Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy Saint Patrick's Day



The beautiful Sinead O'Connor singing a song which almost became the national anthem of Ireland.



Mark Knopfler does "Raglan Road."



The beautiful Cathy Ryan sings "The Back Door."

Last November, Cathy performed at the theatre my brother-in-law manages. He invited me to meet "the celtic singer" who was performing that night, and it turned into old home week. Cathy's group "Cherish The Ladies" toured with a run I did behind the great Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy. They were our opening act. One night, the monitor set up was totally messed up. There was a split second lag behind the music you played and the music you heard. For a group like Cathy's it was a recipe for disaster. She and her girls were newly formed and that night, they simply fell apart. We had been performing together nearly two weeks, but I had been my usual silent self backstage. We hadn't talked much, mainly because I don't talk much. As Cathy told the story, it went something along the lines of


"as we were in the wings dressing down the stage manager Stevie walked by, and said the first words he had said to me since our introductions weeks ago. He walked past me, pulled out his earbuds, put them in my hand and whispered 'Monitors are for pussies. You should know what the right notes feel like.' Then he went out on stage with Tommy and they killed. I have never since complained about monitors."

That told, let me say that I absolutely adore Cathy. She's a peach.




Van Morrison sings "Carrickfergus."

Blessings of the day to all ya'll.