Post by mott on Aug 4, 2008 16:29:40 GMT -5
Well I got a lot to talk about today about the Cottars performances in Waterloo over the weekend...here are some of the highlights about the sets.
1. All 4 of them showed up for each set (Friday and Saturday).
2. They played in a park about a square block wide, in downtown Waterloo. I had never been to Waterloo, but it's a fairly rural town. About 10 minutes from downtown, one can go fishing in the Cedar river. Anyway there was a large stage set up on the corner of the park, where the main entertainment performed. People brought lawn chairs to sit in (as I did) and they had some benches set up too.
3. The weather was perfect each day. That was important since they were playing outdoors and not in a tent or building. It was very sunny on Saturday, not a cloud in the sky. I sat in the sun (all the shade was taken) but I brought plenty of sunscreen and a hat, so I was OK.
4. There was a huge crowd there Friday, but they were obviously mostly there to see Gaelic Storm, which performed right after the Cottars. Gaelic Storm fans are not very quiet when other groups perform, but actually they weren't too noisy for the Cottars' performance, so I guess they generally enjoyed them. Saturday wasn't as crowded, but still a lot of people, and fairly enthusiastic both days.
(I didn't stay to see Gaelic Storm or Cherish the Ladies who played Saturday; though I enjoy those groups too, as I said I had to leave both days. I did see the Trinity dancers who performed before the Cottars, and they were outstanding.)
5. The Cottars sang the "Calling-On Song" to open each set. And that was the ONLY song they sang at both Friday and Saturday's sets, which was wonderful. It was almost like seeing the Cottars in concert!
6. The sound quality was not good. On Friday I could barely hear Fiona sing; she sang "Cape Breton Lullaby" and I could barely hear her until she hit the high notes, then the whole state could hear her. Plus Ciaran's mike was louder than hers, so when they sang together his voice was much louder, no balance at all. And I couldn't hear his bouzouki. Saturday was better blended, except Claire's mike didn't work at all, and had to use Bruce's to sing or speak. The sound crew must have been a local outfit, they just weren't very good in my opinion.
(By the way, the Cottars acted very professionally about the sound. Some entertainers would sputter and complain to the audience about it, and apologize about the sound being so bad, but the Cottars let it go. That was good to see; the sound was what it was.)
7. The Cottars started about 20 minutes late both days, but they performed complete sets, so they finished late. Not their fault they started late, they were there on time.
8. The Cottars didn't mention anything about their new CD.
9. I didn't get to talk to them after either set, because I was either hungry and wanted dinner or had to scoot to drive back home. They did set up a table to sell their CDs, and I wanted to go there Saturday for a minute to say hi, but there were already like 15 people in line to get a CD or to chat. I hope all those people in line bought at least one CD.
ok let me talk about the performances...
1. All 4 of them showed up for each set (Friday and Saturday).
2. They played in a park about a square block wide, in downtown Waterloo. I had never been to Waterloo, but it's a fairly rural town. About 10 minutes from downtown, one can go fishing in the Cedar river. Anyway there was a large stage set up on the corner of the park, where the main entertainment performed. People brought lawn chairs to sit in (as I did) and they had some benches set up too.
3. The weather was perfect each day. That was important since they were playing outdoors and not in a tent or building. It was very sunny on Saturday, not a cloud in the sky. I sat in the sun (all the shade was taken) but I brought plenty of sunscreen and a hat, so I was OK.
4. There was a huge crowd there Friday, but they were obviously mostly there to see Gaelic Storm, which performed right after the Cottars. Gaelic Storm fans are not very quiet when other groups perform, but actually they weren't too noisy for the Cottars' performance, so I guess they generally enjoyed them. Saturday wasn't as crowded, but still a lot of people, and fairly enthusiastic both days.
(I didn't stay to see Gaelic Storm or Cherish the Ladies who played Saturday; though I enjoy those groups too, as I said I had to leave both days. I did see the Trinity dancers who performed before the Cottars, and they were outstanding.)
5. The Cottars sang the "Calling-On Song" to open each set. And that was the ONLY song they sang at both Friday and Saturday's sets, which was wonderful. It was almost like seeing the Cottars in concert!
6. The sound quality was not good. On Friday I could barely hear Fiona sing; she sang "Cape Breton Lullaby" and I could barely hear her until she hit the high notes, then the whole state could hear her. Plus Ciaran's mike was louder than hers, so when they sang together his voice was much louder, no balance at all. And I couldn't hear his bouzouki. Saturday was better blended, except Claire's mike didn't work at all, and had to use Bruce's to sing or speak. The sound crew must have been a local outfit, they just weren't very good in my opinion.
(By the way, the Cottars acted very professionally about the sound. Some entertainers would sputter and complain to the audience about it, and apologize about the sound being so bad, but the Cottars let it go. That was good to see; the sound was what it was.)
7. The Cottars started about 20 minutes late both days, but they performed complete sets, so they finished late. Not their fault they started late, they were there on time.
8. The Cottars didn't mention anything about their new CD.
9. I didn't get to talk to them after either set, because I was either hungry and wanted dinner or had to scoot to drive back home. They did set up a table to sell their CDs, and I wanted to go there Saturday for a minute to say hi, but there were already like 15 people in line to get a CD or to chat. I hope all those people in line bought at least one CD.
ok let me talk about the performances...