ORONO – Eileen Ivers didn’t just have the luck of the Irish going for her Saturday night at the Maine Center for the Arts. She also had the luck of the African, South African, Caribbean, Scottish, Cuban and Latin American forces that influence her music.
In all fairness, luck had little to do with Ivers’ stunning performance. She’s a master of the fiddle, which showed in her spunky, energetic performance. When the sound system on her blue electric violin was overtaken by “little gremlins” – several times – she simply put it down, picked up another and kept playing. And she kept her sense of humor and humility, thanking the audience for its patience and the sound crew for its efforts.
Ivers graciously shared the stage with her band, shying away from the spotlight so each musician could showcase his talent. Her supporting cast, including John Doyle on guitar, Bakithi Kumalo on bass, Jerry O’ Sullivan on the uillean pipes (a complex set of bagpipes) and flute, Emedin Rivera on percussion, Tarik Winston on tap shoes and Tommy McDonnell on vocals, wove together unlikely threads into a culturally rich, seamless musical tapestry.
Ivers, who was raised in the Bronx by Irish parents, has taken traditional Celtic music and turned it on its ear in her latest CD, “Crossing the Bridge.”
While she is well-known for her time with “Riverdance,” the champion fiddler has far more than that in her repertoire. Her performance Saturday night was as much about Caribbean rhythm as it was about Irish jigs.
A highlight was “Islanders,” inspired by Montserrat, which Ivers described as “like Ireland with great weather [with an] Afro-Caribbeanish-Irish kind of vibe.”
The song highlighted Rivera’s
vibrant melange of percussion instruments, which was as appealing visually as it was musically. He and Ivers had a playful “conversation,” in which she would pluck a string on her violin and he would answer on his bongos.
The playfulness continued throughout the show, with lively tunes such as “Pachelbel’s Frolics,” a kickier version of the composer’s “Canon in D,” and the fast-paced “Blizzard Train” – perfect for the snowy night.
The audience joined in with clapping hands and tapping toes, though none could rival Winston’s. His frenzied feet became an instrument as he tapped out beats at a dizzying speed. He even gave the audience a bit of “Riverdance”-style step dancing for good measure.
McDonnell’s vocals added a soulful and resonant layer to the performance, though his thundering voice at times overpowered the rest of the band.
For audience members sitting near the soundboard, the technicians’ conversation also proved overpowering – and distracting – during parts of the performance.
But Ivers’ performance eclipsed all that, her energy and spunk showing the crowd that she would play second fiddle to no one.
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