Here's a partial review of what I experienced:

The Rusty Hammer venue is a tavern/restaurant, with a divider between where most people eat and where they are supposed to drink. We were somewhat dubious about where performers were supposed to do their thing, the same place as last year; it's a small corner facing the bar. But it all worked out well. The empty seats in the bar area quickly filled up with other performers and friends as we started our set. The bartender did turn off the sound of all three big screens. We decided not to try any instrumentals, a good choice, and everyone seemed to have a great time. I do wish that next year we could try the restaurant side, more visibility from the street which might draw additional people in, and a more substantial corner to perform from.

The space for performers at The Works (bagel place) really worked quite well for voice and quiet instruments, and we could do some of our ballads in addition to the shanty shouts. I especially enjoyed the audience response to my ballad commemorating the sinking of the Japanese fishing trawler Kaisimaru by a falling cow.

The Market Square is only appropriate for the shanty shouts, and even those have some stiff competition from motorcyclists who like to park there, rev up their engines before disembarking and of course before departing. We watched some desparate performers struggling to sing above their instruements. Not a pretty sight. On a more positive note the visibility is great and a lot of passerbys were drawn in. However, we would strongly recommend setting up a small sound system there next year so performers don't injure themselves, at least for performers who plan to accompany what they sing.

The Anthenaeum is a jewel of a performing space. In my limited spare time I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Tom and Linn perform there. You could hear everything going on, including some nice harmonies from the audience.

The Saturday Evening concert at the Sheraton Prescott Room went off very well. Judy and I had ample time to set up the sound and test everything. Having everyone perform from a central set of mikes made everything vastly simplier for the sound crew, and less stressful for performers. The audience filled the room and we got consistent good reports on how well they could hear the performers. However, because of the heavy acoustic ceiling tiles and thick drapes, it was difficult for the performers to get much feedback from the audience on the refrain and chorus. The audience was enthusiastically singing but you would never know it unless you could see all their mouths working. Very strange! There may be a better room to consider at this hotel for next year but if the Prescott Room is the only one available I'd certainly recommend reserving it again. Great Bay Sailor (Bruce MacIntyre, Kevin Scanlon and Steve Carrigan) did a fine introductory set. Ken Sweeney is always a treat to watch, and it's difficult not to be impressed when he demonstrates his ability to play harmonica and English concertina at the same time; however, this time he remained seated (I have a memory of him dancing a jig once while playing these instruments). Bob Webb does equally well as a oerformer but elected to play banjo and duet concertina serially rather than simultaneously. And Jeff Warner is always a treat, whatever he chooses to sing, and especially so when Barbara Benn is providing backup harmonies.

And I thought the pigeon overlooking the final shanty blast was intriguing. He was nodding his head approvingly as the choruses cascaded around him. Perhaps he was an old shellback in former life. It is fortunate for those below that he was favorably impressed.

The Saturday afternoon session at the Press Room was also great fun. So many good singers stuffed into the back room of the tavern. I could have spent the whole weekend there. And no more smoking! The energy level was incredibly high and my only concern was that the ambient noise made it more difficult to lead ballads. I only wish I could have stayed for the entire session.

Special thanks to Steve and Kevin for helping lump in the sound equipment for the evening concert, and to Alan and others who helped us pack everything away in 30 minutes flat when the concert was over.

We do have some digital images to edit and post as well. Be patient, if you can!

Looking forward to seeing some of you again October 20th at the Press Room for the usual monthly shany/forebitter sing.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble