What a special evening this was, with the intimate surroundings of Whelan’s proving to be the perfect environment, where a strong sense of community, superbly eclectic music, and inspired storytelling was delivered by Emma Langford in such an engaging and creative fashion. It has been ten years since she first started out singing her own songs in public and tried to develop her fledgling activities into a full-time career.
Emma has subtitled this current tour of towns and venues throughout Ireland as “Ten Years On And She’s Still At The Feckin’ Music (Isn’t She Very Brave All The Same, In This Economy.” This tells you all you need to know regarding her strong sense of fun and her natural ability to spin a tale. Emma has a great turn of phrase onstage and an even more natural ability to communicate effortlessly with her audience. It’s like we are all gathered in her living room for an evening of chat, music, and storytelling around the fire.
Throughout the evening, she introduces her songs with interesting stories from Irish folk mythology and magical thinking. The three musicians that create the healing music this evening are Dr. Alec Brown (cello, tin whistle, flute), Hannah Nic Gearailt (keyboards), and Emma Langford (guitars, percussion board, Shreya Box). All three blended together in vocal harmonies that were truly sublime to witness.
Shining above everything is the truly beautiful voice of Emma, with her quiet power, pure delivery, and rich tone. A singer who has mastered her instrument to such an elevated level, and who performs vocal dynamics that are quite breath-taking in parts. She delivers a set that includes songs from each of her two albums, including favourites such as Sowing Acorns, Song For My Younger Self, and the Winding Way Down To Kells Bay. Her fellow musicians play with such perception and grace, always in service of the song and deliver a wonderful example of real quality in the creative spaces. Dr. Alec Brown achieved a Ph.D. Irish Traditional Music on the cello, and his experimentation with electronic ambient soundscapes is very impressive to see in such close quarters.
His foot pedal board lit up like a small runway, as he seeks different effects while playing, probing new ways to colour his performance with a touch of his bare toes on the different sound possibilities at his disposal. Alec also contributes on both tin whistle and flute, across different songs and his story that introduces the trio of songs An Sulán, Crónán na mBeach, and the Crónán na mBeach jig, is fascinating in the telling.
The river Sullane (An Sulán) is in Ballyvourney, Co. Cork and is a cursed river with local folklore telling of its demand to take a human sacrifice every seven years. This is the opening part of the song-triptych which leads into Emma singing the song of bees, Crónán na mBeach, followed by Hannah Nic Gearailt playing a terrific melodic and rhythmic tempo on her keyboards. Such accomplished musicians in every way, and so well practiced in performing together.
Another instrumental played by Alec Brown is Port Na bPucai (Song of the Spirits), and Emma also brings another highlight with her velvet vocal performance on Sólás ón nDólás (Comfort from Sorrow). A new song Refuge is introduced by Emma as an autistic love song and she performs on solo acoustic guitar before a powerhouse delivery on Abigail has the audience responding with prolonged applause. The power of women to stand against all challenges and impediments is the essence of Birdsong, with the audience singing along, as indeed they also do on Tug O’ Love with practiced three-part harmonies. Another special moment. Hunting the Hare and I Am Not Yours are songs borne of both anger and frustration; the first at the state of the world and the cruelty it witnesses at the hand of humankind; the latter an attack on a former partner whose ego created a false scenario that brought much frustration to an already fraught situation.
The final song of the evening was Goodbye Hawaii and the pop soul swing is a perfect foil for a failing relationship “so I will hand you cello tape and superglue and staples / and I'll help you hold the pieces in place til’ you're fit and able.” In the song, Emma carries off a remarkable imitation of a trumpet, using her vocal chords, and it would be hard to tell the difference between this and the real thing if you closed your eyes – a remarkable cameo that brings spontaneous applause and cheering.
It really was a joy to be present on this special evening of songs from the heart, coupled with musicianship of the highest quality. Emma deserves far greater media recognition for the natural talent she holds and the consummate way in which she delivers a performance of real class.
A word also for the opening act tonight, Christian Wethered, a Dublin-based songwriter who writes songs of fragile honesty and quiet resonance. In his short set he featured Into The Garden, Mr Medicine Man, Isa and a Bob Dylan cover of Tomorrow Is A Long Time. His shy stage persona was in marked contrast to Emma Langford, but the audience was very attentive and gave Christian the reaction that his interesting performance warranted.
Review and photos by Paul McGee