Post by fusilier23 on Apr 23, 2006 16:10:06 GMT
Well, I've been through some concerts where you got your money's worth and then some, but I think last night's concert by Irish tenor Ronan Tynan at the State Theater in Easton, PA, where some of you might remember seeing Hayley last October in the vile rain that autumn chose to send us. Alas, last night was quite rainy too, but oh well.
For those who dunno much about Ronan, he's a tenor from County Kilkenny who lost both legs below the knee at age 20 due to a condition in his ankles that was aggravated by an auto accident. Having trained and qualified as a doctor, he only got into singing at 33, but was shortly thereafter picked to be one of the trio known as the Irish Tenors, and spent about seven years with that group before striking out on his own at the end of 2004.
For this tour he was backed by a relatively small pop-like ensemble consisting of synthesizer, piano, drums, three guitar players, and violinist Gregory Harrington.
Without further ado, the programme consisted of the following:
1. Man of La Mancha (complete with some faux-Spanish dancing)
2. The Homes of Donegal (always another Irish song you haven't run into yet)
3. Hallelujah (from Shrek) (someone actually tossed him a Shrek doll for this one, since he's in negotiations to do this on Broadway)
4. Theme from Sabrina (violin solo played by Harrington)
5. In My Life (a Beatles song)
6. The Dawning of the Day (the biggest heartbreaker of the evening, sung to the tune of "Raglan Road," with the singer portraying the voice of a dead NYC fire captain from 9/11 speaking one last time to his wife)
7. Follow On ( a song about those little "side trips" off the main path of life we take)
8. Variations on I Love a Piano (played by Bill Lewis)
9. Imagine (of John Lennon fame)
10. Go Rest High (a gospel song to a deceased relative)
11. Into the Fire (a Bruce Springsteen song about 9/11 and the firemen rushing up the stairs)
Intermission
12. Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go
13. My Irish Molly-o
14. Eileen-o (sung in an unusual "reggae" arrangment)
15. Uplifting (violin solo)
16. Danny Boy
17. Lakes of Pontchartrain (sounds Irish in tune, but is actually 100% a Creole song about a guy who falls in love with a girl from up that way, but her first love is at sea, and though she wil be hospitable, she is staying true to her promise)
18. The Old Man (the sad remembrance of a deceased father)
19. Blackberry Winter (piano solo)
20.Grace (the heartbreaking song of poet Joseph Mary Plunkett, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising, who married his fiancee Grace Gifford, in Kilmainham Gaol the night before the Sherwood Foresters frog-marched him out and shot him at dawn. I saw the spot where it was done (shudders))
21. Fields of Athenry (the Irish anthem of a man who stole corn to feed children during the famine being shipped off to Australia to serve out his life)
22. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2, what else is there to say?)
23. Ride On
24. The Town that I Loved So Well (probably the first song that got Ronan noticed in the US, about a town in Derry hard hit by the Troubles)
Although he didn't mingle with the crowd afterward, partly due to the vile weather, and partly due to the fact that it was 11:30 when he finally said goodnight, I managed a word to the influential and snagged a signed CD, completing my collection of autographs from those who have been part of the Irish tenors.
Certainly a great, very eclectic show, with everything from the Beatles to classical, but definitely not for the stodgy classical purist (which I am not). Ronan has toned down the slightly racy humor he used last year, though he still jokes about his ears being erogenous and his baldness to the effect that no grass grows on a busy street. He has also eliminated the near-disparagement of his work with the Irish tenors that was in evidence last year. His humor remains very evident, but also his other emotions, as can be seen by the choice of songs. Definitely well worth the $$.
For those who dunno much about Ronan, he's a tenor from County Kilkenny who lost both legs below the knee at age 20 due to a condition in his ankles that was aggravated by an auto accident. Having trained and qualified as a doctor, he only got into singing at 33, but was shortly thereafter picked to be one of the trio known as the Irish Tenors, and spent about seven years with that group before striking out on his own at the end of 2004.
For this tour he was backed by a relatively small pop-like ensemble consisting of synthesizer, piano, drums, three guitar players, and violinist Gregory Harrington.
Without further ado, the programme consisted of the following:
1. Man of La Mancha (complete with some faux-Spanish dancing)
2. The Homes of Donegal (always another Irish song you haven't run into yet)
3. Hallelujah (from Shrek) (someone actually tossed him a Shrek doll for this one, since he's in negotiations to do this on Broadway)
4. Theme from Sabrina (violin solo played by Harrington)
5. In My Life (a Beatles song)
6. The Dawning of the Day (the biggest heartbreaker of the evening, sung to the tune of "Raglan Road," with the singer portraying the voice of a dead NYC fire captain from 9/11 speaking one last time to his wife)
7. Follow On ( a song about those little "side trips" off the main path of life we take)
8. Variations on I Love a Piano (played by Bill Lewis)
9. Imagine (of John Lennon fame)
10. Go Rest High (a gospel song to a deceased relative)
11. Into the Fire (a Bruce Springsteen song about 9/11 and the firemen rushing up the stairs)
Intermission
12. Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go
13. My Irish Molly-o
14. Eileen-o (sung in an unusual "reggae" arrangment)
15. Uplifting (violin solo)
16. Danny Boy
17. Lakes of Pontchartrain (sounds Irish in tune, but is actually 100% a Creole song about a guy who falls in love with a girl from up that way, but her first love is at sea, and though she wil be hospitable, she is staying true to her promise)
18. The Old Man (the sad remembrance of a deceased father)
19. Blackberry Winter (piano solo)
20.Grace (the heartbreaking song of poet Joseph Mary Plunkett, one of the leaders of the Easter Rising, who married his fiancee Grace Gifford, in Kilmainham Gaol the night before the Sherwood Foresters frog-marched him out and shot him at dawn. I saw the spot where it was done (shudders))
21. Fields of Athenry (the Irish anthem of a man who stole corn to feed children during the famine being shipped off to Australia to serve out his life)
22. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (U2, what else is there to say?)
23. Ride On
24. The Town that I Loved So Well (probably the first song that got Ronan noticed in the US, about a town in Derry hard hit by the Troubles)
Although he didn't mingle with the crowd afterward, partly due to the vile weather, and partly due to the fact that it was 11:30 when he finally said goodnight, I managed a word to the influential and snagged a signed CD, completing my collection of autographs from those who have been part of the Irish tenors.
Certainly a great, very eclectic show, with everything from the Beatles to classical, but definitely not for the stodgy classical purist (which I am not). Ronan has toned down the slightly racy humor he used last year, though he still jokes about his ears being erogenous and his baldness to the effect that no grass grows on a busy street. He has also eliminated the near-disparagement of his work with the Irish tenors that was in evidence last year. His humor remains very evident, but also his other emotions, as can be seen by the choice of songs. Definitely well worth the $$.
