Susan McKeown

MIM:  Richly expressive tone and perceptive lyrics make Dublin native Susan McKeown one of the most striking and impressive composer-singers today.  McKeown walks the line between traditional Irish melodies and contemporary music.

McKeown’s songwriting abilities earned her a reputation for intelligent and inventive lyrics.  She drew from the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Irish legends, and various other literary and cultural sources to create a versatile and engaging style.

Tonight was a special occasion:  I didn’t usher but instead brought Aaron to a performance so we could enjoy as guests!  It was refreshing to sit-back and especially to be able to show Aaron what I do on a regular basis.

Susan began the concert very reminisent of Allison Krauss – her first few songs were lyrical and catchy and beautifully sung.  She only brought 2 accompanists and we were both impressed by the depth of sound from 2 instruments.  My favorite song was an Irish traditional song remastered and gorgeously sung.  Likewise, we also enjoyed her last few songs.  She sung a lovely Gaelic hymn and several folk songs that were very engaging.

However, the middle of the concert fell apart for us.  Ms McKeown has drawn inspiration from a fleet of depressed poets and authors and her songs swung to an unhappy, melodramatic side.  She does have a skill for song writing, but we both had a difficult time connecting to her music. 

Although I had hoped Aaron’s first experience would be phenomenal, I think he enjoyed the show.  I hope he was happy with the experience.

Battlefield Band

www.battlefieldband.co.uk

MIM:  Under its banner “Forward with Scotland’s Past", Battlefield Band has been performing on the international scene for four decades, inspired by its members’ rich heritage of Celtic music and fired by the strength of the modern Scottish cultural scene.  The band, which pioneered the integration of bagpipes with the fiddle, keyboards, guitar, and voice, mixes the old songs and tunes with new self-penned material, playing them on a unique fusion of ancient and modern instruments including bagpipes, fiddles, guitars, cittern, bass, keyboards, whistles, and bouzouki.

This band has truly become a “gold standard” for measuring Celtic music.  Over the years, new members have brought with them new ideas, new music, new instruments, and new attitudes and influences, leading to continued creativity, freshness, and enthusiasm.  After forty years, Battlefield Band still leads the way for Scottish music, always involving its ever-widening audience as the band travels the world.

This concert can best be summarized as just fun.  The band was engaging and incredible and who doesn’t love a good bagpipe?

I honestly loved the show and nearly everything about it.  The musicianship of all four artists was incredible.  The Gaelic lyrics, the dueling bagpipes, the interesting melodies were all intriguing.  And their Scottish accents and combinations of multiple instruments was truly unique.  I would absolutely see this band again; in fact, I would actually pay to see this band again!  A great show!

Celtic Spring

www.celticspringband.com

MIM:  A burst of energy, riveting dancing, driving music, youthful exuberance, unparalleled talent – all in one family.  Celtic Spring is composed of six siblings who play the fiddle and step dance, backed by their mom on the keyboard and their dad on percussion.  Their music hails from Ireland, Scotland, and Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada.  While firmly grounded in the traditions of their ancestors, Celtic Spring’s style is all its own.

The six wood family siblings have spent their lives on stage.  They each began learning the fiddle and Irish step dancing at the age of four years old, and they can hardly remember a time when they were not performing.  The siblings are also classically trained violinists, which has brought a certain beauty and clarity to their music.  A defining element of Celtic Spring is the members’ dual expertise in music and dance.  the Wood siblings are champion Irish dancers, and they have been influenced by French Canadian and Cape Breton step-dancing styles.

Celtic Spring was named Grand Champion of the World at the World Championships of Performing Arts, in Hollywood, California.  In the summer of 2007, twelve million people watched Celtic Spring on the number-one rated TV show of the season, NBC’s America’s Got Talent.  The band was one of the top five finalists. 

I was delighted to work this sold out show!  What fun!  What energy!  This really was a great family and the music and dancing was fabulous.  They were able to interweave several different sets and styles, delighted the audience with their dancing, and were engaging and fun.  It was obvious the family enjoyed each other, and – aside for the youngest – all loved performing.  We enjoyed watching the youngest boy who was a little unhappy and pulled out of the back for big-wow-factor moments. 

All-in-all, this was a fun show and exactly the moments I was hoping for when volunteering as an usher.  Well done!

Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas

www.alaisdairfraser.com  or  www.nataliehaas.com

MIM:  The musical partnership between Alasdair Fraser, long regarded as Scotland’s premier fiddle ambassador and the sizzlingly talented, young Californian cellist Natalie Haas may not seem an obvious one.  Natalie Haas, a graduate of Juilliard School of Music, was not even born when Fraser was winning national fiddle competitions on the other side of the Atlantic.  But this seemingly unlikely pairing is the fulfillment of a long-standing musical dream for Fraser, whose cutting-edge musical explorations took him full circle to find a cellist who could help him return the cello to its historical role at the rhythmic heart of Scottish dance music.  Haas was just eleven when she first attended Fraser’s Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddling School in California, where she responded to Fraser’s challenge to find and release the cello’s rhythmic soul.

Four years later, when Haas was fifteen, they played their first gig together.  Fraser and Haas’s debut album, Fire and Grace, displays dazzling teamwork; driving, dancing rhythms,; and the duo’s shared passion for improvising on the melody and the groove of Scottish tunes.  The record won not only critical acclaim but also the coveted Scots Trad Music “Album of the Year” award, the Scottish equivalent of a Grammy.

Perhaps I’m purposely selecting Scottish / Irish fiddle music.  Perhaps it appeals to me.  Perhaps this gives me something to discuss with Nathan.  In any case, fiddle is amazingly entertaining and this duo put on a great show!

I had never heard of Alasdair Fraser before but apparently he’s well known.  My brother Nathan, the fiddler, even knew his tour schedule was taking him through Montana.  And he was amazing – his love for Scottish music was infectious, his technique was graceful and effortless.  However, I spent most of my time watching Natalie Haas.  I was really naive to the levels and sounds achievable on the cello.  She played harmonies, melodies, base rhythms.  She mimicked the fiddle, the drum, the bass guitar.  It was beautiful.

They did play a lot of Scottish dance-hall music and Alasdair did a great job explaining the regions and time periods of origin.  They even did a baroque period piece.  However, they also wound their tour through Spain, Canada, Ireland, and Scandinavia.   He even tried to teach our poor American crowd to dance in their last number!

So yes, I do see a lot of Scottish / Irish shows.  And as long as I continue to enjoy them, I’ll continue to sign up for them.

Old Blind Dogs

www.oldblinddogs.co.uk

MIM: Since forming in the early 1990s, the Old Blind Dogs have stood on the cutting edge of Scotland’s root revival.  Dynamic percussion, polished vocals, soaring fiddle, and stirring pipes fuel the band’s energetic trademark style.

Unfortunately, the drummer for Old Blind Dogs was unable to fly to America due to a family emergency.  At the end of the show, we realized we had hardly missed him.  The three other members of the band were extremely solid and played so well together that the show was highly enjoyable.

The Scottish melodies were hypnotizing and soothing, fun and joyous, familiar and welcome.  I was fascinated by the Scottish bagpipe, played with an arm bellow.  Since I’ve heard so much Irish music, this was an interesting contrast with similar themes and styles.  I thoroughly enjoyed this show – one of my favorites.