Bar Man - two Pints of Tar and bring the next as soon as we finish them.Pull up a stool Bernard and wet yer whistle.
Pity you are not where I used session in Europe, not only would they play whatever you liked the guy who owned the Bar - Pro Box Player - would sit down on quiet nights and give FREE lessons, seen many a student pass through those welcoming doors.
I have quickly found out here in the USA that there is - and this is very sad IMHO - a very different attitude to sessions. Seems to me - course I ain't an expert -, that folks here are already accomplished on the instrument or some instrumnet wheras in the weee Islands over the pond they tend to buy the Box get a few basic lessons and jump in feet first, great atmosphere but no fancy moves LOL. Also could not help but notice the offishness of the Classical crowd to a raw Trad Fiddler, they never had it shoved under their feet I guess, so they would quit as soon as a native player begun, even seen one messer - would not even play one tune! get up midtune and walk out in a huff. The unfortunate Trad player finished his tune and also quit bought a Jug for the company and a Piper took over, IOW If these 'queens' are not the center of attention there IS no session.
Once one knows that the popular style here is solo as opposed to ensemble then this behavior is not surprising. Solo is how Jazz and a lot of Folk tends to be played- ie each does his own thing, wheras in Trad the whole point of a session IS TO FOLLOW not deviate from a pattern. So I have little hope of ever finding a good one here. Australia oddly seems to have it's own pulse and way of doing things, but I would not go there just to explore that side of life.
In my gropings for some kind of session I once joined a small outfit here and they leaned over backwards, from the US approach that is, to accomodate a stranger. It was fun though I was actualy playing a Box that time. Sure enough we soon got a crowd - mind you we were not trying anything hard real basic stuff - but well played and that makes a big difference. Any case if you ever heard a player live like Ennis that would be the reaction we got, not that it was intended just a good fiddler and willing string player keeping to the tune. The expressions on the faces of the audience tends in these cases to be a mixture or concern and worry mixed up with pure joy, since the average listener is used to the hurried umpah of popular music they rarely ever hear a player stick a few dotted notes into a folk tune, certainly not in string which is so popular here.
Since I could not go back there again after playing a few simple tunes on Whistle to demonstate the old undecorated Sligo style, showing that breathing makes the tune NOT the fingering, I went home.
The excluders - often mentally challenged in some serious way - one finds them in Bluegrass Oldtime Jazz - IT is a disease, once lately a buddie asked me to play Bass of all things in a Rock Band - geee - Paddy Gon Rock - tooo much - I actually did pretty good considering I never even held a Bass before that night!
I guess what I am saying is move to where the fun phoaks are at. They are not on the east coast nor the west but hiding in the Midwest - from St Paul to New Orleans - every city especially St Louis Miss - Now I never did make it over ther but it is not that far for me - bout - err the other side of Arkansas and a bit, say 20 hours taking it easy.
This year I will be going to but one festival which has nothing to do with Trad - but everything to Folkmusic, thats Woody Guthrie's Birthday bash in Okemah Oklahoma in the first week of June - or there abouts.
Great atmosphere all the best young talent in the land is usually there and it is very reasonable, think it was 20 Bucks including camping for the 3 days last time I went. Beans, tents, little cooking fires, coffee cans, three legged pots, Open Back Banjos, great Rag Guitar, mighty singing around these little groups, very talented youngsters playing music. It is the wee Islands in the US to me. It has the atmosphere lacking in the fancy Bar Rooms of New York and San Fransisco. You will there hear fine Trad fiddle too, surprised? Last year there was one little kid playing so well I was totaly amazed and surprised. Hey treat yourself to great weekend and come on down :)
Happy Box and Whistle Playing.