Guardian live review, published 20 September 2007
World
Sharon Shannon
Pigalle, London, Tuesday 18 September 2007
*** (three stars)
Irish musician Sharon Shannon has carved out an impressive career through verve and talent. She gets a strong, almost ‘vocal’ tone from her accordions; her instrumental technique is impressive, but looks effortless; and her smile could light up a small fishing village by itself.
Much of the repertoire is what you might expect - jigs and reels - yet Shannon finds ways to innovate through composition and collaboration. Her new album Renegade features drums, electric instruments, horns, computer music programming, a Brazilian rapper (2play) and even ‘barking vocals’, but tonight's gig is totally acoustic, featuring fiddler Dezi Donnelly, guitarist Jim Murray and Mike McGoldrick on flutes and whistles, all of which he plays ‘left-handed’.
Live, without the resources of studio or laptop, the band relies heavily on Murray, whose brilliant guitar parts create all the bass and percussion the other three need for their flights of fancy. Tunes like Neckbelly (from Renegade) and Freemount Bypass start with a touch of guitar-driven funkiness before the other instruments enter to twist their melodies into fresh pastures. It would be good to hear them push such compositional ingenuity a little further.
Each soloist gets a chance to shine, alone and accompanied by guitar. Donnelly plays a tender ballad that hushes the chatterers; McGoldrick is tirelessly inventive on both whistle and flute. And it's good to hear Shannon’s accordion to the fore; her distinctive tone is sometimes obscured when the ensemble is playing at full blast. She and Murray have a telepathic rapport, the latter constantly changing and developing the accompaniment without ever upstaging his boss.
The quartet end the gig with their most up-tempo tunes, telling the crowd that it’s their ‘last chance to dance’, and finishing off with the Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s Music For A Found Harmonium before playing a couple of encores.
John L. Walters
