Dear Christy, confession time.
I never really got the Beatles……i know 10 bloody marys and 10 how’s yer fathers.
shocking i know ………but each to his or her own taste etc.
I liked Back in the USSR and there must be a couple of others that tickled my fancy greatly, but maybe i am just too young (and that has not been said too often).
Mind you are there many Beatles fans that ‘got’ Black Uhuru (with the bass skills of robbie shakespeare) and the socialist punk of the Angelic Upstarts ( and the passion of Mensi)…both of whom i really enjoyed, but who both died in the last week?
apologies to all Beatles fans, though my eldest bairn Hamish is a big fan of the fab four.
all the best
Rory
Less than two hours until the live performance at Vicar St. Looking forward to the evening it’s officially Christmas 🎄
Christy's reply
52 mins to go….final touches here…getting the hair piece glued down, the corset tightened, the ear pads jammed home, hoping to take the tablets in the proper sequence, a dew deckitts of the rosary, a splash of 4711 and away we go
You sure have good ‘co pilots’, Christy – and an ace tech crew – recording and ‘live’.
I used to love scribbling set lists for each half of a folk club gig – as a guide, rather than a bible. Always good to hear your accounts of the unexpected routes where your sets travel… I’m sure there’ll be some for lucky Vicar Streeters in awhile…
All good wishes
Dave
Christy's reply
Looking at ep 2 of the new Beatles release last night….its amazing what they produced over such a short existence…we were talking here tonight about their recording process and working conditions…an endless stream of distraction in and out of that barn like shed…that director with his cigar..how I longed to shove it where the sun dont shine….Yoko with her head stuck in the racing page… Dick James Dick….I had nicotine stains on my eyes after watching it… the way they created, their sparks of pure art igniting, John & Paul like Two Reactors, George forever seeking the perfect lick, Ringo always ready to nail it down…looking forward to going out on the roof with them when I get home tonight…..
Its an archive I’ve been considering….but the Atkin demands constant attention..its a very “needy” item, forever beckoning, always seeking, there are days when I dont get a minute to myself…even now as I lie here in the scratcher, thon Atkin is beckoning, I’d better get up and give it a few plucks
Now and again, there have been references to ‘Christmas Morning’ – Tiernan McBride’s short film, with Paul Brady’s ‘Arthur McBride’ as the soundtrack. It’s a real gem and features in the ‘Christmas Crackers’ selection on http://www.ifi,ie
Looking at the site, there are numerous brilliant choices inc Easter 1916 features.
Have a great gig to finish the year – let’s hope for more in ’22.
All the best
Dave
Christy's reply
Sound Man Dave,,,,as always, you’re as busy as a Bee (minor)….sending good vibrations to you and all you songsters in Suffragette City
Christy singing punk rock – sounds great 🙂
And at your next concert in Dusseldorf (at least I still hope there is one in the not too distant future in this area…) you sing a duet with Campino, perfect match!!! YNWA!
Hello Christy I’m just after joining I have recently learned the lyrics of your song Encore and I was intrigued by some of the lyrics in them could you please explain them they are Mountbellew was like pugertry but Tulsk was just like being in hell why were these gigs so bad and who was the outlaw who stole the guards trousers back in 1984 thanks vincent
Christy's reply
some things best left …
those verses fell by the wayside decades ago…
replaced by simple lines that carry reference to better times..
“I never met Bob Dylan
but I sang with Pecker Dunne
when we drank Lough Eireann dry
we went lookin for Lough Dann.
One Winter’s night in Willesden
my heart it filled with joy
when Margaret Barry called up
to sing The Wild Colonial Boy”
Hi all, 2 tickets going at face value for 2m night. Unfortunately can’t make it, last minute thing. Here’s the link i just posted if anyones interested. http://www.adverts.ie/25627719
Christy's reply
post again tomorrow if you get no takers.. fuck via gogo
Hi Christy,
Is there any chance you could sing beeswing tomorrow night? I love that song. Was at your gig back in September and unfortunately you didn’t get a chance to sing it.
