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Jeff Meade

Music

Review: “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” by Barleyjuice

Let’s just say that “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things,” the new CD from Barleyjuice, is a party. A loud, raucous, boozy blowout.

And when I say booze, I mean waking up on the kitchen floor with your head in the cat dish, and wondering how all that onion soup dip wound up in your shoes.

For example, this snippet of lyrics from the second track, “3 Sheets to the Wind”:

“Let’s go down to whiskey town
Land of song and sin
We’re not leaving till we’re weaving
Three sheets to the wind.”

The title might also be a dead giveaway.

Bands like “Barleyjuice” are popular because there’s a pretty big market for drinking songs. Some people like rebel songs. Others like traditional folk ballads. And plenty of people like drinking songs. Different strokes for different folks. And face it, drinking songs go back. Way back.

So belly up to the bar, boys. And girls.

Barleyjuice is in great form on this recording. Spot-on lead vocals, and seamless harmonies. Relentless, pile-driver rhythms. Mean, nasty, slashing guitar riffs.

If you can’t wait for the St. Patrick’s Day pub crawl, you can get a head start with the opening tune, “St. Patrick’s Day.” Kyf Brewer take the lead on this rock anthem dedicated to post-New York City parade shenanigans. Brewer sounds like he might have swallowed ground glass somewhere along the way. And I mean that in a good way.

I could call this tune “catchy,” but it really grabs you by your lapels and shakes the hell out of you. You’ll become a one-person mosh pit.

On this tune, guitarist Keith Swanson seems to be channelling the guitarist for whatever band played “I Fought the Law and the Law Won.” (OK, it was the Bobby Fuller Four. Don’t send me any emails.) It’s all clangy, jangly retro chords. Really fun.

The fourth track, “Catholic Guilt,” takes a jaundiced view of that aspect of Irish heritage. There’s a great bit of call and response between Brewer and the rest of the band on the chorus, a kind of steroidal sea shanty. Some brassy in-your-face fiddling on the bridge by Alice O’Quirke. We could talk about the lyrics in depth, but suffice to say references to “plastic Marys” pop with some frequency.

O’Quirke later takes the lead on vocals—and plays very sweetly, on a sweet little jiggy number, “Whelan’s Barroom.”

Keith Swanson is out front on “Whiskey for Christmas,” a tune that at times sounds like a song recorded by The Kinks, although I’ll be darned if I can remember which one. And just to mess with your head further, the harmonies remind me of John and George from almost any of the Beatles’ early stuff.

Clever chameleons.

Again, it takes a good bit of talent to pull off smart mash-ups like these and still come across as a loose bunch of rowdies. I admire that kind of talent. So get up on your feet, turn this CD all the way up, and scare the cat. You didn’t like that cat, anyway.

February 21, 2014 by Jeff Meade

Dance, Food & Drink, Music

2014 Mid-Winter Scottish & Irish Festival

Our pal Jamesie Johnston of Albannach

Every year we say it was the best yet. Even that year when wind storms knocked out the lights, and the bands played on in the darkness. Actually, that was pretty cool.

But, OK, we’re going to say it again: This year’s Mid-Winter Scottish & Irish Festival out at the Valley Forge Casino and Resort was the best yet.

Large crowds flocked to the festival over the weekend.

If you were in the mood for tunes to make you forget all the snow and ice, you were in luck. Most of our favorite bands were there. We don’t want to accidentally leave anyone out, so we’ll leave it to you to peruse our huge photo essay. We guarantee you’ll see a lot of familiar faces there.

We renewed our acquaintance with John the Scottish Juggler, who’s always on hand to keep the kids entertained. The adults love him, too. The Washington Memorial Pipe Band stepped out from time to time, and they never fail to impress. The Campbell School Highland Dancers were there, and our Irish dance friend Rosemarie Timoney led ceili dancing.

We cruised the vendor area, and found one or two things we’d never seen before. And a thing or two we wish we had never seen at all. Extra Special Haggis Sauce comes to mind.

The air was filled with the aroma of cooking oil—which can only mean one thing: fish and chips. To be accompanied, of course, by bracing brews from those cold islands—and a wee bit of whiskey, perhaps.

And if you happened to be sporting a kilt, a sword—or even a pirate hat—no one would give you a second glance. What more could you ask?

So if you didn’t brave the wind and the snow this past weekend, pull up a chair and let our photos warm the cockles of your hearts.

