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On Stage with Joe Craven at
the Tower Theatre, January 21, 2005
Joe Craven gave an exquisite performance that night; from his opening
stroll through the aisles playing wonderful Celtic strains on his
fiddle, to his joining with the Three Fingered Jack group and others.
From the start, he established a relaxed and informal atmosphere.
Then, when he was called out for an encore, he proposed a finale
with everyone who had played onstage with him. At that point he came
to the edge of the stage and said, "while we get set up, are
there any questions?" Through the whole concert, I was imagining how
the whistling was so suited to his style. So when I heard him
ask for questions, I called out, "Do you want to hear a whistler?"
Then people in the audience who knew me, chanted, "The whistler!"
So Joe said come on up.
When he greeted me on stage, I said in jest that I thought he would
have whistled, since he had done just about everything else in
the course of the evening. He smiled, and announced that Ed will
whistle a tune while we get set up.
I had no idea what piece I was going to do and as I approached the
mike, I found myself starting The Women of Ireland, an early
piece by The Chieftains. Well, it was coming out just beautifully, and
at about the 3rd or 4th phrase, Joe came over, picked up
his fiddle and joined in. After we had done one verse, I was going to
stop, but he nodded to me to continue, so we did another verse
together, and it sounded just heavenly.
We then shook hands, I went back to my seat to the applause, and they
did the finale. It was great.
I've had this talent since high school, and at several points over the
years I've collaborated with other musicians, from folk to classical
to jazz; but I didn't have the confidence to pursue the potential. I
have changed that attitude, and for the past year, I have been meeting
and playing with the great local musicians here, and I hope to
continue to develop as a contributor to the music in Central Oregon. |
