August 2008 - Irish American News

24 IRISH AMERICAN NEWS August 2008TraditionIn ReviewBill MargesonNext month is going to be arecord-setting CD Slam with a ton ofgreat new stuff that has backed up inthe “to review corner”. As usual, onlythe best. You know, or should, that wedon’t write negative reviews, as weonly review what we like.Being published once a monthleaves us no time for some of thesnippy, cute comments favored insecondary Irish markets, such asNew York. This is Chicago, baby.Keep reading. This will get interestingas we take a break from theusual review process to fill you in, asusual, on Milwaukee’s Irish Fest, thethird weekend in August, and then tofinally get a load off our chests.Milwaukee. The Big Kahuna.With co-founder Chuck Ward recoveringfrom a bout with cancer (hewill kick its butt, be sure) you mighthave worried about this year’s Fest.No need. Another winner.First, go. To those few of you whowimp out every year, and we knowwho you are, just go. You can visit noprettier setting, family-friendly, andthe biggest music bargain on the planet.Don’t mow the lawn, get tired and say,“we’ll do it next year.” Bull. Just go.What to see? Mark this well. Visitthe Galway area, and catch Trad onthe Prom and the Kane sisters. Also,check for Furry Village. The BarraMacNeils from Nova Scotia. Monto.The Omagh Choir.The Maimin Cajun Band fromGalway looks good! Fun. The FuchsiaBand—FAB. And, find the Jeff WardBand. One of our favs. We know thatis too much for one day. Go for two orthree. Now, just go. There is nothinglike it anywhere in the world.Time to unload! Here they are—observations of the current scene. Ifyou disagree, keep it to yourself.1. Welcome to the new director ofthe Irish American Heritage Centerin Chicago, Colin Moore. We really,really hope he corrects the almostartistically criminal record of theCenter-post John Daly’s exit. Thereis NO excuse for the long-standingand continued ignoring of Irish musicperformance. There is a lovely auditoriumthat sits and sits and sits vacantfor decades, as it is rarely used. TheSalon Series started by John Daly hasbeen abandoned for almost a year. Wepersonally know of people who havevolunteered after being requested tovolunteer, to help in this area. Then totallyignored. The Center needs, afterall these years, to finally get seriousabout Irish music, and fully earn thetitle of “Heritage” Center. The newguy has the background to do it andwe wish him well. We’ll see if he cannegotiate the political thickets.2. The continued downslide of Irishmusic is continuing at virtually everymajor festival this summer. Irish rock.Irish rock. Irish rock. Regardless ofwhat my musically autistic PublicRadio partner, Shay Clarke feels,there IS no such thing as Irish rock.Rock groups not good enough to gethired as rock groups bang on thedrums and electric guitars, insert theword “Ireland” every few bars and gethired all summer. Most Irish “music”festivals are now little more than rockfestivals. Demographics rule as theycontinue to chase the 23-year-old beerswiller out to find women—or men. Adrunken Irish pickup festival is morelike it. Slowly, but surely, as we havetold you, this rock nonsense is drivingIrish festivals under, as they seem tohave lost all sense of balance whilechasing the rock dollar. Milwaukee,Cleveland and Columbus excludedhere, though we DO worry aboutColumbus and Cleveland, a little.3. American tourism to Irelandkeeps falling. Economic worries, $4gas, and the incredibly weak dollarare all major parts. But, the biggestreason is Paddy’s greed. Most everythingin Ireland is overpriced andunder-serviced. Ireland is hurtingand does not know or care. Go toDublin and let us know how long itis nowadays before you even HEARan Irish accent, as foreign workersare packing every restaurant andhotel. The Irish have adopted, in largemeasure, the worst of the Americantourism industry. Little value or carefor their customers. The Celtic Tigerthinks it will roar forever. It won’t.It is already dying. The best way toavoid this is to be on a tour, wherevalue and fun still reign, or be verycareful with whom you choose toshare your $6-$7.50 pints.4. One of the most troublingaspects of having friends in Irelandbuilt over 25 years, is that the currentanti-President Bush sentiment thatis virtually unanimous through theIsland, has metastasized into a quiet,but deeply felt anti-Americanism.That will be denied and denied, andit is true. If the Irish affection forAmerica rests on who is President,then they are not a real friend in thefirst place, as they become more andmore “Europeized”. We have growntired of people in other countrieswho think they know what is goingon in America by watching CNN,and then—as in Ireland—having theenormous discourtesy to confronttheir guests about it all.5. Most traditional musicians hateplaying ceili music. Most will denythis when you ask them about it. It istrue. There ARE exceptions, but not allthat many. They are right, that majority.As Ireland’s greatest composer, SeanO’Riada was reported to have saidwhen asked to describe ceili music, “Itis neither music, nor Irish.” We’ll leavethe dancers out of this for now!6. When will Gaelic Park getaround to fixing its dreadful soundproblem at the annual Festival on MemorialDay weekend? There is NOcontrol put on the “Irish” rock groupsthat come in booming their volumelevels. This year, as in the past, we satthrough the rare trad offering fromLiz Carroll and John Williams andwere treated to the BOOM BOOMBOOM coming from the rock tentthroughout Liz and John’s set. Itaurally dominates everything, and itis reprehensible. Gaelic Park—fix it.It has been a problem for years. Thereare lots of ways. First, tell the damnedbands to turn it down. That is ONEcure. There are others.We’re tired of observing. That’lldo—for now. See you in Milwaukee.Ta!