# Music by Genre > Celtic, U.K., Nordic, Quebecois, European Folk >  What are you doing on St. Patrick's Day?

## Avi Ziv

My session mates and I played for Fox News (5) live from St. James Gate pub in Maplewood NJ, early this morning. VERY early. We showed up at 6:30am... this is when sessions should end rather than begin  :Wink:  It was cool though, cheese and all. We went live several times for maybe 15-30 second "tease" segments which meant playing non stop for a while until they were ready to take the feed. It's like being asked to hold your breath under water  :Whistling:  LOL And the there was definitely some whiskey before breakfast

Back to work now for a few hours and then back to the pub for a long session in the afternoon. I'm sure it will be very crowded.

How 'bout you?

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## MikeEdgerton

I know this is a shock but I'm booked in an Irish pub to play yeehaw music tonight. We don't do Irish songs. I have no idea why or how this has happened. Perhaps it's a wrinkle in the fabric of time or something.  :Disbelief:

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## JeffD

There will be a capacity audience at the coffeehouse that hosts our normal Tuesday night jam. I am expecting to see a lot of green.

I hope they like OT.

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## Jill McAuley

Tuesdays are usually my half day at work so I thought that I'd go set up at the BART station and busk trad tunes for the laugh, but this week I'm having to work a full day today - bah! 

Cheers,
Jill

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## Shelagh Moore

I would be expecting to do a higher than usual number of Irish tunes and songs at our regular Tuesday night session here.

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## Jim MacDaniel

I will be picking up my boy Aidan after school and playing Mr. Mom, while my _wife_ goes out a celebrate the day with friends.  :Wink:  But I'll be playing plenty of ITM in the car and at home to set the mood for our boys' night _in_. (Note: I'll be playing ITM _CD's_ in the car -- I haven't yet mastered the art of playing mandolin while behind the wheel.)

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## JD Cowles

Working...then scooping up Mama and boy to head to the local pub for a live trad sesh and a few pints o the black stuff.  It's a five block walk so Papa can have a couple  :Smile: 


_May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead._

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## woodwizard

May go to Kelt's tonight for an Irish pan fried steak and some good Irish brew. Wife willing??

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## Bob Wiegers

let's see...no gig for me, but the wife is making Irish stew, I'm listening to Planxty and Robin Mark, saying a prayer or 2 for my friends in Ireland. maybe we'll watch "Once" tonight :-)

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## man dough nollij

For me, SPD was yesterday. Went over to Scott Base (NZ Antarctic station) for green gin and darts. Woo Hoo!

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## mandozilla

Well I'm sitting at work doggone it.  :Mad:  I'll get no green beer...I'm working a swing shift (well at least I'm working. Praise the Lord!) ...but I did get pinched for not wearing any green today.  :Grin: 




> For me, SPD was yesterday. Went over to Scott Base (NZ Antarctic station) for green gin and darts. Woo Hoo!


I know it would be mean (and highly illegal I'm sure) but you could dress up some penguins in leprachaun costumes and get 'em drunk.  :Laughing: 


 :Mandosmiley:

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## man dough nollij

...or dye 'em green and hold penguin wrestling matches...


Mando content: Some chords are like wrestling a drunken penguin!

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## Jim MacDaniel

> ...I know it would be mean (and highly illegal I'm sure) but you could dress up some penguins in leprachaun costumes and get 'em drunk...


That shouldn't be a stretch, since I believe penguins already puke green when feeding their young.

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## Paul Kotapish

Played a few numbers with Wake the Dead on KFOG radio in San Francisco--a mainstream pop station that actually supports live and local music and plays a fair amount of music with mandolins in it. We did some Irish settings of Grateful Dead songs with reels and jigs mixed in. No kidding. It's better than it sounds.

No gigs tonight, but three coming up this weekend--all listed in the mandolincafe.com calendar.

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## man dough nollij

> Played a few numbers with Wake the Dead...


Isn't that Frank Wakefield and Bob Weir's new band? They rock.

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## dulcillini

Picked up my mandolin, poured a glass of green beer, went outside and played up a storm.  Life is good !

Mike

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## MikeEdgerton

My gig tonight was similar to the Blues Brothers movie, the scene in the cowboy bar, except we were doing cowboy music in front of a bunch of drunk folks in an Irish bar that didn't even want to hear Irish music, they were looking for head banging rock. 

I'd call it a train wreck but that really doesn't do it justice. 

Hit me with a tire iron baby.

