Anyone seen Solas live? I’m going to see them for the first time this Friday in NH. Just curious what your thoughts are on their live shows.
They were great when I saw them live several years ago, but they had a very different line-up of members then. I haven’t seen the current Solas in concert, but they probably still put on a decent show.
I received a free CD from Shanchie - “Waiting for an Echo” by Solas. It is all guitars. It is crap. I wouldn’t have anything to do with Solas going by this CD.
djm
Saw them twice, but not for several years. I saw them when Johy Doyle and John Williams and Karen Casey were still with them. They were good. Then. I confess I lost interest in their work a few CDs ago. I liked the first two CDs.
Yes, that’s the line-up I saw: Seamus, Winnifred, John, John and Karan. I also lost interest after the 2nd CD.
The first time I saw them, Karan had just left (Seamus, Win, John Doyle, Mick, and Deirdre Scanlon). They were really good; Deirdre only sang something like 3-4 songs, Seamus played a lot of flute and some banjo, mando, and whistle. The last time was the tour promoting Waiting for an Echo. It was awful. Seamus played guitar most of the time, flute on maybe two tunes, mando on one and whistle mostly on the songs. Deirdre’s vocals just about put me to sleep. Seriously, she has a great voice but sounds bored when she sings.
If I were you I’d spend the money you would have spent on the tickets and get a copy of the DVD.
Well, I went to the show on Friday, and I thought it was excellent. Seamus didn’t play as much flute/whistle as I would have liked–low whistles on 3 or 4 tunes and flute on another 3 (including an extended unaccompanied flute solo that was cool). The sound mix was pretty bad at the start–the downside of not travelling with your own gear/team–but it improved.
Like many here, I haven’t paid a lot of attention to Solas over the past few years. It was interesting to hear them with fresh ears, especially since they only played a couple things from their first few albums. I have to agree with Chas that Diedre Scanlan’s voice, while competent and enjoyable to hear, lacks that certain spark that others have. I’m sure following Karan Casey would be an enormous hurdle for anyone–maybe that’s one reason why they don’t do a lot of old stuff.
All in all, it was an enjoyable evening of music and friends–can’t get much better can it?
For those who like the original line up the best, Solas is coming out with a DVD/CD set of a reunion concert that they recorded last fall with all the people who have been part of Solas, including John Doyle, Karan Casey, John Williams, and Donal Clancy. I picked up an advance copy at Friday’s show. I wish I had seen them in their earlier lineup, as the tunes played by the original group are fantastic–such fire and passion in their playing.
I have that album and have to agree with you.