Today was the day tickets for this fall’s Celtic Colours went on sale. From bitter experience a couple of years ago, I now drive to Sydney and get in line early at the Box Office on Nepean Street to ensure I get the concerts I want and, for the big venues, am at least not seated so far back I can’t hear well. Accordingly, I was up on very short sleep at 6h48, got gas, and left for Sydney immediately thereafter. The skies were mostly overcast with white clouds and a few blue sky patches; fog was in the air over the water, making the views hazy, though Kellys Mountain, often in the fog on such days, was clear this day. When I went inside, a lady put my name on the waiting list and told me I was nineteenth in line. The Celtic Colours Box Office has ample seating and provides coffee (which I no longer drink) and entertainment to those waiting; this morning, it was Ben Miller and Anita MacDonald who gave us some tunes as we waited; I was barely awake and never thought to take any photos of them or of Jason MacDonald, who later sang and picked tunes on his guitar. Burton MacIntyre, who step danced at Brook Village last night, was there too—he had to have gotten up even earlier than I did! He introduced me to two of the Celtic Colours staff. In due time, my name was called and I got the tickets in which I was interested. I then drove to the Governors Pub for lunch where I joined a friend who was already there after he invited me to sit at his table. We chatted over lunch and then I drove back to Whycocomagh and took a good long nap, as I was by then completely wiped out.
When I woke up, it was time for the dinner music at the Red Shoe, so I headed off to Mabou, noting with great pleasure the bright new yellow lines painted on Highway 252—the old ones were completely gone in several spots and badly needed redoing elsewhere. At the Red Shoe, friends invited me to sit with them and I was glad to do so. Tonight’s dinner music was provided by Hailee LeFort and Campbell Hart. It was my first time hearing this lad, a fine young player and a member of the Gillis clan from the Margarees, who impressed me with his playing and timing. As they played, I ordered and ate dinner (mussels and the scallops entrée served with potatoes, peas, and leeks in a lovely sauce topped with a strip of bacon, all superb).
playing dinner music at the Red Shoe Pub.
at the Red Shoe Pub during dinner music tonight.
After thanking the musicians, I went across the street to the Community Hall for Karen and Joey Beaton’s Tuesday night cèilidh, with Andrea Beaton, Joey’s niece, as tonight’s guest fiddler. With Joey on keyboard, Karen and Andrea on dual fiddles opened the cèilidh with a set of jigs: The Lame Duck, Donald Angus Beaton’s Joe Chiasson’s (Donald Angus is, of course, Joey’s father and Andrea’s grandfather), and a John Campbell jig whose name I didn’t get into my notes. My notes are unclear as to just which fiddlers played the next three sets (my best guess is Karen did the first two and Andrea the third), but, in any case, Joey accompanied on all three. The first began with Marianne MacDougall’s March by Mike MacDougall, continued with a couple of strathspeys, and ended with a couple of reels, the last of which was The Road to Errogie (pronounced ['ɛr.ə.gɪ]). The next began with The Heroes of Kohima, a lovely flowing slow air composed for the bagpipe by Andrew Stewart, and was followed by jigs; my notes record my pleasure at Joey’s outstanding keyboard accompaniment on this set. The third, a march/strathspey/reel set, began with Kinnon Beaton’s Sandy MacIntyre’s March and ended with the Jerry Holland’s Brenda Stubbert’s Reel and Donald Angus Beaton’s Anne MacQuarrie’s Reel. Next up were Andrea on fiddle and her mother, Betty Lou, on keyboard, who gave us Andrea’s The Noon Moose of Maine, a lovely air on her last CD, Andrea Beaton with Betty and Dave, along with a jig, a strathspey, and a reel. With Betty Lou accompanying, Joey then sang (!) some verses composed by a group of Judiquers (Dale Gillis, Mac Morin, and others) and Troy MacGillivray. This was followed by a break.
at tonight’s cèilidh at the Mabou Community Hall.
at tonight’s cèilidh at the Mabou Community Hall.
After the break, Karen on fiddle and Joey on keyboard played Rannie MacLellan’s Remembering Anna Myers, a couple of strathspeys, and reels, ending with Anna Mae MacEachern’s Anna Mae’s and Lee Cremo’s Constitution Breakdown. They continued with a lovely set of jigs, none of whose names I got into my notes. With Joey in the lead on keyboard and Karen on backing fiddle, they played an untitled march. Andrea and Betty Lou relieved Karen and Joey and gave us Howie MacDonald’s Brenda Stubbert’s Jig, a Liz Carroll tune she wrote for Andrea, and a tune Andrea wrote for Liz. Betty Lou retired and Joey returned to accompany Andrea and Karen on dual fiddles for the finale, none of the tune names from which made it into my notes. It was a great cèilidh, full of fine music from great players, that I enjoyed immensely.
finale at tonight’s cèilidh at the Mabou Community Hall.
As I turned out of the parking lot onto Highland Street, the car’s tire low pressure light came on again. Oops! I was still driving on the spare. I pulled into the parking lot at the credit union and checked all four tires, all of which had the proper pressure, light or no light, so, heaving a sigh of relief, I drove back to Whycocomagh with no problems, though the light remained on all the way. Once there a bit after 22h, I read and relaxed for a few minutes and then went straight to bed, still feeling robbed of a good night’s sleep last night.