|
Celebrating
the holidays in Japan with Plankton It's that time of year
again, when the folks at Plankton
in Japan make us wish we were celebrating Christmas in that lovely country, enjoying
really great Celtic music! Here is this year's line-up, followed by a report of
last years's Celtic Christmas 2002, thanks to our Japanese correspondent,
Yoshiko Sue Tabata: Dec.
13 - Osaka
Celtic Christmas 2003 in Osaka Vol. 1
Carlos Nunez
Guest:
Liam O'Flynn, Yasukatsu Oshima (sanshin, vocals)
Dec. 14 - Nagoya
Carlos
Nunez
Guest: Liam O'Flynn
Dec. 15 - Sendai
Carlos Nunez
Guest:
Liam O'Flynn
Dec. 17 - Ibaraki
Celtic Christmas 2003 in Hitachi
Carlos
Nunez, Sharon Shannon
Guest: Liam O'Flynn, Liz Carroll & John Doyle
Dec.
17 - Hiroshima
Karan Casey
Dec. 18 - Fukuoka
Karan
Casey
Dec. 18 - Tokyo
Sharon Shannon
Guest: Liz Carroll
& John Doyle
Dec. 18 - Tokyo
Carlos Nunez
Dec.
19 - Osaka
Celtic Christmas 2003 in Osaka Vol. 2
Sharon Shannon with
Karan Casey
Guest: Liz Carroll & John Doyle
Dec. 20 - Tokyo
Celtic
Christmas 2003 - Carlos Nunez Special Concert
Carlos Nunez, Sharon Shannon,
Karan Casey, Liz Carroll & John Doyle, Liam O'Flynn, The Tokyo Pipe Band
Dec.
21 - Tokyo
Karan Casey, Liz Carroll & John Doyle
Dec.
21 - Tokyo
Celtic Christmas 2003 - Session Party
Carlos Nunez, Sharon
Shannon, Karan Casey, Liz Carroll & John Doyle, Liam O'Flynn
•
• • 2003 Line-up: Carlos Nunez (gaita, whistle)
with
Pancho
Alvarez (bouzouki)
Xurxo Nunez (percussion)
Begonia Rioboo (fiddle)
Liam
O'Flynn (uilleann pipes)
Sharon Shannon (accordion, fiddle)
with
Mary
Shannon (mandolin, fiddle)
Jim Murray (guitar)
and
Pauline Scanlon (vocals)
Karan
Casey (vocals)
with
Niall Vallely (concertina)
Robbie Overson (guitar)
Liz
Carroll (fiddle)
John Doyle (guitar, vocals)
• •
• We are most pleased to have the following coverage of last year's
Celtic Christmas events, thanks to Yoshiko Sue Tabata of Japan. Be sure to check
out her site through the link at the end of the report for many more photos than
we have included here. Thanks very much also to the good folks at Plankton, and
to Louise Owen for the editing help!
CELTIC CHRISTMAS
2002
Here in Japan, we occasionally have Celtic music festivals. They
are not very large-scale, but the Japanese Celtic music fans enjoy every performance
of the fabulous musicians from Ireland and other countries. In 2002, there were
two wonderful festivals: the "Altan Festival 2002" in summer, followed
by "Celtic Christmas 2002" at the end of the year. Plankton, the promoter,
kindly gave me permission to take photos, and I would like to report on five of
the concerts from the "Celtic Christmas 2002 Festival" in Tokyo. December
3, 2002
In-store live concert at the Virgin Mega Store Shinjuku, Tokyo
Eileen
Ivers Trio:
Eileen Ivers (fiddle)
John Doyle (guitar)
Ivan Goff (uilleann
pipes, flute) This free concert was held at a big CD store to promote Eileen
Ivers' latest album, 'Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul', and the festival itself.
Eileen Ivers has come to Japan four times (three times for concerts), but this
was the first time for me to see her live. I was thrilled to see her playing her
blue fiddle only two or three meters away from me! It was surprising - she had
just arrived at Tokyo only a few hours before, after 14 ½ hour flight from
New York! They performed acoustic versions of her music with John and Ivan
as a trio, and needless to say, it was terrific! Between the tunes, she told the
people about the composition of her whole band and how big and exciting it would
be at the final concert. After she played old and new tunes for about 30 minutes,
showing no fatigue, she signed autographs for the people, asking for each name
and talking with everyone cheerfully. I heard one concert-goer tell her how much
he was astonished with her performance, and she looked so delighted to hear him. I
had the pleasure of having a few words with Eileen, and I was very impressed that
she was so nice and friendly. Ms. Keiko Kawashima of Plankton introduced me and
told her that I was to do a report for this website. "Of course I know the
Celtic Cafe!" Eileen said. She saw my digital camera and said that she would
love to get one of those little ones while she was in Japan. I wondered if she
had time to go shopping on such a full schedule. It was really great to talk with
her for a while and to get to know her warm and charming personality. A good start
for the event!
