![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hildy89Last night was the Loreena McKennitt concert at DAR Constitution Hall. Like I mentioned before, I tend to dress quite casually at work these days, especially shoe wise, because it's more comfortable. My coworkers were surprised but complimentary to see me in a black pant suit and dress shoes. I really regretted the latter choice with the amount of walking I wound up doing. DAR is a solid five or six blocks from the nearest Metro.
The only real annoyance was the lack of restaurants nearby. Back near the Metro, there were tons of places, but I was strapped for time, so I wound up availing myself of the noble DC hot dog stand. One of the larger ones, so it was slightly more upscale, but probably not what people picture when you say pre-concert dinner. But I shouldn't complain too much. Because if I had stayed around the venue, I wouldn't have had my little moment of irony.
I'm not one of those people who goes to the stage door after shows. If I'm given a chance to meet them, great, but I don't actively seek it out. So while I'd noticed a number of posts on the Quinlan Road message board about meeting Loreena and the crew after the show, in my usual fashion, I assumed there was no way I'd get that lucky, so I put it completely out of my head. All I can say is irony has a funny sense of humor. I was walking back from the hot dog stand, trying to coordinate food and bags, when I noticed a striking and familiar profile with brilliant red and gold hair down the sidewalk from me. She really does stand out in a crowd. I'm so used to seeing Loreena in spotlights, so her hair was that much more noticeable in broad daylight. I guess she was having a last minute stroll before the show with bodyguard in tow. One pair of fans did stop to say hello. I might have worked up the nerve myself, but I was busy eating. I felt so horribly embarrassed when I walked by her. I managed part of a smile, but I didn't stop or wave or anything. I'm not sure what she made of me. Like I said, irony!
I've actually never been to DAR for a concert before. The last time I was there was for my high school graduation, quite a few years ago. My seats were amazing, third row orchestra, literally right in front of the left side of the stage. We had a great view of Brian Hughes on guitar on stage all night. The only times it was a little obscured was when Loreena played the harp. This isn't the first time I've had phenomenal seats for a Loreena concert. My parents and I had equally great seats when she performed on the Mask & Mirror tour in Baltimore. Surprisingly we didn't sell out at DAR, but it was a loud appreciative and knowledgable group.
The vendors were doing a brisk business already before the show started. I bought a tour t-shirt and the special "Nights at the Alhambra" dvd-cd set. The t-shirt quotes Homer's Odyssey "Tell me O Muse..." on the front with the list of the tour locations on the back. There were several variations. I went with the blue version. According to the program, she's releasing a book about her travels and inspirations and sources. I've always adored the little snippets of travelogues from her liner notes, so that'll be interesting to read.
Loreena has very tight rules on cameras for the show. People at the door were getting hassled over it unfortunately. She's spoken very publicly about privacy issues recently, even going to UK court over an unauthorized book by a former friend. That didn't stop someone from snapping off one flash photo when she first started.
The stage resembled the cover for "An Ancient Muse" in shades of blue. The musicians were arranged around the large stage. Loreena took time out during the performance to introduce them all from the familiar faces to the new people. They're all phenomenal musicians in their own right. Hugh Marsh and Caroline Lavelle stood next to each other on the right side of the stage and Brian Hughes was over on the left, with the rest of the musicians arranged behind them. The drum set was behind a protective sheeting. One of my fondest memories from the Baltimore show was watching Loreena's backup musicians cut loose on solos, something they really can't do on the cds much. She used to call them her "idling Porsches" and if anything, I'd say Loreena has added a couple additional garages to host all the musicians. The staging made it a little hard sometimes to see everyone this time, but they really cut loose in the instrumentals like "Marco Polo" and "Huron Beltane Fire Dance". The former showed off Ben Grossman, the hurdy gurdy player and the other allowed Hugh Marsh to cut loose on the violin. He still plays a mean fiddle. Caroline Lavelle cut a beautiful figure on cello with her mane of blonde hair. Her cello had such a rich deep sound. Brian Hughes coordinated several different types of guitars. The electric one was particularly loud, especially for "Bonny Swans". Loreena switched between two harps, piano and accordion. She even danced around on stage with that accordion during "Santiago". Her voice was still crystalline clear. The phrasing was a little different for some songs, but otherwise very much in time with the cd performances.
Like I said, it wasn't a sellout crowd, which was disappointing, but it was a knowledgable one. Whenever the first few bars started up, you'd hear a cheer from someone who recognized the piece. The joke was complete when she played the first chords of "Old Ways" on the piano and someone got it. Someone behind me called it "Name that Loreena song in 4 notes" and it wasn't far from the truth. I used to know them quite well, so in some ways, it was a nice surprise to not know what was coming. Yes, I'd have liked to hear "All Souls Night" or "Marrakesh Night Market", but overall, I was quite pleased with the selections on her setlist.
After two standing ovations, they came back with a pair of encores "Huron Beltane Fire Dance" and "Penelope's Song".
Then it was the long trudge home to the Metro. To my surprise, it seemed like half of the DAR came with me! Well, maybe not, but we certainly had a solid convoy going up 17th street.
All in all, a very satisfactory experience.
