Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker & John Doyle Queen's Hall Edinburgh 30th March 2024 Review
Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker & John Doyle were at the Queen’s Hall tonight, the last date on their current tour after a very busy start to 2024 which has also included performances at Celtic Connections and Transatlantic Sessions. This, however, was not a sad farewell but a joyous celebration of music and friendships, both as musicians and with their audiences. This was also a celebration of the trio playing music together now for 15 years and the release of a new album “John McCusker – The Best of”.
I have reviewed Michael McGoldrick and John McCusker many times over the years, but for some unknown reason not John Doyle and that has been an oversight on my part. Individually John McCusker (Glasgow – fiddle, whistles, harmonium), Mike McGoldrick (Manchester – flute, whistles, Uileann pipes, bodhran, clarinet) and John Doyle (vocals, guitar) are at the top of their musical game, but together as a trio, something extra special is happening on stage and a large part of that is just watching the sheer pleasure that all three are getting out of performing music together. You just know though that off stage it will just be the same as music simply flows through all three of them, along with the history of so many of these songs and their stories.
Whether it be new songs such as “Madison Square Set”, reels (both traditional and new), or an old folk song like “The Hare’s Lament”, the music blends seamlessly together, sounding like it has always been so, and that is a very difficult thing to do – unless of course you happen to be one of this trio who can, it seems, achieve this almost instinctively.
Tonight was a celebration of not only the sheer diversity of the music that all three have in their musical arsenals, but also the history of many of these songs and the stories that they tell, often stories those in power have tried over the years, without success, to erase from the history books.
Some stories of course are so well known that celebrating and preserving them in song was inevitable and a particular Edinburgh story had to be told tonight in song - “Burke and Hare”. This duo’s infamous sale of bodies to the medical anatomist Dr Knox has become the stuff of urban legends and even a 19th century nursery rhyme -
"Up the close and doon the stair,
But and ben' wi' Burke and Hare.
Burke's the butcher, Hare's the thief,
Knox the boy that buys the beef."
Making this song even more appropriate tonight is the fact that this is a very local Southside of Edinburgh story as the University of Edinburgh at which Dr Knox taught is close to The Queen’s Hall and the house where he lived that was surrounded by an angry mob when the truth became public knowledge is only a few hundred yards away too. As this song tells us though, neither Burke nor Hare were grave-robbers, simple murder was much easier for them and less hard work.
Listening to Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle play their music and watching how effortlessly each displayed their own musical skills whilst also supporting each other when required was a pleasure tonight. John Doyle is also a perfect story teller and his respect for the collectors of songs who have over the years preserved so much music and history that otherwise might have been lost to us all forever was obvious. Also, he has a voice that simply relaxes you and draws you into the narrative of any song that he performs. Watching a left handed guitarist play is always an interesting experience too, particularly when they are at this skill level. When you add in the equally impressive musical talents of Michael McGoldrick and John McCusker, then this trio really was something special, made even more so by the addition of special guest of the evening for the closing of the second set, Phil Cunningham on accordion.
Review by Tom King © 2024
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
I have reviewed Michael McGoldrick and John McCusker many times over the years, but for some unknown reason not John Doyle and that has been an oversight on my part. Individually John McCusker (Glasgow – fiddle, whistles, harmonium), Mike McGoldrick (Manchester – flute, whistles, Uileann pipes, bodhran, clarinet) and John Doyle (vocals, guitar) are at the top of their musical game, but together as a trio, something extra special is happening on stage and a large part of that is just watching the sheer pleasure that all three are getting out of performing music together. You just know though that off stage it will just be the same as music simply flows through all three of them, along with the history of so many of these songs and their stories.
Whether it be new songs such as “Madison Square Set”, reels (both traditional and new), or an old folk song like “The Hare’s Lament”, the music blends seamlessly together, sounding like it has always been so, and that is a very difficult thing to do – unless of course you happen to be one of this trio who can, it seems, achieve this almost instinctively.
Tonight was a celebration of not only the sheer diversity of the music that all three have in their musical arsenals, but also the history of many of these songs and the stories that they tell, often stories those in power have tried over the years, without success, to erase from the history books.
Some stories of course are so well known that celebrating and preserving them in song was inevitable and a particular Edinburgh story had to be told tonight in song - “Burke and Hare”. This duo’s infamous sale of bodies to the medical anatomist Dr Knox has become the stuff of urban legends and even a 19th century nursery rhyme -
"Up the close and doon the stair,
But and ben' wi' Burke and Hare.
Burke's the butcher, Hare's the thief,
Knox the boy that buys the beef."
Making this song even more appropriate tonight is the fact that this is a very local Southside of Edinburgh story as the University of Edinburgh at which Dr Knox taught is close to The Queen’s Hall and the house where he lived that was surrounded by an angry mob when the truth became public knowledge is only a few hundred yards away too. As this song tells us though, neither Burke nor Hare were grave-robbers, simple murder was much easier for them and less hard work.
Listening to Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle play their music and watching how effortlessly each displayed their own musical skills whilst also supporting each other when required was a pleasure tonight. John Doyle is also a perfect story teller and his respect for the collectors of songs who have over the years preserved so much music and history that otherwise might have been lost to us all forever was obvious. Also, he has a voice that simply relaxes you and draws you into the narrative of any song that he performs. Watching a left handed guitarist play is always an interesting experience too, particularly when they are at this skill level. When you add in the equally impressive musical talents of Michael McGoldrick and John McCusker, then this trio really was something special, made even more so by the addition of special guest of the evening for the closing of the second set, Phil Cunningham on accordion.
Review by Tom King © 2024
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
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