Sharon Shannon

Traditional concerts can at times be monotonous - endless jigs and reels, played without any sense of a larger purpose. Sharon Shannon's lively performance at HQ showed that it doesn't have to be that way.

Shannon was working with a five-piece band: Liz and Yvonne Kane (fiddles), Mary Shannon (banjo, mandolin and fiddle), Jim Murray (guitar), and James Blennerhassett (electric bass). Their varied approach was evident straightaway. One set opened with a slow reel (performed by Murray as a guitar solo), then moved to an up-tempo jig and a reel. The shifts in tempo and instrumentation made for absorbing listening.

Murray came into his own on Paddy's Ramblings Through the Park, a slow melody which he played in a delicate, almost classical style before launching into a high-powered jig.

Mary Shannon stayed mainly in the background, but she did perform a dazzling set of reels on the banjo. Meanwhile, Sharon was at her virtuoso best on Charlie Lennon's Dance of the Honey- bees. She opened with a lyrical solo, decorated with clipped ornaments, then shifted into a fast reel. She approached the melody here with reckless improvisational freedom. This was followed by a romantic, full-band version of Steve Cooney's Each Little Thing. Here, Shannon's solo was beautifully shaped with long, seamless phrases.

The second half of the concert featured a show-stopping full-band rendition of The Mouth of Tobique. Liam O'Maonlai made a brief appearance, duetting with Shannon, before the band closed with a four-fiddle version of The Bag of Cats.