I once sat through an evening of Michael Cooney at his pompous and scholarly best when i was treated to nothing but variations of "Whose Gonna Shoe Yer Pretty Little Foot". I was bored to tears and asked for my money back. Folk clubs being what they are could barely afford to pay Cooney let alone deal with a refund. Having produced many shows of my own I withdrew my request. But I learned a valuable lesson about performing. There is a fine line between entertaining and showing off and that same line exists between what is interesting to you the performer and what might be interesting to the audience. Had this been a workshop in a festival I might have attended because of my own scholarly and pedantic bent. But it certainly wasn't what I hoped for in a concert setting.

If I were to do this in a concert I'd choose two but no more than three versions of a song and spread them out. Not one after another. "The Royal Albion", "A Sailor Cut Down In His Prime" and "Dyin' Crapshooter's Blues" perhaps.

Don