Irish Concert Songs Of Luke Kelly And The Dubliners With Dave Clark: A Lovely Way To Spend An Afternoon

 

Singing Gazebo Clarendon, Sun 23 Feb, 2020

One of the nicest places to play and listen to live music in South Australia in recent years was The Singing Gallery in McLaren Vale. It was an enchanting place to be for both musicians and audiences. The people behind this delightful place, Dave Clark and Kate Townsend, have moved on and created a scaled down version at The Singing Gazebo in Clarendon, and it has a similar welcoming charm.

Irish Concert Songs Of Luke Kelly And The Dubliners is a cross between a Celtic session at the local pub and a concert. Dave Clarke led us through songs that mostly everyone knew and we heartily sang along to the choruses of well-worn classics like The Wild Rover, Dirty Old Town, Whisky In The Jar, and Black Velvet Band. And likewise on a couple of Dave Clark originals – he was clearly playing among friends! He was accompanied by Kate on ukulele, piano, accordion and concertina, and Dave himself switched between guitar, bodhran, and banjo.

Special guest Jack Brennan provided delicious instrumental textures with Irish flute and the evocative Uilleann pipes, and added a couple of endearing stories to the afternoon’s narrative. Acoustic bass and fiddle completed the musical line-up.

Kate’s version of A Song For Ireland was a special moment – beautifully sung.

This was a remarkable event on several levels – it’s remarkable that there are so many people, Irish or not, dedicated to the singing and preserving of these folk classics; remarkable that Dave and Kate have managed to recreate another live music venue with the same spirit and warmth as The Singing Gallery; remarkable that they served every member of the 50 strong audience a free piece of cake (with cream)! Remarkable, too, that there is an implicit understanding between players and audience that such events are group efforts. This was not a performance as much as a celebration of community and the radiant joy of sharing songs in good company.

This is a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

This review also published on The Clothesline.

Kate Townsend

 

Another friend has left us - Kate Townsend. Kate was one part of a wonderful partnership with Dave Clarke and together for many years they ran the Singing Gallery in McLaren Vale, and in more recent years a smaller venue called the Singing Gazebo in Clarendon.  Dave and Kate were rare because when they hosted musicians they made you feel like family. They treated musicians with an amazing grace and respect. They might even feed you. They made sure all was to your liking and that you felt OK. Playing at a venue where Dave and Kate were hosts was a special treat. And ogether they created this wonderful sense of community between the people who attended their shows.

I had known Kate  for quite a while before I heard her sing and it was a wonderful moment when I did first hear her sing, She had a beautiful singing voice.

The song below is called Kate from the Riverbend.  The Singing Gazebo was in Dave and Kate’s home  on a bend in the Onkaparinga River in Clarendon. It was a place that Aboriginal people used to go to long ago and was regarded then as a meeting place. Kate used to mention this in her welcomes to country when you attended gigs at the gazebo. Another lovely little Kate touch was putting names of those attending on tables with perhaps a little bunch of flowers, a pretty tablecloth, or some interesting picture. She always made sure that people were sitting in a place where they could see, where they could hear, and where they would feel comfortable and able to enjoy the music on offer. So Kate – we’re all going to really miss the events that you and Dave have put on together over the years. Thank you so much for making it such a warm and memorable experience. Rest in peace dear Kate.

KATE FROM THE RIVERBEND

Listen

Sit over there - see your name on the table

Or sit back there - talk to our old friend

Here on the riverbend

Glad you could come; glad you were able

To sing and smile and enjoy the show

Here on the riverbend

Long long ago ancient people

Gathered right here to tell their stories

Your welcomes to country warm and true

They made it clear what it meant to you

This place on the riverbend

We saw you smile

We heard you talk

We heard you play

Then we heard you sing

A voice from the trees

Like notes on the wind

Here on the riverbend

A voice so warm like sun in the morning

Made me dream what might be tomorrow

Here on the riverbend

Here on the riverbend

Here on the riverbend

Kate from the riverbend

Michael Coghlan (November, 2023)