December 4, 2002
Celtic Christmas 2002 - Opening
Concert at Kameari Lirio Hall, Tokyo
Méav with David Agnew:
Méav
Ní Mhaolchatha (vocals, harp)
Una O'Kane (violin, viola, vocals)
Ronan
McDonagh (keyboards, uilleann pipes, vocals)
Shea Fitzgerald (guitar, whistle,
djembe, vocals)
David Agnew (oboe, cor anglais)
I was a little bit nervous
at this concert, because it was the first time to take photos during a concert.
I was worried that I might bother the audience every time I moved and changed
my position. It was very difficult to enjoy the music, as I was trying not to
fail to get good shots to capture the moment, but I was absorbed in every performance. The
hall was filled with about 500 people, and the opening concert began quietly with
Méav's graceful performance. She once was a member of Anúna and
she sang in Riverdance and also in Lord of the Dance, and was the Featured Artist
at the Celtic Cafe in August 2002. She stood magnificently at the center of the
stage and sang songs from her two CDs, 'Méav' and 'Silver Sea', as well
as a familiar song for the Lord of the Dance fans, "Marble Halls". Her
dignified presence fascinated the whole audience and her pure, beautiful voice
completely carried us away. I have never heard such a clear voice as hers in live
performance. She courteously told us about the stories of the lyrics before she
sang. To me, it was most impressive when she sang and played the harp in strong
notes on "Wicked Sister", telling a tragic story of two sisters. While
Méav was taking a break, David Agnew played several beautiful tunes such
as "Katie" with the band. I was so happy to see him perform live since
I was captivated by the sound of his oboe playing when I first heard him on Méav's
albums. He has been touring around with her recently as an oboe player, and he
is also a producer of her album.
Haugaard & Hoirup:
Harald
Haugaard (fiddle)
Morten Hourup (guitar, vocals) An amazing duo from
Denmark came on stage next. If you have never heard of their music, I would highly
recommend it. Most of the Japanese audience didn't know about them at all, and
as soon as they started playing, they totally stunned the audience!! "Who
on earth are they?" everyone must have thought. "We are Haugaard and
Hoirup. Have you ever heard the music of Denmark? Okay, now you're hearing it."
Harald Haugaard is a talented young fiddler; Morten Hoirup is older, a skilled
guitarist and singer. They were seated on chairs during the first half, but Harald
looked as if he would fall off his chair with his big, elaborate movements, which
caught the attention. Then they got up off the chairs, moved around and stepped
up to the audience, and Harald took big steps forward, backward, leftward and
rightward to the intonation of tunes, all while he was fiddling. They played
Danish traditional tunes and original compositions, reels, jigs and polkas, fast
and energetically in perfect modulated harmony. Some of the tunes were very similar
to the Irish ones. They played beautiful slow tunes as well, and Morten sang Danish
songs in a fine, soulful voice. They were excellent also at entertaining the audience,
and sometimes their conversation seemed like a dialogue between funny brothers.
They devoted themselves completely to the performance. Hats off to them!!
Eileen
Ivers Trio:
Eileen Ivers (fiddle)
John Doyle (guitar)
Ivan Goff (uilleann
pipes, flute) This was the last act of the opening concert - Eileen with
John on guitar and Ivan on pipes and flute, the same trio as the previous day.
They started with the old and familiar "Flowing Tide", and then played
new numbers such as "Afro-Jig". Eileen walked around as she played her
fiddle, as the stage was much bigger and she could be in her element. John, formerly
the guitarist of Solas and a Featured Artist at the Celtic Cafe in January 2002,
showed us his amazingly spirited guitar playing. Ivan's fluent pipes added depth
and expanse and gave a beautiful Irish flavor to the tunes. Before they performed
one bluegrass tune, "Blizzard Train", Eileen demonstrated how she could
make the sound of a running train with her bow swinging and shaking on the strings,
and she showed the difference between the original Irish tune and the same tune
transformed in America. Every piece was so brilliant and the excitement brought
me eager expectation of the full band's performance to come four days later. At
the finale, I had goosebumps to see the all-cast performance. They started with
an instrumental piece, and then Méav joined them and sang a song. It was
really amazing that these musicians, from three different countries, could do
an almost impromptu but perfect ensemble performance! The concert ended in a storm
of applause, and was a fine opening for the festival. After the show, the
performers came out to the lobby and met their fans to sign autographs, chat and
pose for photos. The CDs of Haugaard and Hoirup were all gone by the time I reached
the counter. They were sold out instantly! I joined in the line to greet Eileen
and I was relieved to hear that she had slept well the previous night. She and
her band had to leave for Nagoya next day.
