View from the Green Room: Session!
Omega Trio at the Theatre Royal; photo courtesy of Liam Walsh.
Mandolin mad Gerry Madden loves to tell his audience that he’s had a letter from Herbert Von Karajan, conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic, objecting to the three musketeers of folk and blues describing themselves as an ‘orchestra’. Warner Brothers once wrote to the Marx Brothers warning them against their ‘one night in Riff’s’ as a rip off of ‘Casablanca’ and they returned with a threat to sue Warner Brothers for using the word ‘brothers’ in their title, claiming that only the Marx Bros were entitled to that term.
So… ’orchestra’ it is then and the Omega Three can surely describe themselves as the best little orchestra to sing the blues. There’s a synergy about these lads and single lassie. Just like Alexandre Dumas’s Three Musketeers, there are actually four – Francie White, Gerry Power, Mickey Dower and Gerry Madden. Just a little bit older, though. My own age really. I remember appearing with Francie in the Glass Tops Gaiety Final of 1987.
The Trio brings four top-class musicians with them. Mick Kinsella on percussion has travelled up from the Banner County and is the very devil with the harmonica; casting spells of magic over the house as the mouth organ’s sweet melancholy hangs in the silence of the theatre.
Dylan Bible’s guitar-playing dazzles as he moves between folk and blues and Spanish like a master of the fretboard.
Mooncoin’s Suzanne Rowe gives that extra ethnic feel to the group with her superb work on the piano accordion, while Alan Coonagh could blow any reed instrument known to man as he moves through saxophones and on to the tin whistle.
They’ve also recruited two young players from City of Waterford Brass.
Francie hasn’t changed much since then. He’s got that gift that every singer dreams of – uniqueness, individuality with a touch of madness about it. His hands constantly reach out in search of the song’s meaning and if you close your eyes and hear Francie’s voice, you know it’s him.
Dunmore’s Gerry Power is here on guitar and vocals and suffers at the barbs of his mandolin butty Gerry Madden in banter that keeps the set hoppin’, while bass guitarist Mickey Dower is the rock that keeps everyone together for the two hours -\plus session that has the audience buzzin’.
Tonight’s concert on the Mall feels more like we’ve wandered into a session than a formal concert. It’s folksy, informal, gossipy and great craic. Old friends are slagged off in the audience and memories from the Cork Road, Dunhill and the Copper Coast are recalled. Along with the posh crowd of blow-ins from Dunmore.
But… underneath the blather and slaggin’ and the craic with the audience, there are real artists at play here whose love of what they do is infectious. ‘Sweet Georgia Brown' is fun and funky; ‘I’m your man’ is given a Gaelic twist, ‘Combanchero'…'Richland Woman Blues'…'Caravan’ are all carefully crafted.
There are some well-known tunes here that are given the Omega Three treatment… ’Perfect Day'…'Into my dreams'…'Ain’t misbehavin’…'Penny Lane'…'Song for life'…'My favourite things’ that has the audience singing along as Francie conducts!
Huge applause…standing ovation…handshakes with the performers and hugs and greetings in the vestibule for friends that got lost somewhere along roads we never shared.
A great night on the Mall from a Trio that morphs into a septet and gathers a couple of young brassnecks - Daniel (Euphonium) and Adam (Trumpet) from the City of Waterford Brass – to turn the trio into a nonet. That’s synergy for you!
