Topic: Mairead nesbitt

[The Blue Violinist]

OMG I cant Believe there isnt any Topics Saluting Mairead Nesbitt!!!

She is AMAZINGGG!!!!!

She played with Riverdance, and Lord of the Dance...and she now plays with Celtic Woman.

She is Sooooo energetic, She reminds me of a little sprite running all around the stage.

Check her Out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXanHvrjQO0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-zkhbXIqR4

[Tize]

Not a fan here I'm afraid, but she suits the Flatley-type-shows genre well.

You do realise that the musicians mime in a lot of the shows?

[The Blue Violinist]

With Mairead..I thought She did at first too...cause she moves around so much...But upon listening to Studio recordings of certain songs...and then listening to her playing the same song live..Its pretty much desernable wether or not she is playing or not...On some songs she ad-libs certain things...to where its easy to tell aswell....

I went to see them in october and it was easy to tell she was playing live, while keeping up the showmanship. Sure she made some mistakes..but considering how she moves around...Id say she was par for the course..

[The Blue Violinist]

I also agree with your comment about Flatley Type Shows...Maireads Far better than that...

[patheslip]

If I was as pretty and talented as this young lady, instead of being an old gray deaf fiddler, I'd prance about in a blue frock.  It sure beats doing your 1200th wedding.

[Nofrets]

I would be interested in what her mother Kathleen's view of these type shows are.  Kathleen has been involved in teaching trad for decades.  

I would rather listen to a good session than watch these shows.  But I have no problem with people that love the shows.  It's a personal thing, and unfortunately very divisive.   I look at it more like TV.  If you don't like what's on, don't complain... just change the channel.

[The Blue Violinist]

I see it like this (and this is why i like mairead)

Fast, Uplifting Irish music is not ment to be played sitting down looking somewhat bored. Not saying everyone does that...But This Girl sure dosnt...She looks happy to be playing the violin, and expresses it across to the people watching her. If she LOOKS like she is feeling what she is playing.....then I believe the audiance will feel it too, No matter how many mistakes or How perfect you might be.

Aside from actual skill...Presentation is Everything....

[Tize]

There's a different between the Irish music she's playing and traditional Irish music. The way she plays is what gets termed 'celtic' music... that kind of commercialised/generalised style and approach to appeal to a much wider audience than trad. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just not my cup of tea, and as long as people don't try to persuade me that it's traditional I don't mind!

I don't think 'fast' should even have to be mentioned in the same sentence as uplifting. I play regularly in a village in East Clare and the music there is as uplifting as any you'd ever hear, but it's certainly not fast. I'm lucky enough to do have done gigs with some of my favourite musicians here in Ennis as well, and I find the music most uplifting when it's at a nice steady, rhythmic pace. I hate hearing music played too fast - it looses the 'uplifting' quality then, becomes frantic and about showboating, which, unfortunately, is a large part of the show ethos of playing. The only time, for me, tunes should be played anything approaching 'fast' is when they're played for set dancers. And even then I wish the dancers would revert back to the slightly steadier sets that used to be danced!

[johnnie40coats]

Have to disagree with the "presentation is everything" sentiment - it might be "everything" when it comes to megabucks stageshows, but not when it comes to Irish traditional music. I'm not concerned about "showmanship" - I'm interested in the musicians, the tunes, the stories behind the tunes, and the craic.

Johnnie

[Yankee_Fiddler]

Speaking of miming, I knew a famous fiddler (won't tell you who) who laughs about the brief gig she had pretending to play, tossing her head and hair around, doing sexy back bends and basically putting on a big show.  She says she was paid not to play.  But, very early on, when her miming fiddling partner dropped a bow but the fiddle music continued, she decided it was time to get out of that gig.  It was short, sweet, and makes for a very funny story.

[madmat]

Have to disagree with the "presentation is everything" sentiment - it might be "everything" when it comes to megabucks stageshows, but not when it comes to Irish traditional music. I'm not concerned about "showmanship" - I'm interested in the musicians, the tunes, the stories behind the tunes, and the craic.

This is what it boils down to for me, as well... I *listen* to music, I don't *watch* it. I think this kind of music goes into the same box as the girls in Bond... it's something repackaged for the MTV generation.

If it swings the spotlight in the direction of the more traditional stuff, then maybe it's good.

[Tize]

If it swings the spotlight in the direction of the more traditional stuff, then maybe it's good.

The problem is there, though, that people think that when they play like that, then they can call it 'traditional'. Not picking on this girl, but this is the sort of thing I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvjQ8TfMjf0

  I feel sorry for them then when they go into a session or even a fleadh competition, play in that blatently obvious 'classical player's found some Irish tunes' way and wonder why people are looking at them like they've fallen out of a tree... now most people in sessions'd be nice enough if the newcomer themselves are nice, but sadly, in my experience, the people who waltz in with this approach to irish music have attitudes and egos. It's a shame because a lot of the time it probably wouldn't take them too long to actually master some semblance of a more traditional sound, but they don't seem to be open to learning.

