I’d made up my mind to see Loreena somewhere again this year, if at all possible, so I was pleased when it was announced that she would be appearing at the Hillside Festival in “nearby” (relatively speaking) Guelph, Ontario. I had some reservations, though as outdoor festivals can sometimes be problematic in terms of sound quality or audience behavior, plus I wasn’t sure how long of a set she would get to play. Thus, when shows in Stratford on preceding nights were announced, I jumped at the chance and purchased tickets for two more nights.
July 22
I arrived in Stratford by late afternoon, with ample time to have a bite to eat before making my way to Knox Church (I also managed to procure a nice poster for the shows.) The line started well over two hours before the doors were due to open, and I was among the first, “earning” a second row seat, right on the center aisle, for my troubles. The show was wonderful from start to finish. From left to right in front were Brian Hughes (guitar, oud, Celtic bouzouki), Loreena McKennitt (harp, piano, keyboards, accordion, and, yes, she sang a bit), cello goddess Caroline Lavelle, and newcomer Jon Pilatzke on violin. (I’ve seen him on several occasions with the Chieftains, and was thus well aware of his fiddling/step dancing talents. I wondered if he would dance as part of Loreena’s show, but thought it unlikely, and dismissed the idea completely when I noticed that he was wearing sneakers.)
The second line consisted of Ben Grossman (hurdy gurdy, percussion), percussionist Rick Lazar and drummer Clive Deamer providing everything from light pitter-patter to rolling thunder as needed, Simon Edwards on acoustic and electric bass, second newcomer Kousha Nakhaei on Persian Kamenche (quite similar to a lyra), and the versatile Donald Quan, who doesn’t get the flashy solos, but rounds things out beautifully on keyboards, tabla, viola and accordion.
The audience was great – enthusiastic with applause, but you could hear a pin drop during the softer songs. I’d been debating sitting a few rows back, as the sound is often somehow “richer” there, but I was quite, quite pleased with the clarity and balance of the myriad instruments. The show was a great pleasure to watch, too: harp strings quivering at Loreena’s fingertips (I was close enough to see the time on her wristwatch!), Clive flipping his drumsticks end over end to get just the right sound, Caroline’s oft-beaming countenance, the look of intense concentration as Donald played tabla…..
She Moved Through the Fair – Loreena on harp and Kousha’s kamenche eased us into the evening, along with soft guitar by Brian.
The Gates of Istanbul – Loreena switched to keyboard and the entire band kicked in.
The Mummer's Dance - another full band number, with the hurdy gurdy making its first appearance of the night
Bonny Portmore – one of my favorites, rather delicately rendered on just harp, guitar, bass and cello
Marco Polo – great full band instrumental, more cool hurdy gurdy
Dante's Prayer – soft but powerful, just piano, guitar, and four string players (bass, violin, viola, cello
The Bonny Swans – another favorite of mine, Loreena on piano with the full band, and Brian and Jon trading fireworks!
Caravanserai – Loreena starting off on harp then moving to piano for a rousing set closer, giving us a chance to catch our breaths and steady our hearts for the rest of the show.
Raglan Road – yet another of my very favorites, Loreena on piano and a real showcase for Caroline’s cello.
“Dan’s Bit” - The remainder of the players came on, and I noticed that Jon had changed shoes…hmmmm. Loreena then announced that there would be a special guest, fiddler Dan Stacey. He, along with Caroline, Jon and Loreena (maybe Donald and Kousha, too) played a slow air, followed by a reel as the rest of the band joined in, followed by some step-dancing along with Jon, then another reel. It was a great unexpected treat.
The Mystic's Dream – low keyboard, kamanche and hurdy gurdy kicked off the song, with the rest of the band subsequently joining in (very cool oud on this song)
Santiago – this was a nice showcase for the kamanche and hurdy gurdy, along with more fiery bowing from Jon
The Lady of Shallot – beautiful version with Loreena on harp, Donald’s accordion sounding wonderful with Caroline’s cello.
The Old Ways – The percussion instruments were not heard from on the previous number, but they thundered their way back for the beginning of this great tune, then sudsided as piano and cello took command, then rumbling back in for the climax fo the song
Never-ending Road (Amhran Duit) - great road tune to end the main set
Huron 'Beltane' Fire Dance – Loreena on harp led the whole band for the first encore
Penelope's Song – just Loreena (piano), and with the various string instruments on a fine closer
Loreena met with anyone and everyone after the show, and was as warm and gracious as can be.
