| Atlantic Crossroads Newfoundland 2005 |
| Tonight the artists who sang at Erin�s and the Ship would be at the Celtic Hearth and Bridie Malloy�s and vice versa. I was scheduled to man the door at the Ship after 11 PM so I'd get to see everyone in the first two days! That was a good thing. Tonight's roster was Clare O�Mahony, Pamela Morgan, Mark Greville, Ron Hynes, Niall Connolly and Hugh Scott. I had missed Pamela in March and was anxious to hear her ethereal voice again.
When I got there, Carm and Roweena were on the door and I took my camera out to snap a few photos. Oh no! I hadn�t replaced the dead batteries from the night before. So I ran to the nearest NEEDS convenience store and picked some up, scurrying back to the Ship and finding the best parking spot before Clare�s spot was over. She did a great job, as usual. I think I Can�t has to be my favorite Clare song these days. |
 |
 |
 |
| Pamela Morgan was up next. Her voice was as beautiful as I remembered. She sang Paul�s Song, Portuguese something, and I think I heard Seven Years. I was so caught up in her voice I forgot to write down the rest of the songs. |
| Mark Greville followed Pamela and opened with Select a High, followed by Bury It Deep (�like a good boy would�). The next song�s title escaped me but it was a change of pace, a slow song. Mark has a strong voice and it really came out here. Afterwards, he told a story about how he and Ger Wolfe had walked all over St. John�s for 4 hours and had gotten sunburned. What a great segue into Summertime! That song would become one of the favorites of the musicians during the festival. All I could See hit me with lyrics like �they like seeing talent, they love seeing failure.� Reminds me of some rumors I�ve heard up here in Newfoundland. Names was Mark�s last song of the evening � �though sticks and stones may break my bones, names will never hurt me.� |
 |
| As Martin Finn helped out with the finicky sound system at the Ship, I had this sudden revelation. I don�t know if anyone else saw the resemblance, but he reminded me of my oldest son, Marcus. Maybe it�s the tall thin build or the sense of humor, I don�t know. But I sure had a soft spot in my heart for him because of it. Marcus lives in Portland, Oregon and I�m lucky if I get to see him once a year. I really miss the boy. Martin fixed the problem with the speakers so both were working and quipped �It�s been a one-sided show up till now.�
Ron Hynes has wormed his way into my psyche. It started last August when I spent a weekend in a fog-bound Cape Race Lighthouse when one of the Ham Radio operators there explained about the song, Sonny�s Dream. I always did like that song, but now I had some background and I liked it even more. In March, I watched Ron make an effort to help establish a sense of community among the singers. My opinion went up a notch or two then. It would continue to rise with each performance and conversation I had with him this trip. |
| Ron began his set with Man Of a Thousand Songs, one I really like. I think the line I like best is �an old hotel where the desk clerk will sell you your soul back, reasonably cheap.� He then chatted about his nephew who lived with him for a while and they wrote Dark River together. I first heard that song on Michelle Doyle�s self-titled album and really liked it. Ron and Joel�s version is a tad different, very country, and a different verse. I�ve heard it 4 or 5 times since and it�s grown on me, but I still like Michelle�s version better. |
| Ron went right into The Boy From Old Perlican. I like that one too. "Singing Dark Angel, Tickle Cove Pond (that is one of my all time favorite NFLD songs!), Sonny's Dream and Ise da B'y. " If you ask me, I�ll tell you I don�t like Country Western music but I will also reluctantly admit I have country leanings. Man, this is the first time I�ve said that in public! Waiting for the walls to close in, but they�re not. It got a little serious then, talking about taking it one day at a time, and being addicted...to nurses. Ron said he'd like a six-pack of nurses. We joked about that all week. LOL! The next song was My Name is Nobody - "I take it one day at a time...I'm still living with this fear that I'm still here, with these children of God..." Lightening the mood was Dirt Poor. It was an audience participation song, with us doing the echo, "We're dirt poor (dirt poor) dirt poor (dirt poor) dirt poor in tatters and rags. We're dirt poor but we're not dirt bags (dirt poor but we're not dirt bags)." And the hecklers even sang harmony! Amazing! Ron replied, "Well done, yourselves!" During The Mother Who Bore You in Pain, the phone rang in the bar and he didn't miss a beat, replying, "That'd be Mom!" Ron's last official song was Leaving on the Eventide "dedicated to our friends from that OTHER island." But the hecklers kept yelling something about Buchans, a town in central NFLD. There was an inside joke about it being Buccaneer Country. Some of the lyrics were, "three cheers for the Buchaneers, we'll get up on our chairs and sing "Sonny's Dream..." We didn't, but we were tempted. |
 |
 |