Fabulous Loreena.
Sep. 26th, 2007 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lenora_roseI walked into the house last night and told Colin, "I can say, without exaggeration, that that was one of the best concerts I have Ever seen."
Without exaggeration. Loreena McKennitt is not my favourite artist, although she's someone whose work i have consistently enjoyed, but oh, do she and her band put on a show. My only complaints are that it ended at 10:30 (Although ehr speaking voice was showing wear, her singing was not - asd i overheard someone else remark, some voices lose soemthing live, hers got, if anything, better), and that she cut almost half the verses of Lady of Shallot, to the point where it almost lost the story, and certainly lost some of the substance (She also cut two verses of the Bonny Swans, but to significantly less detriment.) I'm not sure why she chose to do that, since I doubt there was a person in the (sold out) hosue who would ahve objected to 2 or 3 minutes more of song.
If I were a musician, I would geek out thoroughly on some of the instrument choices of her and her band (The only thing I'd say they might have been questionable was thyat the fiddle was a little too strong in the mix on some songs - partly ebcause it needed to be that strong in many others.) As it is, I don't know enough, and I don't have the program (mom kept it) to site all their names and multitude of instruments each one played. As an example of why musical geekitude would be needed, there were three or four percussionists per song, for example, depending on whether one guy was playing a bodhran, another drum, or hurdy-gurdy, and another, on the other side, was playing tabla or viola. Alas, all I can say is that this did *nothing* to diminish my lingering desire to learn the lute, though it did convince me that the mandolin or one of its relatives might be a perfectly acceptable place to start. (Not soon, alas, I'm doing this in a break from doing yet more pottery, not in the aftermath of dance practice.)
But really. Songs I've heard for years took on new life, and not just for the new arrangements. She was projecting all those thigns I heard when I heard them for the first time, so I found myself loving songs I'd thought myself a little overplayed before this. And I suspect some will carry over. I'm not sure I could do a complete track list in order, but I could certainly list every song performed if I were at home and had the cds in front of me, sicne the only song not off the albums was Raglan Road. She hit all my personal big choices save Stolen Child and one from the newest album. (I think she only did three songs from the new album all told, too, which I thought odd.)
Anyhow, must go make more pottery now... I already broke one bowl tonight, albeit not one from the main project, so I think my luck should be settled for the rest of the run. Adieu.
Without exaggeration. Loreena McKennitt is not my favourite artist, although she's someone whose work i have consistently enjoyed, but oh, do she and her band put on a show. My only complaints are that it ended at 10:30 (Although ehr speaking voice was showing wear, her singing was not - asd i overheard someone else remark, some voices lose soemthing live, hers got, if anything, better), and that she cut almost half the verses of Lady of Shallot, to the point where it almost lost the story, and certainly lost some of the substance (She also cut two verses of the Bonny Swans, but to significantly less detriment.) I'm not sure why she chose to do that, since I doubt there was a person in the (sold out) hosue who would ahve objected to 2 or 3 minutes more of song.
If I were a musician, I would geek out thoroughly on some of the instrument choices of her and her band (The only thing I'd say they might have been questionable was thyat the fiddle was a little too strong in the mix on some songs - partly ebcause it needed to be that strong in many others.) As it is, I don't know enough, and I don't have the program (mom kept it) to site all their names and multitude of instruments each one played. As an example of why musical geekitude would be needed, there were three or four percussionists per song, for example, depending on whether one guy was playing a bodhran, another drum, or hurdy-gurdy, and another, on the other side, was playing tabla or viola. Alas, all I can say is that this did *nothing* to diminish my lingering desire to learn the lute, though it did convince me that the mandolin or one of its relatives might be a perfectly acceptable place to start. (Not soon, alas, I'm doing this in a break from doing yet more pottery, not in the aftermath of dance practice.)
But really. Songs I've heard for years took on new life, and not just for the new arrangements. She was projecting all those thigns I heard when I heard them for the first time, so I found myself loving songs I'd thought myself a little overplayed before this. And I suspect some will carry over. I'm not sure I could do a complete track list in order, but I could certainly list every song performed if I were at home and had the cds in front of me, sicne the only song not off the albums was Raglan Road. She hit all my personal big choices save Stolen Child and one from the newest album. (I think she only did three songs from the new album all told, too, which I thought odd.)
Anyhow, must go make more pottery now... I already broke one bowl tonight, albeit not one from the main project, so I think my luck should be settled for the rest of the run. Adieu.
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I'd had plans to go to that concert
Date: 2007-10-01 09:29 pm (UTC)Bummer - sounds fantastic. Next time I'll book earlier!
Re: I'd had plans to go to that concert
Date: 2007-10-04 03:52 am (UTC)The Concert Hall nosebleed seats aren't bad, actually. Time and money, are of course major factors (and babysitters), but if they had worked out for you, I wouldn't let the nosebleed aspect stop you. I have seen things from the upper balcony, and you do get good sound, and while the stage looks small, this wasn't a really visual-oriented concert.
Re: I'd had plans to go to that concert
Date: 2007-10-04 04:25 am (UTC)And I'm spoiled. Last time I saw Loreena it was at the Burt and I was close enough that she was practically sweating on me.
Re: I'd had plans to go to that concert
Date: 2007-10-04 07:28 pm (UTC)Cats would be a more visual thing - all the dancers and costumes. That would suffer from being at the back. (The thing I saw from there, as it happens, was a final rehearsal of the ballet version of Romeo and Juliet -- a rehearsal with only a piano rather than an orchestra, too. So it was horribly disappointing all around, because it is something you want to watch, and the music was subpar.)
For Loreena, while there was a nice background, and it's sometimes good to see the musicians' faces and the details of what they're doing (Especially considering the byplay at times between them, and the fact that the guy on drum kit seemed convinced he was in a rock band), I wouldn't have said it was essential. Of course, this didn't stop me from being envious of Brannie, who was a good 15 or so rows in front of us. :)
On another subject, are we likely to get offplanet on the game this weekend? (I really want to be playing Magda in person when she finds out about the *rest* of the 12 ships, and since I can't be there, argh!)
Re: I'd had plans to go to that concert
Date: 2007-10-04 08:37 pm (UTC)It's fairly likely. The Super's military is pretty much Swiss cheese and Ashtabula's coming down on C-grav to bear the lost lambs away.
All that remains is the rescue of the tank's crew. If there's anyone left to rescue of course...