February 2009 Session

[Kathy DeAngelo]

As usual, we're on for the second Sunday of the month--which is this Sunday, Feb. 8. 1pm-3pm at the Irish Center. Don't forget to bring your recording devices. Please try to be prompt so that you don't have to play catch-up in learning the tune. If anybody's really dying to learn a particular tune, let us know--if we know it and it's something we think we can get through in the 1st hour, we'll do it.

[Lynette]

It was nice to meet some of you this weekend, & wow, what a talented young bunch! It will take Keegan some time to learn this way of picking up a tune, but he'll get the hang of it eventually. Thanks, Dennis, for helping him feel included. I think he rather hoped you didn't notice him at all, but from me, thanks! :o)

[Kathy DeAngelo]

the first session can be kind of daunting for someone who hasn't learned in that type of environment before but it's a pretty friendly bunch and everyone is eager to learn. The more you do it, the better you get at it. The session gets to be a lot more fun too because you start accumulating tunes the more you come and you're participating a lot more.

[Kathy DeAngelo]

Despite the fact that we had to wind our way through the chaos created by all the dancing going on downstairs and were all crammed in the Tyrone Room upstairs for the session, there was a lot of really good playing going on. 2 of the 3 groups learned the two polkas that complete the Kevin Burke polka set, which we started by learning Charlie Harris' last month.
This month's tunes:
The Finnish polka: http://www.hslc.org/~gormley/tunes/finnish_polka.htmlx
Jessica's polka (written by Mick Hanley): http://www.hslc.org/~gormley/tunes/jessicas_polka.htmlx

We had two special guests join us for the session: legendary Philadelphia box player Kevin McGillian and his banjo-playing son, Jimmy. Both these musicians are staples on the Philadelphia session and dance scene. You can read up on Kevin's long history in the music by following all the threads in this story about his 80th birthday party: http://www.irishphiladelphia.com/kevinbirthday

Now for the tunes we played at the session:
Charlie Harris/ Finnish / Jessica's polka set
Boys of Blue Hill / Harvest Home
Hector the Hero
Plains of Boyle / Rights of Man / Off the California
Silver Spear / Concertina reels
Merry Blacksmith
Ships are Sailing / Morningstar reels
Egans/ 69th St / Sean Ryan's polkas

There were probably more--but this is what I can remember off the top of my head...

Next month's session is on March 8 and Kevin and Jimmy will be teaching a tune.