July 23
It rained much of the next morning, but cleared up for the most of the afternoon, so I had apleasant day meandering around Stratford. A performance by the TorQ percussion quartet slated for noon was cancelled due to weather concerns, but I did enjoy a visit to the Stratford Gallery for an interesting photography exhibit. I also wandered into an antique shop – not at all my cup of tea, but I happened to spot an 18th century map from Spanish explorations of the South Pacific. I’m a sort of “Mutiny on the Bounty” buff, so I really got a kick out of seeing hand engraved map that had been produced shortly after that event, with notations of islands that had been charted by James Cook and William Bligh (the latter from a cast-off open launch when it was by no means certain he would ever reach civilization again). The owner was kind enough to take it off the wall so I could really get a good look (in fact, he pointed out the Bligh notation). I couldn’t help but get on my Bounty soap-box (“You know, Fletcher Christian was the real villain on that ship.”) as well as relate the sad tale of the incredibly snake-bit British Naval career of Thomas Hayward.
By and by, I made my way back to Knox Church, lining up behind a few devoted fans who already been there for the better part of an hour, with two hour to go until the doors opened. Shortly after I arrived, the rains came back with a vengeance, but my fellow fans were kind enough to make room under their umbrellas, as well as treat me to a latte and a chocolate chip cookie! Oddly enough, I ended up in the exact same seat. The show was identical to the previous night (not a bad thing, considering how much I’d enjoyed Wednesday’s performance).
July 24
The weather became more of a concern for this night’s show, as it would take place outside. We were quite fortunate, as it turned out. It rained off and on during the day, sometimes quite hard, but the later afternoon and evening were quite, quite dry and comfortable.
An “Opening Welcome” included Buffy Saint Marie and three other Native American women. Two of them sang, but Buffy limited herself to a shaker (she did perform a set the next night, after I’d gone home.) A singer-songwriter named Donovan Woods was up next. He didn’t do much for me, but it’s sometimes hard to appreciate a musical performer when one is seeing and hearing them for the first time. However, I had no problem at all appreciating Australian Xavier Rudd, a very talented singer and multi-instrumentalist (percussion, guitar, didgeridoo). Along with a bass player and drummer/percussionist, he played a great hour or so of reggae-influenced music. Most of us had been sitting on blankets or in lowback chairs (regular lawn chairs are frowned upon at Hillside), but a bunch of his fans moved in just before his set and we were all (happily) on our feet throughout his show. After his set, the crowd shifted and blankets and chairs filled in the open spots, so we were all comfortably seated during Loreena’s set.
I learned earlier that day that Loreena was the only artist at the entire festival who was allotted a “full” set (i.e. 90 minutes with a strict curfew). I expected the same show as the previous nights, with a few songs chopped out due to time constraints. I was thus delightedly surprised when she opened with Stolen Child, which, along with Dark Night of the Soul, had topped my list of favorites that I hadn’t seen live. I was a bit farther back than I had been at the church shows, but still quite close, and had a great vantage point. It hadn’t bothered me, but at the Knox shows, I could see Ben Grossman’s left hand, and at the Hillside show, I really enjoyed seeing him finger the hurdy gurdy. I thought things sounded quite good, but I did get the impression that the on-stage sound was less than perfect – something didn’t go quite right during The Bonny Swans, and Caroline then signaled the sound guy to apparently resolve some sort of monitor issue, after which the song sounded great. Near the end of the show, Loreena mentioned that they were having some troubles, before starting Caravanserai, which was then halted and aborted, time constraints no doubt a big factor in this decision. A fine version of The Old Ways ended the main set in triumphant fashion, though, and Loreena came out alone to perform Penelope’s song on piano. Although I love the usual live arrangement of this song, there was something special about this solo version.
Stolen Child
The Gates of Istanbul
The Mummer's Dance
Bonny Portmore
Marco Polo
Dante's Prayer
The Bonny Swans
“Dan’s Bit”
Santiago
The Lady of Shallot
CaraVVVRRRKKK!!
The Old Ways
Penelope's Song
For a variety of reasons, I only took a couple pictures during the shows. One of these, along with a few other Stratford/Hillside sights, can be found at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chuck_llama/
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. Do you have other pics?