Whatever cockles are.

February 21, 2014 by Jeff Meade

Music

Review: “Ainneoin na Stoirme” by Téada

I believe the word I am looking for is “Wow.“

I refer to “Ainneoin na Stoirme (In Spite of the Storm),” the vibrant new CD from the Irish traditional supergroup Téada. It’s a jewel. Emerald, of course.

The band possesses a particular talent for resurrecting the great old stuff and making it seem like new stuff. A lot of bands play the old tunes with a good deal of flair, and a reverence for tradition. I probably like them all, in one way or another, for one reason or another.

Still, there’s something different and rare about Téada. The band’s world-class young musicians, led by founder Oisín Mac Diarmada on fiddle, know how to fill every corner of a room with rich, gorgeous sound. If you’ve heard them in concert, you know what I’m talking about. All the same, there’s a music box lightness and airiness to their execution of that sound that I’ve always admired.

So in that sense, “In Spite of the Storm” is more of the same. And that’s a very good thing indeed.

Now, add to the mix 2013 TG4 Traditional Singer of the Year and living legend Séamus Begley. He joined the band in March of 2012. His voice is like a branch of strong, solid mahogany, sanded down to a silky smoothness. It’s not as if Téada was ever lacking. Téada never needed anything to make it better than the already accomplished band that it is. And yet, Begley’s singing takes an already accomplished band and somehow completes it.

Begley’s singing produces many of the albums finest moments. I particularly liked the waltz “Ar A MBóithrín Buí/Tell Me Now.” Sung in Irish, it sounded like the gentlest of lullabies.

One cute little tune you won’t want to miss is Marty Robbins’ old chestnut, “Saddle Tramp.” Begley seems to delight in telling you a story, and this is a good one. You have to love the lyrics:

They call me a drifter, they say I’m no good
I’ll never amount to a thing
Well, I may be a drifter and I may be no good
There’s joy in this song that I sing

Couldn’t have said it better. Mac Diarmada might surprise you with his take on old-timey fiddling. It really makes the tune.

Of course, Mac Diarmada and his bandmates have always possessed the power to amaze. They hit the ground running with a blistering set of reels (“Dinny O’Brien’s/The Sweetheart Reel/Paddy Kenny’s”). You’ll be hanging on by your fingernails, but the boys hold the whole thing together with ease.

You’ll also a nice pairing of jigs and a slip jig, “The Jig of the Dead/I Have a House of My Own With a Chimney Built On the Top of It/Paddy Breen’s/The Bird’s Call.” Seán Mc Elwain opens the set with some terrific bouzouki licks, and he’s a key element of everything that follows, providing skilled counterpoint throughout.

Flutist Damien Stenson takes the lead on the final set, reels once again: “James Murray’s; Porthole of the Kelp/The Watchmaker/The Spinning Wheel. Very pretty.

I also have to say, I sometimes think its easy not to notice the contribution of the bodhran player. And I’m not just saying that because of my feeble attempts to play the thing. I think that’s because, if the drummer knows is business, he’s supporting the band in a very delicate, unobtrusive, but really indispensible way. It’s really not an easy act to pull off. Fair play, as the saying goes, to Tristan Rosenstock, who provides solid rhythmic backing from the beginning to the end of this 11-track offering.

All told, a terrific and indispensable piece of work.

February 14, 2014 by Jeff Meade

News, People

Being Cool to His Schools

Michael Bradley

As if he didn’t already have enough to do, Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day parade director Michael Bradley, Jr., is taking on a daunting new assignment. He is the chairman of a relatively new board that will oversee all 23 Catholic schools in Delaware County.

Bradley holds leadership positions in a number of organizations, including Penn State’s Board of Advisers. He also happens to be president of a family-owned flooring and wall protection company.

Busy or not, Bradley doesn’t mind a bit. In fact, he has been lobbying for a role in county schools ever since a Blue Ribbon Commission issued a report in January 2012 calling for some predictably unpopular choices. Faced with a 38 percent drop in enrollment and a staggering $6 million deficit, the commission ordered the closure of 45 of the Archdiocese’s 156 elementary schools and four of 17 high schools.

Twenty-four elementary schools appealed, and 18 earned a reprieve. All four high schools also were spared the chopping block thanks to millions of dollars in pledges and donations.

Nevertheless, parents and communities reacted with alarm, and no small degree of anger, to the commission’s findings.