December 6, 2002
Concert
at Star Pine's Cafe Kichijo-ji, Tokyo
Méav with David Agnew:
Méav
(vocals, harp)
Una O'Kane (violin, viola, vocals)
Ronan McDonagh (keyboards,
uilleann pipes, vocals)
Shea Fitzgerald (guitar, whistle, djembe, vocals)
David
Agnew (oboe, cor anglais)
Méav gave this concert at a small venue
with about 200 people in the audience. We were fully immersed in the beauty of
her voice. She was dressed in a beautiful and elegant outfit, stood straight and
sang in three languages, English, Irish and French. It was especially heartwarming
to hear a familiar tune, "Morning in Bearra", better-known as "Danny
Boy". The program mostly consisted of gentle songs, with variety adroitly
added to the atmosphere by sets of David's instrumental music, and songs in different
moods such as "Yukari Tango", a seasonable Christmas song. The encore
song was "The Last Rose of Summer", also a very popular number in Japan.
At one point during a tune a string of Una's fiddle suddenly broke, but they didn't
stop playing. She changed her instrument immediately (I think to a viola), and
we still spent a special dreamy night that night. After the performance,
Méav and David spent time meeting their fans and signing autographs. I
greeted them and gave Méav best regards from Bernadette. I had the impression
from her manner on stage that she was a quiet person of few words, but talking
with her for just a few minutes, I found her a cheerful and lovely lady with a
beaming smile. It was great to talk with them.
December 7, 2002
Concert
at Aoyama Cay, Tokyo
Dervish:
Liam Kelly (flute)
Tom Morrow (fiddle,
viola)
Cathy Jordan (vocals, bodhran, bones)
Shane Mitchell (accordion)
Michael
Holmes (bouzouki)
Seamus O'Dowd (guitar)
Brian McDonagh (mandola)
The
venue was not big enough to hold the 350 people who attended, so we felt a bit
stifled as we waited. But when Dervish came on stage and the music started, the
atmosphere suddenly freshened and we realized how much we had been starved for
real Irish traditional music. It was the band's first performance in Japan ever,
ever, ever. And we were their first audience in Japan ever, ever, ever - to use
Cathy Jordan's phrase! The musicians looked as if they were having a ball,
and Cathy shouted "Fantastic!!" several times. She said that they should
have come here earlier. Yes! Why didn't they come earlier? Tunes and songs were
compounded and played in a good tempo. It was hard to sit still. The people were
so excited and the floor was shaking with the rhythm of our stamping feet. For
me, the stringed instruments especially were so pleasant and comfortable to listen
to. After the intermission, Seamus came out on stage alone and played one
of Rory Gallagher's blues rock numbers. His slide guitar playing and singing was
breathtaking, a nice bonus for us. Then the members returned to the stage and
Cathy laughed and said, "Forget that song, now we start Irish music!"
Throwing occasional jokes, she explained the meaning of the songs before she sang,
which it was helpful. Their performance was in the groove and absolutely brilliant.
We enjoyed it very much and were completely satisfied that night. At the
autograph session after the show, people expressed their gratitude to each member
of the band in person. There was a man who was asking the members for their autographs
on his own bodhran, which had already been signed by some other Irish musicians,
and the Dervish members were interested in the names on it. They were so cheerful
and friendly and we had a wonderful time with them.
December 8, 2002
Celtic
Christmas 2002 Special Concert at Ebisu Garden Hall, Tokyo
Haugaard &
Hoirup
Dervish
Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul It was freezing cold
in Tokyo on the final day of the festival. After a long wait outside, we got a
surprise when we entered the hall to find a standing area so that people could
dance, although there were tiered seats in the rear terraced area. I had been
given permission to take photos, but there was no space to move around near the
stage, so I took a position at the left corner just under the stage. I couldn't
photograph anything on the right side of the stage, but it was a great pleasure
to see the performance so close anyway. I was ready to take perfect shots and
enjoy myself at the same time, it was the last concert of the festival. Haugaard
& Hoirup:
Harald Haugaard (fiddle)
Morten Hourup (guitar, vocals)
The
first performer was the duo of Haugaard and Hoirup. Some of the audience already
knew their vibrant and exciting performance and went wild from the beginning.
