Loreena McKennitt + Thomas Wolfe Auditorium + me = joygasm!
Let me just start by saying: Woot! It involved over 200 boring miles of travel, but it was worth every bump and crack in I-40. Loreena McKennitt live at Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Somewhat pathetically, until I got there, I didn't connect "Thomas Wolfe" with the author, since I've always just heard him referred to as "Tom Wolfe". But anyway, on to the review!
Man, what a cross-section of people. I was nattily attired in my Old Navy pullover sweater and khakis, but there were people there in t-shirts and jeans, and then there were people in suits and evening gowns. I guess I was somewhere in the middle. And while a few people I talked to were able to walk to the auditorium from their house, another couple had driven up from Georgia. Suddenly, Statesville didn't seem that far. I have no idea how many people TW seats(hang on, lemme look it up cuz if I don't it'll drive me crazy)...
Okay, that was far more difficult than it needed to be. 4 minutes and 7 websites. Anyway, TW seats approximately 2400 ppl, and I'd hazard a guess that there were at least 2200 there. About ten till 8, I was able to see fiddle player Hugh Marsh(visually disctinctive due to his bald head and THICK black glasses) and cellist Caroline Lavelle(visually distinctive as both the only other woman in the band and by the fact that she always wears sleeveless dresses and a shawl) wandering behind viola/keyboardist Donald Quon's area. Then, at the stroke of 7:58, the houselights dimmed, and even though the stage was almost pitch black, there was no mistaking that mane of reddish hair entering from stage left. And, in case there was ANY doubt, the owner of said hair then sat down and began plucking at the harp.
BAND
Loreena McKennitt: vocals, harp, piano, keyboards, accordion
Brian Hughes: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bouzouki, oud
Hugh Marsh: fiddle
Caroline Lavelle: cello
Tim Landers: acoustic bass, electric bass
Tal Bergman: drumkit
Rick Lazar: percussion
Ben Grossman: hurdy-gurdy, percussion
Donald Quon: viola, keyboards, tabla, accordion, percussion
Sokratis Sinopoulos: lyra, Greek lute
SETLIST
She Moved Through The Fair
While I like this song, it's not one of my favorites. Its slow pace made it a good opener, allowing everyone to take the stage while Loreena, Brian and Ben performed.
The Gates of Istanbul
One of only four songs from the new album performed; in essence it seemed to be "bring in the new, but don't toss out the old". Another slow-medium paced song, it picks up more and involved the whole band.
The Mummers' Dance
The only real 'hit' Loreena's ever had(even getting airplay on 106.5 back in the day), this song got a huge reaction in college-rock obsessed Asheville. It ended with Loreena coming out of her shell(she's usually very quiet onstage, only thanking the audience for their responses) and giving a bit of history behind her next song.
Bonny Portmore
For me, this song will never sound as good live as the studio version, but still, it was very good. Another slow song, perhaps this was meant to mess with the audience's heads, as it lead into...
Marco Polo
An instrumental that I've heard always gets a great reaction, in part due to the way Hugh Marsh and Brian Hughes play off each other. This was the first point in the night where the entire band really got into the performance 110%. Tal Bergman in particular was laying into his drumkit as if he were trying to see just how hard he'd have to hit the heads before a stick punctured them. Loreena had strapped on her accordion for this one, and she even seemed to put a little something extra on her vocals. It's quite entertaining, and a testament to the passion they hold for the music, to see a cellist and a hurdy-gurdy player leaning into a song. Not to mention Loreena actually getting extremely carried away and doing a little Ozzy Osbourne style crouch-and-leap...while playing an accordion. The woman's got guts.
The Highwayman
One of my favorite songs. I read the poem "The Highwayman" in elementary school, and it stuck with me. Then, Loreena goes and records a masterful version of it, a poem set to music, with Loreena at piano and Brian pulling double duty on electric guitar and bouzouki. Hugh and Caroline really shone here, their harmony lines complimenting each other perfectly.
Dante's Prayer
Preceded by what Loreena admitted was a "meandering, circuitous" explanation about the experiences that led her to write it, this is one of my favorite songs. Simple, just Loreena, piano, cello and fiddle for the most part, but I've just always really really liked it. Like the other songs, it got a hell of a reaction.
