Old time at the Cock and Pullet

In October, 2006, Butch and I had yet another chance (lucky us!) to spend a little time in England. One night, our dear friends Christine and Pete drove us out into the middle of nowhere for a good ol’ American old time music session. The venue was a pub called the Cock and Pullet, which gave us the giggles for far too long. The place really should’ve been called the “Clock and Pullet” since every inch of the walls was covered in clocks, which once again left us giggling uncontrollably every hour when they’d all start chiming. Anyway, it was a super fun night, and none of us wanted to leave, but as it is with so many of our wonderful nights out, we were having to catch a plane early the next morning. Some of these folks (including the very kind Steve Wise) I’d met a few years prior, at that festival in Gainsborough, the one where I captured that unofficial history of Scotland posted earlier.

Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss, American old time music as played by Brits and Yanks together at the Cock and Pullet pub, England, 2006.

Sometimes it’s exactly what you expect…only better.

My days in Cork were so rich in music from the moment I arrived there. I hardly went anywhere without bringing my minidisc recorder along. This recording was made on November 14, 2001, which would’ve been just about 2 months after I first got to Cork for my year abroad. It was Tom Spackman and myself sitting off to the side of the session at the Gables on Barrack Street, listening to Christy Leahy on box, Johnny Neville on guitar, and Geraldine O’Callahan on fiddle. This continues to be one of the best sessions in Cork, in my opinion, although it’s never exactly the same twice. This particular night was probably the first night I started to fall in love with Johnny Neville’s guitar playing… I only wish I’d captured him singing. I pity any tourists who travel to Ireland in search of traditional music and end up sitting in a pub other than the Gables on a Wednesday or Sunday night. Unless it’s the Corner House, but that’s another story for another post.

Set of reels, recorded at the Gables, November 14, 2001.