“They were closing all of these schools,” he says. “The main thing I told them is, you can’t have one group in charge. I was badgering them about it enough so that they looked at it. I was not the only one, but I was at the forefront of the screaming. They agreed with me. They came up with a plan to name advisory boards to run the counties. People just want to be heard. Bringing it all down into more manageable units is better.”

In Bradley’s case, it was never a question of “be careful what you wish for.” A leadership role on the Delaware County advisory board was exactly what he wanted.

“It’s a challenge, and a really neat thing,” he says. “I find it rewarding to build things up from scratch—rather than complain about it, to come up with solutions. I love Catholic education. I live Catholic education. I enjoy the heck out of it because I enjoy the kids.”

Bradley says the immediate plan is to put the schools on more of a business footing, and to unite them in the quest for financial stability and higher enrollment. Stronger involvement on the part of the business community is also a key element.

“Every school has been left on its own. They weren’t sharing information. That’s crazy. It’s important to share, and give them direction on how to raise money. There’s government money out there for them. It’s available.”

Bradley harbors no illusions that every Delaware County school will survive. There are some tough decisions ahead. But for now—and probably long into the future, knowing Bradley—the advisory board is accenting the positive. Rather than talking about which school is going to close, he says, the focus now remains on how to keep them open.

It’s a tough job, but in the end, each school has to solve two problems. “They need money, and they need kids,” Bradley says. “That’s it. You solve those problems, and all the other problems solve themselves.”

February 14, 2014 by Jeff Meade

Music

Review: “Little Falls” by Lilt

Some reviews write themselves. This is one of them.

I’ll cut to the chase.

“Little Falls” is a relatively new CD (late November 2013) from Keith Carr on bouzouki, banjo, mandolin and vocals, and the German-born flutist Tina Eck, also on tin whistle. Together performing as “Lilt.” It is one of the finest recordings of Irish music I’ve heard in a long time.

The whole thing, from beginning to end, feels fresh, exhilarating, and wonderfully, blissfully alive. When I was thinking about how I would describe the sound these two produce, I remembered the title of an old Canadian Brass album: “High, Bright, Light and Clear.” That’s it in a nutshell.

There are a few minor flaws, but you would probably need the aural equivalent of an electron microscope to hear them. These two are so together as to be musically inseparable. They sound like one instrument. And both, of course, are seasoned pros. They play at a very high level.

Carr and Eck came together at traditional Irish music sessions around the Washington, D.C., area, so they’re experienced sessioneers.

Sessions are spontaneous. Players forget how certain tunes go, or they remember after they’ve forgotten, and it seems like they often can’t remember the name of the tune they’ve just played because, hey, they know a million of them. How can you keep track?

But every once in a while, the musicians will launch into a set of reels, and the whole thing just seems to be too impossibly great to believe. The music seems to spiral and soar to new heights. You wish you had remembered to turn on your digital recorder or iPhone because that particular moment would never come around again.

“Little Falls” isn’t as spontaneous and wonderfully undisciplined, but still, it seems to capture those memorable moments. The CD obviously boasts better production. It’s all well-rehearsed. That said, when you listen to this CD, you can imagine yourself sitting with a pint of ale at one of those D.C. sessions. Indeed, Eck and Carr are joined on most tracks by their session friends.

So enough with the gushing. What’s all the gushing leading up to? What is “Little Falls?” And why are there so many questions?

Every track is a winner to a greater or lesser degree. But certain tracks are standouts.

I particularly liked “Planxty Dermot Grogan,” featuring Tina Eck, accompanied by by Carr on bouzouki and Kristen Jones on cello. It’s as sweet and airy as spun sugar.

There’s a set featuring the reels “Eddie Kelly’s” and “John Brosnan’s.” The duo plays “Eddie Kelly’s” like an air, and there are times when the tune almost sounds like Tudor court music. They pick it up with “John Brosnan’s,” and there’s a graceful, seamless transition from the first tune to the second. But it’s “Kelly’s” that I really love.

Well-known sean-nos dancer Shannon Dunne steps out on the third track, a set of reels, “The Messenger” and “Roscommon Reel.” It’s a winner.

Carr shows off his banjo chops on the first tune in a another set of reels, “The Galway Reel,” “Seamus Thompson’s” and “View Across the Valley.” Those chops are considerable. Eck joins in with John Dukes on guitar for the second tune, and on the third tune, it’s Dukes again—this time on bodhran—and fiddler Graham DeZarn.