Thank you
Christy's reply
theres every chance Kai but the set list do have a mind of its own..its been in the set of late..fingers crossed
Hi Christy, great to read about the perfect atmosphere for the different songs you sang yesterday evening. I’m so much looking forward to tomorrow night’s gig and so happy and grateful that I can enjoy it live. Thanks to you and all the lads in the background for not cancelling the gigs due to the new restrictions, but let the 50% enjoy it the more to be part of it, although you probably have so much more effort to put in rearranging things and approx. 100% of the cost.
Bag packed, PLF filled out, c-test negative, can’t wait to be on my way :-). See you tomorrow!
Birgit
Christy's reply
delighted to read that you got sorted out for tomorrow night…heres hoping we have a great gathering for the last gig of 2021….I promise to do at least one Toten Hosen song !
Hi C another unique gig. When some of us saw the tables full of drink,, pints galore plus full bottles of wine ! we thought oh its gonna be noisey,,, but no,,,in fact the listeners were so ,so respectful that initially you had to encourage people to sing along, all those happy young men ,listening , watching,,enjoying,, you had us all eating out of your hand,,,,and no hassle whatsoever. Go raibh mile, mile maith agat agus an fhoireann for leir freisin. The standing for Joxer personified the vibe.. I wonder has Ray H ever seen the excitement that continues to welcome his goal a mere 33 years later ? it must be the most celebrated goal ever even beyond the goal by Mikey Sheehy against Paddy Cullen in 1978… or that fateful goal in the rain in 1982 by Seamus Darby. It was good to finally hear Fairytale… you mentioned Jackson Browne dedicating Deluge to you in Dublin.. I was lucky to catch it on video,,, I know that PD was there….but I don’t think you were….https://youtu.be/i97bIyOqylc …beir bua agus beannacht. H
Christy's reply
….Mikey’s lob over scarpering back paddy Cullen was glorious moment, as was Seamus Darby’s left foot rocket…not forgetting Jimmy Barry Murphy’s pullin-on-the-sliotar goal in that Hurlin final…..but none of those goals would have got last nights audience up on their feet 33 years on..
my favourite story ( told here before) was from my local pharmacist..she was on her holidays “out foreign” watching that Ireland soccer match in some Irish taverna..when Ray stuck it in the net ,a Hardy Buck standing beside got carried away and gave her Hug ,a Hoult and a Gooser….she was slightly alarmed upon impact but he made an embarrassed apology and they had a few drinks..33 years on they have a grown up family and 4 grand chisslers…to think that Ray could have missed..I’d have no Joxser,they’d never have met..
thank you for all your support over the troubled times..I know you have helped many people with your kindness and compassion…its always a pleasure to see you up front with a gaggle of 4711ers gathered around you..
We’ve lost some good friends since lockdown began..I’m remembering Traudel as I write this and also dear Primula…
last night was a cracker..I need 24 hours to get myself straightened out before ” goin at it agin”
Glad last night went well and the crowd played a blinder…JB’s “Deluge” crossed my mind last week with de’Barra storm and the present day reminder not to plan too far into the future..a great song and good to see it back amongst the pecking order..
Looking forward to Thursday…just a word of thanks to you, the crew, and everyone who works behind the scenes to make these gigs happen. We turn up to hear the songs but also to appreciate the work.
‘Two big dogs and a man shouts “Who goes there?”
Kev
Christy's reply
great to get Jackson’s Deluge back into the set last night..its 40 years since I recorded it with Moving Hearts…as I came to end of Clock Winds Down it came into my head and I decided to take a chance..it segued perfectly..sometimes unrehearsed can work like a dream…last nights gig was like a double booster…I felt like I could run thru Wuhan singin Lisdoonvarna
Hello Christy,
I think there could be another fledgling Lisdoonvarna in those words you wrote about Cork. I’ve no idea what a zhongchen bearer is but I’m seeing huge gold buddhas, orange robes aplenty and wall to wall incense.
