BS: theme nights

Subject: and tonight's subject is...
From: Little Dorritt
Date: 18 Jan 00 - 04:07 PM

by way of a light hearted diversion at our folk club, we have topical nights. Next week it is songs about winter, on other occassions they have to be self penned or poaching another singers standard song. I quite like this a)because it makes me prepare beforehand b) it expands my otherwise limited repetoire c)there is always some card who introduces some obscure connection to the theme. I wonder if this happens elsewhere, and if so, whether there were any topics that were particularly successful or outrageous, so that I can pass the ideas on. This club is strictly for amateurs or semi-professionals rather than for serious folkies but some of them are utrageously good!

Subject: RE: BS: theme nights
From: Bert
Date: 18 Jan 00 - 04:14 PM

Yes, The Bucks County Folk Song Society, here in Pennsylvania, does the very same thing. February's theme is 'leap' because it's a leap year. I looked in DT, but didn't find anything that suited me so I'm writing something.

You're right it's great to hear how some folk make really obscure references. And yeah, the talent can get quite intimidating at times. The circle is often about 30 members or more and every one's a winner.

Bert.

Subject: RE: BS: theme nights
From: Allan C.
Date: 18 Jan 00 - 04:30 PM

I attended the Folklore Society of Greater Washington (D.C.)'s open sing in November. The subject was Guy Fawkes. I worried and worried about finding an appropriate song. Then, when the sing began, the hostess lead off with "Ta Ra Ra BOOM De Ay"! After that, I knew all would be well.

Subject: RE: BS: theme nights
From: lamarca
Date: 18 Jan 00 - 06:58 PM

The FSGW Open Sing mentioned by Allan C. almost always has a "Theme", but we try to make them fairly broad so lots of songs fit in. It's also a traditional game to sing whatever you'd like to, then come up with a creative explanation of why it fits the topic...I started building my song repertoire, too, by learning songs for the Open Sing

Some of my favorites from past years have been:
"Passion" - not just about love for the opposite sex; songs sung to chocolate or beer or pets made an appearance
"The 4 Elements" - songs about earth, air, fire and water were the intended subject, but I and my future husband both learned Tom Lehrer's setting of the periodic table to "Modern Major General" for this one...
"I Being All in Disguise" - songs about transvestites, disguises, or things that aren't quite all they seem
"Court(ing)" - songs of courtship, or of (il)legalities, or both (Gilbert and Sullivan's "Trial By Jury" comes to mind...)
"Songs of Dismemberment" - how many songs with body parts do you know?
"As I Roved Out" - a topic for one May's Open Sing, of course...songs about roving and rambling, or songs about May, or both...
"A Folk Bestiary" - songs about birds and beasts, both real and imaginary

There's tons more; half the fun is thinking about how to word the theme to get people thinking of new songs or of old ones in a new way!

Subject: RE: BS: theme nights
From: Susan A-R
Date: 18 Jan 00 - 09:55 PM

I like this a lot. I'll suggest it to the folks trying to get an open mic together up here. I just think of what has come up when I posted my food songs request here. Wow! the possibilities are limitless.

Susan A-R

Subject: RE: BS: theme nights
From: Little Dorritt
Date: 19 Jan 00 - 05:06 AM

what brilliant ideas you have! i love 'passion' and the 'leap' idea and the food songs certainly appeals - ta everso!

Subject: RE: BS: theme nights
From: Roger the skiffler
Date: 19 Jan 00 - 06:39 AM

Any easy theme for those of us interested in the skiffle/blues end of the spectrum is "transport", "trains" alone (crashes, building them, lost loves leaving on them, hitching rides on them,lonesome whistles echoing sad feelings etc, you get the picture!)could fill an evening.
RtS

Subject: RE: BS: theme nights
From: Peg
Date: 19 Jan 00 - 10:57 AM

this is a great idea! and I think this is far from being a BS topic... At the Singers' Club in Boston people tend to sing seasonal songs (autumn especially)and sometimes songs appropriate for Hallowe'en etc....not sure about Christmas as I was absent most of that season this year...though there is no official sanctioning of this practice... I will bear this idea in mind and try to brush up on May songs for the upcoming Beltane season...

peg