The obsessions
A few years ago I wrote a number of posts describing our quest to get to the summit of Croagh Patrick as an obsession. And indeed, we attempted to climb the "Reek" five years in a row, getting a little closer each year until we finally made it. A signature accomplishment for a couple of boomers well into their 60s with dodgy fitness and a sedentary lifestyle. The sign at the bottom of the mountain advises that the trip averages about three and one-half hours; Candee and I took eight and one-half and I wouldn't blush in the least about our tortoise-like pace. The climb is hard and the top or "cone" is treacherous. After our victorious moment, we limped down the mountain, poured ourselves into the car, drove to the Leisure Centre, and dissolved into the hot tub, all the while trying to keep our heads above water...
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| Looking down on Clew Bay from Croagh Patrick |
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| Milseain (Candee) relishing the day |
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| The cone - an intimidating challenge. Click on the pic to enlarge and see the teeny tiny people on their way up. |
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| Looking back toward Westport |
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| Candee getting close to the summit, negotiating the treacherous loose shale |
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| The pilgrim Milseain |
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| Framed by the mountaintop chapel |
Mayo Mountain Rescue, an entirely volunteer group, is regularly called out to assist climbers who sustain leg, ankle, and head injuries on the Reek and other hill climbs through Co. Mayo. On occasion, they're assisted by the Irish Coast Guard which sends their helicopter down from Sligo to evacuate severely injured climbers. Our good friend Mary Sheridan is a volunteer with MMR and spends Tuesday night each week in training to further develop skills to assist in complex rescues.
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| Q1 2019 stats for Mayo Mountain Rescue |
Back to Mary. We know her because she was an integral part of the front desk and hospitality services at the Clew Bay Hotel. As you'll remember, the owners of the Clew Bay were our landlords here for six years, so we frequently stopped into the hotel (next door) to hang out, have the occasional cappuccino or pint, and enjoy the company of the staff. Mary has done some really cool stuff, including climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, and this past December, climbing to the basecamp of Mt. Everest. Not what you might expect from a "local lass." Next summer she'll be doing one of the challenging iconic European hikes, I believe through the hill and lake district in England. She's currently saving up for another major climb. We meet the most interesting people here - Mary, Uri, Pawel - it's just an honor to know these folks.
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| Kilimanjaro |
Oh yes, back to the obsessions. I certainly don't have
to tell you that golf is an obsession for me, especially when I'm here.
It's hard to resist the siren call of the extraordinary courses in the
area. The online Free Dictionary defines "siren call"
thusly - the enticing appeal of something alluring but potentially
dangerous. Perfect. The allure is clear; the "danger" is
the testing of the patience of the beloved as I take so much time away from
things we might do together. Candee is tolerant. Nay, even
supportive. But I tend to play this for all it is worth. Is enough
ever enough? I guess it's kinda as a former president had mused - it
depends on the meaning of what enough is... It remains the unanswered
question.
Luckily however, we do share a love of good music.
So dear readers, I present to you my latest obsession - the moveable feast that is the local music scene in Westport. Music is still valued in Ireland, perhaps in a way very much like the days of old. Although there are plenty of pubs that one might go to to hear "trad" - traditional Irish music, with fully constituted and pre-arranged groups coming in at half eight or half nine (8:30 or 9:30), what you really want to find is a pub in which people just show up and play. Several years ago Padraic had directed us to Hoban's Pub of a Saturday night. He and Marion had to leave town for a funeral, but he said - "go to Hoban's, show up no later than seven, go right to the back room, grab a seat, and don't move." We did as directed.
When we arrived, there was an older woman sitting at an upright piano playing and singing some homely Irish songs. Soon a fiddler showed up and joined her. Soon a guitarist showed up and joined them both. Soon another person joined in the singing. Soon a young man playing a squeeze box joined them all. The night continued like this, with people coming and going - some arrived to great fanfare, some arrived and were given an appraising eye - what have you to offer - until they joined in and proved their mettle. It really was fun to watch this organic Saturday night session - could've been people coming in from the farms 100 years ago after a hard week with the dairy and beef cattle, digging turf for the fire, or chasing the chicken and the sheep.
