Cottars in Chicago - September 15 & 16

[nancywhiskey]

at the Celtic Fest in Chicago. They'll be at the O'Canada tent. Check out the link:

egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalEntityHomeAction.do?entityName=Celtic+Fest&entityNameEnumValue=168

[Joe]

Both concerts now confirmed by management!

Saturday, September 15, 2007...Chicago, IL...Celtic Fest...O'Canada Tent...7:30 PM...info HERE, scroll down to Festivals and Events, then click on Celtic Fest Chicago.

Sunday, September 16, 2007...Chicago, IL...Celtic Fest...O'Canada Tent...8:25 PM...info HERE, scroll down to Festivals and Events, then click on Celtic Fest Chicago.

Thanks to forum member "nancywhiskey" for all of this info!

[mott]

Ohh that's GREAT! I'll be there! Thanks for the info! ;D

[afanoffiona]

Thanks, nancywhiskey and Joe!

I'll be there too!

God Bless,
afanoffiona

[eabreslin]

This won't be all four members of the original group, am I correct?

[Joe]

eabreslin said:

This won't be all four members of the original group, am I correct?

Hello eabreslin
Yes, you are correct. Jimmy and Roseanne MacKenzie are longer with The Cottars; and now Bruce Timmons and Claire Pettit have taken their place. Rest assured that they are as talented and very proficient in their musical abilities.

Fiona and Ciarán MacGillivray are still with The Cottars.

I am glad that Mott and afanoffiona are planning to attend this event.

Thanks,
Joe

[faerie]

oh you are going?!? so jealous, you'll both have to give us a really good review, and pictures enjoy the concert!

Tia

[mott]

I'm leaving for the fest now.... ;D

[Joe]

mott said:

I'm leaving for the fest now.... ;D

Excellent...have a safe trip and enjoy the show !

[mott]

OK I went yesterday to Celtic Fest to see the Cottars perform. Where they were to perform was at this tent about the size of my living room. There was no place to sit down, though some people brought chairs in to sit. I got there early as I am wont to do at festivals, so I was able to stand at a table very close to the performers, so I had a great view. By the time the Cottars performed the tent was packed with people, and many were on the outside. I think I saw Adam outside the tent but I don’t think he saw me waving to him (or maybe he did and was wondering, who is this idiot? ). I stood for three hours in that tent, but the time really went by fast with the great music I heard.

Anyway before the Cottars played I heard a couple of wonderful performers, Troy MacGillivray and Samantha Robichaud. They were great. Nova Scotia sure has some terrific fiddlers! Troy also played some keyboard and a bit of step dancing.

Then came the Cottars. All of them were there, Ciarán, Fiona, Claire and Bruce, no subs. As I said I had a great view and was very close to the band, but sadly I didn’t bring a camera. I apologize to the forum for not having photos to share.

But I heard them play, they were great, they played about an hour. Here is a rundown on what they did:

They started with a set of unnamed jigs; Ciarán played mandolin which I don‘t recall seeing him play before. Then they went into the “Calling On Song” and then “Pat Works On The Railway”, which seemed to be everyone’s favorite.

Then they played “The Maid Of Llanwellyn” with Fiona singing lead. It was a beautiful waltz ballad, kind of like “Balinderry”. I love those kinds of songs.

Then Claire played a “King George Medley” solo of tunes on her fiddle with Ciarán backing her up on keyboard. She did a nice job but I’ll say a little more about this shortly.

Ciarán and Bruce did a nice guitar duet (which they called a tribute to John Cameron). Then Fiona did a solo on her whistle of an air called "Lament for the Lost Books". She put a lot into the tune, as she was winded at the end.

Then the group did “Ready For The Storm” which Fiona sang lead of course. Again many people sang along on the chorus. Then Fiona and Ciarán did “The Briar And the Rose” which of course they did beautifully. And they ended with “Hold On”, and again everyone knew the chorus. Fiona sang all 3 songs with very little motion or expression; yet she made her voice tell the different stories these songs tell. That’s the way she sings, it’s so awesome to watch and hear.

The Cottars did no encores, as their time was limited. J.P. Cormier played next but I didn’t stay to see him (nor did I get to chat with the Cottars) as I was going to the northwest side to see another performance by a group I love, a local group called the Dooley Brothers. This was an awesome night for me, seeing my two favorite groups perform.