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## steve V. johnson

Avi -- that is some -rough- duty.  woo....  Definitely '... before breakfast..."  I've done that gig, but not with Irish music and never that early!!!  I'd have to ask... 'Don't you guys know about hard drives, random access video?  Or bloody video -tape-?!?'  But I guess that would ruin it, eh?
Well done.

Jill -- I love it!  The BART.  Busk hard.

Paul -- I remember KFOG!  I think it saved my spirit a couple of times when I lived out there.

Mike E -- Oh man, I'm sorry... ah well, it's over, eh?

I had a better day than I deserve.  We played in a very nice 'retirement community' where we've done a couple hours for the last four St. Pat's days.  This time we (my wonderful wife Min on bodhrán and bones, me on bouzouki and guitar) played with fiddler Andy Strain, our first gig with
him.  He was a little tense, but we had a great time.  Ladies came up to ask Min about her drum and bones and she answered them while playing without missing a beat.  Andy rose above what he thought his capabilities were and the joint had some really odd green drinx for the folks ("Uh, not thanks, I need to be sober to play...") and green beers, coffee with little cups of Bailey's and Jamesons mixed.  (Y'could just buy St. Brendans... much better... alas...)  And the woman who hired us bought a bunch of CDs, too!  "Can I just add this to your invoice?"  Yes, ma'am, thanks!!

Then after a bite at home I went to a rehearsal of the Lopers transforming to the Alleged Texans and we learned to really nail some fun stuff.  Lyle Lovett's "Cute As A Bug"... some other stuff.

I'm too priveleged to play with these great folks...  I could've played hooky to go to the Irish session in the Runcible Spoon (regular Tues session falling on St. Pat's this time...) but fortunately I didn't.  Balance betw Irish and American/original was preserved.

Maybe I wouldn't write so much but for the help of John Powers. 

Three Swallows and slainté to all!

stv

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## MikeEdgerton

> Mike E -- Oh man, I'm sorry... ah well, it's over, eh?


It was a long 2 hours.

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## journeybear

I made my traditional corned beef and cabbage, and turnips, and parsnips, and carrots, and potatoes, and onions ... the thrill that comes once a year and lasts a week. Oh, that's a big ol' pot o' goodness!  :Popcorn:  :Popcorn: 

Once upon a time I was living in CT and playing in a jug band. Somehow the band leader learned that Eric Von Schmidt, noted folk/blues artist from the 60s, a) lived in CT and b) was listed in the phone book! He called him up and got him interested in doing occasional gigs with us, which enlivened the next couple of years or so. There's plenty more but I'm trying to stay on point here.  :Whistling: 

One St. Patrick's Day we got booked to play at one of the venues that would have us, a place called Poco Loco. After we were done we wanted to eat, but since it was kind of late and this was New Haven our choices were somewhat limited. While people were deciding I had time to reflect on some peculiar circumstances of this day. Here I was, a person of Jewish heritage with German/Hungarian roots, playing Afro-American music on an Italian instrument with a friend of Prussian ancestry, in a Mexican restaurant on a day honoring the patron saint of Ireland ... so where did we eat? At the Chinese place next door, of course!  :Grin: 

That's America, buddy!  :Mandosmiley:

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## POB

> It was a long 2 hours.


You have my sincerest sympathies, Mike. I sometimes miss playing music full-time for a living, but St. Patrick's Day is one day that makes me very glad I switched careers. I even got someone else to fill in for me for my only regular gig on Monday night, just to be sure.  :Smile: 

Today, I'm recovering. Not from drink (it was coffee all the way for me yesterday), but from the fact that the sun shone all day here. Seriously, that almost never happens on St. Patrick's day in Ireland, especially here in the West. The day was spent with an impromptu gathering of neighbours and friends, all lounging around the garden with nice food. Not a trace of green to be seen, apart from the grass in the garden. Perfect!

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## journeybear

> -- I haven't yet mastered the art of playing mandolin while behind the wheel.)


I did this once - and I do mean ONCE - while driving my then girlfriend's mom's Triumph TR6 from Albuquerque to Miami. Somewhere in Texas where the roads are straight and no one's around I had some fun, driving with one knee while playing.  :Mandosmiley:  I do not recommend doing this, but if you must, choose a car with a tight front end that will stay on course by itself, and if possible, a convertible, so you can freak out anyone who sees you. Might as well maximize the experience!  :Grin:

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## Steve L

I play, listen to, study, and love Irish music all year long but the ending of St Patricks Day always feels like passing a kidney stone.  I enjoy it much less than the other 364 days of my involvement with the music.

I'll never understand why someone will seek out a pub with live music, stand in front of the players and carry on a continuous conversation with their friends in ear-splitting shouts paying no attention to the music at all.  Usually followed by spilling beer and knocking things over.

