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Jimmy MacCarthy

Venue: Hawkswell Theatre
Town: Sligo
Date: 27/11/14
Website: http://www.jimmymaccarthy.net

Long regarded as one of Ireland's true songwriting elite, it has been a very considerable time since I've seen Jimmy MacCarthy play live. Accompanied on this occasion by his nephew, Christopher MacCarthy Wall, on keyboards, guitar and spine tingling vocal harmonies, Jimmy held us in the palm of his hand for two and a half hours, as hit followed hit, interspersed with some slightly less familiar material. The Hawkswell is a warm, inviting venue also, something which wasn't lost on our hero as, seating himself behind his piano, he welcomed us before quietly launching into "Shadowing", a song-appropriately enough-about enticement.

From there on, what developed was a two-way conspiracy of hearts, as he sang and joked his way through what is one of the most impressive song catalogues around. For the first time in my memory, he explained each one of the songs in no little detail-the reference to "Amelia, learning to fly" in "No Frontiers", so successfully covered by Mary Black related to his late mother being taken to the Cork Air Show as a child. She went on to get her pilot's licence later, having developed a fascination for flight! Other examples abounded, as we were taken into the heart of this wonderful material.

What emerged in the course of the evening-aside from the musical and personal empathy between the two participants-was just how much a part of Jimmy's essence these songs are, his aside about his late songwriting partner Kent Robbins perfectly illustrating the point. On hearing a sketch of "A Dance As Old As Tears", Robbins remarked that"it sounded like a preamble to the American Constitution". MacCarthy's response was"what's a preamble?!".

In sum, this was an evening of quality material, beautifully performed by two artists who have clearly invested much in making these songs into living, breathing things, whose permanence in the songwriting canon is long since assured. As close to perfect as it gets. Truly, truly wonderful.

Oliver P. Sweeney

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