Dervish

Group brings bit of Ireland to Conklin

-By John Sinkevics

Conklin— Cathy Jordan marvels at the way Americans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

            The singer for Ireland’s highly regarded Dervish, a six-piece traditional music group, noted it’s pretty much a one-day deal in her homeland.

            “In America, it’s a whole month,” she said by phone from Dublin as the band prepared to fly to the United States for a set of March concert dates.

            “The decorations are up; it’s like Christmas.  Its unbelievable, really.”

            So while Dervish will play Fenian’s Irish Pub in the Ottawa Conty community of Conklin three days after St. Patrick’s Day, she figured the hand will be right in the thick of America’s celebration of all things Irish.

            “(In Ireland), it’s not that big a deal.  It’s a big drink-off really.  In terms of a cultural experience that lasts a month, we don’t even come close.”

            Audiences here tend to be more responsive to Dervish’s performances, too.

            “There’s a certain nostalgia that there wounldnt be at home,” offered Jordan, who also plays the bodhran and bouzouki.

            “In America, it’s more of a nostalgic thing to people.  They’re a great audience to play to and they’re a great listening audience.

            “In the beginning, I was totally shocked at their knowledge and understanding of folk music, the culture, the language and everything.  It was an eye-opener, really.  They know as much as a lot of Irish people.”

            It also explains why Dervish spends at least three months a year touring and performing across North America; the band has spent every March the past five years in the states.  “Ireland is such a small country,” Jordan explained, “and Irish music isn’t a novelty in Ireland.”

“We excel in the live format”

            Dervish began recording as a band in 1989 and now has seven albums in its catalogue.  While the group prides itself on researching and ferreting out forgotten or lesser-known Irish tunes for its repertoire, the group also adapts some contemporary songs for its sets, including Bob Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather” and Dire Straits’ “Brothers in Arms.”

            They also squeeze in some original material, as well as a new song by Brendan Graham (who scored a hit with the lyrics for “You Raised Me Up,” which was recorded by Josh Groban and many others).

            Jordan said band members “make it all gel together” in a cohesive way, with the resulting strains all falling “under the umbrella of traditional music.”

            And nowhere are the results more impressive than during Dervish’s live performances.

            “They’re very energetic,” Jordan said.  “I think we excel in the live format.  It (music) thrives on an audience; it loses something in a sterile studio atmosphere.”

            Dervish tends to play theaters and art centers, rarely nightclubs.  That makes the band’s debut Tuesday at the intimate Fenian’s— where owners Mary Ann and Terry Reagan like to stage “concerts in a pub setting” and where patrons listen intently to performers – a special show that should spark great interaction with those present.

            “It’s like a tennis match: It’s serve and return,” Jordan said of involving the crowd.  “You serve it, and the audience returns it.  It breathes energy into the performance.”