The Spotted Dog jig

This is a composition of fiddler John McEvoy and comes from The Kilmore Fancy, the recent recording he made with his sister Catherine McEvoy.

It seems named after a pub in Birmingham. You can listen to McEvoys’ duet playing of this tune, which is still available in the archive of radio programme "The Late Session": http://www.rte.ie/radio1/story/1014033.html (originally broadcasted on 22 August this year) The interview with them starts around 17:00, and you can listen to John talking about this tune.

This tune certainly does refer to a pub in Digbeth, Birmingham where there have been great sessions for many years on alternate Mondays and monthly on Tuesdays. It’s a lovely pub with a great atmosphere, worthy of having a tune named after it.

I visited this pub on a wrong week this March! It seems people play in Horse and Jockey, Lichfield on other alternate Mondays: https://thesession.org/sessions/606 Hope I can join them next time.

Here’s a link to another one of John’s tunes in case you’re like me and love his compositions:

Kilglass Lakes (jig)
https://thesession.org/tunes/8162

The Cat’s Meow goes very well after this:

https://thesession.org/tunes/6266

X: 2
T: Spotted Dog, The
C: John McEvoy
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: AMaj
|: A |\
EAA ABc | BAF AFE | FBB Bce | faf ecA |
EAA A2 c | BAF Ace | faa eAa | ABc B2 :|
|: A |\
cee ece | fec ecA | cec Ace | EF/G/A B2 A |
cec eca | fec e2 a | f2 a eAa | AA/B/c B2 :|

… turned out to be a Dalmatian: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2788071

I visited the pub at night, so I couldn’t see the sign.

I used to frequent an Irish pub in Willesden (London) called The Spotted Dog. I hear it’s no longer open. There was more music down the road in Kilburn.

From the playing of Brisk.