`The music is not the same in my country, but it speaks the same language," observed Croatian Gabric Branko as he opened his eyes following a rendition of Sting's Fields of Gold, delivered by Galway singer/musician Sean Keane. It was Christmas week in Vienna and Branko was at his office party in the city's Metropol Music Hall, where Keane and a group of Irish musicians were playing the final gig of a 20-concert tour of Austria.
Until recently, Branko had never heard of the Irish traditional singer, but colleagues who were fans suggested coming, he explained. "I'm very happy I did. He has such a strong, pure voice." And he closed his eyes as Keane's next song began. Gabric was one of some 900 people in this 1930s-style music hall who were listening in rapt attention to Keane and his band - Pete O'Hanlon on guitar, Maurice Lennon on fiddle and Michael McGinty on bass - during this Christmas gig. It is the fourth year an Keane has played in Vienna during Christmas week, part of an event which is billed The Irish Christmas Tour, and covers venues throughout Austria. He has been joined in different years by top names in Irish music, including Dordan, The Bumblebees, Charlie Lennon, Johnny Connolly and Eric Cunningham.
This year's line-up included accordion player and singer Mary Staunton from Mayo, living in Galway; bouzouki player Eoin O'Neill from Dublin; and Clare fiddler Mary Custy. There's a strong following for Irish music in Vienna and during the tunes, up to 20 members of Club Ceili Wien took to the floor to execute some very creditable set dancing. The annual Irish Christmas Tour has its roots in a summer music festival held in the Austrian town of Mistelbach six years ago. Through this, Keane met Dietmar Haslinger, part-owner of a pub in nearby St Poultin who organised gigs and an arts festival in his own town.
"We got chatting and he asked if I wanted to take him on as my agent," recalls an.Keane. "We started the following Christmas with about 10 gigs. They were very well organised and we did it again." Haslinger vividly remembers his first festival with an.Keane. "It was my first gig with an Irish artist and since then I've been hooked on Irish music." And, apart from this annual Christmas tour, Haslinger is a serious year-round promoter of Irish music in Austria.
"I brought all the bands from the Christmas tour back for solo tours. Dordan have done three so far, the Bumblebees two, while Johnny Connolly and Charlie Lennon are coming over in May. Apart from that, I've also successfully toured with Crann, Nomos, Sean Tyrrell and others." But the biggest name on his books is Keane. "I'm very proud that I built up Sean to where he is now in Austria. You saw how the people in the Metropol loved him and this is representative of all the venues we play."
The Irish Christmas 2000 Tour encompassed 20 gigs including one in northern Italy which required a six-hour journey over the Alps. The convoy comprised two minibuses driven by Haslinger and the tour's sound man, Martin, who brought the musicians to his mother's house for tea when they played in his home town of St Poultin. It's that warmth which Keane loves about Austria and it has led to many friendships locally, particularly in Mistelbach, where his association with Austria began. Each year, when he and his band visit the town, they are presented with gifts by local artist Franz Kuntz.
But while Austria certainly has welcomed Keane with open arms, the country's reputation has taken a battering in recent times following the election of Jorg Haider's far-right party as part of its ruling coalition. It's worrying, he says and is "a topic of conversation among many of the people I meet". Some musicians have chosen not to tour Austria while the current situation exists, but Keane doesn't adopt that stance.
"Going to Austria is more than just a tour for me now. I've friends here and will continue to come here and play for those people. I believe those people who don't support him need the support of people from outside. "A lot of people didn't vote for him. There are weekly anti-Haider demonstrations in Vienna and there's an anti-Haider play touring Austria at the moment which is getting great reviews and full houses."
While he feels that, as a visitor to the country, it's not his place to preach, he does make the occasional observation from the stage. During his Metropol gig, as he introduced Roses, a song by Tommy Sands about the tragedy of a community in Northern Ireland which was racked by sectarianism, he commented on the importance of tolerance when different communities live together. While it wasn't exactly a heavy political message, you sense he was making a point. RTE's John Creedon received an e-mail to his Radio 1 music show, from one Marie Cherry in Vienna. She wanted to hear Sean Keane sing - again. Austrian born Cherry and her American lecturer husband were at the Vienna gig, where she was one of the set dancers. "I am part of the Club Ceili Wien and come to see Sean every year," she announces says, proudly, after the gig.
This year's gig was the end of a short era: after six years, Keane is taking a break from Christmas touring in Austria. "This year Sean and myself decided that the Irish Christmas 2001 will be going on without him, as we want to try new things, so I will tour Sean in October," says Helsinger. However, he is already planning for the event. "The Irish Christmas 2001 will feature Lunasa and Karan Casey and band."