Concert Report: Natalie MacMaster, October 23 2006

I just got back from my third Natalie MacMaster concert. Natalie, for those who don't know, is a fantastic fiddle player from Cape Breton, Canada. Cape Breton has a long tradition of Scottish-style music, especially fiddling. Natalie starts with that, but ends up at a crossroads of the modern and the old with her rock-and-roll band.

As I mentioned above, I've seen her play three times now. I'd have to say that this was the very best of all three concerts. Natalie put an atomic bomb's worth of energy into her performance tonight. She was dancing around on the stage all night (even with a broken toe!), interacting with her fellow musicians and generally having a great time. Very few of the tunes were slow; most of them were fast-paced sets of strathspeys and reels, stuff that gets the crowd worked up.

She played a handful of songs from her new album, Yours Truly, including "David's Jig," "Flea As A Bird," "Danny Boy" (with guitarist Brad D. on vocals) and "Volcanic Jig," which I believe she actually played twice. That doesn't matter, because it's such a great tune that I could listen to it again and again. Seeing her play it live made me appreciate it even more. She also played "Jig Party" from her Blueprint album, and of course there cannot be a Natalie MacMaster concert without the beautiful "Blue Bonnets Over The Border." That is probably her signature tune over the years. She even managed to squeeze in "Tullochgorum," going straight into it with no slower intro.

She was very friendly with the crowd, telling us news about her life and cracking many jokes. She's quite the adorable woman, I must say. She may look like a rock star but you can't take the Cape Breton out of the girl. Even with a broken toe, Natalie pleased the crowd by performing a solo stepdance routine. It didn't seem to do her toe any good, but she did it anyway and I really appreciate that.

As usual, the finale and encore were just awesome. She and the band played a long, wild medley of reels and other things. Everyone put in some hard work and Natalie played her wildest on the fiddle. The crowd wanted more and the energy was so thick you could cut it, what with everyone standing and clapping and yelling and stomping their feet for an encore. Natalie and the band came out and performed "Matt and Nat's," beginning with a killer electric guitar performance by Brad. The fiddle and pipes finally kicked along with the rest of the band, and Natalie showed the crowd that she can, indeed, rock and roll.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet her after the show. I brought my camera but I didn't take any pictures because of the angle of my seat, and out of respect for Natalie. The next time she comes around here, I'll try my best to meet her and get a picture taken with her. Until then, I'll have great memories of tonight's concert.