I drove down to Laughlin, NV to see
The Fitzgeralds perform at Don Laughlin's Riverside Resort Hotel and Casino on Saturday, 2019-03-16. It was super worthwhile! Each of them is very talented in multiple areas, and they put on a great show. Here are my notes about what happened during and after the show.
Many thanks to CWazyTom for
posting here about the Fitzgeralds; otherwise I would not have known about them.
SPOILER WARNINGMembersThere were four primary performers: Kerry Fitzgerald, Julie Fitzgerald, Tom Fitzgerald, and Kyle Waymouth. Kerry, Julie, and Tom were usually on fiddle. Tom seemed to be the star fiddle player and vocalist but he didn't play the keyboard, while Kerry and Julie both had turns on the keyboard. Their friend Kyle Waymouth mainly played guitar.
Set listAs the curtain came up, they played a traditional tune called
Red Haired Boy, which transitioned into a tune written by their dad.
Kerry Fitzgerald introduced herself and the group.
They played
It's all your fault by Bob Wills, featuring Kerry on the bass ukulele.
They did a step-dancing battle routine. Kerry and Julie were battling, and the crowd was encouraged to cheer.
They did an instrumental song with Julie on keyboard and Kerry dancing.
Julie introduced the next two tunes, which are from the family album:
Danny Boy and
The Dwyers.
Tom introduced a bluegrass song called
Dark Hollow, which again featured Kerry on the bass ukulele.
Julie introduced the next two tunes:
When Irish Eyes are Smiling (Kerry on keyboard) and
The Irish Washerwoman Jig.
Kerry talks about their brother Pat (who left the group) and his drumsticks to introduce the next song. I don't know it's name but it involved three Fitzgeralds, three chairs, and six drumsticks. It was totally percussive, using none of the usual instruments.
They kept the chairs out on stage and played a fiddle song. The chairs were not essential to this song, so it must just be their way of resting without an intermission.
They played some fiddle song featuring Tom as the main fiddler.
Tom introduced a fiddle song where he plays all strings at once by releasing the strings on his bow! That was a neat trick and I had not seen it before.
I think Tom played solo fiddle in "The Parting Glass" next (but there were others playing too).
They did an awesome four-persion dance routine, where Tom and Kyle start it, then Kerry and Julie join in. They were all wearing green flair for St. Patricks day. (This was the first song where Kyle danced, so it was a pleasant surprise.)
Tom sang a bluegrass song based on a tune called
Temperance Reel, with lyrics added by someone else.
Julie mentioned that their mom (Pam) put together this tour and travels with them. Pam played keyboard for
What a Wonderful World.
Kerry thanked the technical people running the show and talked about the merchandise table outside the hall.
For the very last song, whose name I didn't catch, they did the violin tricks I was looking forward to: Kerry played a violin upside down, Julie played a violin with her non-dominant hand (left), and Julie held two violins while Kerry and Tom played them.
I posted two concert pictures on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvGZUuvnyf3/https://www.instagram.com/p/BvGaTqJnNhP/Merchandise tableAfter the show ended, I waited at my seat for a few minutes before heading to the merchandise table. By the time I got there, all of the main members and Pam were standing at the table. They were selling Kerry's solo album,
Fiddle-Beatz, and the family album that is just named
The Fitzgeralds. They also had a step-dancing instructional video by Julie, and the
Everything Fitz DVD that
CWazyTom described.
I bought the
Everything Fitz DVD from Pam, and she threw in a mini frisbee that says "Fritz-bee" on it. I usually want my frisbees to be regulation weight and size, so I don't really know what will become of this one. I asked Kerry to sign the DVD, and I would have been OK with just getting her signature, but she passed it around to Julie, Tom, and Kyle to get them to sign it too. At the table, I was able to introduce myself and have conversations with all the members.
A little later, Julie and Kerry were hanging out near the table with some fans so I joined to listen. Someone mentioned to Julie that I was there, and so she turned and engaged me in conversation for what seemed like a really long time, maybe like 5 minutes. In response to my questions, she talked a bit about her childhood and the stuff she is working on.
It was a pretty relaxed atmosphere, and I can't help but compare it to the meeting that Tom and I experienced with Máiréad in Ohio one week prior, which was both very delayed and very rushed. Some of the Fitzgeralds and their friends were still standing around talking about what to do next when I finally walked away (to drive back to Las Vegas).
ConclusionNext Saturday will feel very weird for me: I don't have any violin concerts to attend!