I was able to see Cherish the Ladies in concert last night . The concert was at the Webb Center, in Wickenburg Arizona. Never having been to the Webb Center I was a bit surprised that it was located on the local high school grounds. But let me tell you, it is quite a nice little performing arts center, capable of holding 700 or so patrons, it is a notable asset for the community. Cherish the Ladies had a near capacity crowd.
Since the concert was held on December 17th, of course there was Christmas music, King Wencaslas, Silent Night, and some others were recognizeable tunes for me, which were deftly arranged, sung and performed by the Ladies. Other tunes were not so familiar, and I have already forgotton their names , darn it, but the unfamiliar to me seemed to be even more familiar for the band, and their performance was near flawless, the audience seemed to hang on to every note!
Mary Coogan, on guitar, did an excellent chord/melody solo on Greensleeves, just beautiful, I couldn’t imagine it being any better. Another highlight of the show was Donna Long doing a piano showpiece that she wrote. The piece was inspired by a woman, (sorry again I’ve forgotten who) who sat in a Redwood tree for two years, bringing attention to the endangered trees, only 3% of which now survive.
Heidi Talbot did a more than credible job on lead vocals, although she was hampered a bit by the dryer than normal Arizona air during the first half of the concert. By the second half though she had three bottles of water on stage, and her properly moisturized vocal chords were spot on. Roisin Dillon, on fiddle, was mostly featured on reels, she seemed very comfortable with performing them, and the audience was more than happy to listen. A young man, the Southwest regional champion, made several dancing appearances during the show, adding visual and rhythmic variety to an already interesting program.
Joanie Madden was wonderful, what can I say? Her playing seems to have a natural flow to it, never too much, always interesting. Although she has plenty of technique on tap, it never seemed as if she were just “showboating”, it seemed rather she was more interested in conveying an idea or feeling while playing. As leader of the group she was animated and jovial, giving hand signals to the band and occasionally giving direct vocal commands to the group. She was also a good story teller, a seemingly time honored tradition amongst band leaders, she had one story the was particularly funny about renting a grand piano and when the delivery men showed up, about how she had to help unload the thing..
Cherish the ladies is a thoroughly professional band on every level. They had been snowed in at NY and had left at wee morning hours to arrive in AZ for a 7:00 PM show. Mirella Murray was not there due to an illness in the family, and Donna Long was nursing a bad cold. Still, the show was spectacular, you just can’t go wrong if you go to see this band in concert, if they come within striking distance of your domicile, buy a ticket and make the journey, support Irish music and put a smile on your face!
