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Bluegrass & Beyond NYC Blog

Bluegrass & Beyond acoustic jam (since 2008) - held the 1st, 3rd, and 5th (odd) Mondays of each month, 7:30 at Paddy Reilly's Pub, 519 2nd Ave., N.Y., N.Y. 10016. Hosted by Dave Comins.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

July 19, 2010 - The "Zen" Jam



Well, it's good to be back, jamsters:

According to co-hosts Bill and AJ, the July 5th jam went off without a hitch - but I haven't heard a thing about it.

It's kind of like a tree falling in the forest while one hand claps... you never really know what it sounded like. I'll go with the flow and assume it happened!

Maybe I'll just call it the "Zen" jam. I wonder if anyone sang any Leonard Koan?

Speaking of koans and other mysteries, can anyone explain to me what Craig was singing about - a guy steals another guy's wooden leg (plus his wife) and then spends the rest of the song as a three-legged man - with a two-legged wife - being chased by a one-legged man? You can't make this stuff up!

He also did a nice version of "The Fox" (which I did understand...)

Scottie, sporting some natty shorts and socks, gave us "Summer Breeze" - apparently feeling a little breezy himself. I loved his introduction to the song's introduction: "The simple C to A is a gateway into a gorgeous pop tune...". I thought I was in an episode of "Star Trek".

That was only the beginning for Scott. He also gave us a highlight of the evening - the Doobie Brothers' "Black Water" - I think that was the song that had a B11 - causing Steve to ask: "Isn't that a vitamin?" Scotty was aghast... (for other memorable Scotty chords - see the "Disco" jam blog entry).

I can honestly say that Scott's a treasure to have at any jam - and especially at ours!

Well, I guess Westchester was closed for the evening because half of the Westchester Bluegrass Club showed up for B & B...

I'll blame Mike, Bob and Karen for that.

Mike gave us "The Year That Clayton Delaney Died" by Tom T. Hall and Karen went Canadian on us, with Gordon Lightfoot's "For Lovin' Me".

Northern newbies Deborah ("I'll Fly Away") and Pete (I think, Jim Reeves "Blue Side Of Lonesome") both sang it with a Westchester accent - although both claim to hail from NYC - fancy that!

Liz spent most of the evening looking for banjo parts at the bar - I think she almost resorted to using a Guiness bottle as a bridge... we'll have to wait until next jam to hear her play.

Gail was back again from the South, leading "Another Night" and others.

Lynn's "Bartender's Blues" by James Taylor was fun.

Sarah kicked last night with a bar-bashing version of "Sweet Home Alabama", followed by "Hey Joe".

The co-hosts didn't take their job lightly either. AJ's "Dire Wolf" from the Dead and my own "The Old Crossroads" from the father of bluegrass, as well as "Give Me The Highway" from Vince Gill (the great-grandson of bluegrass?) rounded out a good evening.

See you in two weeks, and get on the mailing list if you're not on it already.


Dave Comins

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