Blackie O'Connel

[maze]

amen florida brotha,

as a well-over 35 year old teacher, i absolutely agree... i certainly do not hang out in my design studios or lecture halls into the wee hours for the hell of it even though my students do.

maze

[TheSilverSpear]

Having attended both Irish Arts Week and Willie Clancy Week, I can confidently say that I much prefer the sheer chaos of the latter. I thought the scheduled sessions set-up of IAW created way too much structure and severely limited a lot of the spontaneity which makes festivals so much fun. At Willie Week you never know who will be playing where (although sometimes you can make an educated guess). I also haven't found the "orchestra effect" so prevalent. A lot of people tend to wander from pub to pub and move on if a session is awkwardly huge. Something about the "named players" and the scheduled session seems to stop people from doing that -- a kind of social psychology thing going on there. I remember some *massive* sessions at IAW, upwards of 50-60 people. Don't know how the teachers feel about it -- many folks do both festivals -- but if I were in their position I'd much rather the freedom play with whomever and wherever suited me than be tied down to one place and time surrounded by an orchestra.

[Piobairi Uilleann Inis Fa]

Having attended both Irish Arts Week and Willie Clancy Week, I can confidently say that I much prefer the sheer chaos of the latter. I thought the scheduled sessions set-up of IAW created way too much structure and severely limited a lot of the spontaneity which makes festivals so much fun. At Willie Week you never know who will be playing where (although sometimes you can make an educated guess). I also haven't found the "orchestra effect" so prevalent. A lot of people tend to wander from pub to pub and move on if a session is awkwardly huge. Something about the "named players" and the scheduled session seems to stop people from doing that -- a kind of social psychology thing going on there. I remember some *massive* sessions at IAW, upwards of 50-60 people. Don't know how the teachers feel about it -- many folks do both festivals -- but if I were in their position I'd much rather the freedom play with whomever and wherever suited me than be tied down to one place and time surrounded by an orchestra.

I have not been to Willie week unfortunately (yet), and have been to the last seven IAWs. Your points are well taken for sure about some of the large sessions. But it is also fair to point out that there are several scheduled "open" sessions, and after many of the sheduled sessions breakup, a healthy handful of musicians hang around and continue a more comfortable session. I participated in about four or five of these last week, not to mention spontaneous sessions in back yards of pubs, in the tent at furlongs, on porches, under trees, and in rooms at various motels there. Those are great fun because of the great craic which is harder to come by with 50 people playing in a session. Also, if you stay out passed midnight, you begin to see the migration of people from place to place looking for right spot, and the crowds thin to more reasonabble levels (from my experience and IMO, the playing and excitment is at its peak between 2 and 5 am).

Neil

[KAD]

Well spoken, SilverSpear. Spontaneity is exactly what makes the Sunday and Saturday night sessions so much fun at CIAW. Just ask anyone who was wearing a brightly colored wig at Furlong's around 3 or 4 am last Sunday. And Neil is right about the smaller impromptu sessions. Some great craic there.

I'd say the instructors work pretty darn hard at CIAW -- imagine having to be "on" from your morning class at 10 am until your scheduled session ends at 12 midnight, and then having to get up and do it all over again the next day, for five days in a row. Small wonder if they want to go off and get some rest at the end of the night. And then, when you're completely exhausted from that, having to play two concert gigs on Saturday. My hat is off to the folks who routinely stay up to play tunes until 5 or 6 in the morning in addition to that schedule -- don't know how they do it!!!


KAD

[Cathy Wilde]

... And depending on how the schedules fall, a lot of them have just come from Willie Week or Meitheal or Augusta or Swannanoa ... or are just taking a side trip from a tour.

So yeah, I totally understand. Nonetheless, it's the times when my heroes do spontaneously combust into musical flame that keep me warm in those cold, lonely practice sessions .... even if I don't play along (and I'm ALMOST mature enough to have the restraint when applicable, but only ALMOST), just sitting in the thick of it can be enough.

Speaking of keeping warm , there's a pic of Michael/aka Blackie in this quarter's An Piobhaire. Lovely shot of Maire ni Grada too; both are in the NPU Tionol photo spread. I think I'm going to have to add those to my pipe-case shrine.

[ceemonster]

[to faulting teachers for leaving a sessiun, many of which become makeshift orchestras due to the sheer amount of participants, is unfair.]

you certainly have a right to your opinion, as do we all, including those of us who saw skedded anchors saunter in extremely late, watch the clock, and leave on the dot.

and they certainly have every right to make the choices they make. i get it about the big-orchestra syndrome and their busy skeds and all, and i'm not saying they all should have to stay longer every time, blah, blah. but it was conspicuous in its absence. the popular vote won't be with the gasbags blowing hot air up on the andy mcgann stage about this "great" and that "champion" and that "winner" in their inner circle, and making pointed remarks about how the piper on their bill didn't show up for his fifteen-minute brush with greatness. the popular vote will be with blackie. and wig.

the other lionheart who i saw give a super-lovely post-sked session was benedict. must be something in the piper personality makeup....

[Piobairi Uilleann Inis Fa]

[that festival is hurting for money and attendees, bigtime.]

I would guess that all festivals are hurting for money. IAW attendence peeked in 2007 at well over 600 students (excludes non-student attendees), and the number unexpectently fell off last year into the 500s. This year expectations were much lower even, and my guess is that they expected around 400. It is my understanding however, that there was a pleasent surprise number of last minute registrations and "walk-ins" that brought that number to at least 480 to 500. Considering near 10% unemployment and loss of household wealth since last year, I would say that IAW did ok, and while the number of instructers was down, the quality was not. I was surprised to see people from as far off as Hawaii (Hey Wilson!) and Alaska. IMO, IAW is still a great week and I very much look forward to next year, pausing as I say that for fear of not wishing my life away. Meanwhile, we have the NE Tional to look forward to!

Neil

[Cathy Wilde]

Benedict
NE Tionol

[mgpiper]

I was not at the Sat eve Furlong's session - I was at the Shamrock that night. The session started small (Mike Rafferty, Billy McComiskey, Felix Dolan), and grew from there. One of the highlights was Benedict's 2 slow airs - they brought tears to some listeners. Both Benedict and Debbie Quigley were great teachers in the intermediate classes - both were willing to stay late, or start early if that was what students wanted.

Great week at CIAW!

[flanum]

heres a load of the pics link: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album ... 963&page=2

[john]

i met blackie a long time- a very talented and modest young man -just one thing though, he reminds me more of finbar furey than keenan - anyone else think so?

[Piobairi Uilleann Inis Fa]

i met blackie a long time- a very talented and modest young man -just one thing though, he reminds me more of finbar furey than keenan - anyone else think so?

IMO, visually he reminds me of a darker version of Cillian Vallely (ask him to do his impersonation of him-he pulles his hair back into the Vallely pony tail and there you go), but more outspoken and boisterous. To me his playing suggests more influence of Keenan and Micky Dunn. He takes it to a new level though as Paddy seldom changes his reportoire. Blackie can juice up pretty much any tune. I was very impressed, and particularly with his command of the regs and just adding stuff and changing it up all over the place.

[rorybbellows]

A few years back I was at the Johnny Doran weekend at the Belbridge Hotel near Milltown Malbay,Co Clare. There was some great pipers there including Gay McKeown, Mickey Dunne, Sean Talty, John Rooney,the brillant young piper Sean McCarty from Fermoy Co Cork and Blackie . I only stayed one night and I had a room on the top floor next door to Blackie. Anyway it was a great evenings piping with loads of craic ... By the way he’s a great piper.

RORY

[ Post edited for privacy considerations. - Mod ]