The Beatons
at the Canadian-American Club
- Date
- Friday, 2007 May 18
- Time
- 20h-0h
- Venue
- Canadian-American Club, 202 Arlington Street, East Watertown, Massachusetts
- Description
- The Beaton Family from Mabou (Kinnon, Betty Lou, and Andrea) will be playing at a dance at the Canadian-American Club in East Watertown, Massachusetts, as a benefit to raise money for the French American Victory Club in Waltham, which, I’m told, is very near to having to close its doors for lack of funds.
- Admission
- $15 at the door; for further information please contact Gabe Arsenault at (781) 893-2884 [home] or at (781) 718-4394 [cell phone].
- Note
- If you are unable to attend on Friday, the Beaton Family will also be performing with the Country Masters at the French American Victory Club, 193 Elm Street, Waltham, Massachusetts, on Saturday, May 19, from 19h30-0h30.
Photos
Andrea and Kinnon Beaton on fiddles and Betty Lou Beaton on keyboards
Betty Lou Beaton on keyboards
Kinnon Beaton on fiddle
Andrea Beaton on fiddle
Kinnon Beaton on fiddle and Andrea Beaton on keyboards
Doug Lamey on fiddle and Betty Lou Beaton on keyboards
David Harvey stepdancing
Kinnon Beaton on fiddle and Betty Lou Beaton on keyboards
Andrea and Kinnon Beaton on fiddle and Betty Lou Beaton on keyboards
Review for the Cape Breton Music List
(Posted 2007 May 21)
Gabe Arsenault invited Kinnon, Betty Lou, and Andrea Beaton to play at the Canadian-American Club in East Watertown (Massachusetts) on Friday and at the French-American Victory Club in Waltham (Massachusetts) on Saturday evening. The goal of both events was to raise funds for the French-American Victory Club. I was delighted to be able to attend the Friday evening session; I waited too long to make reservations for Saturday and found to my dismay that the hotels in the area were full because of the college graduations occurring that week-end, so I drove back home on Saturday morning.
The music started promptly at 20h with Kinnon and Andrea on dual fiddles and Betty Lou on keyboards. They played in that configuration for the first hour. A group of eight dancers then took the floor for the first Inverness set. In the middle part of the evening, Kinnon was on fiddle with Andrea on keyboards and then Andrea took up her fiddle with Betty Lou on keyboards. For the first Boston set, the caller, Norman MacEachern, managed to convince sixteen people to take to the floor and the same number danced another Boston set somewhat later, with Doug Lamey on fiddle and Betty Lou on keyboards. Another Inverness set was also danced.
Towards 23h, Andrea lit into a set of strathspeys, inviting stepdancers to take to the floor. There was only one taker, David Harvey, a high school math teacher from New York City with a strong background in traditional contra dance and square dance as well as step dancing in the Appalachian and Cape Breton styles, who gave us a very fine long step dance close to the floor as the great music came pouring forth. The evening concluded with Andrea and Kinnon back on dual fiddles and Betty Lou on keyboards, ending after midnight, a full heaping of tunes.
Needless to say, the music was superb all night long, giving the audience great helpings of jigs, strathspeys, and reels, along with marches and a few slow airs and a waltz. There were a few tunes from Kinnon that I didn’t recognize—perhaps recent compositions of his—and tons of old favourites, such as The Goldenrod Jig by Wilfred Gillis, originally of Arisaig, Antigonish County. All three musicians played their hearts out and it was a joy to again hear live Cape Breton music in a dance setting. The Beatons’ timing is always spot on, with the rhythms of the dance driving the music, and Kinnon’s and Andrea’s impeccable fiddle playing with Betty Lou’s beautiful keyboard accompaniments make a fabric of sound that is just an absolute joy to hear.
I thank the Beatons for making the long drive to Boston; unfortunately, since Andrea was to play at Glencoe Mills on Sunday evening, they were unable to rest up on Sunday in Boston before making the long drive back. Thanks too to Gabe for inviting them; I hope the events were successful in achieving their purpose.