Music Review - Ireland's Dervish and Québec's Le Vent du Nord Storm the APAP World Music Showcase

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Photo of Dervish: Therese Cox

How it’s New York: The APAP (Association of Presenters and Performers) World Music Showcase, featuringDervish and Le Vent du Nord, took place last month at Drom in New York City’sEast Village.

How it’s Irish: Dervish hail from the West of Ireland and are one of Ireland’s premier trad bands; Le Vent du Nord play traditionalFrench-Canadian music with strong Celtic influences.
Therese Cox attended the showcase and writes a review of thenight: On a cold, drizzly January night, Dervish and Le Vent du Nord brought agust of rousing music, a swirl of storytelling, and bit of warmth to Drom onAvenue A.
Forget about the Eskimos’ fifty words for snow. The Irishhave just as many words for bad weather – and just as many ways for dealingwith it. It’s fitting, then, that both bands that played the APAP World MusicShowcase at Drom on this dreary January night – Ireland’s Dervish and Québec’sLe Vent du Nord (the phrase translates as “the North wind”) -- have names thatevoke a windswept, weathered landscape. Although the bands hail from differentparts of the world, the spirited energy they brought to their music andperformances acted as a perfect complement to one another – and a fittingantidote for the bitter weather.

Photo of Le Vent du Nord: Therese Cox

Call me a traditionalist, but I think the best way to enjoytrad music is huddled indoors while a storm rages outside. There should be anip of whiskey not far away and a peat fire burning. Hoots and hollers springup while musicians gather round and let loose on the tunes. For my turf fire this Monday night, I had to settlefor flickering votives. Instead of Ireland’s rugged landscape, there wasa distinctly East Village vibe to the black walls, deep-colored drapes, exposedbrick, and ponderous chandeliers, while servers in black and a bearded fella ina trompe l’oeil tuxedo shirt shuttled complicated cocktails to the tables.Fortunately, the music brought plenty of spark and warmth to the evening, making it easy to be sweptaway. I took to heart the warm, wry advice of Dervish’s Cathy Jordan, who told the gathered crowd to sit back and “Enjoy yourselves – for God’s sake!”
While Dervish’s melodies took the audience through therugged fields of the West of Ireland, Le Vent du Nord’s invitation was to the countryside of Québec. Both bands are heavy-hitters in thetraditional musical world, garnering praise and honors throughout North Americaand beyond. Both brought a vibrant, full sound to the stage, performingtraditional songs with contemporary energy, the chemistry among band membersevident and well-earned after many years of performing together. This showmarked the first excursion into New York City for Le Vent du Nord, and let us hopethey will come back soon!

Photo of Dervish: Therese Cox

Dervish stormed the stage first. Featuring Brian McDonagh onmandola, Liam Kelly on flutes and whistles, Tom Morrow on fiddle,Shane Mitchell on accordion, Cathy Jordan on vocals and bodhrán, and MichaelHolmes on bouzouki, Dervish combined stirring traditional Irish music withtheatrical energy. It’s a thrill to watch a group at the height of theirpowers, and the easy chemistry that flowed from player to player made Dervish's set dynamic. Cathy Jordan’s strong stage presence anchored Dervish throughout the set,as she alternated between singing and bodhrán. Her ethereal yet earthyvocalizations provided ornamentation over a solid set that ranged fromtraditional Irish ballads to energetic hornpipes to a handful of slowed-downjigs that showcased the band’s impeccable musicianship.

Photo of Tom Morrow and Cathy Jordan: Therese Cox

Storytelling tookcenter stage as Jordan, between songs, led the audience through the narratives,from the tale of a crossdressing woman who joined the navy to a haunting lamentfor the unfortunate children in Ireland who were farmed away to other families.Jordan’s wry introductions lightened the heavy material, including the murderballad about a man who murdered his too-lazy wife. Quipped Jordan before theband launched into the lilting 6/8 ballad, to be featured on the band’s newalbum, out this February: “To all you married people out there – beware.Make sure you get up and feed the hens.” Another highlight was the band’srendition of “Boots of Spanish Leather,” which was a passionate and quiethaunting of a song. The closing piece – a set called “The Cornerhouse” – showedDervish at their most energetic and rousing and ended the set on a high note.

Photo of Simon Beaudry: Therese Cox

Le Vent du Nord’s New York City debut was by turns raucousand nuanced, a beautifully crafted showcase of traditional Québecois music,seasoned with strong Celtic and Cajun flavors. The four musicians, who havebeen playing music together for over ten years, brought a charisma to thematerial that is unmatched, sharing their enthusiasm for the material with theaudience as they performed songs from their latest album, Tromper le Temps (which translates as "fooling time"). The words were in French, but their ability to communicate with theaudience transcended the language barrier. The audience did, I note, include ascattering of enthusiastic Francophone fans who gaily sang along with the bandon traditional rave-ups like “Au Bord de la Fontaine.” An emotional highlightof the show was the group’s moving a capella rendition of “Le Retour du FilsSoldat,” that held the audience spellbound.

Photo of Le Vent du Nord: Therese Cox

The band’s Simon Beaudry (guitar,bouzouki) and Nicolas Boulerice (hurdy-gurdy, piano) alternated main vocalduties, while Réjean Brunet’s charismatic accordion, bass, and jaw harpaccentuated the tunes with a full sound and Olivier Demer’s driving violin andfoot-tapping kept the energy level high. Boulerice’s hurdy-gurdy added a grindinggrittiness to the band’s sound, and by the end of the show, the crowd was onits feet, clapping and stomping along as the band smiled and plowed their waythrough the end of a fantastic set. The band’s energy is positive andinfectious. Did I add how hard it can be to bring a black-clad, East Villagecrowd to its feet, smiling and clapping? Not a problem for Le Vent du Nord.

Photo of Le Vent du Nord: Therese Cox

After the show, I spoke with Nicolas Boulerice about thematerial, interested to learn more about the storytelling. Fortunately, Le Vent du Nord’s website has full translations of many of the band’s songs, which iswell worth checking out. I also couldn’t resist asking Boulerice about thegenesis of the band’s name. Just as the band gathers much of their materialfrom their ancestors – their version of “Au Bord de la Fontaine” was inspiredby a version passed down from Boulerice’s father from the Richelieu Valley – sodo they borrow the phrase “Le Vent du Nord” from a phrase passed down fromBoulerice’s grand-uncle. “There is a phrase," Boulerice says, "That goes, ‘Le vent dunord est toujours frette, peu importe de quell bord y vient.’” The phrase translatesroughly as “The northern wind is always cold, no matter which direction it’scoming from.” Sounds like Irish weather to my ears.