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English Ceilidh in Sheffield: A report by Gordon Potts
My thanks to Gordon Potts for permission to share this wonderful description
of what English Ceilidh can be and its potential
A couple of weeks ago i did a show for Sheffield uni ceilidh soc - sort
of a follow-on to when they hosted the intervarsity thing. And it's a
very impressive set-up that they've got up there.
I'd rather thought i'd be calling with Hekety + a few friends, or some
such set up, and was slightly unnerved to find out that it wasn't just
not Hekety, but a scratch band, drawn from the general ranks
of the regulars at the ceilidhs. Remembering the kind of musician I'd
been when i was at college, i tried to find out what sort of music they
were going to play, and other comforting things like that. Not that i
can't cope, you understand, but still.
An email to the web site got me a
phone number of Jo the fiddle player. A languid voice down the phone
told me that Jo and the rest of the band were indeed there, but wouldn't
want to talk to anybody, because they were playing & wouldn't want to
stop. Result! I assured M. Languid that it was music that i wanted to
discuss, and 4 x 32 bars later, Jo was telling me that a)they all knew
each other because they all went to the ceilidhs b)this was their one
practice c)they quite fancied a few french-y numbers, they knew some
Simon Heywood tunes, but didn't have any 48 bar slip jgs. Or something
like that. And she'd get me a set list.
I of course gave her my home email, forgetting my more useful work
number, which was where i was going to be. I arrived in Sheffield just as the wind started to blow so hard the rain
couldn't land. It had been sunny in Streatham & I was in shorts. Found
the inst for the blind, & the sound man & the pub.
The band arrived in plenty of time & played 5 gorgeous tunes i'd never
heard before. But the PA was late. So I'm reassured, but worried. I
still get stage fright, and absence of PAs is one of my favourite things
to worry about. Then the band played a beautifully slinky schottische.
And then said i'd have to keep an eye on their speed because they might
speed up a bit in a couple of the tunes. Only a couple. Good. I used to
work with LNB. I understand variable tempos. The PA arrives & its nice
pro Peavey stuff & the organisers put it up in seconds. Do I want a
radio or a proper SM58?
It starts late, because that's when the audience gets there, and from
there on in, it's more or less perfect. The band can really play, not
just regurgitate tunes, and their beat is completely spot on. They could
be better, maybe, but everybody could, really. The dancers are a mixture
of hardline festival types and utter neophytes, and about as pretentious
as a brown paper bag with no writing on it. And they really help the new
bugs, not, as so often happens, intimidate them by being REALLY HELPFUL
IN A LOUD VOICE meaning hurry up. And then half the band got up & went
to dance, & various members of the audience picked up the instruments
and just carried on. And they could play, too. And then it was midnight
& we'd finished - thank you v much etc etc & offstage. And then the
band played for another 40mins while we knocked down, & mostly they kept
on dancing.
So
If you like your dances slick, expert, and predictable, stay away. But
if you like a sense of community, dangerous music & unpretentious
friendly company, this is it. Proper ceilidh, and I don't know how they
grow such good musicians. Jabadaw came from Manchester ceilidh soc,
Round band out of Cambs, & Hekety out of Sheffield, & the future looks
a bloody sight better than it has for ages.
Contact them before you turn up. It's a club
http://www.shef.ac.uk/~cs/
will tell you what you need to know.
Thanks for inviting me, ceilidhsoc. more power to yer elbows
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