April was quiet. On the 2nd of the month, we did our April session. It was our quietest since we began in October 2021, with only seven of us playing. Further bad news – three of our regulars, Kostas from Tir Fada and his twin sons are moving to Crete. This is in addition to our other regular, Gregory, who has left Greece for love in Spain.
In another “Only in Greece” moment, four of us played at the opening of an art exhibition in a small gallery called Ρω in the town centre. That was on Thursday, 27th April. I’m still scratching my head at the thought that anyone would want to hear Irish music at an exhibition of paintings.
With Easter out of the way, eight of us met at my place for a practice on Saturday 6th May. We sounded good, so later in the evening we wandered over to the Crazy Donkey, ostentatiously carrying fiddles, guitars, bodhran, τουμπερλέκι and other musical paraphernalia. We were hoping our arrival would evince some curiosity from the management. None. Not even “What kind of music do you play?” Worse – the proprietress even knew two of us. Even worse – the proprietress is a music teacher. Pity because it’s an ideal bar for a session. A visit to an “art café” on Friday 12th proved more fruitful. We’ll see – Θα δούμε – as the Greeks say.
15th May. After April’s disappointing turnout, I was dreading yesterday’s session. This pre-session dread is, admittedly, a monthly occurrence. Last month there were few of us and the bar wasn’t particularly busy either. Yesterday was different. A crowded bar and a posse of musicians. Thirteen of us if I counted properly.
We were on form and the punters were very responsive too. A great afternoon.
Here’s a little clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b73zoBtYlJg
So much for the session. One of my still inchoate aims is to get some kind of Balkan scene going here, so I occasionally look for Irish bands in neighbouring countries. This is my latest find, another band from Serbia. They win a prize for having the strangest name in Irish music: Irish Stew of Sindidun. Who, what or where Sindidun is – I have no idea.
And this is their website: https://www.irishstew.net