The Bonny Swans
Out of eight songs, this marked the seventh one on which people had applauded just the beginning of the song, before even a full measure was played. Say this about Loreena's fans: they know what they like. A modernized rendition of an old English folk song about kinslaying, Brian and Hugh's "dueling strings" outro drew multiple yells and long applause.
Caravanserai
She talks yet again! One of my favorite songs on the new album, this was another mid-tempo number, but here the band seemed to kick up their efforts a notch and gave it a little extra "oomph". And thus ended set one, now it's time for a break.
The only bad things about the concert up to this point were...um, oh, there was only one: brownhaired sack of flesh, a rather large woman who sat in front of me(when four seats on either side of where she sat were unoccupied), then sat up straight right in my line of sight, then alternated leaning, then began bouncing in time to the music. Luckily, by "Dante's", I had moved over a seat to my left(where there were several unclaimed), and was mostly free of her for the remainder of the show.
Ten, maybe fifteen minutes go by, and quite unexpectedly, the lights go down, the entire stage returns to pitch black, and once again, the silhouette of all that hair marches onstage.
Raglan Road
Another slow song to open the second set, mostly just Loreena, piano, and Caroline on cello. A good song, just not one I've listened to very often.
The Mystic's Dream
The leadoff track to "The Mask And Mirror" album, the beginning of this song got one of the biggest reactions of the night. People really like this song. So do I, it's one of my favorites.
Santiago
Another instrumental with vocal(la la la, etc), again, the whole band just laid into this song. You could tell they got a kick out of it. A big Hugh Marsh solo ended out the song, and the bald one got another big round of applause.
The Lady of Shalott
One more poem for the road, a shortened version of 1992's 11-plus minute epic song, missing a couple of stanzas, but in spirit intact.
Beneath A Phrygian Sky
I've heard people asking about why this song is "different", but I don't think it sounds THAT different. It does have a bit more of a "band" vibe to it, but that's about the only difference I can think of.
The Old Ways
Another one where it seemed like Tal was trying to destroy his kit, with more of Hugh's stellar fiddle playing. This has always been one of my favorites, and I was really glad to see it on the setlist.
Never-Ending Road(Amhran Duit)
Final song of the set, it's slow and sweet, and is a good finisher. Except, of course, we didn't let her finish. Loreena & Co. got called back for 3 encores, and though I was so tired that I can't remember which songs were played right off hand, I do remember Hugh attempting to saw the strings off his fiddle on the second one.
Man, what a cross-section of people. I was nattily attired in my Old Navy pullover sweater and khakis, but there were people there in t-shirts and jeans, and then there were people in suits and evening gowns. I guess I was somewhere in the middle. And while a few people I talked to were able to walk to the auditorium from their house, another couple had driven up from Georgia. Suddenly, Statesville didn't seem that far. I have no idea how many people TW seats(hang on, lemme look it up cuz if I don't it'll drive me crazy)...
Okay, that was far more difficult than it needed to be. 4 minutes and 7 websites. Anyway, TW seats approximately 2400 ppl, and I'd hazard a guess that there were at least 2200 there. About ten till 8, I was able to see fiddle player Hugh Marsh(visually disctinctive due to his bald head and THICK black glasses) and cellist Caroline Lavelle(visually distinctive as both the only other woman in the band and by the fact that she always wears sleeveless dresses and a shawl) wandering behind viola/keyboardist Donald Quon's area. Then, at the stroke of 7:58, the houselights dimmed, and even though the stage was almost pitch black, there was no mistaking that mane of reddish hair entering from stage left. And, in case there was ANY doubt, the owner of said hair then sat down and began plucking at the harp.
BAND
Loreena McKennitt: vocals, harp, piano, keyboards, accordion
Brian Hughes: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bouzouki, oud
Hugh Marsh: fiddle
Caroline Lavelle: cello
Tim Landers: acoustic bass, electric bass
Tal Bergman: drumkit
Rick Lazar: percussion
Ben Grossman: hurdy-gurdy, percussion
Donald Quon: viola, keyboards, tabla, accordion, percussion
Sokratis Sinopoulos: lyra, Greek lute
SETLIST
She Moved Through The Fair
While I like this song, it's not one of my favorites. Its slow pace made it a good opener, allowing everyone to take the stage while Loreena, Brian and Ben performed.
The Gates of Istanbul
One of only four songs from the new album performed; in essence it seemed to be "bring in the new, but don't toss out the old". Another slow-medium paced song, it picks up more and involved the whole band.
