Met DV and Rener by coincidence (well I knew they were going but I didn't know that I was until about 4!) at this. Great fun, Andy Irvine (of Planxty fame) was the delightful host of an evening marking the 40th anniversary of Guthrie's death from Huntington's Disease. Money was being raised for the The Huntington's Disease Association of Ireland (donate if you feel like it here) and Focus Ireland (donate here). One of the highlights for me (apart from the stomping harmonica led blues at the beginning, the song was Train something or other) was Dust Storm Disaster (lyrics here), a very strong song (supposedly on one chord, Andy confessed he was unable to perform said feat on his bazouki) that reminded me of the photographs of Dorothea Lange. A similar sense of the crushing and unfeeling strength of nature, the frailty of humanity scratching away on this planet's surface etc. Anyway, strong stuff and it was performed beautifully.
Another highlight was the Lindbergh song (lyrics here). A song written to criticize Lindbergh's proto-nazi politics. It reminded me of that brilliant book by Philip Roth The Plot Against America. Well worth a read.
To sum up, it was fantastic seeing a man who had regularly performed these songs for years and returning to them for the anniversary feeling comfortable enough to talk to us about his hero warts and all. I now need to pick up some Guthrie and yes, some Planxty. So it is true, one does turn into one's parents... There are worse things!
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