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Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day With Solas

Two noteworthy changes to Solas as they appeared at World Café Live on St. Patrick’s Day.

First, vocalist Máiréad Phelan seems now more comfortably and confidently integrated into the band. Máiréad replaced Deirdre Scanlon last year. We first saw Máiréad at World Café not long after the release of the band’s latest, “For Love and Laughter.” She sang well, but her time on stage was limited to her vocal performance and she seemed, to me, a bit shy.

In her St. Pat’s performance, she seemed much more confident, and she spent more time on stage. When she wasn’t singing, she added piano accompaniment. Overall, a more complete performance. It’s easy to underestimate her vocal power, but it really came through in this show.

The second noteworthy change: box player Mick McAuley has lost his signature ponytail.

Other than that, it was just another Solas performance—an amazing display of musical virtuosity. If Solas ever has an “off” performance, I haven’t heard it. Whether roaring through a blast of reels or delivering a soulful rendition of the traditional “Mollai Na GCuach Ni Chuilleanain (Curly Haired Molly),” Solas—even with all the changes to the lineup over a decade—is still one of the most creative and dynamic Irish bands going.

In their most recent home town performance, Solas performed many tunes off the most recent CD, including Ricky Lee Jones’s “Sailor Song” and “Seven Curses” (with tight harmonies by McAuley and guitarist Eamon McElholm on the latter). McAuley also paid tribute to the late songwriter John Martyn with his moving rendition of “Spencer the Rover.”

Noting that “the banjo is an occasionally maligned instrument,” leader Seamus Egan went on to set things right with a blistering performance of “Vital Mental Medicine.” And the bow-shredding fiddler Winifred Horan, when she wasn’t setting new land speed records on assorted jigs and reels, offered more laid-back displays of her talent such as her lovely and sad “My Dream of You.” (“We’re not actually that depressed,” she insisted.)

Nor were we.

March 27, 2009 by
Music, News

The St. Patrick’s Day Challenge

It’s often said that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, and if you were in Philadelphia this March 17, you could have been Irish from dawn till midnight. So many ways to celebrate, so little time…here’s just a little sampling from four of the finest events the city had to offer:

Brittingham’s Irish Pub & Restaurant in Lafayette Hill opened the day with songs from County Derry born singer, Oliver McElhone. Favorite tunes like “The Fields of Athenry”and “Dirty Old town” had the folks in the crowded bar and dining room singing and dancing along, and really starting to feel Irish.

Downtown, at The Kimmel Center, the Frank McCourt play “The Irish…and How They Got That Way” was demonstrating through songs and skits that “It isn’t easy being Irish.” Indeed, the five member cast, in the intimate setting of the Innovation Studio, brought the history of the Irish people’s suffering and survival to the stage with enthusiasm and earnestness. Deftly blending traditional songs like “Skibereen” and “Danny Boy” with history lessons (Did you know that the first witch hanged in America was Irish?), and humor (Did you know that the English conquered the world to escape their own cooking?), this is an entertaining way to pass an afternoon or evening. It’s playing through March 29th, and tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999.

In the midst of all the revelry, the fallen police officers of the city were not forgotten; at popular downtown pub & restaurant Tir na Nog, the local Irish band BarleyJuice donated their amazing musical talents to the cause. All money raised at the door went to a fund for families of Philadelphia’s fallen officers. This is a group that knows how to kick it up for the cause; check out video clips of their rousing version of “Monto,” and a medley that includes “Ring of Fire” and “Whiskey in the Jar.”

Finally, there is no finer way to round out a St. Patrick’s Day than with a performance from Irish-American supergroup Solas at the World Café. Their set list included songs from their latest cd, “For Love and Laughter” as well as a lovely tribute to the late John Martyn with his “Spencer the Rover.” But Seamus Egan, Mick McAuley, Eamon McElholm, Chico Huff, phiddle phenom Winifred Horan, and singer Mairead Phelan enthralled a crowd beyond just the one gathered tableside in Philly. The band didn’t know it at the time, but from the audience, a United States airman was Skyping the show to a deployed unit overseas, and when Mairead Phelan sang “Mollai na Gcuach ni Chuilleanain,” a Gaelic-speaking military captain stationed somewhere in a more dangerous part of the world, cried. It was as it should be on March 17, everyone the world over got to share in the Irish spirit. Make sure you watch the video of  “Spencer the Rover.”

March 27, 2009 by
Music, People

The Chieftains Deliver the Goods Again

It was a stripped-down version of the Chieftains playing in Verizon Hall for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day concert—they were missing fiddler Sean Keane, said to be averse to making long flights at this stage of his career. Canadian fiddler Jon Pilatzke stepped in to fill the breach and—with help from Nashville bluegrass fiddler Deanie Richardson, singer/guitarist Jeff White and harper Triona Marshall—the Chieftains had no problem dazzling a Philadelphia audience once again.

