Going to see Riverdance tonight in Mesa, AZ

[CactusWren]

Any good? They have whistle players sometimes, right?

[pancelticpiper]

They have whistle players sometimes?

It's scored for a large variety of instruments including Low Whistle and Uilleann pipes, so any production that follows the called-for instrumentation will have those instruments. As far as I know it's usual for one guy to cover both the uilleann pipes and whistle parts.

This thread attempts to list every uilleann piper who played for various Riverdance productions. I assume that all of these people would have also covered the Low Whistle parts


viewtopic.php?f=6&t=97618

[CactusWren]

The musician who covered the whistle and pipes parts was, I believe, this gentleman:
http://riverdance.com/the-show/cast/matt-bashford/

The show started with him playing an introduction on the low whistle, and he had perhaps half a dozen other chances to play short solos. He also did a long solo on the pipes which started unaccompanied and ended as a grandiose, filled-out number. He also joined the fiddler and the saxophonist and drummer on other numbers and called-for.

He played very well, IMO, and I am always impressed to see someone play unaccompanied solos on different instruments. The fiddler, however, stole the show I think. I don't have the program, but he seemed to be the featured musician, was a good showman and carried it all well.

The whistle man, fiddler, and saxophonist sat together on the left, the drummer behind an enormous kit on the right by himself. According to the choreography, they sat in their places, strolled, came to the center, or sometimes had solos standing in some predetermined spot. I spent half the night wondering why there was a sax, which was answered in the 2nd half when he shone on a couple jazzy numbers. While the players were good, the overall musical experience was somewhat diluted by the heavy inclusion of piped-in music. It may seem petty, but when I hear electric bass, electric guitar, loud synths, and there is a sax player piping around, I lose my suspension of disbelief a bit. I think it's okay for drones and pads. I don't say this dogmatically but just how it struck me for this event. There was also a female singer with a high, pure voice and wonderful intonation. I liked her very much.

Having never seen Riverdance, I felt there was plenty of talent and some good choreography and costumes, but overall, I was underwhelmed. Maybe it is because I was a flamenco guitarist and have seen plenty of footwork in my day. By the way, one of the odd touches was the inclusion of a flamenco dancer, who was quite good, but whose presence clashed with the Irish dancers, IMO. The first half seemed to be based around a loose theme or story that I interpreted told the story of the Irish immigrants to the New World. After intermission, the scene appeared to shift to the US, when two black tap dancers were introduced. They were very good, but had the unfortunate result of highlighting just how stiff and odd Irish dancing is compared to what Americans are used to. It wasn't a good look for the Riverdancers; however, it was a pretty nice number with the interaction and "competition" between the two styles.

Then it just went off the rails! Soon after, some sort of Russian or Turkish dance troupe was introduced. Their acrobatic numbers were impressive, but completely destroyed my conception of what the theme or storyline was. There was also a flamenco dancer who appeared several times. Having been a flamenco guitarist, I have seen that stuff, and again, it was disconcerting for me to hear two flamenco guitars strumming, a cantaor (singer) singing, but not have those guys be on stage. There was also a number which featured arena-rock style lighting tricks that just didn't work for me at all.

So, while there were a lot of good things, in the end, it wasn't a cohesive or very compelling package. I did watch the whistler like a hawk and I enjoyed the musical sections, the dance sections not as much (but I am a musician, so perhaps not surprising). Irish dancing as a whole is impressive and cool, but I did find it dull after awhile. Perhaps my long exposure to flamenco dancing left me with a different set of expectations. The thought that went through my mind most was just how amazingly flexible these people's joints are, and that if I tried to swing my legs around like that, my knees would be hurting for months!

[Steve Bliven]

....The fiddler, however, stole the show I think. I don't have the program, but he seemed to be the featured musician, was a good showman and carried it all well......

According to the Riverdance web site, the fiddler/Musical Director was Patrick Mangan. His bio, again from the website reads as follows:
"Patrick Mangan is from Brooklyn, New York, where the two-time All-Ireland fiddle champion studied with renowned fiddler and teacher Brian Conway.

