Search - Ashley MacIsaac - Live at the Rehearsal Hall on DVD

The Wild Cape Breton Fiddler in an intimate setting!

Steven I. Ramm | Phila, PA USA | 03/04/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ashley MacIsaac is the antithesis of Natalie MacMaster, his fellow Cape Breton fiddler. Though aurally they don't sound that much different when playing the fiddle, MacIsaac is often backed by a rock band with keyboards, sax, electric guitar and drums. And visually he's in a whole different world of tattoos and weird things (as you will see on the three bonus music videos, including Sleepy Maggie with the haunting Mary Jane Lamond on vocals).

But the bulk of this DVD is a 45-minute TV show recorded in 2002 in Toronto for the Canadian Bravo network. It in a small intimate studio and everything is done in one take. It's a powerful performance.

What cuts my rating down from 5 to 4 stars is that the show contains questions from, not only the show's host, but from members of the audience. This slows down the show and you won't want these shown on repeated viewings.

For fans of MacIsaac, this is a more intimate portrait of him and he does do one solo number. For those new to his playing - much of it learned from MacMaster's dad, Buddy - it's a fine introduction!

Steve Ramm "Anything Phonographic"
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