Thanks Joe!
It was a beautiful evening for a concert. If anyone has ever been to Butchart Gardens, you know how absolutely gorgeous it is and the amphitheater area is the perfect setting for a Cottars concert. It was sunny and warm and the air was fragrant wth the smell of flowers all around us.
We arrived about a half hour before they were to take the stage and found a great seat about 1/4 of the way back.
The Cottars took the stage at exactly 7 PM. It was immediately apparent that Roseanne and Jimmy were no longer with the group, when an unknown fiddler and guitar player walked out with Ciaran & Fiona.
We were introduced to the newest members of The Cottars, Claire Pettit on fiddle and Bruce Timmins on guitar. Ciaran also introduced himself and Fiona and then Claire started off the set with some strathspey's and reels that I have never heard on any Cottars CD but they were lively and wonderful. She is definitely an accomplished fiddle player
Then the group came together to sing "Calling On Song" and broke into the traditional "Bodhran Fiddle Medley".
Fiona then gave a riveting performance of "Suilean Dubh".
Ciaran told some jokes and then they proceeded into the "Captain Campbells" set, followed by Fiona singing "I know Who Is Sick".
Then Ciaran did the "Take me out to the Ballgame" tune about the little boy playing right field.
Then Fiona and Ciaran did a great performance of "Byker Hill".
At that point it was intermission and we spotted Beverly MacGillivray off to the side so we went to have a chat with her. She was as sweet as could be and told us about the newest members of the group and what was going on with Roseanne and Jimmy. We mentioned to her that we were concerned about the group no longer touring or making CD's and she said not to worry because The Cottars would be continuing on with the same format as always, except with new musicians, and there would definitely be more tours and CD's to come (Woo Hoo!!) ;D
After intermission, they began with the "Guitar Jigs" set and then proceeded to "Pat Works On The Railway" which seemed to be a crowd favourite.
After a few more of Ciaran's side-splitting jokes, he did "Ciaran's Piano Medley".
I was thrilled when they played "Ready For The Storm" (one of my favourites!) and it was beautifully done. There was huge applause after that
That was followed by a rousing set of jigs and reels from the "Boholla Medley", and nobody could sit still.
Then Fiona sang the most anticipated song of the night "Briar and the Rose". It was absolutely haunting and breathtaking. I saw many people weeping. There is one spot where she hits a high note and then just stops dead for several seconds...you could hear a pin drop everyone was so silent. This was one of those moments, especially considering the setting, that you committ to memory forever.
Then Claire, Fiona and Ciaran did their stepdance set and said good-night.
They received a standing ovation and cheers of "More! More!" to which they obliged and came back to play another fiddle, whistle and piano set (again, one I have never heard them play before). It was wonderful!
Afterwards we went up to get our CD's signed and a picture and they couldn't have been more gracious. They didn't just say a quick "hello" to everyone, they chatted with different people for several minutes at a time. When we were speaking with them, it was like meeting up with old friends. Claire fits in beautifully and is a real sweetie. Aside from being fantastic musicians, they are also wonderful people. We got our signatures and a picture and said our goodbyes and wished them well on the rest of their tour AND their career.
Here are a few pics:
Bruce and Claire:
Ciaran, Me, Fiona, and Claire:
Edit: Sorry. Kim's picture links are broken.
