Mama Don't 'Low No Bouzouki Playin' 'Round Here

Last evening, Melinda and I went for a curry.  Or, we had Indian food.  Located just off South Bridge on Infirmary, Mother India is a tapas-style restaurant which allows you to sample several smaller dishes whilst still enjoying a nice selection of foods.  We ordered lamb saag (lamb with spinach), butter chicken with almonds, mixed vegetables, garlic naan (similar to pita bread), and finished off the meal with masala tea which is a delightful blend of Assam tea, milk, cardamom, and other spices.  

Where everybody knows your name...

After dinner, we nipped over to Sandy Bell's for an evening of folk music.  Definitely worth the trip.

The Moothies!

Years ago I played here: it is a cozy place, decorated with newspaper clippings about the pub, Celtic instruments, and pictures of locals playing music.  Known for its whisky selection and folk music, upon entering one immediately feels welcomed.  Our ears convinced us that it was squeeze box (accordion) night, but we quickly discovered that we were hearing the sounds of the Moothie Group.  Indeed, twelve harmonica players (or moothies, a Scots term for someone who plays the mouth harp, pronounced MOO-thee) were gathered and merrily playing their instruments.  Now, if I stumbled upon a dozen banjo pickers playing I would be afraid, very afraid.  As it stands, there were no banjer pickers (yet) and we had a wee listen.  For an hour and a half.  Listen to the moothies here.   

Bouzouki and Squeeze Box: Quite a Combo

Uilleann Pipes

Following the mouthies, a more traditional group played, and their instruments included the fiddle, flute, bouzouki (ba-ZOO-key), tenor banjo, and uilleann (OO-lee-in) or Irish pipes.  Amidst Americans, Germans, Spanish, Scottish, Irish, and English patrons, we thoroughly enjoyed the music.  My father-in-law, Bob, might never leave this place...Click here to sit in on the jam session.

Ever wonder about the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? His story is based on Deacon Brodie, an upstanding Edinburgh citizen by day and denizen of the dark by night. Brodie's unsavory actions eventually resulted in his hanging in 1788, ironically on gallows he designed.