A Night At the Spreckels

On March 10th, 2016, just over two weeks ago, I got to go to an incredible concert at the Spreckels Theater in downtown San Diego. 

For those of you who don't know already, I am a big fan of Loreena McKennitt.  Her music is primarily Celtic, but is often infused with a myriad of other global influences.  I've been hooked since the seventh grade, courtesy of my Literature and Language Arts teacher Mrs. Rienick.  We were studying Alfred Noyes' poem "The Highwayman" in class and she played Loreena's recording at the end of that week.  After getting the entire album (The Book of Secrets) for my 13th birthday, I had been enjoying song after song, and eagerly awaiting each album for close to eleven years. 

I had missed out on seeing Loreena twice since I had been introduced to her music.  The first time was when she performed at Humphrey's Concerts By the Bay; I found out she was touring the day after the concert.  The second time I missed her was just after I had booked my flights in and out of Seattle (I was planning a visit with my aunt) when I found out that she was scheduled to play at Woodland Park Zoo on the day of my flight back home.  I guess the third time really was the charm, and being able to attend in such a beautiful and intimate venue as Spreckels more than made up for the close calls and temporary disappointment. 

And speaking of charm, take a look at the theater...




The stage, all set up...

...and directly above.  I had to crane my neck for this shot, but oh was it worth it! 

To the left of the mural...

...and the right.  Can you imagine all the work that went into every beautiful detail, and then the work of maintaining it all?

The concert was a trio performance with Loreena herself, guitarist Brian Hughes, and cellist Caroline Lavelle.  They were all absolutely incredible--Brian and Caroline are stellar musicians in their own right, and it was wonderful to see their talent shine as they each played multiple instruments.  Alongside her cello, Caroline was wonderful on the concertina and recorder; as was Brian on acoustic and electric guitars, bouzouki, and oud.  The concert opened with "Samain Night" from the album Parallel Dreams--I was thrilled to hear that one in a live performance, and it was the perfect starting piece along with "All Souls Night" (The Visit).  Her live rendition of "Annachie Gordon" had me on the verge of tears; the recording on Parallel Dreams is already emotionally loaded, but the atmosphere in the theater took it to another level. 

After "Between the Shadows" and "Bonny Portmore" (The Visit), the first set wrapped up with a series entitled "Tears of Grosse Île," named for an island near Quebec--Canada's version of Ellis Island, if you will.  After starting with the lively Morrison's Jig (Featuring crew member Errol Fischer on the fiddle), Loreena read aloud passages from her own journal entries as well as narratives depicting emigration from the famine and the notorious Easter Uprising some decades later.  I was absolutely swept away; although I had read about these instances through my own curiosity, and had learned further from my own trip to Ireland with my family, the emotion was so strong that is was as though I were learning of these tragedies for the first time.  The readings were peppered between "The Wind That Shakes the Barley," "Down by the Sally Gardens," and "The Emigration Tunes" (The Wind That Shakes the Barley).  The set finished with a particularly gorgeous rendition of "Lark in the Clear Air."  I love the version from her debut album Elemental, but with Loreena opting for the piano instead of the harp, this had to be the best rendition I had ever heard. 

After the intermission, the second set picked up with "On a Bright May Morning," followed by favorites like "The Stolen Child" (Elemental), "Penelope's Song" (An Ancient Muse), "The Lady of Shalott" and "The Old Ways" (The Visit), with talks and introductions in between.  The concert finished with "Dante's Prayer" (The Book of Secrets) as the "official" ending piece, but our troubadours were kind enough to return for an encore, with "The Mummers' Dance" (The Book of Secrets) and "Full Circle" (The Mask and Mirror). 



***

Loreena's talks in between songs seemed more like conversations than just introducing the next piece; when "Annachie Gordon" had me all choked up during the first half, her humorous anecdotes about her past travels, as well as the journeys between cities on the current tour, had me in stitches! 

Her stories also revealed much about us as a society, and how we parallel, converge, and diverge with others.  The accounts that particularly fascinated me were those of the importance of oral tradition around the world, and how those that still practice oral tradition can memorize verse after verse of epic ballads. or even an entire family tree; also fascinating was her input on connection technologies (or as Loreena so aptly puts it, "distraction technologies") and how they actually tend to disconnect us from others and the physical and natural world that surrounds us; I also noticed that it often removes us from true human interaction such as face-to-face conversations, eye contact, and the list goes on.  Yes, even as I write a blog about my experience, I agree.  Technology can be really cool sometimes, helpful even.  But we do need to just step back from the screen and be a part of the world we're trying to connect to. 

After the concert, I was debating whether or not to stay in the lobby, just in case Loreena came up for a meet-and-greet.  My mom, who attended the concert with me, waited a few minutes but wanted to get on the road soon--the drive back home is an hour, 45 minutes if we're lucky.  After going back and forth between the lobby and downstairs to check on the parking garage conga line, I heard a voice announce that Loreena was upstairs in the lobby meeting the remaining concertgoers.  I sprinted back upstairs and finally got to meet her!  She was so sweet, and very gracious!  I brought the booklet from my copy of The Book of Secrets, which she signed along with the program.  I really wanted to talk some more, but I flubbed by not letting myself.  I wanted to tell her about my introduction to her music starting with "The Highwayman" and how other songs of hers had helped me through other projects up through high school.  I'd hoped to be able to say how I originally wanted to be a veterinarian, too, and that connection struck a chord with me.  But a combination of excitement and just being frazzled from the week's events made it difficult for the words to come out. 

On the other hand, we did get a great picture...



...believe me, even from the look on my face you will never know just how wonderful the experience was and just how much it meant to me. 

Here's to great music, an incredible night, and a wonderful memory!  Thanks for everything, Loreena!