By long tradition (two whole years!) the Wednesday night session at City Steam in Hartford has a special pre-Thanksgiving session that can only be described as monsterously fun! We move out of the bar, and to the downstairs room where there is no smoking (wah hooo!) and plenty of room for step dancing, twenty+ musicians, and still leave room for the waiters to wiggle through with pitchers and platters and such.
If you’re in the area, come join the fun! We start around 7:30, end up around 10 or 10:30, and have great craic in between.
Would you like to attend a “monster” session each week? It is just up the road in Northampton, Mass. on Thursday nights in a place called Mulino’s. It is in the basement in “Bishop’s Lounge”. There are usually anywhere from 16 to 20 musicians there weekly beginning just after 9:00 PM and going until the wee hours.
I know for a fact that they are missing a whistle player and would appreciate one.
Now, I may step on some toes, but I tell you, this is the GREATEST session I have ever attended, and I’m going to give you the reasons why. No one…NO ONE has any hangups. Everyone loves everyone else and knows them all by name. When newcomers enter, they are welcomed and the session will slow down or speed up to whatever they like. There is no “head” or “alpha” person in the session. It is like a Quaker meeting. When you want to play, you play. And everyone joins in.
This group is my family, for all practical purposes. I would ask that if you go, treat them like your own family and you will reap great rewards and make a real pile of new friends.
I will second Bob’s assesment of the Bishop’s Lounge session. It is indeed quite wonderful. There is also another fledgling session on Friday night’s in Amherst, MA at The Harp. More free beer for musicians and some of the familiar faces from from The Bishop’s session. I wish I had access to sessions like these out here on the Cape. (sniff)
In Southern CT there is Anna Liffey’s in New Haven. The Playwright in Hamden.
Gaelic American Club in Fairfield.
Blackrock Castle in ??
Some of the folks down here play out 3 or 4 or 5 nights a week.
How they manange to practice/work/sleep etc. is a mystery to me.
Send me a private message if you want more info on these sessions.
jb
City Steam Brewery Cafe is on Main Street in Hartford, in the old ‘Brown Thompson’ location near the G. Fox building. For the best directions you might want to call them: 860-525-1600.
I’m sure there is a session in New Haven, but I don’t know where. If I find out, I’ll post it here.
On 2001-11-19 14:14, Whistleworks wrote:
Would you like to attend a “monster” session each week? It is just up the road in Northampton, Mass. on Thursday nights in a place called Mulino’s. It is in the basement in “Bishop’s Lounge”. There are usually anywhere from 16 to 20 musicians there weekly beginning just after 9:00 PM and going until the wee hours.
I know for a fact that they are missing a whistle player and would appreciate one.
Now, I may step on some toes, but I tell you, this is the GREATEST session I have ever attended, and I’m going to give you the reasons why. No one…NO ONE has any hangups. Everyone loves everyone else and knows them all by name. When newcomers enter, they are welcomed and the session will slow down or speed up to whatever they like. There is no “head” or “alpha” person in the session. It is like a Quaker meeting. When you want to play, you play. And everyone joins in.
This group is my family, for all practical purposes. I would ask that if you go, treat them like your own family and you will reap great rewards and make a real pile of new friends.
And please send all of them my love.
Oh, and the beer is free for the musicians.
Good luck,
Bob Pegritz
Thanks for the tip, Bob! Tim, the concertina player, whom I met at City Steam a few weeks back, invited me up Bishop’s and I went last Thursday. I thought the crowd was wonderful and soo friendly! I felt right at home. Was also surprised by the amount of singing and enjoyed that. While there were a lot of tunes I didn’t know, I did join in a little later and it was a great time. I certainly plan to be back.
I don’t believe I met you there, Bob? But I hope to, soon. Were you there, David? I couldn’t get all the names, sorry.
Are the sessions every Wednesday or just on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving? Unfornately, I cannot attend tonight but would be interested in future sessions.
The Bishop’s Lounge sessions in Northampton, Mass are every Thursday beginning around 9:00 PM. The guy who started it all, and absolutely not the “leader” (since there are no leaders) is Timmy Donohue, one of the finest people that I have ever met. If anyone who is reading this post sees Timmy, please send him my very warmest personal regards. I miss him and the session so very much.
I have moved back to Delaware. It was not a planned move and my reasons are very personal and not happy. And so I will not elaborate on this. Know well that this session is the one single thing in Mass. that I will miss the most. Each person there is just great. I miss them like I would miss my own family.
Merlin, the City Steam sessions are weekly, but twice a year we have this ‘something more’ session, which includes international level dancers (more than one in the troupes of Riverdance and Lord of the Dance), all the musicians who can possibly make it (we counted 50 musicians this Wednesday!), vocalists and soloists (Kasha Breau on the harp and Will O’Hare on uillean pipes/flute/whistle) and we packed the place solid. About 30 people had to be turned away at the door due to the fire marshall’s orders. It was a stellar evening, and my personal thanks go out to Ron the brewmaster who kept the beer flowing, and PV O’Donnell our fiddler from Donegal whose charm and talent is reknown.
This session went from about 7:45 to about 10:00, and a double handful of us stayed until 12:30 carousing. Then some of us had to go home and cook .
On 2001-11-23 08:09, Whistleworks wrote:
Dear Friends,
The Bishop’s Lounge sessions in Northampton, Mass are every Thursday beginning around 9:00 PM. The guy who started it all, and absolutely not the “leader” (since there are no leaders) is Timmy Donohue, one of the finest people that I have ever met. If anyone who is reading this post sees Timmy, please send him my very warmest personal regards. I miss him and the session so very much.
Bob, I will tell Tim when I see him next on Wednesday at City Steam or Thursday at Bishop’s. Sorry I won’t meet you, and good luck in Delaware!
On 2001-11-21 17:09, merlinthedog wrote:
Are the sessions every Wednesday or just on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving? Unfornately, I cannot attend tonight but would be interested in future sessions.
Hope you can make it down and join us on Wednesday. We always need more whistles to drown out the Bohrans. Look for Thygress & me. We are most easily identified by our badges of rank (short cylindrical metal tubes with holes in them).
