Gráda
18th October 2023
San Fran, Wellington, New Zealand.
Review and photography by Tim Gruar.
Traditional Irish group Gráda have reunited with a 9-date tour across the Motu, beginning with last night’s gig in Pōneke.
Gráda were headliners on the Irish music scene from 2001 – 2011, with members from both the Emerald Isles and Aotearoa. They’ve spent much of their time touring internationally, performing in over 1000 cities in 30 countries over the course of a decade, including Sydney Opera House, Royal Glasgow Concert Hall, Ireland’s National Concert Hall and multiple US and Euro folk festivals.
Initially started by Gerry Paul, Andrew Laking and Alan Doherty while living in Dublin, they were preparing for a residency in a hotel in Sardinia. They made an album, printed CDs and were ready to go. Then came a fax two days before cancelling the shows. So, they thought they’d better keep performing until they sold them all. And that led to a longer-term venture, rounding off in 2011 – 5 albums and a million tour dates later. The band was revived, according to Gerry Paul, following his wedding and a Wellington show at the Dell in the Botanical Gardens just a bit prior to Covid. The idea was to reform and tour on a semi regular basis. Post Lockdowns sees the plan finally eventuating.
Their sound is firmly rooted in the traditional but drawing influences from folk, jazz, world music, and Americana. There are jigs and reels, some originals, some old classics, the ‘popular ones in pubs’ everywhere. And of course their own high charting tracks like “The Butcher Boy’ and ‘Cathain’. But also, modern stuff too – like a very fine version of Greg Johnson’s ‘Isabelle’ and Suzanne Vega’s ‘The Queen and The Soldier’. (Sadly, these didn’t feature tonight – spoiler alert)
In 2011, Gráda disbanded to work on individual stuff. Galway based vocalist Nicola Joyce started playing with her new band The Whileaways, and also other projects including writing ‘Toss the Bobbin’ as a contribution to ‘Ionbhá: The Empathy Book for Ireland’.
Kiwi guitar player Gerry Paul returned to the Hutt to reform blues kitbag T-Bone (which won Folk album of the Year) and to direct the famous Cuba Dupa and Kerikeri’s Turner centre. He also did a kid’s book called ‘Hank The Wrestling Shark’ – it was a real winner amongst the pre-school crowd.
And then there’s fellow Kiwi Andrew Laking, an instrument maker, also well known for his many deeds around these parts – especially for Lōemis and Verb Wellington and LitCrawl. You may have seen Gerry and Andrew playing in another band called ALDOC.
The band’s live shows, we are promised will “exude energy, with an improvisation element that made them unique”. So, last night’s gig had a certain level of expectation behind it.
On the appointed hour the current line-up of guitarist Gerry Paul, double bassist Andrew Laking, singer and bodhrán player Nicola Joyce, flautist ‘Al’ Alan Doherty (The Lord of The Rings, Sound of the Shire), and fiddle player Tóla Custy took the stage with renewed vigour and enthusiasm.
Starting off with a mid-tempo instrumental, ’Abe’s Axe’, the band quickly rouses the mainly middle-aged audience and draws them in. This is the kind of crowd you’d find at WOMAD, and not normally the harder and alt-edged people San Fran is used to hosting. There’s a restrained party atmosphere lurking under the covers, never really released.
A favourite ‘Butcher Boy’ gets a few smiles and then the first of several ‘murder ballads’, the fabulously macabre 19th C American tale, ‘Pretty Polly’. Another highlight was the ‘The 18th Of July’ about the Battle of Waterloo, told from the ground level. “Looks like all our songs are about wars and murders,” Nicola quips, “How about Immigration?” That leads to the travel tale of ‘Pint Of Reference’.
Andrew leads another travel song, the lilting, swaying ballad ‘Endeavour’, about Cooks trip ‘to the Pacific’ before they hand the mic to Tóla Custy to explain ‘Seven From Eight’, a wonderful, indulgent tune featuring his fiddling and Alan Doherty’s flute, apparently inspired by a line in Star Trek. Who knew?
’5 Jumps’ we’re told came from a session with Danish hippies, not that this is obvious. The music is divinely trance-like – although there’s a hint of Scandinavian conservatism in it, too.
My favourite, ‘John Riley’ comes late in the set. This is the song written by the renowned Tim O’Brien. He also produced Gráda in Nashville, while making an album. It’s about an Irish mercenary fighting in the Rio Grande in the 19th Century. “Any Mexicans Out There?“, calls Gerry.
Although she doesn’t sing all the songs, preferring to play the bodhrán (an Irish hand drum) when she does Nicola’s voice is still strong and mesmerising. That Irish lilt will melt your heart and settle your anxieties.
There is plenty of craic throughout the gig and a few tales of life on the road. The band spent plenty of time in vans on the way to gigs all over Europe during their most productive period in the 2000’s. Apparently, Alan flatted with nine Italian women in Galway, when the band was starting out. Plenty of pasta. And they had to push the beds together “for sleeping arrangements”. Why am I thinking of that scene when Colin goes to America in ‘Love Actually’? Anyway….
It’s this to and fro between Gerry and Alan that makes the evening fun. Like brothers or old flatmates, they fire off each other with reminiscences. Nicola, quite rightly smiles and rolls her eyes, avoiding being drawn into the frat house.
They finish of an extended jam of ‘Maria Letizia’s’, which has everyone stomping the floor demanding more.
And it comes. Gerry is back to sing his sweetly juvenile song ‘I am A Tug Boat’. He says it was written in Galway, after returning from a tour and feeling overwhelmed and over festivals. He was just thinking how simple the shipping on the harbour was, dreaming of a simpler life. The song has a ‘Play School’ vibe and the audience, recognising this, laugh along.
The audience’s energy bubbles to the surface finally for the band’s big hit ‘Cathain’, with everyone singing the “Oh Oh Ohs” in the chorus. It’s the best bit of the night. Sure, they don’t play as fast as they used to but the craic, the energy and the fun is still there. Gráda is still one of the best Irish bands I’ve seen, they are the party and that’s a great thing to have at this time.
Were you there at San Fran in Wellington for this great gig? Or have you seen Gráda perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- The Butcher Boy
- Snow Leopard
- Pretty Polly
- Five Jumps
- The Eighteenth of June
- Pint Of Reference
- Cooler at the Edge
- Shock On
- Endeavour
- John Riley
- Maria Letizia’s
- I’m a Tugboat [encore]
- Cathain [encore]
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only.
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