefferies was a Stagi, because I’m spending way too much effort to play quietly enough. I remember Brian Peters talking about that somewhere too. But it’s a thing, it can be a fun thing, to play that game at a session. How quietly, how minimally can I play, and still have something to add. That can be really a pleasure, and something that I have practiced at home by myself. It’s a great exercise, to play a tune I know as quietly as possible and still try to make it musical.

 

This is so much easier on a stringed instrument. Concertinas don’t do quiet and intimate naturally. I think that practicing an attempt to go as far in that direction as possible though, has deepened my playing.

[Mark Evans]

When musicians are communicating well and agreeing most of the time, intimate setting, nonverbal feelers spread wide to catch the vibe... the rest of the world ceases to exist. It can be so sexy, sex being another intimate form of nonverbal communication.

 

Well said Jody.

 

I used to play for the Apple Chill Cloggers (another life, another time). After a while I started noticing individuals and made some friendships. It was perhaps a bit voyeuristic, but during a routine me and my chums in the band had no problem decerning new "affiliations" amongst the dancers.

 

"the rest of the world ceases to exist", as a young blade that got me into plenty of trouble. Now it is a state I long to reach as often as possible, blessedly without the overly athletic vigor of youth .

Edited March 2, 2006 by Mark Evans