|
Review: By Roger Lilly |
||
Irish folk is an equal-opportunity musical experience. But it sure seems to be a male-dominated business, as witnessed by the testosterone-fueled bands that have made their way through Charleston the last couple of years. Saturday night at the West Virginia State College Capitol Center Theater, the tables were turned and the women stepped to the forefront. Cherish The Ladies, to be exact. The six-member group wove their way through some of the very best in traditional Irish music interspersed with many of their own original tunes. All but one of the women are American-born with Irish parents. The exception is lead singer Aoife (pronounced "eefa") Clancy, who hails from County Tipperary and is the daughter of Bobby Clancy of the legendary Clancy Brothers. Her vocals were hauntingly beautiful and her playing of the bodhran, a type of handheld drum, was some of the best I've heard, understated and never over the top. Her solos covered the three subjects that make up 99 percent of all Irish folk songs: pain, death and unfulfilled love. In a shocking move, she actually performed an Irish folk song that had a happy ending, which is an entity that I didn't even know existed. Joanie Madden is the leader of the group and has been a world champion on both the whistle and the concert flute. She also seems to be the only member who is even halfway comfortable in the spotlight, so she handled the great majority of the introductions and required audience banter. |
Mary Rafferty was amazing on accordion, flute and whistle. Mary Coogan provided the rhythm section with dead-on arrangements for her guitar and mandolin. Donna Long was delicious on piano and fiddle. And Siobhan Egan rounded out the sound with expert renditions on fiddle, whistle, flute and, occasionally, the bodhran. They were joined onstage by Alana O'Neil and Katie Irwin, two enthusiastic step dancers from Columbus, Ohio. They were each appropriately stiff in the upper body, while experiencing a whirlwind below the hips. Their performance added a visual aside to the wonderful aural mix that Cherish The Ladies dished out. Five hundred lucky audience members were able to enjoy the sold-out show that was forced to move from the comfortable confines of the Cultural Center Theater due to the expected demand for tickets. I, for one, enjoyed being back in the former Capitol Plaza Theater, a place with as much character as the performers on stage. I also enjoyed the comfort of the new seats that were donated to West Virginia State College by Park Place Stadium Cinemas during their recent remodeling. Cherish The Ladies were deliberate in their presentation, never frantic or rushed. Their songwriting talents combined with tight instrumentation made it hard to distinguish the traditional from the original. They were a very fitting ending to a highly successful FOOTMAD concert season. |
|
| © Copyright 2000 Charleston Gazette | ||