Great night of Yeats worship and Mick Scott music, mysticism & madness @ the Abbey. WB: WaterBoys. A huge success, in my opinion; naturally some come off on first hearing better than others, but Scott is so into it all himself that you can’t help but be convinced and go along with it right there and then. Lake Isle of Inisfree as a blues number is a revelation and so perfect it’s as if Yeats must have hung out with Muddy et al. Song of Wandering Aengus was a gem; and the working within tradition on Sally Gardens was surprising but perfect. White Birds & Politics were both very moving and perfect pop songs. They’re just the ones I can recall off the top of my head and formed immediate opinion on. I’d really love to see the whole thing again a few times to get to grips with them all. There was a lot of theatricality employed, especially in the opening few numbers and I got so used to it I kinda didn’t want Scott himself to take over, but the way he did the transition was so perfect I was immediately charmed back to the concert world. (Later on, he even briefly mentioned rugby!) Will it work in Grand Canal Theater? Might just have to fumble in the greasy till and add the halfpence to the pence to find out first hand.
They got a standing ovation & encores included Don’t Bang the Drum, and “especially for Yeats”, Whole of the Moon – both excellent Yeats poems! Line up with Scott & Wickham was Ash Soan (drums), Marc Arciero (bass), Ruby Ashley (oboe), Joe Chester (guitar), Katie Kim (vocals), Simon Wallace (keyboards), Sarah Allen (flute) and Blaise Margail (trombone).