Anyway I had a wonderful time seeing the Cottars again. My only small criticism of their performance was Claire’s solo. She is for sure a terrific fiddler but I felt she was trying too hard to not make any mistakes, rather than just having fun and fiddling with her own style. Now maybe that was because she was nervous, as I said the tent was packed. Also her aunt and other relatives were sitting right in the front watching her, and that could scare anybody.

Also, when Cottar members weren’t involved in the song being performed, they would go offstage (in this case, out of the tent). But for Claire’s playing, Fiona went to the end of the tent and sat and watched Claire play, and bopped to the music and enjoyed it. I wonder if Claire was “auditioning” to be more involved in the group doing solos?

But this is a minor criticism; after all I had just seen Samantha Robichaud play and she was awesome, and maybe I expected Claire to play as well. But if Claire could play as well, then she’d form her own band, wouldn’t she? Plus Claire seemed more at ease playing with the group than soloing, so if she was nervous soloing she will outgrow it I am sure.

All in all, this was a wonderful evening for me. I was so happy when I found out, through this forum, about the performance. And the Cottars didn’t disappoint me, they were great as always. They played with their same charming fun easy-going Celtic style as before, nothing really different. They play again tonight but I can’t go, they will be on so late. But I will see them next year when they return to this area, as I’m sure they will. And I’ll bring a camera next time I promise!

[Joe]

Hi Mott

Thanks so much for your excellent report ! I'm happy you were at the Saturday performance. Please don't apologize for not taking photos!

Glad that The Cottars were great as ususal. “King George Medley” ,“The Maid Of Llanwellyn” ,"Lament for the Lost Books" are turning out to be crowd-pleasers and I hope they make the next CD.

I'm very happy that you had a wonderful time, Rich. You are definitely a credit to the forum and a good friend.

Cheers,
Joe

[eabreslin]

We went to see the Cottars tonight (Sunday) and were just as pleased as Rich was. Perhaps because they played so late tonight, the very small tent was not full at all. Someone brought chairs up front for people to sit on, so my husband and I sat 5 feet away from the stage. We had the same line-up, except the Cottars were last to play, starting at 8:25 pm. I had the very good fortune to sit next to Claire's dad, who is very charming and so proud of his daughter and her bandmates he could hardly contain himself. He told me about Claire's family traveling to see them from Peoria the night before, and that they were possibly going to tour next summer. After they finished playing, Claire's dad told us to come "backstage", which was outside the tent, to say hello. I did take some pictures during the concert and one backstage with Ciaran. They're on my cell phone, so I'll download them tomorrow. We were not disappointed with Claire and Bruce, both are excellent musicians and are a great addition.

Claire was more relaxed tonight, I think, than she was when Rich saw her on Saturday night. She was talking and joking, and her playing was excellent. She did glance over at her dad a couple of times for a quick smile, which was sweet.

Now, if only I could talk my husband into a road trip to Nova Scotia to see them playing with the Chieftains (we saw the Cottars/Chieftains in 2006, in Chicago)...... Liz in Indiana

[Joe]

Hi all,

I'm fortunate to get WGN (a TV channel in Chicago) on my digital cable. They did mention the Celtic Festival on their 9 PM news. They mostly showed the men in kilts competition. Nothing really about the music..also, The Cottars might have still been on stage at 9 PM.

How cool would it have been for a live shot of them on stage!

Joe

[Joe]

Hi Liz !

Thanks for sharing your report from Sunday's performance!! See what happens when you became a member here...you were invited backstage!

I believe that Adam (our moderator "afanoffiona") was in attendace Saturday night.

We will be looking forward to your photos. Oh, if you're heading up to Nova Scotia, swing by northeastern PA to pick me up!

Best wishes & thanks
Joe

[mott]

Thanks for the post, Liz, so happy you got to see them Sunday. Glad to hear you got to meet them. Also glad to hear you got to sit! Being in a tent like that and sitting so close is great, because it's very intimate and the sound was not loud at all. I was more like 10 feet and standing but I didn't mind, it was great to see them.

Hope you get to go to Nova Scotia, I'd also love to go someday, whether to see the Cottars or not. The other musicians were great too, as I said NS has some great talent.