Irish Fest didn't seem to be quite as "stellar" this year; it seemed like there were less "big names" than usual. However, there was a good side to this, in that it allowed our local bands Ce (Milwaukee) and Gan Bua (Chicago) to really shine through. This was the first time I had seen Gan Bua since Brian Hart has joined on vocals, and they had a new live CD to promote as well. They went over very well and their new CD is great; Brian sings three songs in Gaelic and one in English. I was surprised he included "The Hare's Dream," which he had sung on the Ce debut album, but this version justified the re- recording as it was particularly sweet and sad. I highly recommend going to their website and ordering a copy of LIVE AT MARTYRS (ganbua.com). Ce has a new CD too, Between Worlds, an all- instrumental affair that will please anyone who loves traditional music with a modern flair. I'll write more on that album at a later date when I give it a closer listen. I was able to catch The Cottars on this tour, whom I had just missed at Chicago's Celtic fest a year or two ago. They were better than I would have thought, since I haven't been thrilled with their second or third albums. Sister-brother team Fiona and Ciaran MacGillivray belted out a moving version of "The Briar and the Rose," while later in their set Fiona surprised with a lightening fast solo on tin whistle the drew a standing ovation. I would definitely go see them again on the strength of the two performances I caught. I think most of the musicians at Irish Fest were most exited about David Munnelly, a button accordianist who merges Irish traditional with 1920s era jazz. 1920s is a pretty early era of jazz for me to even recognize-- sometimes it even sounded like ragtime. At times I felt that rather than fusing the two styles, he was simply playing one song in one style and another in the other. One track featured three songs strung together: a cajun tune, an American tune, and an Irish tune. He had a drummer, brother Kieran Munnelly, who mostly did jazzy shuffles on snare drum, but when he picked up the Irish flute and did a duet with the mandolin player on some tunes from Quebec, it was one of the highlights of the set. I bought his CD with fiddler Aidan O'Donnell, IN SAFE HANDS, and it was one of best purchases I made. The only thing that didn't impress me about Munnelly's set was his vocalist Andrew Murray. He probably has a fine voice, but it was in a very low register and I'm partial to high and falsetto singing. I think this is probably the only thing that will hold back the band's popularity in terms of US audiences, but maybe it is my tastes that are off-kilter here. Chicagoans can see David Munnelly again on September 12 at the Uncommonground Coffeehouse where he will be performing with Gan Bua as the support act. That should be an amazing show, in many ways the best of Miwaukee Irish fest in a single evening. At the harp tent, I caught a complete performance by Kim Robertson who has many CDs that are sold in the new age market. It was a pleasing mix featuring religious music, classical interpretations of Holtz, folk songs, and even Robert Burns' Auld Lang Syne. I'd recommend her show to anyone who appreciates the "Celtic" harp (although technically I suppose it's the neo-Irish harp since the original Irish harp has wired strings. The later harps use gut strings of nylon for a much gentler sound. At least this is what I remember from the liner notes to the first Derek Bell album). Of course, the two Ce concerts I saw were a highlight, but I've spent so much time listening to their CD over the last year that this was a forgone conclusion. When they played one of the particularly sweet concertina/flute melodies from that album on Sunday afternoon, it caught the mood of fatigued reverie that everyone was in. We are really fortunate to have a band like this in the neighborhood and should never take it for granted. Well, I don't have much time left on the computer I'm using while mine is in storage, so I'll sign off. Happy jigging. -=--==- om==-=- Nick
To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