Did you know in Singapore there’s the Buddha’s finger temple (I think it’s his finger). The shrine is a room that’s completely gold plated. Women are not very welcome at all and there’s a garden on the roof made completely of orchids. It’s all true, i”ve been there.
Steve’s tenor drone has a problem. It’s oscillating between d and e flat, not a great effect when the chanter is in d.
Looks like another flit to Manchester this weekend.
The tg4 Liam documentary. Is that the one with the gallops and meeting Jane, and her not knowing what uilleann pipes are, and the favourite and the sweet chestnut tree and Liam’s workroom with his notes in it? We watch this one a lot, snaffled it onto a dvd somehow.
Rebecca
Christy's reply
dont talk to me about that Singapore Temple..I stopped off there once on my way to Woolongong and thought Id never get out of it…I was never so happy to get back up into a 747…I knew the pilot. he was married to a Moorefield woman and let me ride up front in the cabin..I was never so happy to see the lights of Perth in the morning Sun…I went straight to confession in Perth to confess my gold tooth trangression …you might not believe this but the confessor was an Irish Priest..a FR Tadgh Manly …. he let me off lightly…turned out that he was an uncle of Liam Ó Maonlaoi of the Hothouse Flowers (and a bit of a divvil to boot as well as being a devotee to Blessed Martin De Porres)..we left the confessional and went on the piss in WA
Thanks Christy for a fantastic evening at Vicar St, it might have been half the crowd but it certainly wasn’t half the performance, you just keep delivering the best live gig there is. And I just couldn’t believe the youth of the audience, I certainly was in the older quartile and when you did Joxer I was thinking some of the crowd could have been the German’s granddaughter! Thanks again and please don’t entertain any notions of retiring, you’re performing like a young lad. Fairytale was the starting gun for Christmas whatever format it takes in 2021. Míle Buíochas
Christy's reply
ceart go leor SK…insan leaba anois tar éis oiche bhrea i Sráid Tomás ( excuse Bord na Móna Gaeilge)
you’re right about the youthful audience…it was like the Electric Picnic….betimes it felt like a First Communion Hooley without the parents….I could have kept going but good sense prevailed and me tablet was wearing off..
I need a days rest to get ready for tomorrow night….sail on Jimmy
Dear Christy, as i prepare my provisions for another long haul in the bunker i have amassed some teabags, candles, sodabread, honey and a pile of old non right wing newspapers.
I should be safe enough for a few weeks in there provided i can sneak out to vicar street for a no touching, no coughing, no singing, no clapping early january ‘gig’.
I will take a few of Keenan’s songs with me perhaps the selection from the fascinating recent INFLUENCES set, the old bald bloke’s Traveller disc and jim connell’s ‘red flag’.
Now where is my zippo?
Rory
Christy's reply
last night in Vicar was hoppin…50% capacity filled the room with 100% participation, good ju-ju and uplifting enthusiasm…utter silence for songs that deserved such and utter mayhem for songs that brought on wild abandon…the stillness in the room for Johnny Boy, Magdalen,Deluge, Clock Winds Down and others was inspiring…the energy for Quinte, Ordinary, Joxer, Fairytale, Derry and others was awesome…It was like an extra booster….a lot of first timers too..still buzzin here after the breakfast
I was in the oxygen tent afterwards trying to get out of my corset..the promoter stuck his head in the tent and said ” that gig was like a cross between the pope and the sex pistols”….thats the kinda review we like
Dear Christy, confession time.
I never really got the Beatles……i know 10 bloody marys and 10 how’s yer fathers.
shocking i know ………but each to his or her own taste etc.
I liked Back in the USSR and there must be a couple of others that tickled my fancy greatly, but maybe i am just too young (and that has not been said too often).