Finally, there’s a bonus track, not listed on the cover, and I wish I could tell you what the tune is. All I know is that you can really hear Carr on banjo at his very best, taking the lead on a reel that sounds more old-timey than Irish. And yet not. It’s syncopated and jazzy, more newgrass than bluegrass. Catchy fiddling and guitar playing throughout. And there’s another instrument somewhere in there that I’m not quite picking up. But really, really fun. It really is a bonus.

Bottom line: Buy “Little Falls.” You’ll play it until it skips.

Also available on Amazon.

Ossian’s got it, too.

January 31, 2014 by Jeff Meade

Music

Review: “Friends for Life,” The High Kings

The High Kings

“Johnny Leave Her” is a moldy oldie, but The High Kings might make you forget its age.

On the new album, “Friends for Life,” due out in early February, the ensemble’s four singers do what they clearly do best: harmonies. I’m a sucker for good harmonies—it’s one of the reasons I love bluegrass—but this a capella version is particularly memorable, a lovely update.

There’s a lot to like about this album, although not all of the 12 tunes are up to that same lofty standard. If you’re a diehard fan of the High Kings—and let’s face it, they’re one of the hottest groups in Ireland, if not the entire planet at the moment—you probably won’t be disappointed. Although I should say that the first few listener reviews on Amazon are mixed.

Still, fan or not, give it a listen. There’s much to like.

The manager of the phenomenally successful Celtic Woman assembled The High Kings in 2008, arguably capitalizing on a trend started by Riverdance. Groups like that are more brand than band. But you can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, and there’s simply no getting around that the four possess undeniable gifts. Wikipedia will tell you that, together, they play 13 instruments. And they play them on a particularly high level. And their singing is ridiculously flawless. And, as more than one traditional Irish musician has told me, you don’t have to play a tune the way it was played at the crossroads a hundred years ago. Music is about invention.

And if you’re looking for a pedigree, you can’t do much better than Finnbarr Clancy, son of The Clancy Brothers’ Bobby. Martin Furey is the son of traditional singer, raconteur and multi-instrumentalist Finbar Furey, and we flat-out love him. Brian Dunphy is a veteran of Riverdance and one-time member of the Three Irish Tenors, but he’s also the son of renowned show band performer Sean Dunphy. Darren Holden likewise did a stint in Riverdance.

So, on to the music.

The Kings’ first tune, “Oh Maggie,” sets the tone for most of what follows. The boys perform the first verse without instrumental accompaniment, and once again, their tight harmonies are flawless, leading into a kicky little rock jig performed on traditional instruments. Eminently listenable. Also dance-able, if you’re of a mind to.

A little later on, we hear the aforementioned “Johnny Leave Her.” As I say, one of the highlights.

The band puts a kind of syncopated country and western spin on “Health to the Company.” Depending on your orientation, you’ll see it as entirely acceptable or an outright violation. It certainly won’t make you forget the song as Kevin Conneff performed it with the Chieftains on “The Wide World Over,” but I liked it. I’ll admit it: I sang along. My harmonies are flawless, too, of course. (As in: In my dreams.)

“Galway Girl” was a sparking surprise. I’ve heard it a million times, but this version is performed as zydeco. I’ve always wondered why anyone would re-make a classic, if they can’t make it better. And whatever tune it is, it almost always fails to live up to the original. Let’s start with almost any remake by the smarmy Michael Bolton. In this case, the re-make is better. One of my hands-down faves on this album.

You might also recognize a grand old ballad by the name of “Peggy Gordon.” Very nice, but I must say, I’ve heard it better. And so have you, if you’ve ever heard our Karen, John and Michael Boyce sing it.

A few of the tunes seem to me like fillers. There’s a tune called “Gucci.” I can’t be bothered to care. You’ll probably skip past it. And I have to say, the title tune—the last one on the album—bores me almost to the point of lifelessness. Their version of Dominic Behan’s “MacAlpine’s Fusiliers” simply lacks soul. If you’d heard a local bar band play it, you’d get into it. In this case, it’s way too slick and overproduced.

Some of you might say that the entire thing is slick and overproduced. OK, I won’t lie to you, they’re not The Pogues. Frankly, on one or two tunes, they remind me of The Corrs. You know—if The Corrs were guys. Perish the thought.

