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Show reviews / Lisa Lambe in New York City 2017
« on: October 08, 2017, 09:11:53 PM »
Part 1
When Lisa announced that she would be performing in New York City at the end of September I immediately made arrangements to attend. She would be giving two concerts at the Irish Arts Center on September 29 and 30, a Friday and Saturday, so I wouldn't even need to take time off from work. I have driven in Manhattan before and I have vowed to never do it again so taking the train was the obvious choice. I left Harrisburg at 10:05am Friday morning and arrived at Penn Station around 1:30pm. I debated whether to take the subway to my hotel but opted to walk since it was a beautiful warm afternoon. Usually I take 7th Avenue when I walk uptown from the station but decided to give 8th Avenue a chance since my hotel was at 8th and 51st. I wasn't impressed and I think I'll switch back to 7th Avenue next time. My room wasn't ready yet so I checked my backpack with the concierge and went walkabout. I continued uptown on 8th to Central Park for a while and then circled back down 7th, checking for potential places for dinner along the way. Once back at my hotel I relaxed a bit and changed into my Nashville Lisa shirt for the evening. I met Charlie and Cheryl in the hotel lobby and we walked to Rosie O'Grady's where shared a wonderful meal and conversations about our mutual interests in trains and Ireland.
After dinner we walked the few blocks to the Irish Arts Center where we met Bill and Beth from Hershey. Finally the doors opened and they rolled out the red carpet. Literally! After retrieving our tickets from the miniature box office we waited impatiently for the theater to open. The venue is quite small and barely seats 100 people so it promised to be an intimate show. Bill, Beth, and I were in the front row, less than 5 feet from Lisa's microphone, while Charlie and Cheryl were right behind us in the second row. The stage was simple with a piano on the far left; a bass guitar, a mandolin, and an acoustic guitar just left of center; and electric and acoustic guitars to the right. After what seemed like an eternity Lisa finally emerged from the lobby (there is no stage door) along with instrumentalists Peter O'Toole and Fiachna Ó Braonáin (pronounced Feek-na O Brain-non), both from Lisa's former group, the Hothouse Flowers. Peter was playing the instruments to the left with Lisa in the center and Fiachna on the right. Liam Ó Maonlaí was also planned to be there but had a family emergency just before the show.
After introductions, she started right out with a new song, “Lost.” This was followed by a non-album track the she has sung at previous concerts, “I Can See You Shine,” one of the few upbeat songs of the night. Lisa then chatted a little about her residency at Kilruddery House in County Wicklow where most of the inspiration and writing for her new album took place. She said that most of what we would hear tonight would be material from the new album. Next was a wonderful ballad called, “Shelter.” The style of the new songs is very different than the songs on “Hiding Away.” They are almost exclusively slow ballads and have wonderful imagery and lyrics. I suspect the album versions to be somewhat different but the live versions were very interactive with extended choruses and with the audience being encouraged (even cajoled in my case!) to sing along. Next was “Glide” followed by “It's Gotta Be Love,” one of only a few songs from her first album. Then Peter sang a solo called “Watching for the Daybreak,” followed by Fiachna singing a solo called “Your Love.” Lisa then ended the first act with another new song called “Heartbeat.”
The second act opened with a gorgeous song dedicated to “absent friends” called “Hope.” I was completely unprepared for the impact that song would have on me. It's a lament about lost friends and loved ones and about the hopes that we have for them. There are several lines in the song that struck a nerve but one in particular, “I hope you're happy now,” got me teary-eyed as I thought about Brad, Henny, Glenn, Ralph and other friends that I miss dearly. It is something that I certainly hope is true for them and during the rest of the second act that line continued to play in my head. I can't remember ever being affected by a single line of song like that. It was a little unnerving.
Lisa then explained how the next song, “Venus,” was inspired by a small farmer's gate called Venus Gate. Then she announced that Gabe Dixon was in the house. Some of you may remember that Lisa performed with him during her brief album launch tour in 2015. He had a gig of his own the following night but stopped in to see Lisa tonight. She had him come up and sit at the piano. He then performed three of his songs, “Even the Rain,” “If I Love You,” and “The Further the Sky,” while Lisa, Peter, and Fiachna sang harmony and played along. After that it was back to Lisa but Gabe stayed at the piano and improvised chords and harmony for the rest of the set. The next two songs were new ballads called “Dust” and “Turn the Lights Out.” Lisa then thanked everyone and the second act finished with another new song, “Hazlewood.” We gave them a standing ovation but, of course, that wasn't really the end. They returned to the stage for the encore of “All We Are” from “Hiding Away.” And with that it really was over.
We adjourned to the lobby and waited while Lisa chatted with the many close friends who, like us, were there to support her. She made time for all of us and we exchanged hugs, talked about the show, and posed for pictures. It was after midnight when we finally started walking back to our hotels. It had been a fabulous night and well worth the trip.
