The Ledge - I went to see the band Tempest last night

They are a Celtic/Rock band and they rock!!

It was kind of a last minute deal. I found out about it through one of my friends co-workers and my friend and I decided to check it out. It was at a theater in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

My friend's co-worker saved 2 seats for us and they were right in the front row! I made a joke about not having to go on Ebay to get them.

I really did not know what to expect. I am not really a fan of Celtic music (and I am half Irish) but I kept an open mind. The first song that they did kind of reminded me of Gordon Lightfoot (No laughs please). My friend and I were a little distracted at first because the fiddle player had on a kilt. Not to mention that his legs were not bad.

I am not familiar with the song titles so I can't tell you the set list. I will just say that the band is a lot of fun and seems to enjoy what they do a lot. I did not care for the jigs/reels part of the music too much. However, they do mix it with a rock sound that can be almost heavy metal at times. I was getting into it and was one step away from headbanging. LOL
The touring band consists of, Ariane Cap (Austria) on bass, Ronan Carroll (Ireland) on guitar, Lief Sorbye (Norway) on lead vocals and electric mandolin , Adolfo Lazo (Cuba) on drums and Michael Mullen (USA) on the fiddle.

After a little over an hour there was an intermission which was a nice break. I bought a coffee and I headed out to the table where they sold the band's Cds. I met Lief's wife Patricia (nice name!) who explained the different Cds. She said that one called Balance was more or a speed metal edge type flavor so I bought that one. My friend Kim purchased the drummer Adolfo Lazo's solo Cd.

We headed back to our seats to enjoy the rest of the show. During one of the last songs Lief jumped down from the stage and sat on my friend's co-worker's lap. It was funny. He then when over to the other side to thrill another lady. Then he got up and spotted me and sat right on my lap! I almost died. He sat kind of between my friend and I and Kim had her hand on his back. I was tempted to touch the neck of the mandolin but I did not.
The last song that they did Lief made everyone get up on their feet. I was so happy. I got to dance a bit. This audience seemed too laid back for me. A few girls did get up on the floor and do some traditional Irish dancing. They did an encore and the song title was "Stonehenge" I believe. It sounded like something that Spinal Tap would do.

After the show we mingled with some of the band members. I met Lief and had him sign my Cd. He was very nice. We also met Alfonso and while he signed my cd he told me that I had beautiful eyes. :o I was embarrassed a bit. We met Michael and chatted a bit. He was even letting another fan try out his fiddle. :cool:

It was just nice to get out and go to a different place and hear different music. My friend Kim and I even discovered a good restaurant up in Cumberland. My only regret was not bringing my digital camera. :mad:

Here is a link to the band's website:
http://www.tempestmusic.com/index.html