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!

Flavio Chamis: “Tones of Nature”

MIM:  “All of my work was inspired by the Atlantic Forest”  This statement by bossa nova -founder Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927-1994) summarizes the profound relationship with nature that influenced this seminal force in Brazilian music and its lies in the center of the extraordinary 1994 documentary Vision of Paradise, directed by Oscar nominee Walter Salles.

The “Tones of Nature” program, led by Brazilian composer Flavio Chamis, spotlights Jobim’s ecological opus, featuring Jobim’s works alongside original compositions and excerpts from the film. 

I’m not a huge lover of jazz.  And although this show was samba, jazz’s latin cousin, I still wondered at my wisdom for signing up for the show.  I did, however, enjoy myself.  The beats were catching and danceable, the musicians enjoyed their craft, and there was obviously a love for Brazilian music and culture. 

The second half of the show was dedicated to Jobim and was a beautiful tribute to his music and his love of the rainforests of Brazil.  They showed 2 portions of film that helped tie you to his music and truly understand that area of the world.  The birds, the forest, the coast-line of his homeland is beautiful and worth saving.

Celebrate China: Chengdu Performing Arts Showcase

www.phoenixsistercities.org

This was strange performance:  11 different artists mixing classical instruments, magic, dance, and twangy-Chinese song.  Overall, this was a fun sampling of Chinese musical culture and an interesting evening.

I enjoyed the dancers the most and was highly impressed by the different styles and stories the women were able to portray.  A youth group from Chandler stole the show with their “Impression of the Wa Mountain” – a lively dance with hair and hands and acrobatics.  The Sichuan Opera Face Changing was also impressive; two men were able to almost instantaneously change their masks with a magical and exaggerated aesthetic. 

The singing was my least favorite, a highpitched, twangy Chinese sound without much appeal to my Westernized ears.  The woman were highly regarded and very talented – but they each performed at least one song too long.

I enjoyed the variety of the show while disliking the lack of flow or transitions.  This was a group of individual artists thrown together into one show seemingly at random.  But I enjoyed the exposure to this unique city.

Rupa & the April Fishes

www.theaprilfishes.com

MIM:  Coming from the land of earthquakes, social movements, social networking, peace-lovers, and global corporate conglomerates, Rupa & the April Fishes embody the pluralistic and paradoxical sounds of the San Francisco Bay area.

Inspired by street music and ethos of public art around the world, physician and bandleader Rupa started composing music in multiple languages in order to investigate the idea that what runs beneath the apparent differences is something deeper:  our intrinsic need for human connection and shared celebratory experience.  She found in drummer Aaron Kierbel a longtime creative counterpart who provides the essential heartbeat to the sonic adventures and, together with the rest of the band, they are creating music that is bridging divides and pointing to the value of life and living music – in all its force and delicacy.

It’s safe to say I didn’t know what to expect from this concert – and even safer to say I don’t know how to summarize it afterwards.  Rupa and the April Fishes were an energenic and eclectic band.  A force entirely unique and entirely of their own. 

The band played a wide selection of original songs – everything from sea shanties to hippy rock to reggae to Indian jazz.   It was enthralling to see a trumpet, bass, and cello collaborate on such a strange repertoire of songs.  Rupa was the glue for the group – leading the songs, engaging the crowd, directing the solos, and singing in multiple languages.  She was intriguing and obviously brilliant.

I’ll honestly admit I didn’t agree with or even comprehend many of the messages of her songs.  I don’t even know if I would attend another show again.  But the band was fun and memorable and I appreciate their freedom.

A Hawk and a Hacksaw

www.ahawkandahacksaw.net

MIM:  Started as a solo project in 2000 by accordionist and drummer Jeremy Barnes (formerly of Neutral Milk Hotel) and named after a line in Cervantes’ Don Quixote, A Hawk and a Hacksaw became a duo in 2004 when Barnes met violinist Heather Trost.  Starting out from their home base in New Mexico, the pair began an adventure that took them to Zece Prajini, Romania, and then to Budapest, Hungary.

Joined by an ever-evolving lineup of musicians, A Hawk and a Hacksaw seeks to create and document an ecstatic sound much like the village bands of old, with the communal aspect of folk tradition and musicianship as the principal factors.

I was very interested in seeing this show – Hungarian gypsy music was absolutely something I know little to nothing about.  (1)  Hungarian musicians are slim to none and (2) there’s a definite reason that Hungarian musicians are scarce and little known.

The music could best be described as Mariachi Polka in a minor key.  I did not so much enjoy the show as survived through it; perhaps a lot like the Hungarian ancestors that developed it. 

Heather herself was a great violist.  Her talent was evident and she played an interesting fiddle/horn instrument that I had never seen before.  She also created interesting sounds by pulling or dissecting the strings.  It was the highlight of the show.

Even with this, the majority of the songs just highlighted the worst screechy tendencies of both the fiddle and the accordion.  Hungarian gypsy music gives both instruments a bad reputation.  On several occasions, I felt the instruments were playing different songs and well – not well.

But the show as successful at achieving one of my goals:  exposure to different styles and cultures of music.  I did learn a lot from this show – and I now know to stay away from Hungarian gypsy music again.

The Good Lovelies

www.goodlovelies.com

MIM:  Sunny and upbeat, with a pinch of sass, the Good Lovelies have enlivened the folk-music landscape with their textbook three-part harmonies, constant instrument swapping, and witty onstage banter since they joined forces in 2006 for their first show at Toronto’s funky Gladstone Hotel.

With their self-titled, full-length album proved that their blithe brand of folk music has year-round appeal.  With that album, the Good Lovelies won as New Emerging Artist at the Canadian Folk Music Awards.  In 2010, the same album received a JUNO award for Roots/Traditional album of the year.

The Good Lovelies were charming and entertaining – everything a Sunday evening summer concert should be!  Their harmonies were elegant and beautiful, their lyrics and songs were fun and original, and their stories were adorable.  The crowd loved them.

The ladies played a wide selection of string instruments:  banjo, guitar, mandolin, bass.  While their forte was folk music, my favorite song was their encore version of “Halleluiah” – absolutely stunning.

A highlight to the evening was seeing Chief Justice Sandra Day O’Connor – also in attendance.  The Justice sat in the rear box with the President of the Museum and was an avid fan.