Kimberley Fraser, Doug Lamey, Hanneke Cassel,
and Friends at the Canadian-American Club
(East Watertown)
Event Summary
- Date
- 2009 May 9 (Saturday)
- Time
- 20h-23h45
- Venue
- Canadian-American Club, 202 Arlington Street, East Watertown, Massachusetts 02472-2004
- Description
- Canadian-American Club Dance with Kimberley Fraser, Hanneke Cassel, and Doug Lamey.
- Admission
- $12 at the door
Review for the Cape Breton Music List
(Posted 2009 May 13)
This past Saturday, a Cape Breton dance featuring Kimberley Fraser, Doug Lamey, and Hanneke Cassel, and friends was held at the Canadian-American Club in East Watertown (Massachusetts). This dance was the fifth of a series of Cape Breton dances held there in 2009 on the second Saturday of each month (except for the summer break). Next month’s dance, the last before the summer break, will feature Andrea Beaton, Troy MacGillivray, and Doug Lamey.
The music began shortly after 20h with Kimberley and Hanneke on dual fiddles and Peggy Morrison on piano; they gave us a couple of sets of tunes. Hanneke then took Peggy’s seat at the piano while Kimberley remained on fiddle, playing a great blast of tunes followed by a set of jigs. Hanneke and Kimberley then switched places and played a set of strathspeys and reels followed by a set of jigs, the latter including The Beauties of the Ballroom.[1]
Doug and Hanneke on dual fiddles with Kimberley still on piano then gave us another set of jigs; that was apparently enough to entice the first set of dancers of the evening onto the floor. Hanneke left the stage while Henry Boudreau joined Doug on fiddle and Kimberley on piano to prompt the night’s first Boston square set, with Hanneke relieving Kimberley on the piano for the third figure. For the first two figures, there were two sets of eight dancing; for the third, only one set of eight remained on the floor. After the square set was over, Doug played Jerry Holland’s In Memory of Herbie MacLeod.
With Hanneke still on piano, Doug and Kimberley on dual fiddles gave us a great set of strathspeys. Peggy Morrison then thanked the musicians and called for a Mabou set. Kimberley on fiddle and Hanneke on piano obliged. After the dancers finished the third figure, Kimberley kept on playing and Mary MacGillivray gave us the only step-dance of the evening.
Joe Cormier on fiddle and Dedo Norris on piano then gave us a short set of jigs, a set of strathspeys and reels, and a set beginning with an air and followed by reels; it is always a pleasure to hear Joe’s playing and Dedo’s fine accompaniments. They were followed on stage by Gordon Aucoin on fiddle and Lloyd Carr on piano, who gave us a blast of tunes, a set of jigs, and a very pretty and beautifully played slow strathspey followed by reels.
Doug and Hanneke then returned to the stage on dual fiddles, Kimberley took the piano, and Cliff McGann joined them on guitar to give us the second (and last) Boston square set of the evening, again prompted by Henry Boudreau. Apparently Cliff had some sort of problem with his guitar, as he sat out the second figure of the set to make some repairs. After the square set had ended, Doug and Hanneke traded the lead back and forth, giving us a number of tunes, including Stella’s Trip to Kamloops, a march by Pat Chafe that is a popular “session” tune[2], and Sandy Cameron’s[3]. At one point, both Doug and Hanneke stopped playing for a bit, allowing us to hear Kimberley’s fine piano and Cliff’s nice guitar.
Kimberley then picked up her fiddle and joined Doug and Hanneke to make three fiddles; with Peggy again on the piano and Cliff on guitar, they gave us a long set of tunes. The fiddlers all claimed to have tired arms, so they prevailed on Cliff to sing us a beautiful Gaelic song, which he proceeded to do in fine voice with his own guitar accompaniment and with Peggy on piano; Doug and Kimberley soon joined in on backing fiddles. After this brief rest, Hanneke took up her fiddle and led the others to close off the evening with another fine blast of tunes.
My thanks go to the talented musicians who gave us this marvellous evening of the best traditional Scottish music; their versatility as players introduced lots of variety and their passion and musical excellence were in evidence throughout the evening. Sadly, again the crowd was in the thirty-to-forty range, in no way representative of the great music heard from these fine players. It’s worth recalling that these musicians have given a large part of their lives to developping their musical gifts; if you enjoy this music, you owe it to both yourselves and to them to come out and to support them. Where else outside Cape Breton can you hear and enjoy four hours of such fine live music every month?
[1] I am indebted to Marcia Palmeter for identifying this tune name.↩
[2] I am indebted to Lloyd Carr for the tune name and its characterization.↩
[3] I am again indebted to Marcia Palmeter for identifying this tune name.↩
Photos
Hanneke Cassel and Kimberley Fraser on dual fiddles
accompanied by Peggy Morrison on piano
Hanneke Cassel on fiddle
Kimberley Fraser on fiddle
Peggy Morrison on piano
Kimberley Fraser on fiddle accompanied by Hanneke Cassel on piano
Kimberley Fraser on fiddle
Hanneke Cassel on piano
Hanneke Cassel on fiddle accompanied by Kimberley Fraser on piano
Hanneke Cassel on fiddle
Kimberley Fraser on piano
Hanneke Cassel on fiddle accompanied by Kimberley Fraser on piano
Doug Lamey and Hanneke Cassel on dual fiddles
Doug Lamey and Hanneke Cassel on dual fiddles
Hanneke Cassel on fiddle accompanied by Kimberley Fraser on piano
Henry Boudreau prompting
Doug Lamey on fiddle
Henry Boudreau prompting a Boston set
to the music of Doug Lamey on fiddle and Kimberley Fraser on piano
Dancing the Boston set
Dancing the Boston set
Doug Lamey on fiddle accompanied by Kimberley Fraser on piano
Doug Lamey on fiddle accompanied by Hanneke Cassel on piano
Dancing the third figure of a Boston set
Dancing the third figure of a Boston set
Henry Boudreau and Peggy Morrison dancing a waltz
Kimberley Fraser and Doug Lamey on dual fiddles
Hanneke Cassel on piano
Peggy Morrison inviting dancers for a Mabou set
Dancing the third figure of a Mabou set
Dancing the third figure of a Mabou set
Lloyd Carr and Dedo Norris dancing the third figure of a Mabou set
Mary MacGillivray step-dancing
Kimberley Fraser on fiddle
Joe Cormier on fiddle accompanied by Dedo Norris on piano
Joe Cormier on fiddle
Dedo Norris on piano
Gordon Aucoin on fiddle accompanied by Lloyd Carr on piano
Henry Boudreau prompting a Boston set
to the music of Doug Lamey and Hanneke Cassel on dual fiddles
accompanied by Kimberley Fraser on piano and Cliff McGann on guitar
Dancing the Boston set
Dancing the Boston set
Henry Boudreau prompting a Boston set
to the music of Doug Lamey and Hanneke Cassel on dual fiddles
accompanied by Kimberley Fraser on piano and Cliff McGann on guitar
Dancing the third figure of a Boston set
Dancing the third figure of a Boston set
Doug Lamey, Kimberley Fraser, and Hanneke Cassel on triple fiddles
accompanied by Peggy Morrison on piano and Cliff McGann on guitar
Doug Lamey, Kimberley Fraser, and Hanneke Cassel on triple fiddles
accompanied by Peggy Morrison on piano and Cliff McGann on guitar
Cliff McGann sings a Gaelic song to his own guitar accompaniment
Cliff McGann sings a Gaelic song to his own guitar accompaniment
and that of Doug Lamey and Kimberley Fraser on backing fiddles
and of Peggy Morrison on piano