Iona - Live In London

Year of Release: 2006
Label: Open Sky Records
Catalog Number: OPENSKYDVD2
Format: DVD
Total Time: 118:52:00

The main idea behind this recording of Iona live at the University of London on 18th November 2004 was to enable people all over the world to see with their own eyes what an Iona concert really is about. Due to the fact that the band members all live a long distance from each other, Iona is not in a position to tour the world constantly. Also bearing in mind their respective families, it is not on the cards of the band to visit America every year. So in order to keep everyone happy, this DVD came about. It is in fact a double DVD, although you don't need the next generation of Blu-Ray or HD-DVD to fit the contents onto one disc. Looking at the entire duration of both discs, I'm sure they could have easily fit the content of both discs onto one shiny DVD. In fact, the logical thing is to first look at the material that is on disc two and finally look at the "real" concert on disc one.

Recorded a mere six hours before the actual concert, I think it's best to look at the interviews on disc two first. Displayed in sepia colours, each member answers in depth to some interesting questions. So after a good 28:30, even people who have never ever heard of Iona have a pretty good idea about the band. Because it had been quite some time since they played in London, the band thought it might be a good idea to play an acoustic set as kind of a support to their own concert. With drummer Frank Van Essen mainly concentrating on percussion and the guitars being acoustic only, some of the tunes do get a more intimate feel. So in a way this half an hour of music precedes the actual concert, so again it should've been on disc one. The actual concert, in other words the "electric" concert, is spread all over disc one, also including all encores, as needless to say those who had come to see the band wanted as much music as possible. A nice gesture is that the names of everyone present that evening do appear in the credits at the end of the DVD. Might give some bands an idea!

With Iona having been around for quite some time, it has been since Troy Donockley joined as a permanent member that the current sound of the band took shape. Of course the Uilleann pipes that are played together with Dave Bainbridge's electric guitar have created the band's trademark. Add to this the occasional violin, as performed by drummer Frank Van Essen (as far as I know he's the only drummer also playing the violin live) and the musical spectrum of the band has widened over the years. Iona's music very much remains a mixture of all kinds of elements but they have found their own distinctive sound without a doubt. And as the icing on the cake there's the wonderful soothing voice of Joanne.

What works against the band is the set up of the band. Because Joanne also plays a keyboard, every musician remains in his/her position for the entire duration of the concert. So you'll never see Dave, nor Troy, nor Joanne, nor Phil running from one side of the stage to the other. This very much works against the visual presentation. As kind of a compensation to this "problem" one would imagine the band would use background projection of some kind but they don't. Having written music that was used for the BBC Natural World series programme Snowdonia - Realm Of The Ravens one would imagine the band would use some kind of film or slides to enhance their live performance, especially as it was being recorded for future release on DVD. Sadly you'll have to do with the band and the use of lights and, of course, the brilliant music. The live concert does switch from colour to occasional black and white to add some kind of effect but that's as far as it goes. Joanne stands rather static behind her keyboard; Dave turns 90 degrees from playing guitar to playing keyboards whilst half of the time Troy stands on stage with eyes closed. The Uilleann pipes in "Wind Off The Lake" do illustrate how close some of the music gets to Arabian music. Especially during "Castlerigg - Reels" you can witness the dual playing between Troy and Dave which gives you the trademark Iona sound. With this powerful jig, the actual concert comes to a close yet the band delivers two sets of encores. The first time they come back with "Irish Day" and "Bi-Se I Mo Shui Part 2." After more enthusiastic applause, Iona climbs on stage a final time when they perform "Flight Of The Wild Goose" and "Murlough Bay." Judging from the ongoing applause, Iona has received a lot of respect from its audience, which consists of young and old, male and female, lovers of folk, rock, progressive and everything in between. Live In London is an honest recording of a band at its peak to enjoy whether as someone who was present that memorable night in London or someone whom otherwise might never get the chance to see the band live ever.

Tracklisting:
Disc One: Woven Cord / Wave After Wave / Inside My Heart / Wind Off The Lake / A Dhia Ghleigil / Factory Of Magnificent Souls / Encircling / Strength / Treasure / Castlerigg - Reels / Irish Day / Bi-Se I Lo Shuil Part 2 / Flight Of The Wild Goose / Murlough Bay

Disc Two: Acoustic Set: Chi-Rho / Greenfields Of Canada / Edge Of The world / Jigs / Today / Interviews with all five band members

Musicians:
Dave Bainbridge - electric & acoustic guitars, keyboards, piano, bouzouki
Joanne Hogg - vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar
Troy Donockley - Uilleann pipes, low whistles, tin whistle, bouzouki, acoustic & electric guitars, vocals
Phil Barker - bass
Frank Van Essen - drums, violin, bodhran, percussion, vocals

Discography:
Iona (1990)
The Book Of Kells (1992)
Beyond These Shores (1993)
Journey To The Moon (1995)
Heaven''s Bright Sun (1997)
Woven Cord (1999)
Open Sky (2000)
The River Flows (2002) (box set)
Various - Songs For Luca
The Circling Hour (2006)

Live In London (DVD) (2006)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin UK

Added: August 14th 2006
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg
Score:
Artist website: www.iona.uk.com
Hits: 2554
Language: english