It appears we are back in business. We gathered in Archegono/Αρχέγονο Sunday, 9th November. I think the later start suited most people. The layout and design of the bar is ideal for a session, and there was only one TV. Even though Manchester City v Liverpool was on, there seemed to be little interest in the match among the punters. As for the musicians, only Vasilis and I were interested. Not that it did Liverpool any good.
Surprisingly, given that we have met only twice since May, we were all on form. We also had our camp followers, who cheered every set with great gusto. The bar staff DJ did a good job with the Irish-themed music selection while we were taking breaks.
In the days when I organised gigs, I always made sure that the music in the break was Irish, but not Irish traditional. Lots of Rory G and Bagatelle. The last thing I wanted was a burst of the Bothies, Teada, De Danann or Danu highlighting our faults. Anyway, I was quite impressed with the music choice. Whoever chose it deserves credit for maintaining the Irish feel for our debut.
Feeling more upbeat yesterday (10th November) than I have in recent months, I decided to restring my violin. I bought the strings months ago but didn’t see the point in changing the old ones as nothing was happening musically. My favourites are D’Addario Helicore, but at over over €80 a set, I break into a sweat at the thought of buying them. An Irish site that I regularly visit recently suggested that Thomastik Infeld Spirocore are ideal for traditional music. At around €30 cheaper than the Helocores, I think there has been no reduction in quality.
Feedback from the manager, who wasn’t there (returning from holiday), was very positive, so onwards to our next session on Dec 14th. If that one goes ahead, I’ll fix dates for January, February and March, I have updated our entry: https://thesession.org/sessions/9544
Strangely, the Dubliner/Harat’s web page has completely disappeared. In the above website, defunct sessions usually have a line through them.
I popped into Harat’s recently. The lights are dimmer. There was a good atmosphere both inside the bar and in the seated area outside. Two lads were getting ready to do a “live”. I noticed that their array of foot pedals probably cost more than all our equipment! The bar staff were pleased to see me, and it was heartening to see that the new owner has kept on so many of Ken’s people. Ken, the previous owner, always organised a Christmas dinner about a week before the big day. It was always a nice start to the Christmas season. Raffles in which nearly every diner won a prize. We were also asked to bring gifts for children in care. Sadly, Harat’s is not holding a Christmas event this year. Nothing was said about the possibility of our playing there, and I didn’t mention anything about our new venue.