Sunday, June 26, 2005
BY "CONSENSUS", A SPECIAL SATURDAY EVENING
Last night we made one of our occasional pilgrimages to Fiddler's Hearth. The occasion was the return of my daughter and her best friend's favorite bluegrass band, Special Concensus. You might find it surprising that two college age girls would have a favorite bluegrass band at all, but if you take a close look at the guitar and bass players, it will become much more clear! Seriously, I am not much of a b'grass fan myself, but I look forward to Special C's occasional visits to South Bend. Their musicianship is just outstanding. Very talented, which explains how the band, in various forms, has been around for thirty years.
Cara and Shelley with the band!
We arrived at 7:30 for the 9:00 show, to assure ourselves a good seat, because this show is always crowded. For dinner I decided on Boxty, a kind of potato cake omelet, filled with sauteed leeks and mushrooms and a choice of meat. It is then covered with cheddar cheese and flashed under the broiler. I had mine with corned beef. It was delicious. The girls had Steak and Guinness Pie and Shepherd's Pie. I'm not sure who had what, because they seemed to be sampling each other's entrees. The three of us then split a Chocolate Bomb. The meal was washed down with Murphy's Red Lager. A truly fine meal it was!
The band took stage around 9 and played till midnight. They were in fine voice and fine humor, joked with the regulars, and even took a few requests. They played a few songs with a local musician, Sally. Sally is a college student here, and a truly fine fiddler. She is blind, and has the most amazing leader dog, a black lab. This is the gentlest, sweetest, most well behaved dog you have ever seen! Even in the midst of all the ruckus and hubbub, this dog was perfectly calm. Shelley says she is going to send Kipper off to Leader Dogs for remedial training!
Between sets, Sally and a couple of band members huddled together while she coached them on some lines from a couple of Celtic songs they are working on after their recent tour of the Isles. It was really amazing to watch them playing together, and then stopping while she played a line, and they worked on picking it up. They were really complex lines, and when they got them, you could see faces light up like neon signs. It was really fun to watch.
We arrived home about 12:30, an excellent time had by all. Special C will be back in December. be assured we will be there too!
Cara and Shelley with the band!
We arrived at 7:30 for the 9:00 show, to assure ourselves a good seat, because this show is always crowded. For dinner I decided on Boxty, a kind of potato cake omelet, filled with sauteed leeks and mushrooms and a choice of meat. It is then covered with cheddar cheese and flashed under the broiler. I had mine with corned beef. It was delicious. The girls had Steak and Guinness Pie and Shepherd's Pie. I'm not sure who had what, because they seemed to be sampling each other's entrees. The three of us then split a Chocolate Bomb. The meal was washed down with Murphy's Red Lager. A truly fine meal it was!
The band took stage around 9 and played till midnight. They were in fine voice and fine humor, joked with the regulars, and even took a few requests. They played a few songs with a local musician, Sally. Sally is a college student here, and a truly fine fiddler. She is blind, and has the most amazing leader dog, a black lab. This is the gentlest, sweetest, most well behaved dog you have ever seen! Even in the midst of all the ruckus and hubbub, this dog was perfectly calm. Shelley says she is going to send Kipper off to Leader Dogs for remedial training!
Between sets, Sally and a couple of band members huddled together while she coached them on some lines from a couple of Celtic songs they are working on after their recent tour of the Isles. It was really amazing to watch them playing together, and then stopping while she played a line, and they worked on picking it up. They were really complex lines, and when they got them, you could see faces light up like neon signs. It was really fun to watch.
We arrived home about 12:30, an excellent time had by all. Special C will be back in December. be assured we will be there too!
