The final night of the Gael Force series proved to be another rather mixed affair, with the minor acts outshining the big stars. The opening act Tamalin only had time for a short set, but they provided the musical highlight of the evening. They moved easily from performing a straight traditional set into accomplished pop songs like In the Morning. The songs also exhibited Tina McSherry's exceptional talents as a vocalist.
Sinead Lohan was accompanied only by her own acoustic guitar, yet she has the strength and intensity to draw in her audience. She gave polished performances of a few of her own tunes before closing with a fine rendering of Bob Dylan's To Ramona.
Normally I have very little time for Brian Kennedy: I find his singing mawkish and selfindulgent. However, he showed himself to be a prodigiously talented live performer, completely engaging the audience with his charismatic style. He began with some less known material, but closed the set with strong performances of familiars like Crazy Love and Put the Message in the Box. His band provided excellent, rock-solid backing throughout.
It was all downhill from this point. Clannad had the second half to themselves and proved to be as boringly pretentious and pseudo-Celtic as ever. The set reached its awful, bombastic height with the Robin of Sherwood theme music, which rambled through a series of long, shapeless sections. This is music better suited to hotel foyers than to the concert stage.