adrian is rad

Last Friday, the 18th, I saw Paddy Keenan at the Plough and Stars in the City.

Here’s a nice bio/ interview of Paddy if you want to know more about him. He’s an uilleann piper, and one of the best. The guy who introduced him at the Plough and Stars called him the best piper that ever lived. I don’t know. Seamus Ennis was really good.

Uilleann pipes are the irish sorts of bagpipes. Much more social and less loud/ militaristic than the scottish sort. And more difficult to play. Wikipedia will tell you more about the uillean (pronounced ill’ ee-an or ill’ an) pipes.

The Plough and Stars is a great place to see irish music. Lots of Irish there and not a lot of the stupid people who go to see the Chieftans and start clapping at the slightest sign of a reel.

Paddy was there with Tommy O’Sullivan, his touring partner and guitarist. Tommy did a few songs but the bulk of the night was focused on Paddy.

Paddy is just amazing. He has such tremendous technical skill on the pipes. He can start a reel out fast and then speed up even for the last time through. He can do all this while playing the regulators as well. He can also improvise in a tasteful manner and play the low whistle like a champ.

Paddy had a few guests on for a couple songs. There was a guy playing lap steel (dobro), which was more interesting than good and a guy playing bodhran, which was nice to hear.

I got a practice set of uilleann pipes a few years back. I should break those out and see if I can do something with them. It’s a gorgeous sound.