Saturday morning and everything looks bright and shining on the coast of Maine, well, actually we're some 20 miles up the Kennebec River from the Atlantic coast but we're still coasting. Here's my summary of our Portland-West highlights and for those of you who participated feel free to fill in what I've left out or censored:

The Elephant & the Castle with Spinnacker-this is a traditional tavern in Portland's Old Town area, the bar where the friday evening festivities took place was smokey but Spinnaker with the aid of their sound system was able to cut through the smoke and any bar chatter. Spinnacker includes Mary Benson, Tony Sciola, Jonathan Lay and Dan Gicker; their new CD is entitled SPINNACKER: One Fine Day. Their style of singing sea songs ranges from traditional to "twisted Celtic" to Reggai; they were gracious enough to let me lead several songs and to demonstrate how to snap the 5th string of my banjo. I especially liked the closing song led by the barmaids.

The Artichoke Music session was held in the back of a fine music store, a large song circle faciltated by Kate Power, and composed of participants of varying levels of expertise and energy, and with reference to Rise Up Singing songbooks or printed handouts. My old friend Barbara of Mudcat delivered me to the gathering. Genie of Mudcat was also there and there may have been other Mudcatters but not obvious among the more than 40 people. This was a great introduction for me, and several folks like Gil and Martin were also at the subsequent music events. I also noted a lovely S.S. Stewart Special Thoroughbred banjo hanging on the wall with a modest price of $1200; it's worth at least $1500.

The gathering at Yola's Foster Road was in more of a brunch gathering space with about 12 of us gathered around some tables, with my old music friend Jane from Michigan chauffering me to the event. This was much more of a spontaneous interaction than the event at the Artichoke and more fun for me in terms of being to react more immediately to other folk's songs. We were also surprised when Aaron from the Press Room gathering in NH dropped in for a song or two. We had a lot of fun working up my version of "Dead Dog Cider." The propriators of Yola's took off on their motorcycles in the middle of our session; I rather doubt that it was our music that drove them away but their departure did inspire a few verses from "Black Leather Jacket and Motorcycle Boots-Highway 101."

My last gathering has to be my favorite, more of a song party in the back dining room of the Elephant & the Castle with about 12 folks most of whom I'd already met and a few more strong sea music people that I hadn't. Gordy Euler, Jonathan Lay's partner with the traditional sea music duo Shanhaied on the Willamette (2 CD's which I'm looking forward to listening to this afternoon). Gil, Martin, Genie, Jane, my wife Judy, Jonathan, Susan, and others whose names have escaped were all there raising the roof, removing layers of whatever from the ceilings, and driving away the few tourists who were trying to have a quiet cup of oyster stew or fish & chips. A song would start, and within seconds there would be the click and flash of cassette recorders gobbling up the results. "Dead Dog Cider" got the full treatment, including the breakaway "Rise Again chorus." "Wake Up Susianna" provided its own benchmark as a sea shanty for warping the tradition of singing sea shanties. Judy delivered a sea story of the imperatives of commercial fishing, John Campbell's "Keep on Fishing;" I swear I remember someone's fish and chips spewing across the table after one critical line...but you had to be there!

That's all I can dredge up for now without resorting to further unpacking, and since I'm joining Brett at the Portsmouth Songs of Sail Festival tomorrow I haven't really got time to do that.

Thanks again for all the help and the fine singing!
Charley Noble