When Lisa announced that she would be performing in New York City at the end of September I immediately made arrangements to attend. She would be giving two concerts at the Irish Arts Center on September 29 and 30, a Friday and Saturday, so I wouldn't even need to take time off from work. I have driven in Manhattan before and I have vowed to never do it again so taking the train was the obvious choice. I left Harrisburg at 10:05am Friday morning and arrived at Penn Station around 1:30pm. I debated whether to take the subway to my hotel but opted to walk since it was a beautiful warm afternoon. Usually I take 7th Avenue when I walk uptown from the station but decided to give 8th Avenue a chance since my hotel was at 8th and 51st. I wasn't impressed and I think I'll switch back to 7th Avenue next time. My room wasn't ready yet so I checked my backpack with the concierge and went walkabout. I continued uptown on 8th to Central Park for a while and then circled back down 7th, checking for potential places for dinner along the way. Once back at my hotel I relaxed a bit and changed into my Nashville Lisa shirt for the evening. I met Charlie and Cheryl in the hotel lobby and we walked to Rosie O'Grady's where shared a wonderful meal and conversations about our mutual interests in trains and Ireland.
After dinner we walked the few blocks to the Irish Arts Center where we met Bill and Beth from Hershey. Finally the doors opened and they rolled out the red carpet. Literally! After retrieving our tickets from the miniature box office we waited impatiently for the theater to open. The venue is quite small and barely seats 100 people so it promised to be an intimate show. Bill, Beth, and I were in the front row, less than 5 feet from Lisa's microphone, while Charlie and Cheryl were right behind us in the second row. The stage was simple with a piano on the far left; a bass guitar, a mandolin, and an acoustic guitar just left of center; and electric and acoustic guitars to the right. After what seemed like an eternity Lisa finally emerged from the lobby (there is no stage door) along with instrumentalists Peter O'Toole and Fiachna Ó Braonáin (pronounced Feek-na O Brain-non), both from Lisa's former group, the Hothouse Flowers. Peter was playing the instruments to the left with Lisa in the center and Fiachna on the right. Liam Ó Maonlaí was also planned to be there but had a family emergency just before the show.
After introductions, she started right out with a new song, “Lost.” This was followed by a non-album track the she has sung at previous concerts, “I Can See You Shine,” one of the few upbeat songs of the night. Lisa then chatted a little about her residency at Kilruddery House in County Wicklow where most of the inspiration and writing for her new album took place. She said that most of what we would hear tonight would be material from the new album. Next was a wonderful ballad called, “Shelter.” The style of the new songs is very different than the songs on “Hiding Away.” They are almost exclusively slow ballads and have wonderful imagery and lyrics. I suspect the album versions to be somewhat different but the live versions were very interactive with extended choruses and with the audience being encouraged (even cajoled in my case!) to sing along. Next was “Glide” followed by “It's Gotta Be Love,” one of only a few songs from her first album. Then Peter sang a solo called “Watching for the Daybreak,” followed by Fiachna singing a solo called “Your Love.” Lisa then ended the first act with another new song called “Heartbeat.”
The second act opened with a gorgeous song dedicated to “absent friends” called “Hope.” I was completely unprepared for the impact that song would have on me. It's a lament about lost friends and loved ones and about the hopes that we have for them. There are several lines in the song that struck a nerve but one in particular, “I hope you're happy now,” got me teary-eyed as I thought about Brad, Henny, Glenn, Ralph and other friends that I miss dearly. It is something that I certainly hope is true for them and during the rest of the second act that line continued to play in my head. I can't remember ever being affected by a single line of song like that. It was a little unnerving.
Lisa then explained how the next song, “Venus,” was inspired by a small farmer's gate called Venus Gate. Then she announced that Gabe Dixon was in the house. Some of you may remember that Lisa performed with him during her brief album launch tour in 2015. He had a gig of his own the following night but stopped in to see Lisa tonight. She had him come up and sit at the piano. He then performed three of his songs, “Even the Rain,” “If I Love You,” and “The Further the Sky,” while Lisa, Peter, and Fiachna sang harmony and played along. After that it was back to Lisa but Gabe stayed at the piano and improvised chords and harmony for the rest of the set. The next two songs were new ballads called “Dust” and “Turn the Lights Out.” Lisa then thanked everyone and the second act finished with another new song, “Hazlewood.” We gave them a standing ovation but, of course, that wasn't really the end. They returned to the stage for the encore of “All We Are” from “Hiding Away.” And with that it really was over.
We adjourned to the lobby and waited while Lisa chatted with the many close friends who, like us, were there to support her. She made time for all of us and we exchanged hugs, talked about the show, and posed for pictures. It was after midnight when we finally started walking back to our hotels. It had been a fabulous night and well worth the trip.