Frank Fairfied Live At The Grand Social Dublin 18/01/2014.

The first gig I attended this year was at  Dublin's Grand Social, located on lower Liffey Street to see the great American folk artist Frank Fairfield last month.

I've mentioned this Californian man before on a few occasions on this blog since discovering  his music on an Uncut magazine promo CD over 3 years ago. I was also lucky enough to see his performance at The End Of The Road Festival in Dorset in  2012 which I must add was a bona fida highlight of that weekend.

If you listen to Fairfield's self titled debut album from 2009, you will be hard pushed to find a more stripped back or raw recording from this century . It comes as no surprise that this man is an avid collector of vintage 78rpm records, he seems to live and breathe and play in a style from a bygone era.

His latest release 'Duncan and Brady' is a 7" vinyl available through Jack White's label Third Man Records.

Taking in Kilkenny and Dundalk on a short stopover of a European tour, Frank completed his 3rd Irish date in the capital city upstairs in The Loft venue of The Grand Social.

Something extraordinary happens when this man takes the stage because despite his sometimes conspicuous shyness, he soon becomes enraptured in the music that flows from his guitar, fiddle or banjo.

The crowd tonight were a mix of age groups, some perhaps were just curious to check this guy out without knowing much of his work while many more were well familiar with him.

It was clear that Fairfield was enjoying his time in Ireland, mentioning that he had met 'so many sweet people along the way'. 15 minutes of so into his set tonight  left few punters unable to keep their feet from tapping against the wooden floor. At one point while tuning his fiddle, one of his bow strings broke, he politely excused himself and walked backstage to retrieve a spare one from a box much to his and everyone else's amusement.

There was time too for requests, most notable, 'Old Paint' a beautiful cowboy ballad that someone from the crowd wisely suggested him to play. Holding the fiddle down low to his breast, while singing in that distinctively raspy American voice, Fairfield seemed like a character from an 1800's gold rush era film.

Clearly he had won over an amount of new followers tonight as almost everyone stood up from their seats to applaud loudly as his time on stage came to a close.

Afterwards he kindly waited around to chat with the people there and stand for photos and sign some Cd's.

I got to shake his hand and shyly mumble some words of appreciation on his return to Ireland, I hope he understood that I was so glad to be there tonight.

I was fortunate enough to get him to autograph a copy of 'Turn Me Loose' a CD compilation curated by himself of some of his favourite 78 rpm's, a unique collection of Anglo-American vernacular pieces selected from the gramophone era. You will find this collection on the Tompkins Square record label along with his debut album and his follow up 'Out On The Open West'.

Morgan O Kane Irish Tour.

Some excellent news this week for fans of one of Charlottesville Virgina's finest musicians Morgan O Kane. To coinside with a brand new album called Pendulum released earlier this month on Dollartone, there will be 6 Irish dates beginning in Dublin tomorrow night (June 19th).

                                            

Traditional music lovers are in for an enormous treat when this banjo virturoso plays in a venue near you.
The full dates are as follows....

June 19 - Sin E' Bar, Dublin

June 20 - Sandinos, Derry

June 21 - Roddens Bar, Buncrana

June 22 - The Spirit Store, Dundalk

June 24 - The Sky and the Ground, Wexford Town

June 25 - Crane Lane Theatre, Cork

Teetotallers Live @ Tipperary Excel Theatre January 20th 2012.

Teetotallers is a dream combination, comprising 3 of Ireland's highest ranking traditional musicians,Martin Hayes (fiddle), Kevin Crawford (flute) and John Doyle (vocals and guitar). It is a temporary collaboration that could perhaps grow into something bigger if each of these 3 musicians could ever get the time to converge in the long term. I was lucky enough to catch them live last month when they played in Tipperary's Excel Theatre as part of a short Irish tour. It was the first gig I would attend this year and I have to admit, I don't think I could have chosen a better start to the year. I have seen Martin Hayes play live on several occasions (mostly accompanied by Dennis Cahill) , each time a transcending mystical experience, however with Crawford and Doyle the musical horizons are expanded even further.

 Dubliner John Doyle's CV includes being the founding member of Irish-American group Solas along with having recently served as band leader for Joan Baez on tour. Not alone being a fine guitarist, his interpretation of a song can sometimes be spellbinding.

Kevin Crawford renowned mostly for his work with Lunasa has just released a new album called 'Carrying The Tune' which I bought a copy of at the gig and will be reviewing later on in this blog. Crawford's playing on the night was extraordinary and combined with the string arrangments of the violin and guitar it made for probably the finest traditional Irish set I have ever encountered.

This is Tetotallers first TV apperance shown on TG4 last month.

The Gloaming In Concert: Global Fest 2012.

The Gloaming are more than just a group of traditional Irish musicians, in fact this gathering could more accurately be accused of being a super group. Two of its members Martin Hayes and Denis Cahill have been working as a duo for many years recording together since 1997. Their first album entitled The Lonesome Touch is a fine document of what can happen when several musical influences merge together. From Irish traditional reels to European roots, to Classical and Jazz, Hayes and Cahill have managed to form a sound all of their own from such diverse sources.
Vocalist Iarla O Lionaird has for many years been at the forefront as one of Ireland's greatest exponents of traditional singing, ( Sean Nos).
His work, both solo and with such artistes as The Afro Celt Sound System, Tony McMahon and Noel Hill have encompassed a proud back catalogue. Much of his work can be found on Peter Gabriel's label Real World Records.
Remaining members of The Gloaming include renowned Dublin born fiddle and viola player Caoimhin O Raghallaigh , he has worked before with Martin Hayes on recordings and has released some self-produced material including an EP entitled. 'One Eye Man Is King'.
Thomas Bartlett grew up in Vermont And is a classically trained musician, he is better know for his work as Doveman but has either played live or recorded with the likes of The National, Laurie Anderson, Yoko Ono, David Byrne and Anthony And The Johnsons to name but a few.
On January 8th last as part of Global Fest 2012, The Gloaming played at the New York City's Webster Hall you can listen to this concert here and even download it for free by following this NPR link below...

http://www.npr.org/event/music/144697837/the-gloaming-globalfest-2012

Tony McMahon -Port Na Bpucai

This is one of my all time favourite traditional Irish pieces of music, performed here by Co. Clare musician Tony McMahon. The title 'Port Na Bpucai', translates in English to 'Music Of The Ghosts' and is a haunting, emotional slow air, that originated from the Blasket Islands off the west cost of Kerry.
You will find it on a few of McMahon's album compilations, but most notibly on an excellent album entitled 'IgCnoc na Grai' a live set featuring Noel Hill and Tony McMahon, recorded in Dan Connell's pub in the village of Knocknagree situated on the Cork and Kerry border.The date of the concert was October 18th 1985, it can be found on the Gael-Linn record label.

Here is Tony McMahon performing 'Port Na Bpucai on a tv series called 'Bringing It All back Home' from 1998.  It is an example of Irish traditional at its most pure and powerful..