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## Avi Ziv

Our afternoon session at the pub went on from 2-5pm. We played good music for a while but I could see it deteriorating fast the closer it came to 5pm, when so many people came in that you could not even move. Of course the 5 bagpipe player + drummer who marched in unannounced did not help the sound situation... I had enough at that point and quit the Day. The music is much better on other days of the year - that's for sure.

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## Jim MacDaniel

> I did this once - and I do mean ONCE - while driving my then girlfriend's mom's Triumph TR6 from Albuquerque to Miami. Somewhere in Texas where the roads are straight and no one's around I had some fun, driving with one knee while playing.  I do not recommend doing this, but if you must, choose a car with a tight front end that will stay on course by itself, and if possible, a convertible, so you can freak out anyone who sees you. Might as well maximize the experience!


That could be problematic for me -- I often tap both feet while playing uptempo tunes, which could lead to a lot of unintended lane changes when steering by knee.

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## steve V. johnson

For me the day ended wonderfully with a great non-Irish rehearsal (the Lopers morphing into the Alleged Texans with the addition of mroe players and new songs).  We all get along really well and are working the tunes out really well.

Yeah, I'm glad it's over, but it's not quite the "kidney stone" feeling that Steve L endured.  (I've experienced kidney stones, too... *shudder*)  But it's been a long road to achieve life without the amateurs' annoyances.

This year it's a prelude to the actual beginning of the festival season, house sessions outside, a couple of our public sessions moving outside, weather that allows us to travel to other friends'
sessions, parties, gigs...  I feel it comin' and it's all good.

The 'real' (for us) opening of the season is the Tionól in St. Louis, which is very much a reunion 
of great friends as well as a weekend of peak musical experiences.

stv

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## journeybear

> I'll never understand why someone will seek out a pub with live music, stand in front of the players and carry on a continuous conversation with their friends in ear-splitting shouts paying no attention to the music at all.  Usually followed by spilling beer and knocking things over.


Or worse - grabbing the mike to shout into it.  :Disbelief: 

I used to think these clods were still somehow listening with part of their brains, as if the musicians were providing background music for their conversation. Now I think they're not really thinking about it one way or another, but have just randomly ended up in front of the stage. I think it's an ego thing, and they want to be the stars of the show. But again, I'm assuming there's some conscious thought being applied, which may be assuming too much.  :Wink:

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## Paul Cowham

I tend to agree that it is possibly the worst day of the year to play irish music and the cynical part of me thinks that actually a fair bit of the hype surrounding it is due to the massive marketing exercise on the part of guiness.., sorry if that sounds a little controversial, I am aware that many people do genuinely enjoy celebrating the day which is good thing..

Ended up havin a marathon gig in a very large noisy pub - did four one hour sets, to be fair there was a good natured atmosphere and people were enjoying it but it definitely felt more like work than fun which is what I generally associate with playing irish music, still no point complaining, didn't have to do it..

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## MikeEdgerton

> Or worse - grabbing the mike to shout into it....


Boy, not only do I hate that, I hate when they grab the mic and shout into it as well  :Smile:

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## journeybear

> Boy, not only do I hate that, I hate when they grab the mic and shout into it as well


Ah, the old preposition/conjunction switcheroo! And I thought *I* was persnickety ...  :Wink:  Say, did they have chicken wire in front of the stage at your gig? That would have been the topper!

One can't help but wonder - what do these people do the rest of the year? If they would spend a LITTLE time learning about Irish music they might treat it (and its players) a little more kindly come next St. Patrick's Day. And eventually, as more and more became enlightened, such boorish behavior might diminish. But then again, I suppose a new crop would raise its roguish head each year ... 

Nothing to do but grin and bare it  :Smile:

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## John McGann

> One can't help but wonder - what do these people do the rest of the year?


Dey lissen to Green Alligatiz...over and over...all day...drinkin' Bud...in their parent's basement until next March 17, when they can scream *"PLAY GREEN ALLIGATIZ!!!"* at the band (who has just played it and played it twice earlier in the set)....  :Disbelief:

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## MikeEdgerton

I only wish we had the chicken wire  :Laughing:

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## journeybear

> Dey lissen to Green Alligatiz...over and over...all day...drinkin' Bud...in their parent's basement until next March 17, when they can scream *"PLAY GREEN ALLIGATIZ!!!"* at the band (who has just played it and played it twice earlier in the set)....



