The Chieftains

[wgority]

Just wanted to mention, if you've got the chance see The Chieftains during the remaining dates of their current tour. It's some of the best music you'll ever hear. I've seen them twice during this tour, the first time in State College, PA from the audience.

The second time, in Philadelphia, PA this past Sunday (March 11, 2007) at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts was from a much better vantage point......On stage with them! I was given the chance to play with them on Highland pipes and leapt on it like a madman. Here's a photo from after the show of me with Mike MacNintch (the friend who set things up for me to have this opportunity) and Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains. I'm the one on the right grinning like he just swallowed his own head. (Sorry about the hat-head - I'd been wearing my glengarry most of the afternoon).

The Chieftains have been among my favourite musicians since I first heard them at age 12. I mean....meeting Matt Molloy who has been a member of the 3 greatest Irish bands ever to exist (The Chieftains, the Bothy Dand and Planxty), Sean Keane (who is one of the tallest people I've ever seen! and a real gentleman), Kevin Conneff and, of course, Paddy Moloney. WOW! I can't say enough great things about them.

Sorry you can't see the rest of the outfit, but I was wearing my family kilt of MacDonald of the Isles (16 oz Lochcarron) with my formal black fur sporran.



Sunday was the best day of my life! Meeting them....talking with them.....and then PLAYING with the Chieftains and hanging around with them after the show....talking pipes with an old friend and with Paddy Moloney. Life is great!

I don't know how life could get better than that. The really cool thing about this was that among the other performers with the Chieftains that day were Jonathan and Nathan Pilatzke from Canada - who are amazing Ottawa Valley-style dancers and great fiddlers, the lovely and talented dancer Cara Butler, Dan Stacey of Seven Nations (who fiddled and danced) and Ryan MacNeill of The MacNeills of Barra (who filled the shoes of the late Derek Bell on keyboards. Ryan is also a very good uilleann piper). Each and every one of them are among the finest people you could ever hope to meet.

Wow.....I wanna do it again!