Hoban's is under renovation these past two summers and you'd be hard-pressed to find a worthy substitute. Matt Molloy's pub, clearly the most well-known of any pub in Westport, might come closest. The pub is owned by the flute player for The Chieftains, a band founded in 1963 by Paddy Moloney that has toured the world, performed in Opera Houses and before kings and queens, and has won six Grammy awards, having been nominated eighteen times. Matt is a Westport resident and is frequently seen in the pub. At night, trad musicians from all over Ireland, and all over the world, come to Matt's to sit in the backroom and jam. Matt often sits in, demonstrating his virtuosity on the flute and the tin whistle to the delight of patrons. So, these sessions have a good feel of spontaneity about them. I must say though that I do notice that each night there are a few familiar Westport faces, people like Dan Delaney, who are probably retained to ensure that Matt's promise of "live trad music every night" is fulfilled. Regardless, great music and great craic (if you don't know, look it up).
That's one part of the music scene. Then there's great jazz and great rock, blues, and country. There are a core group of outstanding musicians that seem to rotate through and/or start an endless array of groups - musicians like Eddie Rodgers (sax and harmonica), Gerry McNally (keyboard), Donal Hoban (drums), John Flatley (keyboard, string instruments, and god knows what else), Merv Sayers (sax), Tim Rogers (fiddle, mandolin, and god knows...).
Our original introduction to this group of musicians was
through the group/s Hip Pocket Trio/Hip-nosis. The Hip Pocket Trio was
Eddie, Donal, and John. Great improvisational jazz, many classics in the
canon - Miles Davis, etc. Masterfully performed. Hip-nosis was
those three, expanded with the addition of guitar, bass, and lead vocalist -
the lovely and amazingly talented Hannah Hoban, daughter of Donal. Great
blues, rock, and funk. I've written before of Eddie's killer harmonica
and vocals on the Stones' Miss You. Just a fantastic rendition.
You'd be a jumpin' and a bumpin'
"Hey, what's the matter man?
We're gonna come around at twelve
With some Puerto Rican girls that are just dyin' to meet
you.
We're gonna bring a case of wine
Hey, let's go mess and fool around
You know, like we used to"
Just reading the lyrics I can still hear Eddie punishing
that harmonica and wrapping his hands around the mic to wring some mighty and
unholy sounds from the poor thing... And certainly doing Mick proud with
the vocals - he's got the moves like Jagger - vocally anyway...
Our next look at a couple of these folks was seeing the
Hiatus Trio - Donal, Gerry McNally, with Chris Darby on bass. We saw them
last year in concert at the Westport Town Hall, at the suggestion of Padraic,
performing all original works composed by McNally. According to a review
at the time: "The music evokes an eclectic mix of influences and melody,
overlaid with intense complex layers and underpinned by the rhythm section.
Influences reflect the diversity of the music and include artists such Brad
Mehldau, Keith Jarrett and David Bowie." We saw them again this past
Wednesday night at the Clew Bay Hotel where they put on an intimate concert sponsored
by the Westport Jazz Society. Spellbinding virtuosity. Thanks to
the Clew Bay for the classy venue.
And again, we saw the combination of Donal, Gerry, and
someone new to us, Merv, playing sax, at McGing's Pub on Sunday night past in a
group called Tritone. Lots of bebop, excellent jazz, beautifully
performed. Non-stop excellence.
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Gerry, Donal, and Merv. The Tritone group
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So, three groups with elements of each other. And no
hint of rivalry or bruised feelings. I called Donal a "musical
slut" and he acknowledged it with a wry smile. Just wanting to play
different music with different accompanists to stay fresh and stretch out a
bit.
But, we haven't gotten to the obsession yet.
That'd be the Garveys. Candee and I agree. They're musical savants.
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| L to R: James, Joseph, Stella |
Two brothers - James and Joseph, one sister - Stella.
