Niall Toner Band in Germany (and Midleton): PLUS...

Niall Toner reports:

We had a great trip to Germany last week. Due to heavy work commitments, Dick Gladney was unable to travel, so Clem and I played as a duo, and the reaction to our music was just wonderful. We played Herbert Schildhammer's Club in Vohringen in Bavaria on the Friday night to a very enthusiastic audience of about 120. The atmosphere was just great, and CD sales were superb. On the Saturday we played a concert with the John Shreve Band at the Lindenhalle in Ehingen. This was a fine venue, with an audience of about three hundred, and once again, the reception was very warm and enthusiastic, and we sold out of CDs! Apart from the music, the town of Ulm was just amazing, with one of the finest cathedrals in the world, and very many other beautiful buildings. The town is built on the Danube, which is brown, and not blue!

I would also have to say that the hospitality was just first-rate, and we had the good fortune to stay with Eberhard Finke and his wife, Monika, in what's known as 'Bluegrass Heaven'. Eberhard has the largest collection of bluegrass and old-time country music that I have ever seen, and he's a walking encyclopedia on the subject! Our thanks also must go to Friedrich Hog and to Herman Strobel, aka 'Mandy', for the loan of his guitar, and to all the local German bluegrass community. We also got to sign the guest book at Eberhard's 'Bluegrass B+B', which reads like a Who's Who in Bluegrass. Everyone from Bill Keith and Tony Trischa to Larry Sparks and Del McCoury, with Missy Raines and Butch Baldassari, etc., etc.... Illustrious company indeed. There was also a wonderful poster on the wall of 'Bluegrass Heaven', advertising a concert in Germany in the late 'seventies featuring the Stanley Brothers and Roscoe Holcomb! Wow! Thanks also to Friedrich Hog and his friends for presenting me with a raft of photos taken by them during their visit to Barry and Holly Tashian's house in Nashville during IBMA in September 2005.

On returning home from Germany we collected Dick in Carlow, and headed straight for Midleton in County Cork. This is one of our most favourite places in the world to play, and full credit must be give to Tony Moore for building up a remarkable listening club in this east Cork town. Since the middle 'seventies, Tony has been running live music, for the most part at his own pub, which included the famous Rory Gallagher Room, and latterly at McDaid's Bar on the main street. It's a beautiful old building, and the music club is up on the first floor. We set up at around 7.30 p.m., and on returning at 9.00 we were pleasantly surprised to find a full house! These folks are mad for live music, and this is one of the best audiences I have played for, ever, anywhere! Three encores, and buckets of CDs sold! This is how it should be, everywhere!

BIB editor's note: All the NTB's currently booked dates for the rest of 2006 are now entered on the BIB calendar, below; or see the new, improved NTB website for more details. Please note: if you had earlier information on the Lismore show in April, the date has been changed to 15 April, Easter Saturday, as shown on our calendar.

Also: the long-awaited Niall Toner Band Songbook will have the lyrics to over 100 songs written by NT and friends, as well as lots of other material. Niall hopes to have it available by midsummer; it will probably retail for €10 at live shows, by mail order, and (maybe) also online through the band's website.