The Dick Smith-Mike
O'Reilly Band Click for reports from | Scotland | Nottingham |
Someone said on the internet "Britain survived the Blitz, but can it survive the Dick Smith/ Mike O'Reilly Band?" Yes it can and it did. They further suggested that "The great original material and the incredible instrumental prowness of Smith and Legere, Mike O'Reilly will have you rolling in the isles with his hilarious spontaneous comedy routines." And how right they were on that one! This was only our second time at the Tithe Barn, a lovely old building with an arched ceiling, dark wooden beams and a great ambience. Just like the first time we took a wrong turning, and arrived after the first band Dulaman had begun their first set. This time our daughter Pam was with us from California, looking forward to some authentic Bluegrass in England!
The place wasn't full and there seemed to be a dearth of the usual Bluegrassers in the audience. Well, those who stayed away missed a cracking evening! Mike O'Reilly (guitar, lead-harmony vocals), Dick Smith (banjo, harmony vocals), Bob Goff (bass, harmony vocals) and Ray Legere (fiddle, mandolin, lead-harmony vocals), started by saying that they were pleased to be here and that they felt that the audience was much better than the one the night before… "You guys are great, the guys last night were stupid." (The guys the night before know who they are…) From their opening number Ebenezer Jones with lead vocal by Mike O'Reilly on guitar, it was clear that this was a very professional outfit! The delivery was superb with a solid core of great Bluegrass songs and instrumentals like Pain In My Heart, some self-penned nembers and some good old traditional stuff. They paid tribute to the Old Vintage Bluegrass whilst even Bob Dylan was covered in Nashville Sky Line Rag! Back On The Fifth Line, a comment on how, no matter how bad things can be, if you leave you are always nostalgic for what used to be, was written by the guitar player.
Click pic for a larger image At this point in the proceedings the band showcased their exceptional fiddle player Ray Legere who played some Cape-Breton-style tunes, starting with a beautiful arrangement of Dark Island (which really got my Scots blood singing!) followed by a couple of faster traditional tunes, all beautifully played on solo fiddle as the rest of the band took this opportunity to fill up their glasses… and set their stall out. They finished their first set with an up-tempo version of The Old Swing Bridge in great tradgrass style. At The Tithe Barn refreshments are served by the local W.I. in the break, in the bar, really encouraging mingling. The Band manned a stall with their 'Products' and were really friendly and approachable, some of them behind the stall and some mixing in and chatting with people. The second half kicked off with Dulaman doing their second set. The Dick Smith and Mike O'Reilly Band opened their second set with a great version of Sad and Lonesome Day featuring Mike's superb 'high lonesome' voice. The whole band are good singers with plenty of spine-tingling harmonies. Ray Legere also showed his skill on lead vocals on the Merle Travis song Nine Pound Hammer done in hard driving style with a great banjo solo from Dick Smith. The boys really got into their stride in this second set, obviously enjoying themselves and playing their socks off, and Dick Smith excelled himself with a rip-roaring 'warp factor 9' version of Dear Old Dixie. Next Blow Wind Blow (a coal mining song) then Midnight Train. Up to this point Mike had been underpinning the great instrumental work with solid, chunky rhythm guitar, but he now proved he could really play by ripping off a great intro to their skit on The Kingston Trio! (For those a lot younger than me: they were a straight-laced folk trio, very popular on television way back.) This was followed by a superb version of the old murder ballad Pretty Polly in high gear and with powerful 'high lonesome' vocals from Mike O'Reilly and a smoking banjo solo from Dick Smith. Cracking stuff! The rest of the set rocked along including Mike O'Reilly's Henry Walker (which was recorded by Del McCoury). Drink Up and Go Home was a very short protest to the announcement that the bar was about to close! Footprints In The Snow, a blisteringly hot version of Rag Time Annie and Another Night finished off the second set. The audience wouldn't let them go without an encore so we got Shenandoa Breakdown (which could've been a disaster… the guitar unwittingly started in the wrong key; but these guys took this in their stride, finishing with a nifty 'shave and a haircut' ending). A smashing evening of superb Bluegrass. Jean Brandon, Chester. Write to
Bluegrass at Melling Tithebarn, Melling (near Liverpool) Saturday March 31st 2001 The American/Canadian quartet that played as The Dick Smith/Mike O'Reilly Band, on the sixth night of their first British tour, arrived a little late. But they soon showed their consummate professionalism and quickly made up for lost time. The band comprises Dick Smith on 5-string banjo, Mike O'Reilly on acoustic guitar, Ray Legere on fiddle and mandolin and Bob Goff on bass. Between them they have a wealth of experience. Dick has toured and recorded with some of the top names in bluegrass music, including the Country Gentlemen and the Del McCoury band, while Bob's CV even includes a stint with Kitty Wells. The band's repertoire includes traditional bluegrass songs such as Old Swinging Bridge and Pain In My Heart, as well as instrumentals, one of which featured a long unaccompanied fiddle solo. However, it is as a vehicle for Mike's song-writing talents that they come into their own. His story-songs are richly imbued. The evocative Please Stop Falling tells of a spinster who falls on her lover's grave, while the fast-paced Ebenezer Jones is a song about a villain who is eventually hanged for his crimes. Back On the Fifth Line is another well-worked song with military connotations. But Mike is a true entertainer who rarely allows any lull in proceedings, with witty and fast-flowing anecdotes between numbers. He is a Real Ale enthusiast who produced amusing one-liners such as "The human body is an amazing thing - it turns British beer into American beer"! (Think about it!). All-in-all, this was an enjoyable performance by an accomplished band although the sets could arguably have been a little longer. Credit is due to organiser Dave Bresnan for staging the event, although the limitations of this venue were again apparent. The Melling Tithebarn provides a unique medieval setting, but one that is unfortunately not entirely conducive to concerts of this type. The constraints of a vaulted ceiling and limited seating are exacerbated by an inadequate licensed bar, where a single frothing beer pump struggled to cope. A more conventional venue would be preferred in future, please, Dave! Chris Haggett, Warrington. Write to Chris
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By Jean Brandon
By Chris Haggett