Album Review: Katie McNally - Flourish

Like listening to the fiddle? Gaelic styled music? Then Katie McNally's Flourish is the CD for you.This is all instrumental, all the time - Katie's fiddle backed by the flat guitar, upright bass, piano, and cello. It's soothing music, but also I can't seem to get the final sequence of Napoleon Dynamite out of my mind while listening. Not sure why. I guess its cheerful and soothing. Pair with a pint of Harp or Aberlour Scotch. Cheers.

As a new generation breathes new life into the old tunes, and as young musicians are joyously pulled between multiple traditions, Boston fiddler Katie McNally has arrived as a driving force behind Celtic fiddling in New England. Pushing ever deeper into the Scottish fiddle tradition, Katie’s new album, Flourish, brings both Scottish and Cape Breton music together around the central core of her new compositions in the Celtic tradition. Katie’s a formidable fiddler, capable of drawing forth the unspoken emotions from the old melodies, but also capable of dazzling runs on her instrument. As a tune composer, there’s a real sense of playfulness to her compositions. She writes angular rhythms into her tunes in the subtlest ways, and delights in racing through these rhythms, her fiddle bow bobbing and weaving along the tracetrack she’s created. There’s a lift in her bow, a kind of weightlessness that only the best players have. It’s remarkable to hear this kind of maturity in a so young a fiddler.

Celtic CD Reviews: Altan & Solas

In honor of their 25 years together the Irish band Altan are releasing Altan: 25th Anniversary Celebration recorded at RTE Studios in Dublin with the RTE Concert Orchestra. We consider ourselves somewhat fans of Celtic folk music, but this was our first listen to Altan - and maybe the last. The first and third tracks were good - all acoustic songs played with traditional Irish instruments. But I just didn't get the orchestration with the orchestra for the remaining songs. As soon as the orchestra kicked it, the song lost all Celtic flavors and transformed into standards elevator music. Yes the music and vocals were beautifully performed - but please... give me some Enter the Haggis.

On the other hand, Turning Tide, the latest release from Solas was well worth the listen. Pure Celtic throughout, even when the band adapts song by Bruce Springsteen, Josh Ritter, and Richard Thompson to this genre. I also must admit that I've followed the band for a couple years now after a tip from Scythian. To get a feel of the band listen to the 6 minute all instrumental The Crows of Killimer/Box Reel #2/Boys pf Malin/The Opera House. And there originals have meaning - see Girl in the War and Thompson's 'Poor Ditching Boy'. And Springsteen's The Ghost of Tom Joad fits this theme - love that song. Grady Fernando Comes To Town is another fun all instrumental as is Trip to Kareol - love the percussion. Turning Tide should satisfy Solas fans hunger for new music; for newbie's this is a good introduction to the band. Hope to see everyone at Celtic Fling.

20 Days in November - Day 16: The Flying Cows of Ventry Bay

I wanted to take it easy tonight - since I crashed pretty hard last night - I wanted to stay close to home. Not far from us, in Great Falls Virginia, lies a popular Irish bar: The Old Brogue. The restaurant has a formal dining area - plus a pub - and in the pub they host live music four nights a week. Tonight they had scheduled The Flying Cows of Ventry Bay, a band that plays traditional Irish folk music while dabbling into "related musical pastures such as bluegrass, country and western swing". And when you see that they incorporate the banjo and fiddle into repertoire, its not a far stretch to imagine them playing these "related musical pastures". The pub was packed - the smoke and conversation overwhelming the senses. Eventually I was able to squeeze into an opening at the bar and enjoy an Old Speckled Hen and the band. They played tradition Irish fare this evening - some ballads as well as some sing-a-longs. It's been awhile since I ventured into this atmosphere and it brought back pleasant memories of Saint Patrick's Days of yesteryear. I really like the band's composition - acoustic guitar, banjo, and fiddle - it provides an authentic folksy sound. Eventually the smoke in the corner drove me out - but I look forward to seeing The Flying Cows of Ventry Bay - perhaps the beginning of December at The Auld Shebeen in Fairfax.

Enter the Haggis @ Jammin Java

We recently received a copy of Enter the Haggis latest CD, Gutter Anthems, and after several iterations of listening, knew we had to see the band live. Fortunately they were scheduled just down the street at Vienna's Jammin' Java. We have noticed this band tours constantly and plays at many popular festivals across the country. But listening to Gutter Anthems was our first real exposure to this somewhat celtic, somewhat rockish band. The CD starts out with "The Litter and the Leaves", traditional Irish fare at a breakneck pace - bagpipes, rhythm guitar, piano, drums, bass - what's not to like. The CD continues with more celtic flavor, but gets more complicated as the tracks progress. "Suburban Plains" was a favorite and sounds a bit like something out of Paul Simon's world music stage. Apparently drummer James Campbell listens to this genre often. Then Brian Buchanon added French lyrics (a benefit of the Canadian bi-lingual policy). An interesting song. "The Ghosts of Calico" really gets jamming, "Murphy's Ashes" a little metal, and "Lights and Cars" just a classic sound. Its as if I shuffled my ipod.

