THE flyer for the Celtic Circles festival, which concluded on Saturday night with this concert, claims: "It promises to be a great meeting of the old and new forces within the tradition."
Saturday night's show certainly endeavours to surpass, this goal what with the amount of contributors participating. Micheal begins alone with a lamentation, and then continues with his co composer of several pieces, Mel Mercier. Mel joins in on the bodhran for a set dance, filling up the hall with a various, unstoppable beat.
Continuing then with Brian Boru's March, he beats out a powerful combination of galloping horse and war drum, against O Suilleabhain's suggestive lilt of the Irish countryside.
Joined then by Ken Edge on sax and Andy Baker on bass, they give us By Golly, with jaunty Irish snatches merged with Chicago jazz.
Niall Keegan comes on, with Noirin Ni Riain following shortly after, but her voice seems a little overpowering. Apart from the Eastern Hymn to Krishna, her singing, although richly suggestive and well controlled, seems to cloud rather than contribute to the occasion.
Hiberno Jazz Hooked comes across as your typical jazzy impro, almost frightening as Niall butts in with a frenetic Irish air. It's a sort of jazzy jigginess that you could dance to, if you were hearing it some where else.
There arrives yet another contribution near the end of the two hour plus show, in the form of the Brook's Academy set dancers, who appear strangely dour faced for Around the House. And Micheal reminds us that the dancers are currently recruiting. You don't need telling twice.
