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Slide Returns to Philadelphia with Another Great Show of “Daireobics”

Slide

Slide

The crowd at The Annenberg Center was treated to a tuneful Christmas concert by innovative Irish group Slide on December 11, 2010.  Onstage this tour were Daire Bracken on fiddle; Eamonn de Barra on flute, whistle, keyboards and bodhran; Mick Broderick on bouzouki; Colm Delaney on concertina; and Dave Curley on guitar, bodhran and providing some beautiful vocals.

Bracken’s energetic fiddling style (the “daireobics” of the evening) is always worth a special mention, and his performance at The Annenberg Center was no less than its usual dazzling ball of fire. Broderick’s bouzouki playing and Delaney’s head banging concertina style were an integral part of the consistently high energy of the evening, but Dave Curley, a more recent addition to the band, subtly seduced the audience with his “velvety vocals.”

And de Barra, in between switching from one incredibly played instrument to another, gave a special shout-out to his local connection in the audience: his brother Fionan is married to Philly girl Shannon Lambert-Ryan. Along with Cheryl Prashker, and occasionally Isaac Alderson, Fionan and Shannon are part of the up and coming band Runa.

We have some videos from the evening; make sure to catch Dave Curley’s solo rendition of The Pogues’ Christmas classic “Fairytale of New York.”

December 21, 2010 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