But that’s not what The High Kings are about. So let’s be fair and open-minded about this business. Take them for what they are, and what they are is very talented.

January 24, 2014 by Jeff Meade

Music

A Celebration of Robert Burns

Where Irish meets Scottish … Terry Kane and Don Simon

The famed Scottish bard Robert Burns has a birthday on January 25. At least he would have had, if he hadn’t expired more than 250 years ago.

No matter. Last Sunday, the Abington Library celebrated early.

And as the centerpiece of that celebration: a great little group featuring four well-known local Celtic musicians. Two of them are best known for their performance of Irish tunes. That would be harper Ellen Tepper and singer-mandolin player Terry Kane, collectively known as the Jameson Sisters.

Joining them in the cozy downstairs auditorium were the kilted, sporran-sporting, ghillie brogues-wearing singer-guitarist Don Simon and his wife Susan on the small pipes. If you’ve never heard small pipes before, suffice to say they’re the baby brother of the bagpipes you’re used to hearing, and they’re really quite lovely.

Scottish culture, of the course, was the order of the day, featuring mildly baudy Burns anecdotes to Robbie’s original version of “Auld Lang Syne—somewhat different from the Guy Lombardo version. Don Simon faithfully recited the lines with a decided burr:

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu’d the gowans fine,
But we’ve wander’d mony a weary foot
Sin’ auld lang syne.

And yes, we know Burns is Scottish, not Irish, but he’s a Celt, and that’s close enough.

We have photos of the performance. Check ‘em out.

January 24, 2014 by Jeff Meade

People

Remembering Ed Gallagher

Ed Gallagher

If you were with Ed Gallagher, you were in for a good time. His sense of humor was legendary. He made everyone feel like they were included in the fun.

A retired federal law officer, the longtime pillar of the Philadelphia Irish community, member of Ancient Order of Hibernians Joseph E. Montgomery Division 65 in Upper Darby, and member of the executive committee of the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association passed away January 2.

The Irish community will go on, and certainly the parade will go on, but Ed’s passing leaves a hole in peoples’ lives. We spoke to a few of Ed’s acquaintances from the parade committee, who shared their remembrances.

Walter Garvin, Jr.

Executive Committee

I knew him very well for the past say 15 years. And, omigod, yes, he was hysterical. He lit up a room—he was the life of the party. He was a guy who held nothing back. He would tell you what he was thinking, and make you enjoy it. He was a very people-loving person. He invariably included people that he never met before and treated them like they were very old friends.

He was a gentle man who loved people, and he loved his family. He saw the fun in everything. He was just a pleasure to be around and to be part of his life.

We recently had a meeting of the St. Patrick’s Day Observance Association. It was happy because we knew Ed, and sad because we weren’t going to be seeing him again.

At his viewing, I was with some of his cohorts, and everybody talked about what a good guy he was, and how much fun he was. He spread it around. He didn’t keep it to himself.

Michael Bradley

Parade Director and Past President

I’ve known him since 1990. The very first time I flew to Ireland, he was on the same trip I was on. He and his friend Jack McNamee. It was like a party in the plane. Everyone was singing.

Twenty years later, I got involved in the parade, and I ended up on the board with them. I hadn’t seen them (Gallagher and McNamee) them in 20 years, but they remembered the tip and they brought it to my attention. I didn’t remember.

He was a good guy. The only motion he would ever make was the motion to adjourn to the social hour.

I think he gave the air about himself that he really didn’t care about the board meeting—let’s go to the bar and get a drink. But he was really more complicated than that. He was getting out, and he was going to enjoy himself, but deep down to the core, he was one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met.

He really was devoted to his wife daughters and grandchildren. He was always talking about them. He was a real character. He’ll be missed, I guarantee you that. We’ll miss his humor desperately.

Kathy McGee Burns

Board Member, Recording Secretary and Past President

He was a very dapper gentleman. He wore a derby hat all the time, and he wore tweed jackets. He would always have a pocket handkerchief. He loved that feeling about himself, that style.

He always made the motion to adjourn. At the last meeting, we just suspended making the motion because it had been Ed’s for so long.

He and his wife Emily, who is the loveliest woman, attended every event the parade had. They always celebrated every event.

You could describe him as a hail fellow well met. James Joyce used that phrase in “Ulysses.” It means you behavior is hearty and congenial. I’d say that about Eddie Gallagher.

January 17, 2014 by Jeff Meade

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