Comments on the Máire Brennan Concert in Alexandria, Virginia






From Polly (originally posted on the Celtic Muse mailing list):

Below I have listed Maire's playlist that she did at the concert at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia last night. I really need your help. It was dark, and I was trying to write what she played, but I really got messed up with the Gaelic songs. Please look at the playlist and help me fill in the blanks. Several songs were familiar, but I couldn't get the song titles or which album they were from. She described each of the songs before she played them and that's how I got the notes about the songs. Help!

I'm still on cloud 9. I have been to many, many concerts in my 45 years, but this has to rank up there at the top. I was right up front, right in front of Maire. She is so incredibly beautiful in person. None of the pictures I've seen of her do her justice. After so many years of trying to see anything Clannad, I finally did it. She was wearing the same outfit that was in the pictures with Linda Cowan. Her band is incredibly young. None looked to be over 25. And they were so good. She did lots of Clannad, and only Harry's Theme seemed to be lacking. It was still beautiful, but not as full. She played her harp. Her band came out first, and then the announcer said, "Here is Grammy Award Winner Maire Brennan." The concert was about 2 hours. She was so personable with the audience and she was dancing on stage and really seemed to enjoy performing.

Like Mark Jones (where were you, Mark?), I waited afterwards to talk to Maire and get her autograph. Sorry, Sean, the Birchmere has a "no camera during performance" rule, so I only got one picture of her with me which I'll send you. Why is it when you meet someone famous, you just blabber like an idiot? I thanked her for coming and told her that I had loved Clannad and her since Robin of Sherwood. She apologized and said she was sorry that they didn't do anything from RoS but she would on her next tour, which she assured me wouldn't be so long. I asked her if they were going to put the Grammy in Leo's, and she said that each one of them got their own Grammy (I thought they just got one between them) and she was going to keep hers. I asked the manager of the Birchmere if I could have one of the neat promo posters of Perfect Time hanging around the room, and he gave me 2. So I got Maire to sign my Perfect Time CD insert, and the 2 posters. I'm not really fond of my name, but Maire made of point of saying "Thank you, Polly" and it sounded so right coming from her. Just wanted to share with you all and hoping you get to see Maire or Clannad soon.

Warm-up Act - Too Cynical to Cry (duo - Justin from England and Maghraid (sp?) from Ireland. Joined Maire's tour last week in Chicago. Dee was the only sister there.

Maire's Playlist

1. Doon Well - Perfect Time
2. Which album? Clannad Medley - Something Ellen (The Pretty Boys) and An Tuile (The Echo)
3. Our World - Perfect Time
4. Oro - Maire (which she wrote when pregnant with her daughter)
5. The Light on the Hill - Perfect Time
6. Which album? Clannad - Eleanor Plunkett?
7. A song that Clannad plays at it's concerts but has no name (she said)
8. Broken Pieces - Lore
9. The Big Rock - Perfect Time
10. Name of songs? Clannad Medley - a drinking song translated to It's Not the Daytime It's Not the Nighttime, from their 1st album, and a song translated to Come Home Love from their 2nd album
11. I Will Find You (from The Last of the Mohicans)
12. Alasdair MacColla from Lore
13. Which album and name of song? Song translated to I'm Asleep and Don't Wake Me
14. Which album and what song? Clannad - The White Rocks?
15. Album and title of song? Medley - The Whispering something and Sweeney's Buttermilk
16. A Mhuirnin O from Landmarks
17. Theme from Harry's Game (choose any album!)
18. Which album and what song? Clannad - The Children?
19. Heal This Land - Perfect Time
20. Against the Wind - Maire

Polly

Thanks to Polly for filling us in on the concert at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA. Anyone else have reactions to the shows? Please be free to send them to the Unofficial Clannad News Page and we'll include them on the page.

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