This evening they had two shows scheduled at Jammin' Java. The first thing I noticed is that the band streams their shows live through Enter the Haggis TV. If you can't make a show, they provide an opportunity to watch at home. What a great concept. Tonight, they opened with "The Litter and the Leaves" and their comfortable stage presence was immediately evident. This band knows how to interact with the audience. Particularly when Craig Downie puts down the bagpipes and starts calling for socials. They played several songs off the new CD, we learned that "Murphy's Ashes" was a tribute to Downie's dog which had become the band's dog. We also learned that this is no celtic band. This is a jam band that can rock. Guitarist Trevor Lewington and bassist Mark Abraham can jam, and when Buchanon plays the fiddle - watch out. But its the overall sound that's really entertaining. Bagpipes and drums, fiddle or piano, electric and bass guitars; where else can you find that combination. In fact, most of the crowd favorites were instrumentals where the abnd jams and the audience dances.

I look forward to the Celtic Fling at Mount Hope Estate & Winery, where the band is scheduled fro several sets. Maybe at that time we can discuss wine with Abraham or listen about Campbell's skydiving exploits.

Traveling with Enter the Haggis, was another Canadian band, this one with a bluegrass feel, The Abrams Brothers. We had also received their latest CD, "Blue on Brown", a tribute to Bob Dylan and Arlo Guthrie. The inspiration for the CD came from producer Chris Brown who had produced a similar theme with songs from Steve Goodman. In fact Goodman's "City of New Orleans" is by far the best track on the CD, a great orchestration; subtle harmonies blended with an equally subtle banjo, great vocals - a classic song. Dylan's "Nashville Skyline Rag" is a nice opening track.

What's particularly amazing about this band is how accomplished they sound for such a youthful band. John Abrams is 18, his brother James only 15, and their cousin Elijah, 18; add in two other occasional band members both under 19. The band is another example of why its important to see artists live. You can not fully appreciate how talented they are based on studio recordings. These young men and can play. Acoustic or electric, fiddle, upright bass - they will be surprising traditional bluegrass fans with drums and electric guitars this summer. The brothers came to play music, as well as roots-bluegrass music, from their family heritage - 4 generations worth, starting with the violin at 6 years of age. Want to learn more, watch the video on their website. I heard all I needed, fortunately I stuck around for their longer second set and am waiting for Iron Sharpens Iron arrives.

More photos are available at the MyJoog Facebook page.

Brogue Rogues @ Notaviva Vineyards

Hopefully regular readers have worried about our dereliction in posting articles this month. We apologize, for we spent the first week of July touring Sonoma and Napa wine country and the amount of time needed to post our trip on the Wine Compass Blog was slightly overwhelming. Since we were just starting to overcome our overindulgence in wine, on Saturday July 19th we finally ventured out to see live music. We have stressed numerous times that wineries are excellent sources for live music, in all states, and this weekend there was an abundant number of shows in Virginia and Maryland. Linganore Wine Cellars was hosting their annual Reggae Festival, Tarara Vineyard & Winery was hosting one of their summer series concerts, and Breaux Vineyards was hosting their 3rd Annual Key West Festival. Maybe next year. Instead we decided to attend a more low-key affair and visit Notaviva Vineyards to witness their musical\wine vision. We had visited the winery in June and learned about the proprietors musical background. They planned to host several local musical groups throughout the year and today's artist was the Blue Ridge Celtic band the Brogue Rogues.

We arrived for the last two songs of the opening set which allowed us to a chance to assess the environment. Bands are situated in the music loft, high above the tasting bar. Two rows of parallel tables are available on either side of the loft for those interested in sitting close to the music. We chose to sit at a table next to the tasting bar; from this vantage we could hear the music but also able to converse without shouting. In fact the acoustics were more than adequate to be able to hear the band - even when a bachelorette party ventured in. Even with the group being a little louder than the casual visitor - we never had a problem hearing the band. The first two songs we heard from Brogue Rogues were instrumentals which sounded like excellent background music as we scanned the wine list. We started with the excellent Viognier and sat down to hear the second act - which started with a bang - "What Do You Do with a Drunkin' Sailer?" For some reason this is a bedtime song in our household, so immediately our song jumped up started dancing and singing - with most of the audience joining in. They continued with a couple traditional Irish foot stomping songs that had everyone from the bachelorette party to couples stomping and singing along. They switched to a few instrumentals which displayed their musical talents on the mandolin, violin, and guitar and allow the audience to continue sipping wine. At this point we tried their newly bottle Cabernet Franc. The wine was a little young, particularly as we were used to the robust California versions, but it actually worked well on a hot day. They played several more songs - mostly instrumentals to a revolving stream of customers. The music was great and the environment was welcoming. If you wanted to get close to the band - there was ample room upstairs. If you wanted to listen as background music - sip downstairs; there was no pressure to focus 100% on the band. Instead we were able to talk, play, and listen without interfering in our neighbors ability to hear the music. The Brogue Rogues return to Notavina Vineyards August 23rd with several other acts scheduled through October. We plan to visit again for one of these shows.