Mind you are there many Beatles fans that ‘got’ Black Uhuru (with the bass skills of robbie shakespeare) and the socialist punk of the Angelic Upstarts ( and the passion of Mensi)…both of whom i really enjoyed, but who both died in the last week?
apologies to all Beatles fans, though my eldest bairn Hamish is a big fan of the fab four.
all the best
Rory
Less than two hours until the live performance at Vicar St. Looking forward to the evening it’s officially Christmas 🎄
52 mins to go….final touches here…getting the hair piece glued down, the corset tightened, the ear pads jammed home, hoping to take the tablets in the proper sequence, a dew deckitts of the rosary, a splash of 4711 and away we go
You sure have good ‘co pilots’, Christy – and an ace tech crew – recording and ‘live’.
I used to love scribbling set lists for each half of a folk club gig – as a guide, rather than a bible. Always good to hear your accounts of the unexpected routes where your sets travel… I’m sure there’ll be some for lucky Vicar Streeters in awhile…
All good wishes
Dave
Looking at ep 2 of the new Beatles release last night….its amazing what they produced over such a short existence…we were talking here tonight about their recording process and working conditions…an endless stream of distraction in and out of that barn like shed…that director with his cigar..how I longed to shove it where the sun dont shine….Yoko with her head stuck in the racing page… Dick James Dick….I had nicotine stains on my eyes after watching it… the way they created, their sparks of pure art igniting, John & Paul like Two Reactors, George forever seeking the perfect lick, Ringo always ready to nail it down…looking forward to going out on the roof with them when I get home tonight…..
Your attention to detail is always impressive, Christy
Playing ‘Mystery…’ now and (again) struck by the power of the track sequencing, as well as the music quality… D
Sequencing was twice as difficult when we had to contend with Side A & Side B
Same story with doing two sets at a gig….having to strart and stop twice
the old Folk Clubs always demanded two twenty minute sets
maybe half a gallon of Ale in between
Tis a wonder we ever did the second set
and there were night when we did’nt …(sadly)
But playing the music is such a pleasure….I so enjoyed Flying into Mystery with my good co-pilots
Oh this place is buzzing right now. I love it. Big joy to all.
there is work to be done….unlike last year’s idle time
http://www.ifiarchiveplayer.ie is a shortcut to ‘Christmas Crackers’ and the other excellent film collections D
Its an archive I’ve been considering….but the Atkin demands constant attention..its a very “needy” item, forever beckoning, always seeking, there are days when I dont get a minute to myself…even now as I lie here in the scratcher, thon Atkin is beckoning, I’d better get up and give it a few plucks
Mornin’ Christy
Now and again, there have been references to ‘Christmas Morning’ – Tiernan McBride’s short film, with Paul Brady’s ‘Arthur McBride’ as the soundtrack. It’s a real gem and features in the ‘Christmas Crackers’ selection on http://www.ifi,ie
Looking at the site, there are numerous brilliant choices inc Easter 1916 features.
Have a great gig to finish the year – let’s hope for more in ’22.
All the best
Dave
Sound Man Dave,,,,as always, you’re as busy as a Bee (minor)….sending good vibrations to you and all you songsters in Suffragette City
Thank you. That meant a lot to us both 🙏 Hope your own shows get the go ahead in the mean time. Thanks again,
Dylan
ar aghaidh linn, síos an mbóthair le céile…fáilte romhat
Christy singing punk rock – sounds great 🙂
And at your next concert in Dusseldorf (at least I still hope there is one in the not too distant future in this area…) you sing a duet with Campino, perfect match!!! YNWA!
Kraftwerk might be an option
Hello Christy I’m just after joining I have recently learned the lyrics of your song Encore and I was intrigued by some of the lyrics in them could you please explain them they are Mountbellew was like pugertry but Tulsk was just like being in hell why were these gigs so bad and who was the outlaw who stole the guards trousers back in 1984 thanks vincent
some things best left …
those verses fell by the wayside decades ago…
replaced by simple lines that carry reference to better times..
“I never met Bob Dylan
but I sang with Pecker Dunne
when we drank Lough Eireann dry
we went lookin for Lough Dann.
