The Waterboys at The Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul (10/19/13) concert review

It was more than appropriate to see a whole and full moon in the Autumn sky driving into St. Paul Saturday night for a sold-out performance by Irish rockers, The Waterboys.



Led by singer-songwriter Mike Scott and fiddler Steve Wickham; this incarnation, the so-called ‘American’ Waterboys (w/East Coast-based musicians Jay Barclay [guitar]; Daniel Mintseris [keys]; Malcolm Gold [bass]; Chris Benelli [drums]) delivered with a performance covering the gamut of their distinctive ‘Big Music’ blend of rock and roll with Celtic folk tinged origins, on their first proper U.S. Tour in over six years.

Freddie Stevenson

Edinburgh singer/songwriting troubadour Freddie Stevenson (who co-authored a couple recent Waterboys tracks and is now based in NYC) began the evening with an endearing 35 min. of storytelling folk songs, most lifted from his 2011 release, The City is King (Animal Locomotion Music).



“Nice place, I played here before – nice to be back with my confederates”, Mike Scott mentioned looking about the balconies of the Fitzgerald Theater after beginning their set with the quiet-tempo’d ‘Strange Boat’ next amping up into the swaying ‘Fisherman’s Blues’, then an early classic, ‘A Girl Called Johnny’.

Photo of Setlist

New songs like the bluesy and autobiographical ‘Still a Freak’ (a contending track for a future album) and cuts from their latest, Appointment with Mr. Yeats (Proper American Records) integrated in well with the older tracks and proved to be some of the evening’s many highlights. Scott and his ever-changing roster has always deftly melded the influence of traditional Irish music, soul, rock & roll, mysticism, blues, a love of Presley, Hendrix, and now the poet Yeats, into a unique and polished sound, spanning now over thirty years.

The Waterboys: violins

Dublin-based wingman Wickham anchored their songs with riffs heard from his electric and acoustic violins and his chemistry with guitarist Jay Barkley (as well as Scott) was more than evident on this night. The new ‘Song of Wandering Aengus’ began slow and piano based, before ending climatically with a stunning solo from guitarist Barkley. Traditional-based classic ‘When Ye Go Away’ followed with Wickham both on mandolin and fiddle, then the bouncy ‘Glastonbury Song’ with unforgettable chorus, “I just found God…where he always was”.



‘White Birds’, based on a Yeats “supreme love poem” started quietly and stretched impressively, with Scott following that by hopping over to the piano for the short-but-sweet ‘Spirit’, merging that into their biggest hit ‘The Whole of the Moon’. A massive ‘Mad as the Wind and Snow’ brought out facemasks on Barkley and Wickham for a waltzing, mock instrumental duel, ending with Scott himself in a three-faced mask, emoting Yeats’ poetry for a dramatic and epic ending. The trumpet intro of ‘Don’t Bang the Drum’ began to rapturous applause and the main set finished with the classic track from 1985’s This is the Sea.

The Waterboys Takes a Bow

The encore began with a traditional fiddle solo by Wickham with lush ballad ‘You in the Sky’ following, before the amp-vibrating ‘Be My Enemy’ recalled the more garage sound of their early days. As the rest of the band thought the set was over and began shedding their instruments, Scott called out for one last number (perhaps a treat to the audience for being away so long) and ripped in to a brief but rocking ‘At the Hop’.



The two-hour performance purposely rose and ebbed like the tide, with Scott and co. slightly more reserved than I’d seen in shows past when everyone was younger. I also found myself occasionally missing a female background voice on some of the tracks that had featured one on the recorded version, but the six-year wait was in the end fulfilled by a triumphant performance from a visionary artist still producing relevant and moving music. You could say we were “over the moon” about it all.

john
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