Toddish McWong learns Irish Step Dancing on Granville Island

I went paddling in a marathon canoe with Gung Haggis paddler Art Calderwood. We heard celtic fiddle music as we paddled into Alder Bay behind Granville Island. And of course I had to check it out.

Imagine our surprise to discover the Violet Moore Irish Dancers on stage with Delhi 2 Dublin - with Kytami fiddling away!  

I had attended the first Delhi 2 Dublin event at the 2006 Celtic Festival, and loved the energy that Kytami brought to the stage. Delhi 2 Dublin blends celtic fiddle tunes with bhangra beats, and they performed at the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival in 2006.  Here's my story about my first Kytami/Delhi 2 Dublin experience: my first Kytami/Delhi 2 Dublin experience on St. Paddy's Eve.

When they asked for audience volunteers to learn ceil dancing for Bridge of Athlone.... I was there! So was Gung Haggis paddlers Steven Wong who had been sitting in the audience. It was great fun, learning to Irish step dance. We shall have to organize a ceil dance party for Gung Haggis Fat Choy dragon boat team, food and social club.

After I stepped off the stage and outside the Performance Works building, I met the New Works producer Barbara Clausen, who had hired dancer/choreographer Andrea Nann to do some workshops in Vancouver last year.  I love Andrea...  She worked with author Michael Ondaatje and choreographed some dances based on his works for explorASIAN in 2003.  Andrea came and performed a dance for the Save Kogawa House Nov 12 Special Concert awareness event at the Vancouver Public Library in 2005.  I think it would be fun to work together with Barbara Clausen on a Gung Haggis Fat Choy type of project.

Barabra hasput together and incredible array of Sunday events at Ron Basford Park on Granville Island as part of New Works "All Over the Map" Dance and music series.  Two weeks ago our dragon boat team paddled by Granville Island and hear the Japanese Taiko drums of Uzume Taiko.

Next up for "All Over the Map":

July 29th - Feel It!
- Tango Paradiso Ensemble with Dancers
August 12th - Shake it!
- Guinean Dance and Music with Kocassale Dioubate and friends
August 19th - Hit it!
- Traditional Indonesian Dance and Music in partnership with the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia.

Norah Jones is stunning in Vancouver - plays electric guitar


Norah Jones stepped onto the stage, quietly, and stood behind a microphone dressed casually  in jeans and a black and white striped top.  She was singing back up for opening act M. Ward.  The restless crowd didn't recognize her at first.  They were expecting to sit through an unknown opening act.   She disappeared after singing 3 duets with Ward.  Give Jones credit for drawing attention to the opening act.  This is Jones' style: understated, professional, warm and highlighting others.

When Jones finally came back as the main act, she stepped onto stage wearing a bright red dress, and a bright red electric guitar.  She strummed chords and sang the opening lines to "Come Away With Me - her big 2002 hit.  What? Norah not at the piano?  She looked like a lost party girl with her fluffy knee length dress and fishnet stockings.  Jones definitely challenged the audience with new renditions of her old songs.  Afterall, this was a jazz festival concert she was playing at.  She shared with the audience that her first performance in Vancouver was a Jazz Festival show.  She was a jazz nerd, and she was only 19 years old.  She tasted her first martini, and didn't like it.  The crowd clapped endearingly.

She moved from piano to electric piano to acoustic guitar, playing songs from her new album, "Not Too Late," as well as her big selling "Come Away With Me" and it's follow up "Feels Like Home."  The Handsome Band accompanied her, and I was impressed by its musicianship.  Everybody played at least too instruments.  Guitarist Adam Levy played some banjo, drummer Andrew Borger played marimba, Lee Alexander played electric bass, double bass (with a bow!) and guitar, Daru Oda played flute, electric bass, percussion, hurdy gurdy and even whistled on an acoustic guitar duet with Norah.  It's an amazingly musically diverse band playing jazz, pop, blues, dixie, country and western swing.  And of course the racial diversity is evident with Jones' mixed heritage by father Ravi Shankar, and Oda's Japanese-American heritage.

It was a wonderful concert in an intimate setting.  Jones played solo piano for the Hoagy Carmichael classic "The Nearness of You," as well as her new political protest song "Election Day."  I've been a fan of Norah Jones since 2002, when "Come Away With Me" came out.  I love the acoustic emphasis and the soft vocal inflections that sound as if she is singing only to you - from the other side of a table.  The first date I had with my girlfriend, she put on Norah Jones and Diana Krall on the stereo, while I cooked dinner for her.  Going to see our first Norah Jones concert was a perfect capping for my girlfriend's birthday week.