High Kings

Both of my parents are big ballad fans. My dad played in ballad groups for years. My mum grew up in Dublin, and regularly attended ballad gigs. I grew up listening to the Dubliners and the Voice Squad. I like ballads - I believe that you'd want to be very very boring not to enjoy a decent ballad group. Now, my parents had heard these High Kings on the radio a few times, and were impressed by their repertoire and singing, so my mum bought tickets for herself and dad to go and see them in UL last Thursday. My dad, however, had a rake of Germans over and he was playing with them, so I went along with herself to hear these boys.

Now, I had heard from other musicians that the High Kings were the male version of Celtic Woman (who are, to be blunt, absolute SHITE) and that they were extraordinarily cheesy. My mother wasn't aware of this cheese factor, which I realised when she excitedly suggested that there would be a 'rough crowd at this thing' because 'that's the kind of crowd who go to ballads'. I gently told her that it would be full of aul ones and this crowd were like the folk version of Westlife. She didn't believe me at first but ten minutes in, she was nodding sagely and mouthing the words 'Westlife'.

They are excellent singers, and know their stuff, given their family connections (the sons of Bobby Clancy, Finbar Fury and Sean Dunphy are three of the four members). Some of the singing was truly inspiring, I have to be honest. However, this inspiration generally occured when they stood fairly still and sang into the mics with dignity and restraint. It was the boyband slide dancing, having a bodhran to bodhran face off, the horrific joke about the Aran knit jumpers, the singing with their arms around each other in a metrosexual, open about our affection for one another way etc etc etc. Blahdeblah. So the production was really irritating. Musically, the show was incredibly polished and professional, which, I believe detracts from what is the true charm of ballad groups. My mother said she missed the singers forgetting what they were supposed to be singing next, and singers wandering off stage in the middle of the whole thing to have a fifteen minute break for a pint and the crowd hollering expletives at the stage to encourage the musicians, in the nicest way possible. All the professionalism, the note perfect arrangements, even the jokes were over rehearsed and more than a little boring.

So we weren't too impressed - it's really not our kind of thing. I can't see anyone with an interest in traditional or folk music being a huge fan of the High Kings. However, the crowd in the concert hall last Thursday went ape for the whole thing - standing ovations, singing along, clapping along, happy tears and shiny happy smiles when the whole thing was over.

We were kind of bored, so we went to Dolans for pints, where the Germans were singing their own, heavily accented versions of Irish ballads. Not polished or professional, but infinitely more enjoyable than watched four boyband members hopping around the stage in formation.