Come again, please
Celebration of Irish Music
State Theatre, Sydney
Reviewed By Bernie Brian
The man behind many of the recent tours of Irish musicians, Jon Nichols, indicated that this celebration may become an annual event. If the performances on March 26 are an indication, then I certainly hope we get a repeat next year. The highlight of the night was the appearance of all 15 performers on stage together singing "All Around the Blooming Heather".
Interest didn't flag during four solid hours of music
and comedy from some of Ireland's leading performers. Quite rightly, the top billing went to the "storm in a T-shirt", Christy Moore.
However, all the other musicians are also leaders in Irish music. Donal Lunny was playing alongside Moore in the early '70s in Planxty and later in Moving Hearts, which also featured uilleann pipe player Davy Spillane. Spillane has recorded with many other renowned artists, including Van Morrison and Elvis Costello.
Barleycorn, who opened the show, are an extremely versatile three-piece group who play up to a dozen instruments between them. Stockton's Wing, despite some changes in the line-up, have been together for 15 years. Former Planxty member Nollaig Casey, while being promoted as a fiddle player, revealed that she can hold her own in the singing stakes.
If there's a criticism of the evening, it was the lack of women. The beautiful voices of Casey and Francis Black made you recall that Ireland has produced some wonderful women performers, but this was not reflected as much as it should have been. The only other criticism I would make was that comedian Brendan Grace, MC for the night, is extremely funny but would even be more enjoyable if he cut the sexist and racist jokes from his act.
Traditional Irish music was the major influence, but all the musicians showed they were capable of pushing at the boundaries and making music relevant to new times.
With an artist like Christy Moore on the bill, you can also be sure that contemporary issues like unemployment and the troubles in northern Ireland are never overlooked. Francis Black and Keiran Goss also received a rousing ovation when they sang Ewan Maccoll's "Legal Illegal" — a powerful attack on the "whole bloody gang of exploiters".
Remaining tour dates are Perth, March 31 and April 1.