Only Chicago can mix politics and piping...

[carlb]

Don't Mess with the Shannon Rovers!

I love my home.

[cessna152towser]

Thanks for the link.

Oh dear, reading some of the comments, I hope the Rovers are not too sensitive!

[McFarkus]

Chicago politics never cease to amaze me.

[haukehaien]

They really are bad, though. I found a few YouTube vids, and they've definitely got their hierarchy of concerns set to:
Uniforms

Marching

[nothing for a long way]

Tuning

It's sad, really, because so many people never hear good piping and may decide that they hate the sound of pipes just for that reason. An untuned pipe is a terrible and dreadful thing to listen to, but when they're in tune ... well.

[auld argonian]

As to whether or not these guys are going to have their delicate sensitivities injured by any remarks...forget it...if you're in any of the bars in Chicago this week, you'll see that they break up into small units and work the bars where "pay the piper" is very much the practice. So, like Liberace, they cry all the way to the bank. (Although maybe people are giving them money to get them to go away...or, like Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack, they're throwing money at them and telling them, "...here...go take some music lessons.")

I haven't really heard them in a situation where they've just stood and played...they're usually marching by...so I can't honestly compare them to some of the other local pipe bands who I have heard stand in competition and do some amazing things. Never forget: if you're in a marching band, all you have to know is two tunes...

I have been in bars where they show up and they do create a buzz among the overserved...it's almost a reverence, no matter how much they may not deserve it. And why? Strictly on reputation...they've been around a long time and have a catchy name. Consider that Helen Hayes was once asked how she became the "first lady of the American Theatre" and her reply was that she had just managed to outlive the rest of them...sorta/kinda the same thing here. But consider that for most of these folks who are out on amateur night, Whisky In The Jar is the crowning achievement of Celtic Music....a fact that continues to frustrate a whole lot of my friends who are accomplished Celtic Musicians and who will be taking second seat to the "three chords and a pint of Guinness" set.

As to the politics involved in this, I seriously doubt that there is any real serious connection...just that the people expect the Shannon Rovers and will be disappointed if the Shannon Rovers don't show up so the special events people are going to do whatever they can to make sure that the crowd isn't going to be disappointed. Seriously, if the bulk of these people took the time to listen critically to pipe music while sober, they would be cheering for any of several other pipe bands instead of these jokers. The fact that some of these guys might know some of the folks in public office is probably not as important as they might think. I'd hazard a guess that most of the folks in the upper echelon of the city and county don't know these cats from Adam and that they certainly wouldn't put their prestige on the line for them. These aren't the "good old days" and there are a lot of people still running around thinking that they have a lot more clout than they actually do...but, take it from me, that was true back in the "good old days" as well. Keep an eye out to see if maybe things get "rearranged" next year. These days nobody likes controversy and will adjust accordingly.

Interestingly enough, I was thinking of going downtown this evening and stopping at the Italian Village...be funny if the roving bagpipers showed up at the ITALIAN VILLAGE expecting to play...bet that the manager would tell them, "...go away! Come back with some accordions and mandolins!".

And so it goes...

Best

AA

[beloitpiper]

I play in a street band (or in the article, a "show band") here in Madison. My band knows it's place. We don't claim to be great. In fact, I'm pretty in our charter it literally says that we're here to have fun. The Shannon Rovers are the same, but I think they've forgotten their place. They're a fun band that is perfectly suited for a bar on St. Patrick's Day, NOT the competition field.

On the other hand, I think they ARE a good example of typical Irish-American music. (With honorable exception) lots of show and not a whole lot of substance.

[castledangerous]

Wow that is an insult to Irish-American musicians. For example, my wife's cousin who twice won the All-Ireland Fiddle championship

[SteveB]

Castle...
I am happy that your spouse is an exception. Come St Patrick's Day around here the beverages being consumed by the public help improve their perception of the "music". Two years ago in Southie, a band with twelve pipers, and no two of them playing the same tune. By the way the percussion side was just as bad. Of the eighteen bands with pipes and drums, only two were listed in EUSPBA. The rest would be laughed right out of the games.

The audience wants to hear pipes, even if they are bad. I have taken to a nearby hill to break in some reeds. While fighting with one very stubborn chanter reed, I was producing all kinds of squeaks and squacks. I had rehemped and realigned the reed, and was trying to just get a complete scale out it, when I happened to look up to a group of hikers that had stopped to listen. I ended my sounds and got a round of applause and thirty dollars tossed in my pipe bag.

There is no telling what is another persons pleasure.

Slainte