Mark O'Connor and Appalachia Waltz Trio

[Dale Ludewig]

My lovely wife and I just got back a bit ago from seeing Mark O'Connor and his Appalachia Waltz Trio at the MAC Theater at the College of Dupage near Chicago.

I can't begin to describe the magic, the music that these three people put out- unamplified, to my knowledge. It was truly something special. All I can say is that if you can get a chance to see them, do so. Most of what they played tonight is on their CD "Crossing Bridges". If you do get the CD, wait for the bonus track of Amazing Grace, which they ended the night with- an understated version that about brought tears.

That's all.

[bgmando]

They were in the Kansas City area a week ago and I missed them due to conflicts.

I love O'Conner. Thanks for your review. I really would like to have caught the show.

Mostly the classical type stuff that he's written, I guess?

[Dale Ludewig]

Kind of classical. I would put it more into the area of Copeland/ classical. It rocked in a certain sort of way. Certainly not stuffy. Hard to describe in a way. Kind of like trying to describe what Marshall and Thile do- it's different, inspiring, alluring. As much as I admire both M & T, the O'Conner concert was a bit more formal. And that is certainly not to take away from the Marshall and Thile concert. I walked out of there with my mouth agape also. On a personal note, I bought Marshall's book of Bach Sonatas and Paritas when I saw them. I've been working on the first number (not every day, mind you, but a lot), for several weeks. Challenging stuff. Music is wonderful; playing it is even more so (usually!). http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[John Goodin]

The trio was here in Decorah a few weeks ago and held a nice post-concert discussion with the audience. I had the chance to ask Mark about why he no longer plays mando and he said that he had a physical problem a while back. I think he said bursitis. He stopped playing everything for a while. When he got out the fiddle there was no pain but when he got out the guitar it hurt. I pointed out that the mando is smaller than the guitar but I got the feeling he wasn't ready to go back. On the plus side, Natalie Haas did say she was thinking of getting a mandocello. The trio is definitely worth hearing.

John Goodin

[bgmando]

The hazards of constant playing for those addicted.

I think he's the greatest string player on the planet. Hope he heals totally.