Concert Date: March 17, 2018
Mondavi Center, UC Davis, Jackson HallÂ
Picture: DanĂş (above) Goitse (below)
I bought these tickets months ago because I have a DVD of DanĂş performing in a pub in Ireland and I thought it would be fund to see them play live on St. Patrickâs Day.  So we dawned the green shirts, jumped in the car and drove to Davis and the Mondavi Center.  Their staff were decked out in green and there was a full-on beer tasting of about 10 breweries included with the price of admission.  It was quite a festive atmosphere. (Picture below: the lobby before the show)
Goitse (pronounced: gwi-cha) opened the show and I knew nothing about them. Â According to the bandâs website, âGoitse is an informal Gaelic Irish greeting meaning âcome hereâ.â Â And they indeed invited the audience in to enjoy their brand of Celtic music. Â Theyâre young, probably in their 20s I would estimate, and donât play traditional Irish music. Â Most noticeably, they donât include a Uilleann pipe or any flutes or tin whistles. Instead, they play a piano and include a banjo and mandolin. Â I thoroughly enjoyed the modernization of the genre. Â Heck, even the bodhran (drum) player had an electric kick peddle that when he stomped on it, a big boom sounded for emphasis which shook the audience into clapping along vigorously. Â I was so inspired that I downloaded their latest album (they have four) and will likely get more.
After a short intermission (the line for the menâs room was extraordinary, probably because of said beer tasting!) DanĂş took the stage. Â Theyâre a larger, older band than Goitse and indeed play a broad selection of traditional Irish music. Â They do terrific jigs and reels, which are fast, fun instrumentals. But the lead singer, Nell NĂ ChrĂłinĂn, has a lovely sweet confident voice and easily sings in both English and Gaelic. Â Their set allowed for longer jams of individual instruments like the Uilleann pipes playing a gorgeous air that lead into a rollicking fun tune that got everyone in the crowd clapping and hollering. Â The two bands joined together at the end of each of their respective sets which felt like watching a supergroup mash-up (Fuzzy picture below). Â It was sheer joy and a real treat!