BY MELISSA RUGGIERI
When you see the ease with which Paddy Moloney switches from tin whistle to Uilleann pipes, his hands constantly in motion and his left boot-clad foot continually bumping against the stage floor, you realize immediately that even at 76, the leader of The Chieftains is plenty spry.
At the group’s performance Friday night at Atlanta Symphony Hall, the diminutive and smile-provoking Moloney fronted an ace team of musicians, including his longtime Chieftains mates Kevin Conneff on bodhrán and vocals and Matt Molloy on flute and tin whistle.
During their two-set show – which repeats at the venue on Saturday – The Chieftains traveled through their 53-year career not only with their own playing, but with a hefty assist from the ASO (during the second half), teams of incredible Irish step dancers and vocals by lovely Scottish singer Alyth McCormack.
At times, such as when Conneff stood center stage, hands casually stuffed in pockets, and crooned “The Top of the Mountain” a capella, the crowd reacted with hushed reverence.
But the audience – which included actor John Lithgow, in town filming "The Accountant" with Ben Affleck – was also just as quick to clap along the moment Moloney fired up his Uilleann pipes, giving the performance the feel of a traditional ceilidh.
While McCormack enchanted with her take on the atmospheric “Raglan Road,” accompanied only by harpist Triona Marshall at the song’s end, it was the spirited fiddle playing and dancing of Jon Pilatzke that frequently commanded attention.
An early highlight came with the video accompaniment of NASA astronaut Cady Coleman playing Moloney’s pennywhistle aboard the International Space Station as it orbited the earth in 2011. Coleman contributed the song “"The Chieftains in Orbit" to the band’s most recent album, 2012’s “Voice of Ages,” and as the footage of her playing in space rolled on video screens, The Chieftains played along with it live.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
When the ASO, with Joseph Young conducting, arrived for the second half of the show, they were also joined by the Grady High School Chamber Singers, with director Kevin Hill.
The Chieftains and the orchestra unveiled “Shenandoah,” their collaboration with Van Morrison, and “Long Journey Home (Anthem),” the Elvis Costello-penned song from their 1998 Grammy-winning album, “Long Journey Home.”
Both sounded rich and sumptuous, but were quickly upstaged by the epic “Galician Overture” from their 1996 album, “Santiago,” dedicated to the traditional music of Galicia in Spain. Accents of flamenco guitar and tambourine coupled with Moloney’s mournful pipes captivated with their beauty, but soon the piece rollicked into changing tempos and stomping feet, only to be reined in again.
The Chieftains are in the midst of a month-long tour – their usual stint in the U.S. – and some tickets remain for Saturday's performance. The band's musical precision and genuine affection for the music hasn't diminished, so if you've yet to catch them live, it might be time.
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