Oh - you mean, PRACTICE! Never thought about it, but they must. They've got that routine down cold, despite having drunk enough to make a horse wobbly ... or turn an alligator green  :Laughing:

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## mikeyes

Our band played at a bar where the patrons were so loud we could not hear ourselves play and they were packed in there screaming above the music.  We played all of our rousing sets, tried a few (futile) songs and when we stopped at 9 PM (per our contract), everyone left the bar telling us how much they enjoyed listening to us.  

Will wonders never cease!

Also, two gigs today, one Friday and two over the past weekend.  We really earn our $80 apiece  :Grin:

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## steve V. johnson

Musicians Who Play Irish Music!

Boycott Ugly St. Patrick's Day Gigs!

Leave 'em to the "celtic rock" crowd.   Hold out and only play places that work for you.  Or... throw a house party, if you're ambitious, book a hall...

I cheer y'all on to do this because we have done it and it's made our Saint's Day much better.
I do understand that for some turning down gigs just ain't gonna happen, too.

stv

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## Jim MacDaniel

> ...Or... throw a house party, if you're ambitious, book a hall...


Great approach, and one that could be applied to feast days honoring any of the other several hundred Irish saints -- especially since there aren't many paying gigs for St. Kevin or St. Brigid, let alone Columbanus or others. This would also be a great excuse to host a get-together on almost any day of the year, since according to this calendar, it will be hard to find a day in any month that isn't associated with one or more Irish Saints, well known or not. In fact, tonight I think I'll tip a pint and play a few tunes in honor of Saint Aidan (a.k.a. Aodhán, Aodh, Aodach, & Maodhóg), the Patron Saint of the Diocese of Ferns, IE.

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## mandozilla

I've never played a St. Paddy's Day gig, or a gig in a Irish pub, or Irish music for that matter...but I did play at Joe's Mexican Hoffbrau & Chinese Pizzeria once...now THAT's American.  :Laughing: 

All kidding aside, there was this honky tonk on the east side of the town I grew up in...the name escapes me right now...but I swear to *** there was *chicken wire*  across the front of the stage! Just like in the Blues Brothers flick.  :Disbelief: 

Uncle George played in a CW band off and on for many years there. He would always talk about the rowdy's and the knuckleheads, the flying ashtrays, beer mugs and bottles so when I was old enough (~ 1974), I had to see for myself and sure enough, it was true by golly!  :Grin: 

 :Mandosmiley:

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## foldedpath

We played a dinner theater/pub gig last night that was great fun. This is a small West Coast town that's very receptive to acoustic music of all kinds, with an older demographic so you don't get so much drunken song requests (although I did have to fend off one "Do 'ya know Whiskey in da Jar?"). 

Except for a brief set of 3 songs by a local chorale group that stopped by (for the inevitable Danny Boy, etc.), it was all Irish 'trad fiddle tunes with fiddle, guitar, mandolin and bodhran for our group, and a big passle of local fiddlers that joined in on the middle set of three. The venue was packed to capacity, and nobody seemed to mind that the music was non-vocal. We got some foot-stomping, glass-on-the-table banging encouragement on the fast reels. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. 

We're not a pure Irish band, and we had to cram pretty hard for the last couple of months to fill out the set with this many 'trad fiddle tunes. It will be a relief to go back to our 50% Irish, 50% "other" set list. But I hope we can do this again next year.

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## Randi Gormley

had three back-to-back gigs on St. Patrick's -- the Gaelic American Club where the noise of the crowd was enhanced by screaming children running around in front of the stage and continuously kicking out the plug that powered the microphones ... followed by the very upscale old folk's home dining area set up like a night club where we moved a center table and sat around in a circle to show the 90-year-olds what a real session might look like ... followed by a bar gig with all the noise you'd expect although we did get one or two people who just stood around, their drinks in hand, just listening, though how they could hear us was anybody's guess because we could barely hear ourselves. Then the very drunk gentleman with the button accordion asked if he could join us and play alongside, even though the only thing he knew was how to pull the bellows out and push them in, and play a simple scale or two on the buttons. Thankfully, it was about 10:15 at that time and we were only supposed to play to 10:30, so we figured why not ... i cannot understand why people need to scream at the tops of their lungs at a bar. we did the nursing home on sunday where the 89-year-old lady kept getting up to dance the hootchie-cootchie in front of us as we were trying to play some reels and jigs. we joked later she must have been a stripper in her former life... we've promised ourselves to create a new tune list after St. Pat's, though, so I'm looking forward to something besides "Golden Jubilee" for the umpteenth time.

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## Avi Ziv

I forgot to mention the green bead necklaces being handed out at the pubs. What is going on here? Is is PaddyGraw?

