The Sept. 6, 2010 Jam

Hello Everyone,

Well, we labored hard and long during the Labor Day jam - co-host Bill said something about 2 am - before he fell asleep while talking to me on the phone the next day.

We walked in to find our Caribbean contingent, Walter - making his yearly West Indian Parade Day pilgrimage to Paddy's and Bluegrass & Beyond. Sarah quickly worked up Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers To Cross" in the back room for him.

Paddy's owner Steve spent a good part of the night explaining to him that Ireland is nowhere near Antigua!

Steve also started us off on the right foot by requesting the opening song - Ian Tyson's "Four Strong Winds" - and who's going to argue with Steve? Certainly not co-host A.J...

The last day before school started brought out the teaching corps en masse (Liz, Mark and Chris - school starts tomorrow, oh, no...) and the mothers (Karen - school starts tomorrow, yeah...).

Liz led a rousing version of "Cluck Old Hen" with some stepping - one of the few times that we've done a song "old-time" style (What! No breaks?). Co-host Bill did a little fancy stepping as well - but it was mostly to save his banjo from Mike's spilled Guinness on the stage.

Phyllis did "Sea Of Heartbreak" and Lynn tried "Silver Dagger" and Alison Krause's "Sleep On" - very ambitious. Phyllis astutely pointed out that we seemed to be doing a lot of songs that didn't end on the tonic chord.

Hey, nobody claimed that B & B was your average jam - maybe at Tony's jam they end on the tonic, but not here!

By the way, Tony and I spent the better part of the evening comparing our stunning legs in shorts. Funny, though, the women didn't seem as impressed as we were... Oh, well, there's no accounting for taste.

Mike, much to my delight, finally tackled Pete Wernick's "Huckling The Berries" again- perhaps inspired by the current cover of Bluegrass Unlimited.

Mike also reprised his 2009 awarding-winning "Best Break In An Unnatural Banjo Key Above The 12th Fret - Uncapoed", when Karen started up "Rider" - in E. (Gulp!!!)

Jon liked my version of "Will The Roses Bloom In Heaven" so much that he announced his intention to steal it - thus, making up for Craig's stealing of his version of "Rosa Lee McFall" last jam. I didn't quite follow the logic of that - but I never was the sharpest pin in the cushion.

Bob returned back from the summer break with "We Could" and "Way Downtown" - and, just in time to pass judgement on my new Martin. I felt like I was in "The Godfather" - getting Marlon Brando's approval. Bob is, after all Mr. Martin at our jam!

St. Bob of Nazareth (Pa.) - it has a ring...

Later on, both Chris and Mark checked it out at length in the back room, but it didn't feel like "The Godfather" anymore - more like... a Mutt and Jeff comic strip (I'm only kidding, of course - you know I love you two guys).

Mark did do Woody's "Hard Traveling" - I should have asked him if it was to commemorate my trip to Michigan to pick up the guitar (you try to eat roadside in Pa. and Ohio... and what about that interstate vending machine coffee? Woody wouldn't have lasted a hour with me...)

Craig and I got into a John Prine oldies competition, and he trumped my "Spanish Pipedream" with his version of "My Flag Decal Won't Get Me Into Heaven Anymore". Remind me not to do that anymore - it's like getting into a Scruggs contest with Banjo Mike...

Great jam, I can only guess what happened after midnight.

And no, I didn't find a cut-off Martin headstock in my bed that night - the Bob-father must've liked it!


Dave Comins
www.bluegrassandbeyondnyc.com
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