Set List
1. She Moved Through the Fair
2. Gates of Istanbul.
3. Mummers' Dance
4. Bonny Portmore
5. Marco Polo
6. The Highwayman
7.Dante's Prayer
8.Bonny Swans
9.Caravansarai
(intermission)
10. Raglan Road
11. Mystic's Dream
12. Santiago
13. Lady of Shallot
14.Beneath a Phrygian Sky
15.The Old Ways
16. Never Ending Road
encores after standing ovations
17. Huron Beltane Fire Dance
18. Penelope's Song
The only real annoyance was the lack of restaurants nearby. Back near the Metro, there were tons of places, but I was strapped for time, so I wound up availing myself of the noble DC hot dog stand. One of the larger ones, so it was slightly more upscale, but probably not what people picture when you say pre-concert dinner. But I shouldn't complain too much. Because if I had stayed around the venue, I wouldn't have had my little moment of irony.
I'm not one of those people who goes to the stage door after shows. If I'm given a chance to meet them, great, but I don't actively seek it out. So while I'd noticed a number of posts on the Quinlan Road message board about meeting Loreena and the crew after the show, in my usual fashion, I assumed there was no way I'd get that lucky, so I put it completely out of my head. All I can say is irony has a funny sense of humor. I was walking back from the hot dog stand, trying to coordinate food and bags, when I noticed a striking and familiar profile with brilliant red and gold hair down the sidewalk from me. She really does stand out in a crowd. I'm so used to seeing Loreena in spotlights, so her hair was that much more noticeable in broad daylight. I guess she was having a last minute stroll before the show with bodyguard in tow. One pair of fans did stop to say hello. I might have worked up the nerve myself, but I was busy eating. I felt so horribly embarrassed when I walked by her. I managed part of a smile, but I didn't stop or wave or anything. I'm not sure what she made of me. Like I said, irony!
I've actually never been to DAR for a concert before. The last time I was there was for my high school graduation, quite a few years ago. My seats were amazing, third row orchestra, literally right in front of the left side of the stage. We had a great view of Brian Hughes on guitar on stage all night. The only times it was a little obscured was when Loreena played the harp. This isn't the first time I've had phenomenal seats for a Loreena concert. My parents and I had equally great seats when she performed on the Mask & Mirror tour in Baltimore. Surprisingly we didn't sell out at DAR, but it was a loud appreciative and knowledgable group.
The vendors were doing a brisk business already before the show started. I bought a tour t-shirt and the special "Nights at the Alhambra" dvd-cd set. The t-shirt quotes Homer's Odyssey "Tell me O Muse..." on the front with the list of the tour locations on the back. There were several variations. I went with the blue version. According to the program, she's releasing a book about her travels and inspirations and sources. I've always adored the little snippets of travelogues from her liner notes, so that'll be interesting to read.
Loreena has very tight rules on cameras for the show. People at the door were getting hassled over it unfortunately. She's spoken very publicly about privacy issues recently, even going to UK court over an unauthorized book by a former friend. That didn't stop someone from snapping off one flash photo when she first started.
The stage resembled the cover for "An Ancient Muse" in shades of blue. The musicians were arranged around the large stage. Loreena took time out during the performance to introduce them all from the familiar faces to the new people. They're all phenomenal musicians in their own right. Hugh Marsh and Caroline Lavelle stood next to each other on the right side of the stage and Brian Hughes was over on the left, with the rest of the musicians arranged behind them. The drum set was behind a protective sheeting. One of my fondest memories from the Baltimore show was watching Loreena's backup musicians cut loose on solos, something they really can't do on the cds much. She used to call them her "idling Porsches" and if anything, I'd say Loreena has added a couple additional garages to host all the musicians. The staging made it a little hard sometimes to see everyone this time, but they really cut loose in the instrumentals like "Marco Polo" and "Huron Beltane Fire Dance". The former showed off Ben Grossman, the hurdy gurdy player and the other allowed Hugh Marsh to cut loose on the violin. He still plays a mean fiddle. Caroline Lavelle cut a beautiful figure on cello with her mane of blonde hair. Her cello had such a rich deep sound. Brian Hughes coordinated several different types of guitars. The electric one was particularly loud, especially for "Bonny Swans". Loreena switched between two harps, piano and accordion. She even danced around on stage with that accordion during "Santiago". Her voice was still crystalline clear. The phrasing was a little different for some songs, but otherwise very much in time with the cd performances.
Like I said, it wasn't a sellout crowd, which was disappointing, but it was a knowledgable one. Whenever the first few bars started up, you'd hear a cheer from someone who recognized the piece. The joke was complete when she played the first chords of "Old Ways" on the piano and someone got it. Someone behind me called it "Name that Loreena song in 4 notes" and it wasn't far from the truth. I used to know them quite well, so in some ways, it was a nice surprise to not know what was coming. Yes, I'd have liked to hear "All Souls Night" or "Marrakesh Night Market", but overall, I was quite pleased with the selections on her setlist.
After two standing ovations, they came back with a pair of encores "Huron Beltane Fire Dance" and "Penelope's Song".
Then it was the long trudge home to the Metro. To my surprise, it seemed like half of the DAR came with me! Well, maybe not, but we certainly had a solid convoy going up 17th street.
All in all, a very satisfactory experience.
Set List
1. She Moved Through the Fair
2. Gates of Istanbul.
3. Mummers' Dance
4. Bonny Portmore
5. Marco Polo
6. The Highwayman
7.Dante's Prayer
8.Bonny Swans
9.Caravansarai
(intermission)
10. Raglan Road
11. Mystic's Dream
12. Santiago
13. Lady of Shallot
14.Beneath a Phrygian Sky
15.The Old Ways
16. Never Ending Road
encores after standing ovations
17. Huron Beltane Fire Dance
18. Penelope's Song
no subject
Date: 2007-04-25 07:26 pm (UTC)