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## Bertram Henze

I guess this whole St. P. business has grown way out of its original meaning, just like Christmas has.

I did nothing particularly Irish that day, not even play. After a hard day's work, it was quiet support for the wife who telephoned around half the choir she sings with, because their conductor had suddenly passed away the day before.

Bertram

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## Eddie Sheehy

St Patrick's Day in Ireland is (was) just a Catholic Church Feast Day of Ireland's Patron Saint. Adults wear a spriog of Shamrock and kids wear little harp badges with a green ribbon. There are parades with floats and marching bands. Americans have always gone overboard on St. Patrick's Day - green beer, green rivers etc. I personally appreciate being appreciate by Americans and say "Fair Play" to them in their over-indulgence. A lot of Irish people - especially young adults - travel to the U.S. to celebrate St. Patricks Day - I met a group of some 3 years ago while returning from my Mom's funeral. I enjoy a pint of Guinness on St. Patrick's Day to "wet the Shamrock" - this year it was in Salzburg, Austria, last year it was in Beijing - I like to travel for my birthday which is on the 14th March. From one of the above articles it seems to be getting a little out of hand in Ireland... pity. It's a great day to be Irish and to revel in Irish music whilst partaking of Guinness, Harp, Smithwicks, and non-green beer...

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## steve V. johnson

I got the 'hire a hall' idea from some other friends who had so much rowdy work that they found
a pub that wasn't thought of as Irish and had a nice stage and a great area for sessions and reserved the space for an off-prime-time gathering and sent out invitations to players.

In the midst of all the gig madness some great palyers came together for some relaxed tunes and refreshments.  The word spread well via word o' mouth and there were a number of good listeners there as well.  A tuneful oasis in the storm of performances.

A hall or meeting room, or a restaurant or bar that doesn't have much action at St. Pat's time can be arranged free-or-cheap, and players can make a concert or session open for guests...

stv

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## allenhopkins

Had a great St. Pat's: mid-morning gig playing Irish songs at an inner-city elementary school, St. Pat's parties at two senior residences (12:30 and 2:30 p.m.), finished up at a funky 19th-century hotel back room in the little village of Lima NY, where my band Innisfree played *unamplified* for two hours, Celtic instrumentals for a very appreciative audience.  Made a few hundred bucks, saw some friends, finished up at 9 p.m. and got home before the drunks were on the road.

St. Patrick's Day is "Folk Musicians' Full Employment Day," and I quip that anyone with a guitar and a green sweater can get a job playing somewhere.  Not many days when one has four gigs, one after the other, but I'm not complaining.  I don't do the green beer and drunken screaming circuit any more, and surprisingly enough, there are quite a few places where people really do want to listen.  Makes up for having to do _When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, Toora-Loora-Loora,_ and _Danny Boy_ several times during the day.

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## Rick C.

Had an interesting St. Pat's.  Played an hour solo set before the band my son's in took the stage (hey, may as well get _some_ payback here).  I was expecting the worst since they are in the Dropkick Murphy vein and 95% of those people were there to see them, and that's not at all what I do.  But it went OK, despite the sound guy they hired being a Rap guy and not having any clue how this was supposed to sound and the room being a converted warehouse with the usual high ceilings and brick walls.  Live to the nth degree, but surprisingly few feedback problems.

  But then The Boys got up there and just decimated the place, which was very interesting to watch.  I just had to shake my head and laugh.  Very strange, watching all those 20 and 30-something women shaking whatever.... and yelling "I.R.A." at the appropriate times in the songs-- with absolutely no clue as to the political, social, and religious connontations.  Probably not a single Irish Catholic in the bunch.  "To Hell with King Billy and God bless The Pope"?  In Alabama?  Good lord...

They and the bar made a killing.

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## Jim MacDaniel

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2010!

We got an early start yesterday by taking our four year old Aidan to the 159th running of the San Francisco St. Patrick's Day Parade & accompanying Irish Festival at the Civic Center, and finished the day with a stroll through China Town. The Gas Men started things off at 11AM at the Civic Center's main stage, with a great set of traditional and original tunes and songs. They sounded wonderful, and were a blast to watch and listen to, and you'll be celebrating the actual day on Wednesday in SF, they'll be playing and the Plough and Stars.

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## catmandu2

> Happy St. Patrick's Day 2010!


Too you too  :Coffee: 

This year I haven't a gig on the day--played my SPD gig last week.  Have a gig this weekend though--playing some trad Scandinavian actually.   What I am doing on Wednesday is watching that Music of Ireland show on PBS -- fiddles, harps, concertinas, melodeons... :Smile:   Tomorrow though, working with  bellydancers in the evening.