Chieftains leader Paddy Moloney probably has lost count of the number of St. Patrick’s Day concerts the band has played in Philadelphia, but it’s enough so that a Chieftains concert has become an essential and expected part of the annual Delaware Valley celebrations.

If you saw last year’s Kimmel Center concert, this year’s version was virtually a carbon copy of last year’s. If anyone noticed, they didn’t seem to mind. By this point, the Chieftains have their act down to a science. The band played selections highlighting the various stages of their career, from the traditional jigs and reels to tunes from “Down the Old Plank Road,” one of their forays into American bluegrass and country.

But the Chieftains always have a “next” project going, and they offered a preview. The next recording heads down Mexico way for a musical commemoration of the San Patricios, a band of Irishmen who fought on the side of Mexico in the Mexican-American war. “They were shooting Catholics down there in Mexico,” said Moloney in an unusually succinct summary of the Irish volunteers’ involvement, “and they didn’t like that.”

For this selection, the Chieftains were joined on stage by a group of pipers and drummers from City of Washington Pipe Band, one of just three grade 1 competition pipe bands in the United States. Together they played a “March to the Battle,” filling Verizon Hall with the droning sound of pipes, leading into a stirring lament, featuring Moloney on uilleann pipes.

Of course, traditional Irish is what this St. Patrick’s crowd came for, and the Chieftains were only to happy to oblige. Just because a Chieftains performance has become a somewhat predictable commodity doesn’t overshadow the fact that they’re still masters of their art. They’ve been at it for 45 years, but they easily match the energy of much younger bands.

Joining Moloney, flutist Matt Molloy and Kevin Conneff, the Chieftains’ singer and bodhran player, was Scottish singer Alyth McCormack, who delivered a memorable version of “The Foggy Dew.”

As is the custom with Chieftains shows, dance also figured prominently, with frenetic performances by the Jon Pilatzke and brother Nathan, and Cara Butler. The highlight of their performance was a crazy legs little dance featuring all three seated in chairs.

Coming to the stage late in the show were members of the Ryan-Kilcoyne School of Irish Dance.

A standing O was also predictable—and richly deserved.

March 27, 2009 by
Music

Four Scottish Sisters Performing This Weekend

Their mother played the violin for about a week in primary school, and they say their dad is tone deaf. So where the Johnson sisters—Fiona, 23, Kirsty, 21, and the twins, Amy and Mairi, 19—got their musical talent is a mystery.

“Well, our aunt, my mother’s sister plays violin and she does concerts as a hobby,” offers Kirsty, who plays accordian and does lead vocals for the Scottish sister act, GiveWay, which will be appearing at the Irish Center, Carpenter and Emlen streets, in West Mt. Airy, on Saturday, March 28.

Don’t let their ages fool you into thinking that they’re new to the music scene. Fiona and Kirsty started the group as a duo more than a decade ago, when Fi was only 13 and Kirsty, 11. But they were already accomplished musicians by then, playing everything from classical tunes to Scottish traditional music, a little rock to a little jazz, all of which you can still hear in their music, although you’re likely to find it filed under “folk.”

“I was four when I got an accordian as a gift from my grandparents,” explains Kirsty. “They thought it was a toy, but my mom and dad got me lessons. Fiona started at five with the violin.”

In 2001 (keep doing the math), the girls played their first professional gig at the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow where they won the prestigious “Danny Award,” named for the late Danny Kyle who for years produced the “open stage” competition. Since there may be a hundred or more competitors, winning one of the seven “Dannys” given each year has launched many young musicians onto successful careers. Later the same year, the band placed first in the BBC Radio “Young Folk” awards competition.

Sister Amy, having traded in her accordian for a drum kit, “filtered” into the band along with Mairi, as keyboardist and background singer. GiveWay made more appearances at Celtic Connections, the Cambridge Folk Festival, the Tonder Festival in Denmark, and Celtic Colours in Cape Breton. They were also invited to take part in the BBC 1 “Hogmanay Live” television show, sharing the stage with a host of major artists, including Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain. In 2003 the band signed to Greentrax Recordings and their debut album, “Full Steam Ahead,” was released to great reviews. The Daily Telegraph wrote that the CD was “bursting with evidence of virtuosity, flair and disarming maturity.”

The same could be said of their second CD, “Inspired,” which followed in 2005. A third, “Lost in This Song,” (which Kirsty says has more vocals than the previous two) is being released this spring, though too late for Saturday’s performance. Phil Cunningham, now a solo artist but formerly with the bands Silly Wizard and Relativity, is GiveWay’s producer. Last year, the band also recorded a single, “The Water is Wide,” which was produced by Brian Hurren of Runrig, the popular Scottish folk-rock band.

