U.K.-based is a difficult band to describe. They’re a puzzling concoction of musical styles you’d think wouldn’t blend together well, at least until you get a taste. Then you realize you’ve never sampled anything like it — and want more.
Such was the case for the nearly sold out in Loveland on Saturday. The crowd uproariously reacted to this rare USA stop for a 20-year-old band whose off- and on- again nature makes their live output rare and rewarding. Imagine Enya and Pink Floyd meeting John Williams and “Riverdance,” and you’re still just a few steps in the right direction of their innovative sound.
Front and center are ethereal vocals of Joanna Hogg, which are supported (and often superseded) by the lush keyboards and flowing electric guitar of David Bainbridge and the fascinatingly exotic whistles and Uilleann Pipes (a really funky bagpipe-type instrument) of Martin Nolan. The bedrock of the band is Frank Van Essen’s pounding drums and Phil Barker’s many-varied basses. But don’t be fooled. This ain’t Big Country. And it ain’t the other Iona folk group on the web. This is something entirely different. And for the musically adventurous, something highly addictive.
The band enjoyed a tremendously positive response to the handful of new songs sprinkled throughout their two-hour set. The encore was punctuated by people dancing jigs in the aisles and clapping their hands while dancing. And when it was all over, the entire audience was invited to join them at the nearby coffee house for a casual meet-and-greet (and merch pickup opportunity, of course).
The show was very much worth the drive up to Loveland and back — a journey that paled in comparison for those who had come from California, New Mexico, Florida and Canada to see Iona.
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Alan Cox is the president/creative director of Cox Creative, a Highlands Ranch-based creative shop. He works too much, sleeps too little and spends every free moment coaching baseball, shooting images and hanging out with his rowdy sons and rowdier wife. Check out his photos .
