Present Music celebrated halfway to St. Patrick's Day with its production of "Irish Stew" at the Irish Cultural & Heritage Center on Saturday night -- and gee, was it a lot of fun!
I had never been to the center before and was fascinated by the unique space -- a former Catholic Church with a huge mongo pipe organ towering behind the stage area. The woodwork, high ceilings and stained glass all added to the uniqueness and character of the experience, which is a Present Music concert. It was especially uncommon when we were informed at the start of the program that we could "feel free to bring beer into the sanctuary." And so I did.
The show got off to a kick ass start with the Shamrock Club Color Guard Pipes and Drums and "100,000 welcomes" from storyteller Eamonn O'Neill.
The Present Music Ensemble then moved into two pieces that rather reminded me of a feisty leprechaun jumping about and incorporated the shouting of letters and whistling.
Then came the fabulous Mary Jane Lamond who hails from Cape Breton Island and whose songs from the Scottish Gaelic tradition were both beautiful and moving. At rick of sounding cheesy, I will dare to say that her voice seemed to come straight from her soul. And the acoustics in that old sanctuary were pretty darn good.
Lamond then treated us to some "mouth music" (Gaelic songs that were originally only sung and were meant to imitate the sound of bagpipes or fiddle when they were not present to enable people to dance). That said, Lamond performed the song with a stage full of musicians who merrily complimented her mouth. And that lady on those funky, round drums in the back corner was getting down.
The concert took a certain mysterious spin throughout which seemed appropriate for the chill in the air and the nearing of Samhain. In fact, at some points the music fairly resembled a soundtrack to a horror movie. The space seemed appropriate with the looming pipes and shadows dancing high up in the gables.
Then came the sexy red harp, Celtic dancers with legs flying, Cory Smythe playing the inside of the piano, and much more to stir the senses and boggle the mind. It was a pleasure to witness these artists living their dharma. It made me think to myself, "isn't planet earth cool ... with all the diversity in the world? The diversity in music? With all the beautiful ways to express the human experience?"
Jessica Laub was born in Milwaukee in the spring of 1970, thereafter spending her childhood days enjoying the summers on the shores of Lake Michigan and winters at the toboggan chute in Brown Deer Park.
Alas, she moved away to broaden her horizons, and studied out East for a few years at Syracuse University. After a semester "abroad" at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, she graduated with a B.A. in English and advertising.
After college, she worked at Glacier National Park, a ski hill in Steamboat, Col. and organic farms in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California.
In 1995, Laub moved to Nicaragua where she worked on community gardens, reforestation and environmental education as a Peace Corps volunteer. While there, she learned to speak Spanish, pay attention to world politics and how to make tortillas.
Laub then returned to Milwaukee to join the ranks of the non-profit sector. Currently, she works at the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) and keeps busy by painting, throwing pots, reading, trying to understand her two-year old son, seeing performances and howling at the moon.