The Irish Center appearance is the girls’ third stop on an ambitious US tour which will take them to 13 states through the end of April. The only other area appearances will be in Delaware, at St. Andrew’s School in Middleton and the Cooldog Concert series (a house concert) in Dover, in the first week of April. It’s not their first visit to the region. They’ve performed at Bethlehem’s Celtic Classic Festival and at Godfrey Daniels, an intimate music venue on Bethlehem’s south side.

In fact, just this week we received an unsolicited review from someone who caught their performances in Lehigh County. “You’re in
for a treat on Saturday night–Giveway,” a man named George emailed us. “I saw them two summers ago at The Celtic Classic. They’re great musicians and all should have a great time Saturday night.”

Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

March 27, 2009 by
Music

Backstage with The Saw Doctors

Saw Doctors Dave Carton and Leo Moran at the Nokia Center. Photo by Jack Glacken.

Saw Doctors Dave Carton and Leo Moran at the Nokia Center. Photo by Jack Glacken.

By Jack Glacken

Before a jam-packed crowd at the superb Nokia Center on Times Square in New York City, the Saw Doctors gave another “knock ’em dead” performance.

Manhattan was jumping with excitement in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day as the weekend saw such acts as Celtic Women, The Wolfetones and The Pogues. But despite the heavy competition, the Saw Doctors had no problem packing them in, as they remain an absolute bargain to see in concert. They truly give you everything they have. (You can catch them at the Theater of the Living Arts, aka TLA, on South Street in Philadelphia on Saturday, March 21.)

Backstage after the concert, I told Leo Moran, (vocals, guitar) that the band’s energy reminds me of Bruce Springsteen and his E Street band. “Well he truly is the master at giving performances and yes, we learned a few tricks from the master,” he said. “We are looking forward to playing at the TLA in Philadelphia and since it’s our last performance on this tour, you know we are going all out that night.”

The Saw Doctors sang all their great hits including “N17,” “Exhilarating Sadness” (lead singer Davey Carton’s “favorite”), “Hay Ride,” and of course “Clare Island,” an absolutely beautiful song. Carton, who has a wonderful voice, credits Leo Moran with much of the bands success. “I love working with Leo, everything he writes is so wonderful,” he says. “Our new album has a song, ‘We May Never get to say Goodbye, and it’s just so poignant.”

Davey also promises a great time in Philly. “We usually start our American tour in Philadelphia but this year we are ending the tour there so we are really going to give it all to our Philly faithful next Saturday.”

March 16, 2009 by
Arts, Music

Danu Dazzles at Zellerbach

There was a moment, just after intermission at their concert Saturday night, when members of the Irish band Danú took to the Zellerbach Theatre stage wearing the kinds of tacky Irish hats you might otherwise see on the street at the Wildwood Irish Festival.

The stunt got a good laugh and they proceeded to play a set of tunes while wearing the headgear—picture box player Benny McCarthy with a tatty leprechaun beard and guitarist Donal Clancy with an undersized green plastic derby. And that’s as green-beer Irish as the band was ever going to get as they presented two hours of solidly traditional Irish music, played with passion and consummate skill.

Zellerbach certainly is capable of handling large crowds, but the theatre somehow comes across as small and cozy. Consequently, the concert at times felt more like an intimate Irish music session—albeit played by musicians who are among the best in their field.

Lead singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh was in great voice. Her strong, smoky alto stands in contrast to the breathy sopranos who seem to front most other bands. She knows how to deliver a song, from the sublime (Tommy Sands’ “The County Down”) to the wonderfully ridiculous (“Only 19 Years Old,” a tale of regret told from the standpoint of a young man whose blushing bride turns out to have more in common with the Bride of Frankenstein).

Nic Amhlaoibh also is a master of the flute and whistle, and she gamely jumped between one and the other all night.

Of course, all of the members of Danú are acknowledged masters. Along with Clancy and McCarthy, bouzouki player Eamon Doorley and fiddler Oisin McAuley (brilliant on a “Breton Lullabye”) all provided shining moments.

Sitting in on bodhran was Glaswegian Martin O’Neill. His solo was mind-blowing.

A superb, sure-handed performance by all.

March 10, 2009 by
Music

A Real Hand-Clapping, Foot-Stomping Time

Slide at the Irish Center.

Slide at the Irish Center.

Slide didn’t slide. They played slides, but they played them with an aerobic fervor that pleased and delighted the crowd at The Irish Center in Philadelphia on Saturday, February 28. For those lucky enough to fill the audience in The Fireside Room, the four lads of Slide (Daire Bracken, Eamonn de Barra, Aogan Lynch and Mick Broderick), along with the ethereal-voiced Eithne Ni Chathain, performed for almost three hours.

