On a very rainey and dark Friday night I took a little trip to the Scupper Jack's restaurant and bar in Acton, MA.
Why would I get in my car and forgo my usual short walk to the Colonial Inn? Well the answer is quite simple. The Music, The band’s name, The Folk Tradition
The Folk Tradition consists of three of the most talented musician that I know. John (Fitzy) Fitzsimmons, Patrick (Hatrack) Gallagher,. And last but not least Seth
( ? ) Connelly. (We are looking for a moniker for him. Send in your suggestions.) I thought of Seth (The Sound) So that one is in the lead right now.
Fitzy, is the focal point of the group. He is the lead singer and has an uncanny ability to connect with the any kind of crowd. Hatrack is one of the best Harmonica players you will ever have the pleasure of listing to, and Seth is the glue to the group. He can do it all .He's one mean guitarist who can pick up almost any instrument and sound like he plays it all time. He also has the great and ear for sound . When he sets up the amps you can hear every note and vocal precisely the way music should be heard.
All three of them have very successful music careers in their own right. Fitz plays the Colonial Inn every Thursday and almost every Sunday (An other group plays the 2nd Sunday of the month from September to June) He’s been playing there for twenty years. Most of the time either Seth or Hatrack will join him and very rarely you might get to hear all three of them together. Hatrack also plays the Inn every other Tuesday with his partner in crime Ric Maure’ and his trio. Ric is a very fine piano player and a "well rounded goof ball" Check out Hatrack’s blog http://hatrack.typepad.com/ for his concert dates . Seth plays solo is also there at least one Monday a Month along with other gigs around the place.
Anyway, when I made it to the show and walked in the door of the Scupper Jack’s. I could hear the sweet sound of the Folk Tradition drifting down from the second floor where the band was playing. I knew right than and there that this was going to be a fine show. When I got to the upstairs I looked around and saw a very diverse crowd of young and not so young people. My friends Janet & Ace spotted me and signaled me over to a empty seat next to them at the bar nearest to the band. I settled in, had a beer and started listing. The show was flawless. All of the band members did what they all did best. Fitz had the crowd eating out of palms of his hand.
The group played rousing versions of The Battle Of New Orleans with Fitz on lead vocal. Seth did a fine job on The Beatles classic Norwegian Wood and Hatrack really got the crowd going with the Creedence song Down on the Corner. And so it went.
The music and the good times just flowed the whole night.
I saw many people taping their feet and singing along and smiling.
That’s what listing to great music will do.
It will put you in a better state of mind and let you escape the riggers of every day life.
It will also make you forget about the pounding rain outside and will transform you into a almost mystical place of warmth and internal sunlight. That's what this concert did for me.
The first thing I said to someone , who was standing outside smoking was " it's still raining out".
I was just hoping that the music would of stopped the rain outside like it did inside.
I hope to see these guys play together more often. And hopefully another Folk Tradition CD will be out sometime soon.
I encourage anyone who has yet to hear these guys play together to go and do it. You will not regret it.
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