Natal Day...
... as Mary Hansen would put it. Natal day. And a fine one it was. A bit of a drive, a fine dinner, and a great concert at the Westport Town Hall.
Candee took me to The Pantry and Corkscrew, a lovely farm to table restaurant in Westport. And as much as you like to follow our drives, I know you want to know what we've eaten... ;) So, here it goes - for a starter we shared Crispy Corn Crusted Aran Islands Goats Cheese Pearls, for mains Candee had Pan-fried Fresh Irish Hake with a Crispy Fresh Sea Trout Bon Bon in Romesco Sauce and I had Jalapeno and Cheddar Arancini (Risotto Balls) with Aran Islands Feta in a Tomato and Roasted Vegetable Sauce. Surprisingly, we each got desserts to go with our cappuccinos - me a Lemon Raspberry Tart and Candee the Chocolate Orange Cake with Rose Ice Cream. Portions were reasonable, so although we had a lot of interesting and excellently executed dishes, we didn't feel gluttonous as we settled at the till.
Then off to see Sean Keane, an iconic Irish performer who easily bridges many musical genres. He grew up in perhaps the first family of Irish music, with aunts and brothers and sisters all full-time musical performers. He is a repository of the ancient Irish vocal tradition - Sean-nós singing - a cappella singing with intricate and complex phrasing, but he also draws upon American country, blues, and ballads, and makes them his own due to his distinctive voice and inflection. At the Town Hall, he was backed up by four musicians who were competent with keyboard, accordion, guitar, dobro guitar, and fiddle. Keane himself plays a variety of flutes and tin whistles, a harmonica and also the uilleann pipes - Irish bagpipes. They were all virtuosi with their instruments, but I guess I was most impressed by the arrangement and orchestration of the music. Rich, and multi-dimensioned, Keane performed songs by Sting, Dolly Parton, and Townes Van Zandt as well as many traditional Irish songs. A great night of music.
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| Sean Keane |