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## fatt-dad

O.K. the question was asked (albeit a year ago), but I have a mando-answer.  I'm playing my mandolin on the local public radio along with a few of my jam mates.  The station had a "Danny Boy" competition and we won!  So, the station wants us to perform our rendition live at noon on St. Pat's day.

Burning those seconds from my 15 minutes, eh?

f-d

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## allenhopkins

Nine gigs in ten days, seven solo, two with Innisfree.  Not as much mandolin as mandola, octave, mandocello.  Three jobs on Mar. 17 itself.

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## Jill McAuley

Going out busking, might do a mini-tour of BART stations!

Cheers,
Jill

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## catmandu2

> Going out busking, might do a mini-tour of BART stations!
> 
> Cheers,
> Jill


I admire you, Jill.  If I had any motivation--and didn't have five dogs and a kid to haul around everywhere--I might take my hammered dulcimer out to busk.

Ah, to be young and footloose...  :Coffee:

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## MikeEdgerton

What I'm NOT doing this year is playing Yee-haw music in an Irish bar. We did that last year and I'm not putting myself through that again this year.

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## foldedpath

Same as last year, just two gigs. Our trio did an early St. Patrick's private event over the weekend, then we're doing a show at a dinner theater on 17th. This year we added a singer and a guest musician on bodhran, who will also do a couple of tunes on highland bagpipes (not strictly Irish, but hey).

I hate playing Danny Boy, but it seems to be a requirement for this sort of thing. To keep myself motivated, I'm playing backup for that song on a Dobro, bottleneck style with a slide. I'm calling it the traditional "Irish _Dobhron_."

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## fatt-dad

We did our version of Danny Boy as a reel.  Pretty close to old-time music and that's what this jam group does best - ha.

f-d

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## Paul Kotapish

Just finished a run of seven pre-St. Patrick's Day gigs with Wake the Dead, but no gigs on the 17th. I played a lot of drunken, smoky St. Patrick's Day parties and bars in my day, and I can't say I miss the opportunity this year.

That night I'll be at a training session for the local Rebuilding Together team (a nationwide project to fix up the homes of elderly homeowners on limited income).

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## M.Marmot

Ahh, Paddys Day, where people from all around the world celebrate the exploits of a Welshman who brought a Middle Eastern messianic religion to the rain sodden kingdoms of Ireland and apparently the tradition of parades on that day started in America, if that aint a truely cosmopolitan hotchpotch i dont know what is. :Smile: 

I've played a few Paddy's days back home in Ireland, and its not exactly convivial for the musicians, sugar-fueled kids running rampant early in the day, drunken shenanigans and general boistery later that night, multiple and insistant calls for various ballads and rebel songs, multiple and insistent calls for the Beatles!, multiple and insistent calls for songs that have already been done with the faint hopes that the musicians would stop being pestered, pints being spilled, drinkers lurching far too closely to the musicians, musicains lurching far too closely to the drinkers, instruments endangered all round, people setting purposively setting up camp beside the session to only then proceed to shout over the music... given all that its strange to think that for a better part of the last century the bars were not allowed to open on Patricks day in Ireland, it supposedly being a religious festival and all, still it looks like folks are making up for lost time now :Laughing: 

One of the local bars here in Lyon had the bright idea to hold their Paddy's day on the Sunday just passed, i figure they know theyre assured their money on the 17 so why not, anyway it proved to be perfect conditions at times the musicians outnumbered the non-musicians, the sound was great, and folks had good fun, though the regulation pints were still spilled and somehow there were still requests from folks for some Beatles songs... i guess somethings are just inescapable  :Crying:

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## David Surette

Pub session, Press Room Portsmouth NH 1-6 w/ Jim De Carlo on flute and none other than Bob Abrams on button accordion (he is the luthier who makes Trilliums!). I'll be there with my Trillium cittern and 1918 F-2. Come on down for a pint (and a few choruses of Hey Jude...).

David

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## M.Marmot

> (and a few choruses of Hey Jude...)


Aye, take a sad song and make it better  :Laughing: 

Ara, now i got that song stuck in my head!

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## Oliver R

Sweaty *underpay'd* o'irish bar gig.
Six piece band (flute, accordion, fiddle, lectric bass and drums and overdriven electric guitar).
It will be bloody awful!
I hate dragging full PA systems about especially on a school night.
I hate playing with drum kits.
I will have to play and sing the Irish rover 17 times.
Last but not least...
none of us are actually Irish.
I say this every year but *NEVER EVER* again...

