Sessions at In Like Flynn's are pretty relaxed.  There is no designated leader; anyone can lead a tune or set of their choice.  This leads to a fairly diverse collection of tunes being played over time, as new folks join us and bring in their own favorite tunes.  To keep track of the tunes we've been playing, we have an online tune list spreadsheet (InLikeFlynnTunes) that is updated each week to reflect the tunes we've played that week and how many times each tune has come up in a session since the tracking started in late July 2021.  

Here is a snippet of the online tune list:

At present there are 286 tunes in the list - about 10 airs, 20 hornpipes, 60 jigs, 20 polkas, 130 reels, a dozen slides, and a smattering of other tune types.  Of these, about 70 have been played at least 3 times, and about 35 have come up 4 or more times.

One reason for tracking tunes played has been to help newcomers to the session determine what tunes are more likely to come up, so they can work on learning any of them they don't already know.  Another use of the tunelist is to help us remember new tunes that have been introduced to the session, which some or many of us might like to learn and play more often.  Future posts will touch on both of these aspects.

 In Like Flynn's is quite a change from J. Patrick's in some ways, but very similar in others.  While the inside looks very different - gone are all the great old wall decorations, the dodgy ceiling, the piano, the old bar, etc., and instead there is a new floor, new bar, new kitchen, windows in the exterior walls, and new furnishings throughout - the pub still feels like the same old place.  The spirit of J. Patrick's, and indeed the spirit of Joe Patrick Byrne, lives on at Flynn's.  It is still a neighborhood pub, and families still come in with their kids for dinner.  And of course, Irish traditional music is still very welcome and encouraged by the owners, especially Cora Flynn.  Also, a few vestiges of J. Patrick's remain, such as the sign over the kitchen window (to the upper right of center in the above photo).  We're very fortunate to be able to carry on the J. Patrick's tradition of Irish sessions in this familiar and friendly environment.