Five musicians, separately and together, celebrating the fiddle. We had seen all but one previously and were underwhelmed. Playing together worked much better. Scotland's Aasdair Fraser opened, and unfortunately didn't return until near the end. The "headliners" Jay Ungar and Molly Mason were much more enjoyable than their earlier performance, and with the others backing them finished the show with their "big hit" Ashokan Farewell.
02-10-13
Frankenstein
Gore Recital Hall
Newark, DE
An original sound track composed by Michael Shapiro, and performed by the UD Chamber Orchestra accompanied the classic 1931 film. The evening opened with a lecture by Frankenstein scholar Charles Robinson who has been teaching at UD for 46 years. Odd to realize that films in that era usually didn't have a sound track, so hearing a new one with the film seemed perfectly natural, though occasional was a bit intrusive. Fun experience overall.
02-23-13
Mostly Mozart II
Mitchell Hall
Newark, DE
Guest pianist, Newark native, and director of the Peabody Institute of Music at Johns Hopkins joined UD's Xiang Gao and others in an a chamber concert of works by Mozart and Brahms. Sitting front row center made for an intimate experience.
03-10-13
FullSet
Grand Opera House
Wilmington, DE
Young traditional Irish group, full of energy, enthusiasm and talent. Too often, Celtic concerts have become a rehashing of the same old stale style and material, but theses guys breath new life into the genre. I expect big things for them.
So much better than the first "Bob at the Bob" concert in 1992. The sound at that performance was horrible, and Dylan's bad electric guitar playing was beyond annoying. The Bob has since figured out how to host a show, and Dylan has given up playing the guitar. It would have been a nice touch if he had thrown in at least one token acoustic folk song from the old days, but the jazzy arrangements worked well on the new stuff as well as on the few classics. (set list) Opening act Dawes did a fine job carrying on the Laurel Canyon tradition of Jackson Browne et al. (review)
The first few iMusics blew us away, but Xiang Gao seems to have gotten lazy, and while there is still an overall theme, the magic of multiple performers and multimedia flourishes have disappeared. He is still an excellent violinist, but this is no longer a special night. The highlight of the performance were the two pieces done with his students.
04-25-13
Leo Kottke & Jake Shimabukuro
Grand Opera House
Wilmington, DE
Being a fan for almost 50 years, I mistakenly assumed Leo was the headliner. He didn't disappoint opening with his amazing 12 string guitar work. Somehow though Jake coaxed even more amazing sounds out his 4 strings on ukulele. He closed the show with this great George Harrison tune from the viral video that launched his career 7 years ago.
Traditional Americana, turned up to 11. This was not some good ole boys sittin', pickin' and strummin', but a high energy blast of of simple country, folk, blues tunes for those weaned on rock and roll. Opening act, Chuck Meade, was unknown to me, but apparently has been a major player in the rockabilly world for some time. Not much has changed since Elvis and the gang made it popular in the 50's, but it was a rockin' good time. (poster)
After 20-some years of attending Musikfest each August in Bethlehem, we finally got a chance to experience Celtic Classic instead. Usually held the same weekend as Bike to the Bay, but not this year. Half the stages as Musikfest, but also less than half the crowd. Nothing but celtic music, pipe bands and highland games in one of America's most charming cities. Nice. Hope to return again and again. (more photos)(article)
10-05-13
Lucy Wainwright Roche & Suzzy Roche
Grand Opera House
Wilmington, DE
Mother daughter team performing songs from their collaborative album as well as solo Lucy stuff, but no old stuff from The Roches days. Small audience and very laid back performance that felt as if we were in someone's living room. Beautiful voices and charming personalities, with Lucy showing some of her dad Loudon's wit. (Flyer included with program informing of a no cell phone photo policy, so even though wee were in the second row, I couldn't violate it on the first night.)
10-22-13
Sarah Jarosz
Grand Opera House
Wilmington, DE
Pleasant surprise from an unknown. Enjoyable alt-country/ folky show, but writing this several weeks later, I can't recall anything she did. Probably not a good sign.
11-06-13
Gordon Lightfoot
Grand Opera House
Wilmington, DE
I assume his health is failing, so should cut him some slack, but he sounded as bad as he looked. I was a fan in the 70's, but if I wanted to try to relive the times, I should have stayed home and played his records.
11-15-13
Swear and Shake
Grand Opera House
Wilmington, DE
Unknown but certainly worth a 99 cent risk. Billed as a being like Mumford and Sons, which their YouTube video as confirmed. Unfortunately their lead instrument, the banjo, broke just before the show. Substituting with an electric guitar took away much of their distinctive sound. Still, they braved being late, a small crowd and broken instruments to bang out some catchy tunes. Would see them again once everything is working.
11-16-13
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas
DuPont Theatre
Wilmington, DE
How can one not enjoy a Christmas concert? Well, I've come to realize that the New Age artists I listened to in the 90's have all bored me once I saw them live. While the audio quality was outstanding, I nodded off several times. Every note was perfect, which was part of the problem. It was much too polished and slick and simple had no life.
12-04-13
Lúnasa: Christmas From Ireland
Grand Opera House
Wilmington, DE
Only a handful of Christmas tunes, but a fine show. Treated to a guest vocalist, Karan Casey, who only performed with the group for a few shows. Good stuff.