Rant over....Pheww

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## danb

Looks like it'll be a post-paid-gigs session with my pals in london.. probably *starting* after bar time. Hmm...

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## abuteague

Mandolin and Harp duets for a 2nd grade class yesterday. We signed autographs after.

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## Jill McAuley

Thought I'd be a bit of a chancer and ask for Paddy's Day off at work, and miracle of miracles - they actually let me do it! So the tour of BART stations is definitely on! Weathers supposed to be nice on the 17th too - gift!

Cheers,
Jill

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## Harrmob

I AM playing yeehaw music in an irish pub in Jackson, MS. BUT, it's an awesome place and we love playing there. We'll throw in some "Irish sounding" songs...

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## Glassweb

Gonna paint my Lloyd Loar green...
Drink a pint... and wash it clean!

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## Eddie Sheehy

I'll be in hiding.... I hate drinking with amateurs...

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## Dan Hoover

well,i've been getting into the genealogy of my family,and i found out this past year, i'm irish!!my mothers great grandparents, on her mothers side, came from Ireland.. "i believe i'm a little bit everything"...so??what do i do??no clue..i know about the green thing..i always have beer around...and i haven't punched anybody since i was like 19?? whats a real simple irish tune i can pick up and learn over night? and what should i make for dinner? cheers

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## dave

Was Rory Delaney there ???

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## Jock

This St Patrick's day I'll be mainly taking the train to Egypt, via Inverness & Auld Reekie. In the tug of love the banjo won so the mandolin stays home this time, maybe I'll get a tune in the big smoke tonight, it's St Paddy's day all day after all.

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## Jon Hall

Our band is playing our 4th St Paddys gig at a private party this evening. Since we played 3 pre-St Paddys gigs maybe we'll get to do some post- as well.

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## dave

Sorry, the question about Rory Delaney was for M.Marmot. Happy and safe Saint Patrick's Day to all.

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## Jim MacDaniel

> ...Americans have always gone overboard on St. Patrick's Day - green beer, green rivers etc...


Hibernicis ipsis Hiberniores?  :Wink:

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## Eddie Sheehy

Go Deimhin Séamus.  Na Gaill níos Gaelaí ná na Gael Féin.

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## Jim MacDaniel

lol -- I caught the drift of the second sentence, but had to consult a gaeilge-to-english dictionary for "deimhin".

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## Mandolin Mick

Sitting on the computer at the Cafe, obviously ... just learned Danny Boy on the mandolin. Also learning Old Ebenezer Scrooge by Bill Monroe; of all things today ...

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## mandroid

St Pat , who delivered the  independent Irish population to the  central Church of Rome ..  .. 
I'm taking my beer resistant Mix A down to the Local , See if anyone else shows Up with something to offer.. 
Play with more than play for..

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## JeffD

> I'll be in hiding.... I hate drinking with amateurs...


You got that right.

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## Jill McAuley

Just got back in from a LONG day of busking. Weather was lovely, the takings were great, but very interesting observation: Lots of folk about, decked out and resplendent in green, "Kiss me I'm Irish" shirts, etc etc and not a single one of them put any money in the case, literally not a single one! There were all kinds of folks, young and old, putting $$ in the case, all day long, but nary a one of the stereotypically clad Paddy's Day revelers dug in their pockets. I found that a bit odd to be honest. 

Cheers,
Jill

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## Eddie Sheehy

Jill, they were probably asking themselves "What's that strange music she's playing?  Doesn't she know any Beatles songs?"

Noli Illegitimi Carborundum...

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## Jill McAuley

Exactly! I was thinking to meself - if I belted out "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" or whatever, they'd probably be all over that - but there's me stood playing trad music and I reckon they'd not got a clue that it was IRISH traditional music.....

Cheers,
Jill

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## Bren

Did the annual gig with the Pogues tribute band. Went down well, crowd appreciative. No trouble being heard with our punk drummer and cranked-up PA, apart from the usual banjo feedback nightmares, but the venue soundman got on top of it eventually.

The usual green-hatted tomfoolery on the streets, lot f Irish students taking the day off :-)  but all seemed very good-natured and it would seem churlish to moan about it.

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## steve V. johnson

Whew...

St. Pat's started last Friday when a fiddler pal who once lived here came back to visit and we had a Friday evening session in the Runcible Spoon Restaurant.  Sat a.m. with same fiddler we played the Winter Farmers Market at 10:30am, then with a different fiddler an art gallery from 3 - 4:30pm, then a real surprise gig, a fraternity party at De Pauw Univ in Greencastle, IN.  Frat gig was wild, but the guys were very polite.  They wanted us all acoustic, so we went from the game room (very loud) to a nice lounge with a fireplace, except there was an outside door that kept partyfolk flowing thru the room, then to a larger fireplace lounge that was quieter.  Folks very attentive, inquisitive and kind.  And they paid us long dollars in cash!   Loooong day.

