Last night the Stoughton Opera House hosted Tempest, a Celtic Rock band. It was the first show of their 2005 tour supporting their 15th anniversary box set.

Once again, I had a terrific experience as Technical Director for the Opera House. These folks were truly a joy to work with. In contrast to most of the shows that come through the opera house who provide a 5-10 page technical rider to their contract detailing many often nit-picky requirements for their show, Tempest provided us with a single sheet, a stage plot that indicated who stood where and microphone and monitor placement. When they arrived they were as laid back and flexible as the “rider” would lead one to expect.

Not only were they tremendously easy to work with, but they also put on a really good show. Playing a great fusion of Celtic rhytms and melodies with rock and funk, they provided the small but responsive audience with a great variety of styles, from the loud and rollicking to the tuneful and harmonic. A very dynamic group, they bounced around the stage and interacted with each other in a comfortable manner obviously tuned over many years together. They engaged the audience with their antics, bringing us along with their jokes and playfulness. They were aided by a nice bit of technology that I haven’t seen in action very often; wireless outputs to their amps. This enable their stage-roaming, and also allowed them to go into the audience at various points during the show.

The show was tremendously fun for me; I don’t have many opportunities to do the kind of live mixing required by this kind of band and I had a great time doing it. While I think the music was not quite what the Opera House crowd has come to expect I think they enjoyed it.

Tempest is a multi-national group; Lief Sorbye (mandolins) is from Norway, Ariane Cap (bass) is from Austria, Ronan Carroll (guitar) is from Ireland, Michael Mullen (fiddle) is from the USA and Adolfo Lazo (drums) is from Cuba. They all bring something important to the mix.

The show was excellent, and I hope a fitting start to Tempest’s tour schedule. Thanks to Tempest for a ripping good time!