I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day a couple of days late by heading over to the Navigator Coffeehouse in East Falmouth, where The Lindsays and Stanley and Grimm, two fine Irish duos, were performing. They played an entertaining mix of Irish, American, and international music, and bantered with each other: Sean Brennan, who is of Irish descent, though from Tennessee, teased Ireland native Stephen Lindsay by saying that it is the Irish Americans who play more Irish music–back in Ireland the Irish session players may be more interested in American singer/songwriters.
No matter; it was all fun, and all four musicians (Susan and Stephen Lindsay of–obviously–The Lindsays, and Nikki Engstrom and Sean Brennan of Stanley & Grimm) are talented and engaging performers. The men played guitar and sang; Nikki played violin, and Susan won the prize, as Sean pointed out, for playing the most instruments: Irish flute, tin whistle, and alto and soprano sax. I particularly loved her on the alto sax, not an instrument you usually find in an Irish band.
Their finale captures the essence of the evening: The Lindsays start it off with Susan on the Irish flute, Stanley & Grimm take over, and then all four play together, this time with Susan on the alto sax. The tunes are: Christmas in America/Jean’s/Catharsis.
