Music Reviews
By The Con Curmudgeon
It's About Time (Random Factors) ****
[EDITOR'S NOTE: This review was written by local folk musician Tom Tuerff who has his own CD called "Something to Sell At My Gigs."]
This is really no surprise. The six-member band, which started as a trio some years ago, and went through more personnel changes than Menudo for a while there, has finally settled into wife and hubby (and original members) Michi and Vash, on violin and percussion, respectively; plus didjeridoo player Byron, singers Catherine and Nichelle, and the formidable local string wizard himself, Joe Bethancourt.
That's right, Joe Bethancourt -- the guy who can play almost anything with strings and can certainly choose who he wants to play with. For Bethancourt to join a young group like this, some members of which he has watched grow up at his solo shows over the years, you know they've got to be good. And they do not disappoint. Bethancourt is simply another member of this very accomplished band, who takes his turns in the spotlight along with everyone else.
The album kicks off with "Tamlyn the Bard," a positively eerie number that combines an old fiddle tune with some very creepy, crawly poetry from Bethancourt, complete with crackling fire, thunder, and spooky noises.
From there, it's off to the races with one of the best covers of the tired old song "Leaving of Liverpool" that I've ever heard. Usually this song is performed by old, drunk Irish tenors and people who want to BE old, drunk Irish tenors. Here, Catherine and Nichelle sing a sprightly version, played in a fast, Appalachian style by the band. It is at once unexpected, hilarious and wonderful.
Other highlights include "Geordie," Vash's popular showpiece which he describes as "an amazing example of a Scots ballad where nobody dies"; "King Henry," another eerie, unnerving tale, sung by Joe, about a King who upsets a very demanding, evil female presence in the forest (I can't get the sound of the ladies singing "MORE MEAT! MORE MEAT!" out of my head); and a medley of Bethancourt's "Celtic Circle Dance" and Jethro Tull's "Cup of Wonder" that finishes the album off.
Now, let's talk about the amazing fiddle pieces on this CD. I'm going to go on the record now and say that Michi R is probably one of the 10 best fiddle players I've ever heard. She's "Mark O'Connor" good. "Natalie McMaster" good. She's good enough now, at age 21, to play with the Chieftains, something I saw her do about six or seven years ago, when she would have been about 14! She keeps this up, in 20 years people are going to be comparing new fiddle players to her.
I have watched this woman from mere feet away, and I have to tell you I don't know how she does some of the stuff she does. It's like her violin is a top hat, and you wait with anticipation to see what kind of surprising musical rabbit she'll pull from it next. The fact that she appears to do it without breaking a sweat is even more amazing.
"Marching McCahill to Milltown" is a perfect example. A combination of traditional fiddle tunes that the Bringers frequently play in their sets, it starts at a perfectly sane tempo for most folks and by the time it finishes, the entire band is playing at about 150 mph. In other words, look out, stand back and watch what happens.
The same is true about the other fiddle pieces on the album. Just as you're ready to settle down and relax to a nice, slow air, suddenly you're back out of your chair, dancing all over the place.
The Bringers get lumped into the category of "Celtic Music Groups," but they really are much more than that. On the back of this fantastic CD, they describe what they do as "Acoustic Music Without Borders." Indeed, the songs and influences heard on this CD reach from the shores of America to the back streets of Turkey, with a healthy vacation in the Emerald Isle and the UK, of course.
And how can you call a band "Celtic" when the "bottom" of its sound is provided by a didjeridoo? You can't. You should simply call the Bringers "splendid." A splendid band and a splendidly produced (by Bethancourt) CD.
It is indeed about time that the Bringers had a CD. Isn't it about time you went out and bought it?
(Tom Tuerff writes filk and folk reviews for ConNotations. If you have a CD you want reviewed, send it to the main ConNotations address to Tom's attention, or tackle him in the street and force it on him. You can also reach him at ttuerff@aol.com. Check out his websites at http://hometown.aol.com/nudeadguy and http://www.cdbaby.com/tuerff.)
The Bringers
First of all, I have to say that I don't think a CD with a more appropriate title will be released this year. It certainly is about time the Bringers put out a CD, and it is as tuneful, intriguing and exciting as you might imagine.
