For the first time ever, I journeyed with my IFS class to the Runcible Spoon in Bloomington, IN, where we witnessed Irish music performed by one of the world’s best flutists, Grey Larsen, along with four other accomplished musicians. The Runcible Spoon is a great place to drink a cup of coffee and relax while reading a favored book. In general this place is also wonderful for catching-up with friends or, in the evenings, drinking your favorite beer in the presence of awesome live Irish music. While I was there the musicians gathered around each other inside of the restaurant, laughing, talking, and some were messing around on their instrument. Nothing was rehearsed or prepared, but everything was all about the positive connections made between people, musicians and bystanders.
When I observed the musicians, I noticed there was a certain way they began each piece. They’d have small talk conversations for a while until Eric, the accordion player, occasionally chose a piece. Everyone would join in after each individual familiarized themselves with the tune. Although Eric was not the designated “song starter”, the common placed idea was for someone to leisurely begin a piece they desired to play both when just beginning a song and transitioning into the next. Most of the tunes were jigs in 6/8 or 4/4 and many of the songs had the flute and accordion as the lead instruments in rhythm. There was also guitar, mandolin, and “round knee” drum incorporated into the Irish pieces. The number of songs played depended on if the musicians felt like playing or if they were familiar with the song.
On tune was sung by an elderly woman without the incorporation of instruments. She sat off toward the side of the musicians and the guitarist, Cindy, asked her to sing something. Although I don’t know any of the musicians personally, I could tell that many of the melodies had deep internal meanings for each person because it was written on their faces. When the elderly woman sang her solo, I watched the face of each individual and saw various emotions through their facial expressions. Cindy, for instance, had the most solemn look on her face when it first began, as if the song reminded her of an important moment in her life. In some spots of the song, she smiled in appreciation. I enjoyed the song more so than some of the others because the lyrics told an interesting story; a woman was on a journey and longed to be reunited with her loved ones.
The majority of the music performed was in a participatory setting, despite the fact that the entire restaurant did not grab instruments to play along. The musicians did not distinguish themselves as artists on stage with an audience below them; the performers chose to blend in with their surroundings in order to create a sense of equality amongst everyone. No musician was better than the other, but even the people dinning were as welcomed to perform with the group as the group itself was appreciative of one another. I could not understand why some people in the restaurant did not join the musicians for the Irish jam session; there was no stage and no hierarchy. Perhaps it was because the cultural values of many of the bystanders prevented them from joining; those people might have thought of themselves as non-musical because they’re up-bringing lacked participatory music.
Many of the musicians agreed that they grew up with Irish music and performing it in a setting like the one at the Runcible Spoon, amongst people they enjoy spending time with without being recognized as virtuosic between each other, is something highly valuable; it’s their cultural formation. The entire performance exemplified the celebration of people coming together to enjoy each other’s company in music. The people in the restaurant were compelled to respond in some way, whether it be dancing subtly in their seats at the table or clapping to the rhythm of the melody; some individuals responded in more obvious ways than others.
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