Harald and Morten gained energy from the 1200 people in the audience, and were
no longer sitting on chairs! They completely captivated the people in the whole
house from the first number, stepping up to the edge of the stage and showing
themselves fully to us. What a pleasing duo!! Their mighty performance was too
short. Everyone truly wished they would come back in the near future. We definitely
recognized Denmark as the country of Andersen and "Haugaard & Hoirup". Dervish:
Liam
Kelly (flute)
Tom Morrow (fiddle, viola)
Cathy Jordan (vocals, bodhran)
Shane
Mitchell (accordion)
Michael Holmes (bouzouki)
Seamus O Dowd (guitar)
Brian
McDonagh (mandola) The seven incredible musicians appeared on stage next.
They were even more vigorous before such a large audience, starting with a slow
air and going on to lilting tunes and songs. The joy of hearing their masterly
live performance intoxicated us all. Cathy encouraged us to sing along, and we
joined the chorus of "Bold Doherty". Some of us had sung along with
the piece the previous day. The audience were aroused to dance by the powerful
tunes of the instruments. How I wished the supreme bliss would last forever! But
their performance also went by too fast.
Eileen Ivers and Immigrant
Soul:
Eileen Ivers (fiddle)
John Doyle (guitar)
Ivan Goff (uilleann pipes,
flute)
Tommy McDonnell (lead vocals, harmonica)
Emedin Rivera (percussion)
Chulo
Gatewood (bass guitar)
Tarik Winston (tap dance)
After the intermission,
the long-awaited performance of Eileen and her whole band came at last!! They
had performed successfully in Nagoya and Osaka and this was their last performance
in Japan. The audience were already warmed up enough. "Tonight, we will give
you everything we have!!" Eileen declared, and the spectacle began. They
did old numbers in the beginning and went on one after another to various mixtures
of Latin, African, and rock, but all based on the Irish music. In "Reconciliation",
a song for peace from their latest CD, Tommy sang in a forceful voice. The audience
sang along on the chorus and it touched my heart so much somehow. I was disappointed
that the stage monitors obstructed my view and I couldn't see Tarik's lower body
at all while he was dancing at "Islanders". I had seen his acrobatic
dancing in the video Riverdance - Live from New York City along with Eileen's
performance. It was humorous when he stiffened his upper body and danced the traditional
Irish way! We all were stunned to witness a wild electric guitar sound
that came out from Eileen's fiddle in "Gravelwalk" when she used the
famous wah-wah pedal. What a joy!! Right in the middle of a tune, she suddenly
gestured that she was going down to the main floor, where the audience was. "No,
that's too dangerous!" I shouted to myself, but she went down the stairs
and disappeared into the excited crowd. The swinging music continued and after
a while, she came back on stage safely, both herself and her instrument. She was
full of energy and boosted the audience up, often flourishing her bow over her
head. The Japanese audience is always said to be too shy, but she jumped and they
jumped, she screamed and they did too. She really knew how to accelerate the people
more and more to the max. I too was jumping and screaming with people around me,
almost forgot to click the shutter of my camera. The enthusiasm and generosity
of the entertainment made me think of the American way of entertaining. While
Eileen and the band members finished their performance and left the stage, it
seemd the cheering and clapping would never end. The encore set, performed by
all the musicians, was absolutely fantastic! We sang "Dance All Night"
along with them, and in the second encore by Eileen and her band, we joined the
chorus of "Jama". The Celtic Christmas Festival came to an end with
bubbling excitement, and a feeling of exhaustion suddenly struck my whole perspired
body. Everything was over, I thought, but it was not yet. All the performers
came out to the lobby, and people formed long, long lines for their autographs!
It was unbelievable that there was a autograph session for such a huge number
of people after the concert. It was just amazing that every musician was there,
graciously signing without making any uncomfortable faces. I first greeted Harald
and Morten - they were so funny, and started acting like an improvised comedy
team in front of me. Then I met Eileen and the band members to say "Thank
you" and "See you," wishing they would come to Japan soon again.
The excitement of the stage performance was etched more deeply into our minds
with their warm and friendly personalities. I had been all in a glow and drifting
in the lingering overtones so long, even though Tokyo was covered with the first
snow of the winter in the midnight of that day. At the end of this report,
I would like to thank again all the musicians and the promoters and their staff
for giving us the pleasure of such great live performances and opportunities to
meet the performers in person. And especially big thanks to Ms. Keiko Kawashima
for the unforgettable experience! See many more of Yoshiko's wonderful photos
from the 2002 concerts by clicking
here.
• • • Japan
Correspondent: Yoshiko Sue Tabata
Editing:
Louise Owen
Feature: Bernadette
Price
Original Web Design: Alexander
Servas
| 
