A Night With The Chieftains
On March 17, 2008, I attended The Chieftains concert that played at 8pm at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage.
It was a fantastic experience and one I will gladly repeat as often as possible. There was singing, instrumentals and step dancing. The music was upbeat enough to make the whole room want to dance along. If I could've I would've danced in the aisles. Interspersed with beautiful laments and other slower, prettier songs.
Despite the age of the group, which has been around for 46 years according to founder Paddy Maloney, the playing was nearly flawless. The Chieftains mostly play music in a clearly identifiable style, but when they go on tour they have many guests. This time around, they had several guest fiddles, a harpist, pianist, guitarist and a drummer. As well as several styles of dancers and -- what seems to be traditional -- a local irish dance school dance team.
After the wonderful -- sometimes funny -- performance, they ended the second half with an interesting set. The whole group played, then they would hold off while someone soloed on his or her instrument. This resulted in something like a 25-30 minute song. After they left the stage to more roars of approval, they audience screamed and roared for more... so they came back onstage and brought a few more friends this time. An entire Pipes and Drums group from Dublin. They performed a dance that sounded something like "Ando" or something, in which there was a slow snaking dance performed by the dancers that lead down into the auditorium and picked up people as they went along. Then snake then made it slow way back onto the stage where the people proceeded to circle The Chieftains and their guests while the pipers and drummers played along the back wall.
It took three rings to pull all the guests up onto the stage. The stage is hard to describe... there had to have been at least 40 people on stage -- probably more -- before the dancers started their snaking dance across it and down into the crowd. By the time the song ended, there had to have been over a hundred people on stage with room for more than 30 more, especially if no one moved. I knew the stage was big, but WOW, that's huge.
This end brought the show to a finale that was very energizing and I felt like tapping my toes all the way back to the subway.
I made it on the train very quickly and I decided I wanted some Ice Cream, so I went to a local chain ice cream store where they prepare various flavors for you. It was slightly crowded, but not too bad. This meant I was waiting in line for a while, but I really wanted my ice cream.
At some point, the techno music struck a cord with a manager, who enlisted a worker to help her make some entertainment. The co-worker flicked the lights similar to a staged dance hall, flipping them on and off. At first, only the lights in the oddly convenient hall that framed her as she busted quite a few moves, then it was down the aisle behind the counter, which she treated like a runway. At the end of the line, she pretended she was embarrassed in an entertaining way and rushed back to the room in back.
Only a few minutes later, a new song began again, but this time the lights were better timed. Apparently the co-worker knew this song better, and the manager proceeded to become a superstar in her hallway.
During all this, I ordered and bought my ice cream, laughing the whole time with everyone, including the other workers. The work never stopped and many customers were helped while this wonderfully entertaining woman did her thing.
After the Chieftains concert, I was feeling generous, so I tipped them simply for continuing my evenings entertainment. As usual, they enjoyed my tip.
Feeling particularly light now, ice cream in hand, I went back to my apartment where I found no Netflix movies waiting for me. Drats. I looked onto the top of my TV and found the copy of Happy Feet I borrowed from my brother.
Excellent! More music and dance! I threw it into the player and proceeded to finish my night with Happy Feet entertainment.
I had most pleasant dreams of dancing and singing and rhythm. Resulting in my waking up in a fairly pleasant mood.
So, in short (too late) I had a wonderful evening with The Chieftains.
It was a fantastic experience and one I will gladly repeat as often as possible. There was singing, instrumentals and step dancing. The music was upbeat enough to make the whole room want to dance along. If I could've I would've danced in the aisles. Interspersed with beautiful laments and other slower, prettier songs.
Despite the age of the group, which has been around for 46 years according to founder Paddy Maloney, the playing was nearly flawless. The Chieftains mostly play music in a clearly identifiable style, but when they go on tour they have many guests. This time around, they had several guest fiddles, a harpist, pianist, guitarist and a drummer. As well as several styles of dancers and -- what seems to be traditional -- a local irish dance school dance team.
After the wonderful -- sometimes funny -- performance, they ended the second half with an interesting set. The whole group played, then they would hold off while someone soloed on his or her instrument. This resulted in something like a 25-30 minute song. After they left the stage to more roars of approval, they audience screamed and roared for more... so they came back onstage and brought a few more friends this time. An entire Pipes and Drums group from Dublin. They performed a dance that sounded something like "Ando" or something, in which there was a slow snaking dance performed by the dancers that lead down into the auditorium and picked up people as they went along. Then snake then made it slow way back onto the stage where the people proceeded to circle The Chieftains and their guests while the pipers and drummers played along the back wall.
It took three rings to pull all the guests up onto the stage. The stage is hard to describe... there had to have been at least 40 people on stage -- probably more -- before the dancers started their snaking dance across it and down into the crowd. By the time the song ended, there had to have been over a hundred people on stage with room for more than 30 more, especially if no one moved. I knew the stage was big, but WOW, that's huge.
This end brought the show to a finale that was very energizing and I felt like tapping my toes all the way back to the subway.
I made it on the train very quickly and I decided I wanted some Ice Cream, so I went to a local chain ice cream store where they prepare various flavors for you. It was slightly crowded, but not too bad. This meant I was waiting in line for a while, but I really wanted my ice cream.
At some point, the techno music struck a cord with a manager, who enlisted a worker to help her make some entertainment. The co-worker flicked the lights similar to a staged dance hall, flipping them on and off. At first, only the lights in the oddly convenient hall that framed her as she busted quite a few moves, then it was down the aisle behind the counter, which she treated like a runway. At the end of the line, she pretended she was embarrassed in an entertaining way and rushed back to the room in back.
Only a few minutes later, a new song began again, but this time the lights were better timed. Apparently the co-worker knew this song better, and the manager proceeded to become a superstar in her hallway.
During all this, I ordered and bought my ice cream, laughing the whole time with everyone, including the other workers. The work never stopped and many customers were helped while this wonderfully entertaining woman did her thing.
After the Chieftains concert, I was feeling generous, so I tipped them simply for continuing my evenings entertainment. As usual, they enjoyed my tip.
Feeling particularly light now, ice cream in hand, I went back to my apartment where I found no Netflix movies waiting for me. Drats. I looked onto the top of my TV and found the copy of Happy Feet I borrowed from my brother.
Excellent! More music and dance! I threw it into the player and proceeded to finish my night with Happy Feet entertainment.
I had most pleasant dreams of dancing and singing and rhythm. Resulting in my waking up in a fairly pleasant mood.
So, in short (too late) I had a wonderful evening with The Chieftains.