The Celtic Conspiracy: Songs of Love and Murder
A Concert Review by Carin Lyons
Harmony to Die For
Though the theme of the evenings’ concert was Love and Murder, the only thing tragic about The Celtic Conspiracy is that they are not a full time, exclusive band. Pooling their respective musical talents for what promises to be a unique performance concept are Hanz Araki, Colleen Raney, Kathryn Claire and Matthew Hayward-MacDonald. Created as a five part series, this group, based in Portland Oregon, will be presenting concerts over the course of the coming year, focusing thematically on seasonal and historical occurrences unique to Irish and Celtic culture.
First of the five, and most apropos for the month of February: Songs of Love and Murder. The Celtic Conspiracy ushered in the Ides of February at the Alberta Street Pub with such tunes as Frocks of Deep Mourning, I Buried My Wife and Danced on Top of Her, Cobblers’ Daughter and Lord Thomas and Fair Elander. The group did not lack for a rather disturbing abundance of material with this theme! Adding a nice touch to all of the lyrical drama at the start of the second set was a lovely reading by Matthew Hayward-MacDonald of W. B. Yeats’ He wishes his Beloved were Dead. It was quickly apparent as the second set progressed that the melodies and tempos of the songs grew increasingly more upbeat as the titles and lyrics became more gruesome!
Relief from the murderous, although great, songfest was delivered in the groups’ finale, a gorgeous a cappella rendition of the sorrowful ballad Annan Waters. And this is where the band distilled into a truly unique and remarkable whole. The seemingly effortless harmony of the four singers was stunning and no doubt over time will become a hallmark of their performances.
The second in this five part performance series will be As I Roved Out. Scheduled for late spring it will feature songs and tunes heralding the good weather and traditional Maying celebrations. Summer brings The Emigrant, and The Unquiet Grave is scheduled for Samhain in October. This unique endeavor presented by some of the Pacific Northwest’s’ most talented Celtic musicians, will come to a close with the celebration of Winter Solstice at the end of this year. Be sure to check out their website thecelticconspiracy.com and take note the dates of future appearances so you will not miss them! Each concert is sure to be an extraordinary and memorable experience.
Links:
http://www.thecelticconspiracy.com/
To see more photos of the show, click here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/slainte_steve/sets/72157623449784230/
To watch a video of one of their songs, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SlainteSteve#p/u/5/xkTIxxxwbJ0
More from our Friend Becky J. at PNWCMPodcast here:
http://pnwcmpodcast.mypodcast.com/
