A Chairde,

A heartfelt thanks goes out to all of those who gave support to myself and the other Fairplay members last weekend in NY... We really do appreciate you getting out early and singing along... What a night... more on that later...!

I had a beautiful trip to say the least... I started in Philly, a place, still a bit of a mystery to me. I played a session with my friend, “John Francis” who has an incredible voice and is a rightful guardian of all that is good about real, American country music. Of course... he's moving to Nashville... They need him down there but I'll miss him up here too. I also got to see Bell X1 play the World Cafe. I love these guys.. Been hearing about them for so long and have seen the heads around Dublin for years... but what a unique show. The Bellies as they are affectionately called, have that mass appeal thing going on, while still managing to hold onto Dublinisms in their lyrics that just wowed me... Killer lines and killer musician's and a really solid, nice bunch of guys...

I've been to Philly a few times now and each time I get to venture out a little further to discover more of it's hidden charms. This trip, really opened Pandora's box for me. I'm lucky being the outsider in America sometimes. Strangely, I still see myself as the pasty white Irish boy, floating about the big smoke. I'm still tripping over cultural nuances, longing to belong here sometimes, at others, longing to go home again. I am very much of Ireland, but I'm not totally sure where home is anymore... (Another blog, perhaps...). At the same time, I also don't get weighed down with the baggage of a parochial vision of a US city. I'm not burdened by a hardened mantra, inherited from parents or grandparents, who maybe, had a bad time here or there. I get to see with fresh eyes...

The first thing that hit me, is that Philly wears it's art on it's sleeve... The murals around the inner city are spectacular... no, no..! I mean even more so than you're imagining right now.. Huge and expertly crafted. They sing to your emotions, as great art should. They defy the press reports about a tough North Eastern, blue collar enclave. Then there are the buildings speckled with explosive mosaics.... If I wasn't driving a rental car I couldn't afford, I could easily have sideswiped any number of other vehicles, as I rubbernecked my way around the city. Times Square, Reno, Vegas ( eh... Funderland at the RDS..!) all play to your eyeballs and strike you with a frenetic bolt. Philly, on that lazy, sunny afternoon, caught me on a much deeper level and fed me a substantial bowl of sustenance. I'm hungry to go back there... and then again... I'm just a pasty white Irish boy... What do I know...? My advice is, stop into “William's Cafe” on the corner, just up from Christian and 13th... this is a gem, run by one of the friendliest guys I've met in a long time...

On to NY...

Fairplay Collective played the Craicfest this year and we were very honored to do so. I like the Mercury lounge a lot and the bill for the night was brilliant. Ourselves, Colin Devlin, Foy Vance and our good friend, Paddy Casey, who at the last moment, filled in for the MIA Duke Special, who missed the boat due to a visa snafu!

We were treated like Kings and a Queen (Jenna not Brendan of course..) by Terrence and Clodagh...

We launched into things, with all our hits... something you feel you have to do when it's a mixed  crowd... the home crew did us proud, everyone sang along and we had a tremendous time. Colin Devlin used poignant, mellow brushstrokes to hook us into his world and I loved his set...but it has to be said.... The night belonged to Foy Vance.

What an incredible performance. A laptop, keyboard, a couple of loop pedals and an acoustic guitar and the man became Van, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Tom Waits, David Gray, Nina Simone, Nick Cave, Nick Drake and many more legends rolled into one and often that was just the first verse. If you haven't seen him.... don't wait until you can't afford the show in the near future. Foy Vance has redefined “Northern Soul”.

The next afternoon I did the Red Lion, which turned into quite the session... John Francis came up from Philly and ripped it up... the up and coming Faryn Sand wowed us with her set and then my good friend Paddy Casey and I ripped the roof off the place and then left for the Scratcher Session. Thanks especially to Dave, George and to Mike.

We all stomped in on Mike DiSalvo's set (sorry Mike) at the Scratcher and then settled in once again, for a beautiful night of song...

The Bellies came along, Andy White appeared out of no-where, all the Fairplay Collective where there, Paddy Casey was chatting up ladies in another corner... and all of a sudden it felt like Wow...! Now this is what home is... that's what we do... we carry it with us in Song.

The only sad part of the weekend was that Glen Hansard's father died. We all expected to see Glen out and about but he had to make that terrible, emergency flight home, that we all dread having to do from far away... Home can be so many things and those things can turn on a dime...

I wish all the best to Glen and the family, especially to Katherine, the rock of the Hansard clan...

And also to all of you for reading and singing and supporting us in what we love to do.

Please watch the pages for the upcoming shows and let's do it all again...

Love and Respect,
mark

 A gift from William...
http://metalinquisition.blogspot.com/2008/11/black-metal-prank-call.html