Last Saturday night at the East Haven Irish Community Center outside of New Haven, I attended the best concert of the year. In the first week of January, that's a bold declaration, but the bar was set pretty high by a quartet of musicians who seem to be coming into their musical prime, most certainly as a performing group.
We're talking about the Pride of New York Ceili Band, or more specifically, Joanie Madden, Brian Conway, Billy McComiskey and Brendan Dolan, three Bronxites and one Brooklyn native (McComiskey).
Over 200 people gleefully squeezed in the hall for what appears to be a new tradition beginning the New Year with this Connecticut concert. At the outset the crowd was alerted to the fact Madden got out of her sickbed against the admonition of her mother, Helen.
Conway quickly chimed in, "Can you imagine us doing this gig without Joanie?" While Madden was subdued with a severe chest cold (quite a handicap even for the best flute and whistle player Irish America has ever produced), she showed the professionalism and grit that has kept the Cherish the Ladies Road Show running for over 20 years now. She had more than enough in the reserve tank to keep up with the boys and inspire one of their finest performances to date.
They have played to larger audiences in Mayo, East Durham and even last July at Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night's Swing Irish ceili night, but watching them evolve their act musically as a unit - given their common backgrounds and approach to the music - is still one of more positive developments in the Irish American scene.
Saturday night was an easy-listening seminar in how to approach solo and group performance that can only be delivered by seasoned artists who have the depth and knowledge about the music they embrace and increasingly a comfort level in playing with one another.
They are key links because they relish the roles of tradition bearers who benefited from early and often exposure to the finest primary sources in Irish music through their families. They don't just carry the tunes but the gra (love) as well while delivering it in full stage show form that shows the progression of the scene thanks in part to them.
An example of that is two airs played separately by Madden on whistle and later Conway on fiddle, both melodies that accompany sean nos songs that often inspired the tunes.
Joanie played "Cailn na Gruaige Báine" (girl with the brown hair she told us whimsically as she pointed to her own hair) which she learned from the singing of Brendan Begley from Dingle before launching into a light-hearted reel.
Brian rendered "The Bonny Bunch of Roses-O" which was new to his repertoire and deftly transitioned to some hornpipes using all the finesse at his command in a seamless performance displaying his great mettle and concentration. To play airs skillfully is one thing, but to play them bringing out all the emotion attached to them sets the best players apart.
For his part McComiskey, playing the accordion of his mentor, the late Sean McGlynn from Galway, excelled at the waltzes they played that night, including two of his compositions, "The Diamond" and "Sleepless Nights" (the later dedicated to his wife Annie, and mother of their three sons who was there along with his mother Mae and sister Noreen).
McComiskey learned many things from McGlynn, who died tragically in 1983, but the waltzes delivered in that sensuous flowing style that the Galway box players seem to have a patent on are the very essence of romance sweeping couples round the floor.
Dolan on keyboards was no mere accompanist this night as he showed himself a full-fledged member of the Pride of New York Ceili Band with his dexterity enhancing each and every tune the band played together or as solos.
Most session followers know that when he and his mentor-papa Felix want to relax and get into the music they take out the flute, but it still came as a welcome surprise when he and Joanie did a whistle duet for a set of jigs which revealed even more of his talent.
The show opened with the popular reel "The Bucks of Oranmore," with the group playing it in the understated but melodically marvelous style of Sean McGlynn.
They finished the show with the same tune but in full flourish with the Joe Burke flair that helped make it the Galway National Anthem. In between they gave the audience everything they came for and looking for more, which is where the really good news comes in.
Their next public appearance will be as the featured Saturday night ceili band at the Comhaltas North American Conven-tion (www.cce Conven tion2008.org) on Saturday, March 30.
In addition, we know that three tracks from the Fab Four will appear on Conway's solo album later this year, and that they continue to look for time to get into the studio to record their own CD which is still much anticipated.
Perhaps the title track could be one of Joanie's own compositions inspired by the late and loveable Jim Coogan, "You Gotta Shoot When the Ducks Are Flying."