The Mummers' Dance
The only real 'hit' Loreena's ever had(even getting airplay on 106.5 back in the day), this song got a huge reaction in college-rock obsessed Asheville. It ended with Loreena coming out of her shell(she's usually very quiet onstage, only thanking the audience for their responses) and giving a bit of history behind her next song.
Bonny Portmore
For me, this song will never sound as good live as the studio version, but still, it was very good. Another slow song, perhaps this was meant to mess with the audience's heads, as it lead into...
Marco Polo
An instrumental that I've heard always gets a great reaction, in part due to the way Hugh Marsh and Brian Hughes play off each other. This was the first point in the night where the entire band really got into the performance 110%. Tal Bergman in particular was laying into his drumkit as if he were trying to see just how hard he'd have to hit the heads before a stick punctured them. Loreena had strapped on her accordion for this one, and she even seemed to put a little something extra on her vocals. It's quite entertaining, and a testament to the passion they hold for the music, to see a cellist and a hurdy-gurdy player leaning into a song. Not to mention Loreena actually getting extremely carried away and doing a little Ozzy Osbourne style crouch-and-leap...while playing an accordion. The woman's got guts.
The Highwayman
One of my favorite songs. I read the poem "The Highwayman" in elementary school, and it stuck with me. Then, Loreena goes and records a masterful version of it, a poem set to music, with Loreena at piano and Brian pulling double duty on electric guitar and bouzouki. Hugh and Caroline really shone here, their harmony lines complimenting each other perfectly.
Dante's Prayer
Preceded by what Loreena admitted was a "meandering, circuitous" explanation about the experiences that led her to write it, this is one of my favorite songs. Simple, just Loreena, piano, cello and fiddle for the most part, but I've just always really really liked it. Like the other songs, it got a hell of a reaction.
The Bonny Swans
Out of eight songs, this marked the seventh one on which people had applauded just the beginning of the song, before even a full measure was played. Say this about Loreena's fans: they know what they like. A modernized rendition of an old English folk song about kinslaying, Brian and Hugh's "dueling strings" outro drew multiple yells and long applause.
Caravanserai
She talks yet again! One of my favorite songs on the new album, this was another mid-tempo number, but here the band seemed to kick up their efforts a notch and gave it a little extra "oomph". And thus ended set one, now it's time for a break.
The only bad things about the concert up to this point were...um, oh, there was only one: brownhaired sack of flesh, a rather large woman who sat in front of me(when four seats on either side of where she sat were unoccupied), then sat up straight right in my line of sight, then alternated leaning, then began bouncing in time to the music. Luckily, by "Dante's", I had moved over a seat to my left(where there were several unclaimed), and was mostly free of her for the remainder of the show.
Ten, maybe fifteen minutes go by, and quite unexpectedly, the lights go down, the entire stage returns to pitch black, and once again, the silhouette of all that hair marches onstage.
Raglan Road
Another slow song to open the second set, mostly just Loreena, piano, and Caroline on cello. A good song, just not one I've listened to very often.
The Mystic's Dream
The leadoff track to "The Mask And Mirror" album, the beginning of this song got one of the biggest reactions of the night. People really like this song. So do I, it's one of my favorites.
Santiago
Another instrumental with vocal(la la la, etc), again, the whole band just laid into this song. You could tell they got a kick out of it. A big Hugh Marsh solo ended out the song, and the bald one got another big round of applause.
The Lady of Shalott
One more poem for the road, a shortened version of 1992's 11-plus minute epic song, missing a couple of stanzas, but in spirit intact.
Beneath A Phrygian Sky
I've heard people asking about why this song is "different", but I don't think it sounds THAT different. It does have a bit more of a "band" vibe to it, but that's about the only difference I can think of.
The Old Ways
Another one where it seemed like Tal was trying to destroy his kit, with more of Hugh's stellar fiddle playing. This has always been one of my favorites, and I was really glad to see it on the setlist.
Never-Ending Road(Amhran Duit)
Final song of the set, it's slow and sweet, and is a good finisher. Except, of course, we didn't let her finish. Loreena & Co. got called back for 3 encores, and though I was so tired that I can't remember which songs were played right off hand, I do remember Hugh attempting to saw the strings off his fiddle on the second one.
posted by FirstOfTheFallen at 3:23 PM
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