Traditional tunes, like “Poor Liza Jane” and “Dance Boatman Dance” shared the bill with those penned by the group, like “Tredudon” which was written while they were on a holiday in the idyllic Brittany region of France. All three tracks are among those featured on Slide’s latest cd release, “Overneath.” Eithne, who recently released her own solo self-titled cd, joined in on the fiddle and keyboard, as well as singing several songs including her own composition, “What’s in the Bag Love.”

With Eamonn playing the keyboard and the flute, Aogan on the concertina and Mick on the bouzouki, the group achieved their “harmonic motion.” Throw in Daire’s kinetic fiddle playing, and things really heated up. It was a small stage, but that didn’t deter Daire, who made bountiful use of the space to perform his stringed wizardry.

Captivating onstage, and gracious off, Slide is just beginning their three-week American tour that will bring them back this way before it ends. So, peruse the photos here, and watch the videos, and then be sure to catch them when they stop at The Grand Opera House in Wilmington, DE, on Thursday, March 19, or Chickory House in Wilkes-Barre, PA, on Friday, March 20. You won’t want to miss them twice, but you will want to see them again.

March 5, 2009 by
Music

Danú Is Back, and Ready to Rock and Reel

The multi-talented Danú.

The multi-talented Danú.

The great Irish band Danú hasn’t visited the States for about two years. But on March 7—just in time for an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration— Danú will be in Philadelphia for a concert at Penn’s Annenberg Center.

Button accordion virtuoso Benny McCarthy of County Waterford was one of the founding members of the band, which first roared onto the scene at the Lorient Inter-Celtic Festival in Brittany in 1995. The band, such as it was, didn’t even have a name before then.

Danú has more than made a name for itself since then. We caught up with McCarthy in a call to his home in Waterford, just prior to the beginning of the band’s U.S tour. Here’s what he had to say about Danú, his life, and Irish music in general.

Q. Danú has become one of the preeminent bands in Irish music. In the beginning, was that what you saw happening, with the band evolving and being together so long, or did you dare to think that big?

A. “I never thought that big. We never set out to be a full-time touring band. That evolved. We just found ourselves doing festivals and touring with bands we loved, like Dé Danann and Altan, and all these great musicians we grew up listening to, all of a sudden we knew their names and they ours.

All we really cared about, at the end of the day, is playing the music and having a good night and giving everyone else a good night. That remains our primary focus. We’re not too caught up in “what is our record sales for this month.” We’re a music-driven band rather than an industry-driven band.

Q. You started playing in ’87. How old were you? Did you come from a musical family? And why accordion?

A. I started playing when I was 13. I’ll be 34 the 6th of March.

My own parents didn’t play music, but they love music. My mother would have grown up in the ceili dance culture. Her grandfather would have been a great musician in the parish I grew up in. He was the musician that played every instrument.

My oldest brother, who has since passed away, and another brother did learn a bit of music when they were young. There was still an accordion stuck in a cupboard and a banjo in another cupboard. One day, my mother or father said, “Do you want to have a go at music?” (He chose the accordion.)

Well, I was fascinated. I must have been very young when I first saw the accordion and I was really fascinated with it. I got involved in the traditional music scene in Waterford. I remember seeing Raymond Dempsey, who was 12 at the time. He was younger than me and he was brilliant on the accordion. And I remember saying, “I’d love to be able to play like that.” (Both were taught by Bobby Gardiner.)

Q. You seem to have reached a point in your career where you’re probably an influence on other players. Do you reach a point where you stop being influenced yourself?

A. I think even the guy who taught me is still being influenced by people. That’s one of the things that keeps you going playing the music.

And you can’t learn it in a book—it’s a life experience that’s part of the whole tradition. Some of the best musicians all have that. They don’t over-think it. They listen to everything, they hear everything.

Q. You’ve grown adept at tuning and repairing accordions. Can they be a cranky instrument in the way pipes seem to be?

A. They re pretty robust, they can deal with temperatures fairly easily. The accordion I have now, I’ve had for six years; I’ve only had to tune it once. I have my own little workshop. It’s more or less a hobby with me. I’ve always been ripping up accordions and looking inside them. It’s good to now how to do it.

Q. How long is this particular road trip?

A. We’re doing 16 concerts in about 19 days—the East Coast the first half, West Coast the second. Then we’re going to Utah. Then, we’re coming back to New York, Baltimore, Washington.

Q. How does the band now compare now to what it was early on. Aside from personnel, how do you feel it’s changed?

A. Individually, I’ve changed myself—I’ve matured in my style. There’s kind of a natural evolution. The big change we had a few years ago, when we had a change in vocalists. Then, a couple of years ago things wound down for a bit as we all took more home time. Out of that everyone got a chance to do some solo work and to play with other musicians.

(Regardless of the changes,) I know I’m sitting on stage beside some of the best musicians in the country. The band is playing now better than ever. Now that we got together to do a tour it’s like we just met, there’s a lot of excitement when we get together to play. The band is ready to rock and reel.

February 21, 2009 by