"At sixteen, Patrick appeared in Riverdance – On Broadway, becoming the youngest fiddler in the show’s history.

"Patrick joined the John Whelan Band in 1999, with whom he toured throughout the US and Europe. He has also appeared with the Cathie Ryan Band, and with the neo-Celtic group Whirligig. Noted Irish Echo and Wall Street Journal music critic, Earle Hitchner, has stated that he “embodies all that is admirable and durable about the Irish tradition in America.” In Spring 2002, Patrick was awarded first prize honors for instrumental composition in the Bertelsmann Foundation’s World of Expression competition for his piece, 'September Sky.' "

Matt Bashford is, indeed, listed as the piper/tin whistle/low whistle player.

Best wishes.

Steve

[CactusWren]

Yes, it does look like him but I thought he was a good ten years older. I didn't have the best seats

[pancelticpiper]

While the players were good, the overall musical experience was somewhat diluted by the heavy inclusion of piped-in music.

When I saw the show, many years ago, the music was all live. It requires a sizable group: keyboards, strings, numerous percussionists, and so forth.

Sad that they've scaled back the number of musicians and do a mix of live and recorded music.

Here's an early (1995) performance and you can see the group of musicians.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2p5kx_l6zo

[Joe Gerardi]

Cactus:
The story IS of the Irish and their immigration to the US, and as such is quite cohesive. The Flamenco piece is an homage to the large number of Spanish men who came ashore after the Spanish Armada was devastated.

The "dance-off" was about styles between different cultures that aren't so dissimilar: loose black jazz tap versus rigid step-dancing, yet both take the same talent and make the same noise as it were.

The Russian dance was to show the variety in cultures in the melting pot that is the US.

I guess one needs more knowledge of history than I thought necessary to follow this show...

As for me, I think the show has gone downhill since the early incarnations. After Colin Dunne and Jean Butler were gone, it seems that they kept trying to infuse it with more sex and more zing, and doing so, diminished the whole. The simple costumes became more colorful and extravagant, even the choreography was altered to entice: the girls hips, in proper step-dancing form were rather still during the early days; now, they sway and sashay like they're cheap hookers competing for a john.

It's a charming show when done simply, letting the music and dancing shine; one they statred to go "show business," it lost all its appeal to me.

..Joe

[Mr.Gumby]

The Flamenco piece is an homage to the large number of Spanish men who came ashore after the Spanish Armada was devastated.

Where they, after the fashion of the day, were mostly rounded up, hanged or otherwise slaughtered and stuck in unmarked mass graves or thrown off cliffs.

[CactusWren]

Hm, it is possible more knowledge of history would have helped it hang together in my head. I had no idea that a significant amount of Spanish men washed ashore on Ireland when the Armada was routed. However, that event happened, I believe in the 1600s, and flamenco was formed in the 1800s--not to mention their representation of the event was a woman dancing a very modern and somewhat sexed-up version of flamenco. And there are plenty of great male flamenco dancers. When I saw Paco de Lucia in the very same auditorium last year, the highlight of the show was the virtuoso harmonica player and the one dancer he brought with him, a man. On a side note, Andalucian culture of the 1500s was preserved in Argentina more than anywhere else due to the large percentage of Sevillan immigrants and its extreme isolation, so that is where I would look for dance of that period.

I also have to admit the inclusion of Russian dancers with a background of minarets did not ring any bells for me of American dance history. That is why I opined the show lost its way after the amusing and well-integrated dance-off with the taps dancers.

When comparing what I saw with the version pancelticpiper poster, with the full band, much better props, and a far more charismatic dancer (is that Michael Flatley, then?), I must report the current version is a lesser thing.

[pancelticpiper]

My impression of the show I saw years ago that it was a number of entertaining bits strung together with a somewhat tacked-on corny narrative.

[Joe Gerardi]

My impression of the show I saw years ago that it was a number of entertaining bits strung together with a somewhat tacked-on corny narrative.

I can't disagree with that- it's basically what occurred after the incredible response the 7-minute version used as an intermission at Eurovision received. That was when they realized that they had something, and made the rest of it.

..Joe