It is what I asked myself after finishing a two-hour jam session with a group of spot-on musicians at Patsy Fagan's pub in Lebanon, PA.
I feel like many Americans (except for my wonderful CMRS associates) appreciate the true delight in sitting down in a bustling or quiet pub for a glass of ale. This is a practice I have missed since coming to the states again, where everyone seems to prefer drinking generic beer in loud, impersonal bars.
Not so in Patsy Fagan's pub!
About a month ago I played at Assumption Parish during Advent and afterward met Seamus Carmichael, a wonderful man (and singer) from Ireland who invited me to come and play during one of their Irish sessions.
Last Friday, for some intangible reason, I felt strongly inclined to go, even though the pub was a good forty-five minutes away from our house. So mom, dad and I packed up my Leda (my Renn Faire harp) and rolled off to Lebanon in the big red van.
After driving confidently past Hershey, and a little insecurely past Annville (just so you know, Annville is before Lancaster) we found ourselves at Patsy Fagans (it seems that we get lost much less often when Mom is the one navigating).
Patsy Fagan's might not look like much from the outside, but stepping foot in the door was like returning to Ireland. I was greeted with thick wooden roof beams crossing over our heads, a variety of people sipping Guiness at the main bar, and the muffled sound of fiddles. Winding our way around tables into the next room (the great thing about Irish and British Pubs are that they have one room leading into another after another, rather like a cozy rabbit warren) we caught sight of a raised stage area where a number of fiddle, banjo, bodron, flute, and guitar players were well along in a lively Irish reel. There was another harp player there already too, believe it or not.
At first I set myself up in sort of the "second circle," but Seamus kindly helped me to move up into the next musical circle (ha, that sounds a bit Dantean!) so that I was between the harp player and a fantastic young lady named Emily playing the violin.
There were actually two other girls playing the violin that looked a bit like her, and Emily and I had the following conversation:
Me: Wow, you sound great!
Emily: Thanks, so do you.
Me: Is that your sister?
Emily: Yes.
Me: Is that your sister too?
Emily: Yes.
Me: You don't...play together as a family band, do you?
Of course they do! I had just met part of the "Martin Family Band" a group with six kids who play Celtic music (and in this group, the parents play too!) The Martins were a blast, and we are hoping to have a chance to play with them sometime in the future (and most likely in March)!
Check out the Martin's music on:
www.martinfamilyband.net
We went around the session circle swapping tunes, and when my number came up I started off "The Butterfly," which everyone joined in after a few measures.
The Martin girls also Irish step danced on a few numbers, and played the Scythian classic "Tammlin" at the end of the session.
After the session had ended I sat down with Mom, and Dad and got my long sought after bottle of Newcastle Ale. It was funny seeing the eyebrows raised while people watching me downing a Newcastle after playing the harp, since usually people assume I am about sixteen!
Come join me next time for good music and good company.
And of course, good ale, if you're of the age...
MK
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