Jim Besser Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 (edited) What an outstanding time. Consistently the best organized ale I've attended, and this year was no exception. And a real bonus this time: the Kruskal brothers playing together. What an amazing sonic experience for concertina lovers. Here they are at the Staten Island ferry terminal. Pardon the poor image quality, photography was never one of my skills. Edited February 18, 2008 by Jim Besser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Davies Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 What's Jurgen Suttner doing there?(sitting cross legged on the floor holding a camera) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted February 18, 2008 Author Share Posted February 18, 2008 What's Jurgen Suttner doing there?(sitting cross legged on the floor holding a camera) Not Jurgen, unless he's moved to Boston and plays melodeon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animaterra Posted February 18, 2008 Share Posted February 18, 2008 What a dynamic duo! Thanks for the photo, Jim! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 What a dynamic duo! Thanks for the photo, Jim! Actually, a dynamic quartet. The melodeon player for Orion is exceptional, and the kid on guitar wasn't bad, either.. I thought the sound was amazing. I wonder: if I get a hat like Jody's, will I play better? Seems worth a try, don't you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Kruskal Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 What a dynamic duo! Thanks for the photo, Jim! Actually, a dynamic quartet. The melodeon player for Orion is exceptional, and the kid on guitar wasn't bad, either.. I thought the sound was amazing. I wonder: if I get a hat like Jody's, will I play better? Seems worth a try, don't you think? Try it out and let us know how you get on. Actually, my hat collection is functional. If it's too breezy up there I get unhappy. The button accordion player was Jim Ialeggio and the guitar was played by Eric McDonald. One of the cool things this Sword band does is to let the melody go and just play rhythm and chords. A very free unit with surprising results. I really loved playing Alto sax for their "Take 5" dance. Amazing dancing and music from all the teams made the 23rd Sword Ale the best ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Kruskal Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Here is a link to an excellent video featuring the women of Half Moon Sword performing a dynamic Papa Stour on the stage of the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Musical accompaniment: Michael Gorin on fiddle, Jody Kruskal on Anglo concertina, Chris Carpenter on penny whistle. http://cinema.acs.its.nyu.edu/~bary/papastour/ Mouse over the video to see the controls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 Here is a link to an excellent video featuring the women of Half Moon Sword performing a dynamic Papa Stour on the stage of the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Musical accompaniment: Michael Gorin on fiddle, Jody Kruskal on Anglo concertina, Chris Carpenter on penny whistle. http://cinema.acs.its.nyu.edu/~bary/papastour/ Mouse over the video to see the controls. Are vids of any of the other groups available online? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 Are vids of any of the other groups available online? Like these Jim? http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=rapp...amp;sitesearch= for a quick look Thanks Leo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 Are vids of any of the other groups available online? Like these Jim? http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=rapp...amp;sitesearch= for a quick look Thanks, but I was looking for videos of last weekend's NY festival; these are older ones (including from last year's event). Nice to see them, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polkabeast Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 I take it that "Ale" is something other than beer??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted February 22, 2008 Author Share Posted February 22, 2008 I take it that "Ale" is something other than beer??? Yes and no. An ale is a gathering of Morris teams for dancing and, generally, the consumption of beer. There is a close relationship between the two activities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jody Kruskal Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I take it that "Ale" is something other than beer??? No, it means beer alright, good beer!. Actually the ladies of 1/2M prefer wine. Vast quantities of spirits were consumed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted February 22, 2008 Author Share Posted February 22, 2008 I take it that "Ale" is something other than beer??? No, it means beer alright, good beer!. Actually the ladies of 1/2M prefer wine. Vast quantities of spirits were consumed. Good scotch, too, I hear. The perfect hostess gift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaryK Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 Here is a link to an excellent video featuring the women of Half Moon Sword performing a dynamic Papa Stour on the stage of the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Musical accompaniment: Michael Gorin on fiddle, Jody Kruskal on Anglo concertina, Chris Carpenter on penny whistle. http://cinema.acs.its.nyu.edu/~bary/papastour/ Mouse over the video to see the controls. Very interesting. I'd never heard nor seen one of these dances before. What are its origins? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted February 23, 2008 Author Share Posted February 23, 2008 Very interesting. I'd never heard nor seen one of these dances before. What are its origins? As a musician and not a dancer, I'm not the best qualified to answer, but I think i'm on safe ground when I say it's a form of English ritual dancing going back at least to the 15th century. Many villages had their own unique style, as in Cotswold Morris. The NY sword ale featured both longsword, as in the video, and rapper, using short, two-handled swords. Here's a video of the group I help out with (my wife is one of the dancers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meltzer Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 The NY sword ale featured both longsword, as in the video, and rapper, using short, two-handled swords. Here's a video of the group I help out with (my wife is one of the dancers) My first public musical appearance was playing melodeon for a rapper side. (Over 20 years ago ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Besser Posted February 23, 2008 Author Share Posted February 23, 2008 My first public musical appearance was playing melodeon for a rapper side. (Over 20 years ago ) Rapper on melodeon: that's impressive. IT's hard enough on ANglo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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