There’s been an explosion of Celtic music the past 10 years, as bands like Gaelic Storm, The Chieftains, The Irish Rovers and others have riveted the folk music of Western Europe onto our modern collective musical consciousness.
John Weed, fiddler in the popular Celtic trio Molly’s Revenge, believes there are a few reasons for this.
“I think a lot of people just identify with this music,” Weed says. “In this modern technological world there’s so much stimulation, media and crazy news that there’s something in this music that reconnects us to where we came from.”
Molly’s Revenge enjoy a well-deserved, almost rabid local following. Their classic Irish folk instrumentation of bagpipes, whistles and fiddle backed by guitar, mandola (a lower-pitched, larger version of the mandolin) and bodhran hand drums create rhythmic and melodic undulations that are both infectious and contemplative.
“We’re learning after 12 years that people have made this a Christmas tradition for themselves, just like us,” Weed says. “The enthusiasm isn’t just for the band; it’s also for the seasonal Christmas material. It’s not as commercial as the Muzak you hear at the mall. It sounds kind of Old World.”
Joining the trio for Winterdance are vocalist Christa Burch and the Turco traditional Irish dancers. Burch’s stylings display that rare juxtaposition of intimate expressiveness and forceful assertion, while the dancers literally take flight with jumps and coordinated movements, all backed by Molly’s sinewy, pulsating rhythms.
“Christa is a world-class singer,” Weed says, “and I think the dancers lift people’s spirits.”
Then he pauses and loops back to how their craft is taking enthusiasm levels to an all-time high for Winterdance.
“The world is a crazy place right now,” he adds. “I think a lot of people are finding solace by coming together in communities and going back to older ways of celebrating our unity and traditions.”
MOLLY’S REVENGE WINTERDANCE 7:30pm Friday, Dec. 22. St. Mary’s By The Sea Episcopal Church, Central Avenue and 12th Street, Pacific Grove. $25/advance; $28/at the door; $15/child. 224-3819, celticsociety.org