The next day to the regular 2nd Sunday White Owl Winery session NW of Vincennes, IN, in Illinois!  (Gluttony, I know.  I can't help it.)

Yesterday, St. Pat's himself's own day, we played at the Claddagh Pub on 96th St. in Indianapolis.  This was an even less likely gig for us than the frat.  Fiddler Becka Schafer, Tim Piazza on banjo, mandolin (Sobell!), and fiddle, Min Gates on bodhrán & bones and songwriter Dave McConnell running the PA for us.  Pub manager says, "Whatever you do, do it LOUD."  LOL!!  It was real work to get up over the crowd, but we played for four hours with just two little breaks.  Tim rocks.

Here's a bit I wrote earlier today:

_2.5 Pipers, or You Know You're Finished When The Clown Pipers Come_

Last evening we played for the Claddagh North "Precedent" on 96th St in Indy.

We were scheduled to end at 9pm, and we were winding up a set of tunes, just starting the last tune in the set when we heard the skrawl of Scottich higland pipes. In thru the patio door, right beside our stage, came two pipers with full highland pipe sets, another guy and a drummer with a great deep parade snare, playing away.

The third guy had a smaller set of pipes, maybe a practice set or incomplete, and he just looked around the room with a completely happy and foolish grin on. He managed to keep the pipe bag inflated, blew into it from time to time, but made no real effort at playing.

From the waist down, these guys were properly dressed, with matching kilts, decorated stockings, matching shoes and all the hardware that goes onto a proper marching piper. Fromt he wais up they were in full halloween Irish toy costumes, with beads, wigs, funny t-shirts, an odd vest, face paint, all different.

They marched in line, joyfully around all the rooms of the Claddagh, and the patio, several times and then, with no warning, the house stereo system dropped some Dave Grohl song on us at volume 11, the crowd cheered and went back to ... whatever they had been doing before.

Thus endeth the evening. Wotta hoot.

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## M.Marmot

Eventually spent  the day enjoying the very un-Irish sunshine followed by an evening making and then devouring a very fine Guinness stew. 

Some trad in the form of an album by Ciaran O'Maonaigh and nary a Beatle request to be heard...

not the most hectic Paddys day but twas enjoyable alll the same

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## M.Marmot

[QUOTE=steve V. johnson;780715]

Here's a bit I wrote earlier today:

_2.5 Pipers, or You Know You're Finished When The Clown Pipers Come_

QUOTE]

I knew a group that used to use the Highland pipes as a sort of crowd dispersing device, like tear gas for the ears.

Whenever they were playing and the crowd would get too raucous or disruptive of the session one of the lads would run out to the car grab the pipes and then set up right beside the offenders and let blare with his full repetorire of three tunes. It was usually enough to disperse the offending crowd far from the musicians.

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## Jim MacDaniel

Turns out we visited neighbors a few doors down for a neighborhood St Patricks Day gathering. We dined on corned beef sliders, shepherds pie, green pea humus, and Guinness; with an eclectic soundtrack including The Clancy Brothers, The Bothy Band, Flogging Molly, and everything in between. (A pity it wasn't a pot luck, else I would have contributed a Guinness/Kerrygold fondue I developed for a fondue night in January.  :Wink:  )

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## Randi Gormley

Have a last St. Pat's gig tonight, 8 p.m. to midnight at a college lounge/bar. The last time our band did this, we attracted all kinds of ringers, making us truly Connecticut's largest Irish band! Must have been 25 of us or more ... we outnumbered the patrons. No idea what tonight's going to bring, but I'm hoping for free pizza... This is the same university that had us playing in the lobby right before the Danu concert (trust me, they were WAY better than us!), so it's a real ego boost to all of us and a great way to end what is probably the most hectic two weeks we face.

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## deadend3

We played in Ulysses Irish Pub in lower Manhattan. It was our third year there on St Paddy's and we had a real blast. We mix it up pretty good with different types of material between acoustic and electric sets but the post parade crowd was very receptive to the Irish tunes. Even a more obscure song like Oro Se Do Bheatha Bhaile got a great reaction with lots of people singing along in Irish.

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## steve V. johnson

M.Marmot, that's great!  Highland pipes as crowd control device!  Excellent, thanks!

stv

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