By Jeff Meade

First, fiddle.

Then flute.

All brilliant—but not until John Carty picked up his banjo did I know precisely how brilliant he could be.

John Carty and the rock-solid Francis Gaffney

Accompanied by Francis Gaffney on guitar, Carty coaxed barks and yips and angry power chords out of that banjo, sounds the like of which I’d never heard before.

Up to that point, Carty (read interview) had given a somewhat low-key—but nonetheless excellent—performance. It seemed part concert and part master class for the 40 fans who showed up to hear him at the Philadelphia Irish Center on Election Night. Many of them had come early for a fiddle clinic, so that was just fine with them, I’m sure.

Gaffney is no slouch, either, of course. He provided rock-solid accompaniment, and he treated the audience to a song, "Bantry Girl's Lament." with Carty on flute. Pretty work.

Still, Carty’s seat seemed more or less glued to the stool as he moved from one set of tunes to the next—spirited reels, light-speed polkas and bouncy jigs.

Carty with a banjo in his hands was quite another creature altogether. He slid off the stool and rocked to the beat, stomping his right foot on the Irish Center floor. It was like watching the Pete Townshend of Irish banjo. (No windmills, though, and no smashing of instruments.) Breathtaking.

Around the room, heads bobbed and not a few audience members whooped and hollered, “Go, John!”

As if he needed any prompting.

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Related Links

Irish Philadelphia Interview with John Carty