Cherish the Ladies

The Kodiak Arts Council brought in Cherish the Ladies for an evening of Irish folk music. The highschool has an auditorium that provided a packed venue for this eclectic and talented group. Led by an American-born Irish lass from the Bronx, the group featured gigs, ballads, rousing tunes, and feats on a whistles I never thought possible.

Michelle channeled Betsy Johnson in her dress but sang sad tunes and love ballads that made you take notice of nothing but the message of the heart in each note.

Joanie was a hoot. It was evident that she was raised in the Bronx, but her chides to the crowd, her fellow band mates, and the two male dancers that accompanied their group kept the crowd in stitches between sets.

KT, the redhead, Scottish piano player, composed a piece for her parents entitled Homecoming. Holding Brad's hand, I listened to the remarkable and exact striking of the piano keys. It rang true, simply said.

Mary played a guitar solo, and watching Roisin's willowy frame direct her fiddle bow was as if my eyes beheld a ballet dancer.

Dan Stacey, a fellow fiddle player who sometimes accompanies the Ladies, played two tunes for us. The latter of which he sat in his chair and danced. Seriously, his feet provided the Irish dancing accompaniment to his mean fiddle playing.

Later Dan was joined by a young man that Joanie knows from NYC. He is a half Irish and half Indian, unemployed, former Morgan Stanley broker who "landed on his feet" and came back to dancing once his position was terminated in the recent economic downturn. He was easy on the eyes, and I can only hope that Jennifer and Suketu's kids will be just as good looking, charming, and talented.

Take a few minutes and sit back to enjoy a taste of what Kodiak was privy to last night: http://www.cherishtheladies.com/videospage.htm