Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Review: Celtic Spring at Irish Fest
Posted by Paul F. P. Pogue on Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 8:00 AM
- Paul F. P. Pogue
- Celtic Spring at Irish Fest.
Celtic Spring
Sept. 18, Irish Fest, Military Park
4 stars
It does not go unnoticed by many at Irish Fest on Sunday that the weather is almost perfect Irish weather, grey and glum with a certain brightness within, rays of light occasionally peeking through the clouds. It certainly boded well for the performance of family-turned-band, America’s Got Talent finalists Celtic Spring (pronounced “keltic,” by the way — a certain Boston basketball franchise has a hell of a lot to answer for.)
I’ll be honest, the whole reality-TV pedigree doesn’t entirely fill me with confidence, but that’s probably the hipster in me talking. As it turns out, Celtic Spring’s set was quite an inspiring combination of exuberant classic instruments and exhilarating step dancing. They’ve all grown up with this, and it shows; the six kids and their parents take to instruments and enthusiastic step-dancing like they were born to it.
In particular, they demonstrate great display of the range of the fiddle — four-part violin harmony is not something you hear very often —as well as a typically Irish range of emotional passion: joy, delight, sadness, mournfulness of the sort that can only be expressed by a people accustomed to famine, war and U2’s involvement in the Spider-Man musical.
My least favorite parts? Anything to do with keyboards. The electronic sounds didn’t mesh with the low-tech instruments, and at times seemed to completely overpower them. Oddly enough, the music seemed to get better the more analog instruments were onstage; when they kicked it up to four-part violin harmony accompanied by percussion and a mandolin, it possessed a richness and depth that couldn’t be achieved alone. Each instrument added something to the others and drew strength as well. You can insert your own analogy about family here if you like.
Related Locations
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Military Park
- 801 West Washington Street, Indianapolis Downtown Indiana 46204
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317-233-2434
- www.in.gov/whiteriver
- Be the first to review this location!
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