One Winter’s night in Willesden
my heart it filled with joy
when Margaret Barry called up
to sing The Wild Colonial Boy”
Hi all, 2 tickets going at face value for 2m night. Unfortunately can’t make it, last minute thing. Here’s the link i just posted if anyones interested. http://www.adverts.ie/25627719
post again tomorrow if you get no takers.. fuck via gogo
Hi Christy,
Is there any chance you could sing beeswing tomorrow night? I love that song. Was at your gig back in September and unfortunately you didn’t get a chance to sing it.
Thank you
theres every chance Kai but the set list do have a mind of its own..its been in the set of late..fingers crossed
Hi Christy, great to read about the perfect atmosphere for the different songs you sang yesterday evening. I’m so much looking forward to tomorrow night’s gig and so happy and grateful that I can enjoy it live. Thanks to you and all the lads in the background for not cancelling the gigs due to the new restrictions, but let the 50% enjoy it the more to be part of it, although you probably have so much more effort to put in rearranging things and approx. 100% of the cost.
Bag packed, PLF filled out, c-test negative, can’t wait to be on my way :-). See you tomorrow!
Birgit
delighted to read that you got sorted out for tomorrow night…heres hoping we have a great gathering for the last gig of 2021….I promise to do at least one Toten Hosen song !
Hi C another unique gig. When some of us saw the tables full of drink,, pints galore plus full bottles of wine ! we thought oh its gonna be noisey,,, but no,,,in fact the listeners were so ,so respectful that initially you had to encourage people to sing along, all those happy young men ,listening , watching,,enjoying,, you had us all eating out of your hand,,,,and no hassle whatsoever. Go raibh mile, mile maith agat agus an fhoireann for leir freisin. The standing for Joxer personified the vibe.. I wonder has Ray H ever seen the excitement that continues to welcome his goal a mere 33 years later ? it must be the most celebrated goal ever even beyond the goal by Mikey Sheehy against Paddy Cullen in 1978… or that fateful goal in the rain in 1982 by Seamus Darby. It was good to finally hear Fairytale… you mentioned Jackson Browne dedicating Deluge to you in Dublin.. I was lucky to catch it on video,,, I know that PD was there….but I don’t think you were….https://youtu.be/i97bIyOqylc …beir bua agus beannacht. H
….Mikey’s lob over scarpering back paddy Cullen was glorious moment, as was Seamus Darby’s left foot rocket…not forgetting Jimmy Barry Murphy’s pullin-on-the-sliotar goal in that Hurlin final…..but none of those goals would have got last nights audience up on their feet 33 years on..
my favourite story ( told here before) was from my local pharmacist..she was on her holidays “out foreign” watching that Ireland soccer match in some Irish taverna..when Ray stuck it in the net ,a Hardy Buck standing beside got carried away and gave her Hug ,a Hoult and a Gooser….she was slightly alarmed upon impact but he made an embarrassed apology and they had a few drinks..33 years on they have a grown up family and 4 grand chisslers…to think that Ray could have missed..I’d have no Joxser,they’d never have met..
thank you for all your support over the troubled times..I know you have helped many people with your kindness and compassion…its always a pleasure to see you up front with a gaggle of 4711ers gathered around you..
We’ve lost some good friends since lockdown began..I’m remembering Traudel as I write this and also dear Primula…
last night was a cracker..I need 24 hours to get myself straightened out before ” goin at it agin”
Morning Christy
Glad last night went well and the crowd played a blinder…JB’s “Deluge” crossed my mind last week with de’Barra storm and the present day reminder not to plan too far into the future..a great song and good to see it back amongst the pecking order..
Looking forward to Thursday…just a word of thanks to you, the crew, and everyone who works behind the scenes to make these gigs happen. We turn up to hear the songs but also to appreciate the work.
‘Two big dogs and a man shouts “Who goes there?”
