If You Live in New York
If you live in New York City you owe it to me to go see the Beer Fiddlers tonight. Because I can't go. And it's free. All you have to do is buy the musicians a beer.
And take some pictures for me.
11th St. Bar, in the East Village, NYC.
10:30 PM.
p.s. So it turns out there's a story behind the name the Beer Fiddlers -
Who were the Beer Fiddlers? They may best be described as the unauthorized, free-lance country musicians of Bach’s day and earlier who earned or supplemented their livelihood by offering services at simple weddings and funerals, or in inns and taverns (Bierstube) along the way. Their members most likely worked at other occupations during the day: as tailors, cobblers, butchers, bakers or brewers – or even as common laborers – and picked up their instruments at night in hopes of earning an extra farthing or two on the side.
They've also got some ties to Bach, interestingly enough: this rather long-winded piece suggests that Bach himself might have been descended from a bit of a Beer Fiddler - a zither player, to be precise!