[davyr]

Speaking of miming

Reminds me of the time Fairport Convention made one of their rare appearences on Top of the Pops back in the early 70s, a time when bands on that show were invariably made to mime their performances. The drummer (Dave Mattocks) wore an "I am miming" T-shirt, and the fiddler (Dave Swarbrick) very carefully put down his mandolin and picked up his fiddle when the instrumental medley they were miming to was already well into the fiddle part...

[FiddleMeThis]

I also must disagee with "the presentation is everything".

Quite the contrary, in traditional Irish music, "The Music is Everything!" The "presentation" is only there to serve the tunes, never to detract from them. It's not about the musician, it's about the tunes. 

When I here a true master play, I get lost in the beauty of the tune and I'm rarely in awe of the musicians skills.  When you notice the melody more than how it's played, your listening to top notch trad.

IMHO

[mickeysmom]

Tend to agree with Tize and Fiddlemethis.... when the playing of good music catches you up, it isn't costuming or dancing around that gets you mesmerized.  Maierad is beautiful... but for some reason, I get a sense of her self-absorption and I would find it easy to believe there's some miming going on.... but even if there isn't, it's a little on the glitzy side for me. 

[The Blue Violinist]

So your saying the way she plays detracts from the music?

I dont believe so....Infact She got me so hyped up...Not only from watching her But from listening to what she played...Its not Like Im Only Watching her...I also listen to what she is playing aswell...

This wasnt a topic on Traditional Irish Fiddle playing....It was only about Mairead....

If she plays the Fiddle alright, I dont see why she cant dance around, enjoying what she is playing...

[madmat]

If she plays the Fiddle alright, I dont see why she cant dance around, enjoying what she is playing...

That's fine... this is a forum about playing, not dancing while you're doing it!

[awildman2384]

Nobody said that her dancing was detracting from hermusic.  Mainly because she's not playing Irish Traditional music.  She's playing celtic rock.  Or whatever you want to call it.  That type of dancing is ok in that setting.  But would never be acceptable in Irish Trad, nor 'most any other type of trad.

She is dancing around to put on a show.  She may enjoy it, but the fact remains that without the dancing and prancing and lights and glitter and all that the music and show would be pretty boring to many folks. 

Fast, Uplifting Irish music is not ment to be played sitting down looking somewhat bored.

That statement indicates to me that you know little about the Irish music tradition.

Sorry that we didn't all jump on the Maired train.  Nobody said she was bad.  We just all have our preferences.  Dancing and prancing while playing and miming are not among my preferences.  Too much smoke and mirrorism for my taste.

[beeswing]

Blue Violinist, these guys are actually pretty jolly behind their curmudgeonly exteriors, so please don't take what they say too badly to heart.

Anyone can say what they like about Andre Rieu's music, for example (I can sometimes actually sit still and listen to a lot of it, which is a good thing, since I tend to have a short attention span for that stuff usually) but a big part of his success is that the shows he puts on are visually engaging.

I've sat still and watched some of those shows Mairead plays in, and might do again sometime, partly because I'm a sucker for good-looking women spilling out of their dresses. The music is OK too.

[The Blue Violinist]

Yea well Like I Said....This Topic wasnt made about Traditonal Irish music...And yes your RIght I DONT know alot about it...I didnt claim i did.....I just wanted to tribute Mairead...not start a topic about why she isnt considered a Traditional Irish Fiddle Player....

[loulou]

Actually I think it does detract from the music---all that hair tossing, the spinning around, the barefoot toe pointing---I stop paying attention to what she's playing and start watching the dance moves instead. Just doesn't do it for me. I have a similar reaction to Natalie Macmaster for the same reason, although what she does is very much traditional---lots Cape Breton fiddlers dance while they play. But they don't do the hair tossing thing, which is just affected and annoying, as far as I'm concerned.

[Yankee_Fiddler]

Dancing while fiddling, here is how it is done:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Q8V1F1zSQ&feature=related

[johnnie40coats]

"...the barefoot toe pointing....."

loulou, that line nearly made me spit a mouthful of tea all over the laptop keyboard! That's the best laugh I've had in ages - thanks for that!

Johnnie

[Yankee_Fiddler]

By the way, the presentation is not necessarily Mairead's idea.  

The well known fiddler I mentioned previously had to look sexy while pretending to play.  It was not necessarily her idea but it was a paid gig.  She just got wise quickly, when the other girl dropped her bow and got out.

[Yankee_Fiddler]

Wow, I just discovered that words are censored here.  I didn't write "nice" I wrote "s**y.  Didn't think that was a bad word in itself.

It happened in a previous post, and I thought, DID I WRITE THAT?  I thought I said something else. Well, I guess I did.  Ah, ha!!! 

So, basically, Mairead is supposed to be looking "nice"!!!??  I took it as something else.