Kev
great to get Jackson’s Deluge back into the set last night..its 40 years since I recorded it with Moving Hearts…as I came to end of Clock Winds Down it came into my head and I decided to take a chance..it segued perfectly..sometimes unrehearsed can work like a dream…last nights gig was like a double booster…I felt like I could run thru Wuhan singin Lisdoonvarna
It’s his tooth not his finger
https://wanderwisdom.com/travel-destinations/A-Visit-to-the-Buddha-Tooth-Relic-Temple-in-Singapore
thank god for that….under the circustances, the thought of “the finger” is verging on the sacreligious
Hello Christy,
I think there could be another fledgling Lisdoonvarna in those words you wrote about Cork. I’ve no idea what a zhongchen bearer is but I’m seeing huge gold buddhas, orange robes aplenty and wall to wall incense.
Did you know in Singapore there’s the Buddha’s finger temple (I think it’s his finger). The shrine is a room that’s completely gold plated. Women are not very welcome at all and there’s a garden on the roof made completely of orchids. It’s all true, i”ve been there.
Steve’s tenor drone has a problem. It’s oscillating between d and e flat, not a great effect when the chanter is in d.
Looks like another flit to Manchester this weekend.
The tg4 Liam documentary. Is that the one with the gallops and meeting Jane, and her not knowing what uilleann pipes are, and the favourite and the sweet chestnut tree and Liam’s workroom with his notes in it? We watch this one a lot, snaffled it onto a dvd somehow.
Rebecca
dont talk to me about that Singapore Temple..I stopped off there once on my way to Woolongong and thought Id never get out of it…I was never so happy to get back up into a 747…I knew the pilot. he was married to a Moorefield woman and let me ride up front in the cabin..I was never so happy to see the lights of Perth in the morning Sun…I went straight to confession in Perth to confess my gold tooth trangression …you might not believe this but the confessor was an Irish Priest..a FR Tadgh Manly …. he let me off lightly…turned out that he was an uncle of Liam Ó Maonlaoi of the Hothouse Flowers (and a bit of a divvil to boot as well as being a devotee to Blessed Martin De Porres)..we left the confessional and went on the piss in WA
Thanks Christy for a fantastic evening at Vicar St, it might have been half the crowd but it certainly wasn’t half the performance, you just keep delivering the best live gig there is. And I just couldn’t believe the youth of the audience, I certainly was in the older quartile and when you did Joxer I was thinking some of the crowd could have been the German’s granddaughter! Thanks again and please don’t entertain any notions of retiring, you’re performing like a young lad. Fairytale was the starting gun for Christmas whatever format it takes in 2021. Míle Buíochas
ceart go leor SK…insan leaba anois tar éis oiche bhrea i Sráid Tomás ( excuse Bord na Móna Gaeilge)
you’re right about the youthful audience…it was like the Electric Picnic….betimes it felt like a First Communion Hooley without the parents….I could have kept going but good sense prevailed and me tablet was wearing off..
I need a days rest to get ready for tomorrow night….sail on Jimmy
Dear Christy, as i prepare my provisions for another long haul in the bunker i have amassed some teabags, candles, sodabread, honey and a pile of old non right wing newspapers.
I should be safe enough for a few weeks in there provided i can sneak out to vicar street for a no touching, no coughing, no singing, no clapping early january ‘gig’.
I will take a few of Keenan’s songs with me perhaps the selection from the fascinating recent INFLUENCES set, the old bald bloke’s Traveller disc and jim connell’s ‘red flag’.
Now where is my zippo?
Rory
last night in Vicar was hoppin…50% capacity filled the room with 100% participation, good ju-ju and uplifting enthusiasm…utter silence for songs that deserved such and utter mayhem for songs that brought on wild abandon…the stillness in the room for Johnny Boy, Magdalen,Deluge, Clock Winds Down and others was inspiring…the energy for Quinte, Ordinary, Joxer, Fairytale, Derry and others was awesome…It was like an extra booster….a lot of first timers too..still buzzin here after the breakfast
I was in the oxygen tent afterwards trying to get out of my corset..the promoter stuck his head in the tent and said ” that gig was like a cross between the pope and the sex pistols”….thats the kinda review we like
I meant of the tune, not the words. Sorry.