And, again, a moveable feast of music. We first saw them at bridge st. in
Castlebar, a hip update of a traditional Irish pub - it feels more like a
"salon" a la the Algonquin than a bar. We went there last year
at Padraic's suggestion. He had heard that they were able to pull
off complex harmonies and had an eclectic set of songs. We went over to
see them in the Cappuccino Sessions - 2 - 4 p.m. on a Thursday.
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bridge st. Click here for their video on the
Cappuccino Sessions
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Eclectic indeed. Gorgeous harmonies indeed. What
I was unprepared for was how infectious their obvious enjoyment of performing
together would be. It was just a delight to see them interact.
Their harmonies seemed well-practiced but improvisational at the same time,
with liberties being taken on every song. The evidence was a surprised
look or conspiratorial smirk - what great fun. They all contributed in
different ways - all vocally, of course - but Stella and Joseph played guitar
while James played a variety of tin whistles. I was particularly taken with Stella, who would tip her head back a bit and move it rhythmically side-to-side along with the music as she sang - just cute as heck. What songs did they
perform? I wish I could call to memory more, but here's a sampling - old
time 40's big band swing (Almost Like Being in Love, Ain't Misbehaving), Bob
Dylan (North Country Fair, Don't Think Twice), CSNY (Helplessly Hoping, Teach
Your Children Well), Johnny Cash (Ring of Fire), Dolly Parton (Jolene - a
favorite), Beatles (Norwegian Wood). Super-tight, complex three-part
harmonies, very nice rhythmic and harmonious guitar playing, and a haunting,
complementary inclusion of the tin whistle. We went to the Cappuccino
Sessions each Thursday subsequent until we had to head home.
And, upon our return this year, our first Thursday was spent at bridge st.
But then I heard an intriguing bit of information. The Garveys were playing in Matt Molloy's Yard Bar on Tuesday nights - a whole different repertoire - an expanded group - a lead guitarist, keyboards, drums, bass guitar. Ah duh. Got there early for seats (before 9) and stayed until after the last encore (after midnight) was finished. We were blown away by the performances. Again, an amazingly wide repertoire - blues, negro spirituals, folk, pop, rock, 40's. Again, James on vocals and tin whistle, but Joseph took over a keyboard for a variety of support and lead performances - truly masterful.
Our first two visits, we got the iteration of this casual association of "Garvey Brothers and Friends" that included the brilliant lead guitarist and killer blues vocalist - Nicholas Jude Timothy. This past week, with Nick in Europe, the Garveys asked Eddie Rodgers to sit in. No rehearsals, just show up, stand and deliver. Eddie was up to the task, contributing to the harmonies - most especially on You Can Call Me Al - where he provided a terrific sliding bass vocal - he looks around around - and of course killin' it with his sax and harmonica.
For their encore, James got up out of his chair, pulled the mic to standing height, and brought the house down with his high-energy, overwhelming, burn-down-the-house delivery of Cab Calloway's iconic song Minnie the Moocher. You might've needed earplugs when the entire crowd answered James' call - hi-dee-hi-dee-hi-dee-hi, ho-dee-ho-dee-ho-dee-ho. The audience demanded another song and James answered with Lucille. Great choice. You can hear it below.
So, what else did we hear. Got My Mojo Working, You Ain't Got Faith Till You Got Religion (negro spiritual -my favorite - listen below), What Kind of Man Jesus Is (gospel), Down in Mexico (The Coasters), The Thrill Is Gone, You Can Call Me Al (Paul Simon), and on and on. What a night. As I told James, Joseph, Nick and Eddie - it'd be hard to have more fun than this.
Cappuccino Sessions
Click here for Don't
Think Twice It's Alright
Click here for Almost
Like Being In Love
Sessions at Matt's
Click here for Come
On In My Kitchen (Robert Johnson)
Click here for Subterranean
Homesick Blues (Bob Dylan)
And PLEASE click here for You
Ain't Got Faith Until You Got Religion
And the finale, that'd be Mr. Eddie Rodgers on harp and sax,
click here for Lucille
Well, enough for now. Not gonna even start on Eddie, Joseph, and Stella together at The Yawl pub...
Oh wait!!! I didn't even talk about the food obsession.
Stay tuned.