Arcady

Arcady
The venue:
Glór Theatre, Ennis
The date:
Saturday, March 31

JOHNNY ‘Ringo’ McDonagh’s bought
his first bodhrán for ten shillings
back in the late sixties. In the interim he has been the heartbeat of seminal trad group De Dannan.
He has contributed to a host of recordings by a diverse range of artists like Mary Bergin, Phil Lynott,
Mike Oldfield (Johnny played on the
first live recording of Tubular Bells),
Eileen Ivers and Sean Ryan.

After leaving De Dannan in the late
eighties, he formed Arcady, a loose
collection of like-minded musicians
and at various stages the band included accordion players Conor Keane, Jackie Daly and Sharon Shannon, singers Frances Black, Sean Keane and Niamh Parsons. Other musicians like Brendan Larrissey, Cathal Hayden, Gerry O’Connor and Nicholas Quemenar all have been Arcadians at some time. Therefore when word
of a new incarnation of McDonagh’s
group was announced, ripples of curiosity spread across the traditional music landscape. Last Saturday night at Glór, the Galway percussionist unveiled
his new team, and to a certain
extent a new sound.

Granted, the fundamental older
dance tunes are still an integral part
of the set, but because of the diverse origins of the group members, the range and breath of the music has expanded too. Still on board are Mc- Donagh and piano player Patsy Broderick,
both founders of the band.
They were joined by Jonas Fromseier from Denmark on banjo and bouzouki, American Rick Epping (harmonicas,concertina and jaw’s harp), Sligo based multi-instrumentalist Seamie O’Dowd (guitar, slide guitar, fiddle),
and young Galway fiddle player Maureen Browne. Connemara sean-nós singer Mairead Ní Fhlatharta also contributed, as did sean-nos dancers the Devanney brothers, Patrick and Gerard from Carna.

A lengthy two hours and fifteen
minute set opened with Epping’s
Jaw’s Harp, playing the theme music
from Radio na Gaeltacht’s signature
tune. The eclectic set that followed,
mixed and matched jigs, slip jigs,
reels, hornpipes, airs, blues songs,
sean-nos songs, and even a film
soundtrack theme. Mairead Ní Fhlatharta’s soulful vocals in Irish were buttressed by a
bluesy accompaniment, that featured O’Dowd’s glistening slide and Epping’s expressive harmonica playing.

Epping is also a fine singer and an
unusual arrangement of Mick Jagger’s No Expectations, found the
Californian, interpreting the Stones
classic as a true folk song.

The theme from Michael Cimino’s
Heaven’s Gate movie was first
presented as intended, in waltz time complete with McDonagh on triangle and then a two-step version of the tune encompassed the entire ensemble,playing with an air of confidence
that conveyed elements of Appalachia as well as evoking the spirit of the West of Ireland.

On occasion when too many diverse
influences converge musically,
the result can be turn out to be rather contrived and pretentious, but not with Arcady. A relaxed and apparent informality couldn’t conceal a tight presentation based on mutual respect, restrained virtuosity, and a love of playing together.

Patsy Broderick’s piano introduction
into a pair of Paddy Fahy tunes,
underlined the east Galway fiddler
and composer’s significance to an evolving tradition, while Seamie O’Dowd’s blues based
arrangement of the song The Galway Shawl proved how two genres that are supposedly poles apart, are a lot closer that many suspect.

Paraphrasing McDonagh, “the old
tunes are the best” - the closing set
from the band featured a rousing collection of reels in the form of ‘The
Sally Gardens/Miss McCloud’s/The
Foxhunter’s/The Bucks of Oranmore.

The final selection complete with
the Devanney brothers uniquely
Connemara style of dancing, brought to a close an engaging and gratifying performance from a band who hopefully will continue to gig and have plans to record an album later on in the year. - Clare People Newspaper, Ennis.