Last friday, my husband and I had the pleasure of seeing Maura at the Ark in Ann Arbor. We got in line about an hour before the doors opened, and were able to get seats right in front. I'm not sure if the show was sold out, but it was pretty packed.

Somehow, Bruce (forgot his last name - the lead guitar player) got Maura's microphone. They discovered this when Bruce sang the duet part on The Blue Train, so they switched immediately after the song.

I didn't keep a set list, but I think Maura sang 10 songs per set plus 3 songs during the encore. I don't have the cds in front of me, but I think she sang 9 songs from Walls and Windows, 3 songs from Blue is the Colour of Hope, 5 songs from Wandering Home, 2 songs from Helpless Heart, 1 from Just In Time and 1 from Stories (I don't want to name the songs, for those of you who will be seeing her soon). In addition, she sang Danny Boy - first in Gaelic and then in English - and My Lagan Love off her self-titled cd. These last two she sang without accompaniment, and they were gorgeous (even though one of her off-stage bandmates made a sound which caused Maura and the audience to crack up in the middle of My Lagan Love).

It's been about a year since I last saw Maura perform, and it was worth the wait! As usual, we were blown away. It's amazing how she can project her voice so, while making it look effortless.

I took some non-flash pictures, but I felt kind of weird snapping pics while Maura was only 5 feet from me. I don't know if she finds it disconcerting or not, but I felt a bit guilty all the same.

After the show, I got up the courage to ask her to sign a couple cds for me. Of course, once I got up there, I couldn't think of anything to say (whic is why I usually don't talk to my favorite performers!). Maura was very gracious, and even posed with me for a picture.

Thanks, Maura, for making it a very special night.

Theresa

It's taken me a while to post about this show, as work has been extremely busy and we hosted the family for Christmas this year.

My husband and I were joined by five friends. Two of our friends had never seen Maura before, and afterward, they said that it was the best concert they've seen. We got in line a little later than we normally do, but we still got front row seats (just stage left, where the artists enter and leave the stage). The Ark was full, but not sold out.

Maura was accompanied by Don Johnson (bass) and John Mock (guitar). I think it's the first time I've seen John play guitar - when I've seen him in the past, he's been playing the tin whistle or percussion. He was great, as was Don.

I managed to get the set list after the show. They changed a few songs, but from what I remember, they played (including encores):

To Be the One
I Wonder
Trip Around the Sun
No Good Day for Dying
Blue Train
Summerfly
Spinning Wheel
Going Down In Flames
Love You in the Middle
Walls
Down By the Sally Gardens
Western Highway
John Mock played a song, but I've forgotten the name
Hold On
Phoenix Falling
Blessing
Time To Learn
Poor Man's House
Trouble In the Fields
Crazy Love

It was a great show. Maura's voice was gorgeous and John and Don played beautifully. I was quite taken aback, though. Near the end of the show, Maura mentioned that cds could be purchased on this website. Then she asked "Is Theresa here?" I nearly fell out of my chair! She mentioned that I visit the website often - my friends now think I'm either a VIP or a cyber-stalker.

Thanks to Maura, John and Don for a great evening of music.

What a glorious night of music! It was nearly overwhelming to have Maura (with John Mock), John Gorka, Nanci Griffith and The Chenille Sisters all share the Ark's stage. Each song deserved (and received) thunderous applause. It was amazing to see the artists reaction to each others songs. I was moved right to the edge of tears when John Gorka played "Let Them In" - not only for the song itself, but also by seeing Maura's and Nanci's faces during that one. I can't express just how wonderful this concert was. I truly hope it was recorded.

John Gorka was positioned at stage right, then John Mock, Maura, Nanci and The Chenille Sisters. I can't for the life of me remember all the songs played or their specific order, but here's what I can remember (the last song listed for each performer was the encore):

John: ?, Let Them In, Always, one of Nanci's songs (possibly Downtown Tonight?), the "body parts medly", a new song which I think is called Good Intentions

Maura: Blue Train, Love You In The Middle, Trouble In The Fields, Blue Chalk, Western Highway, Blessing

Nanci: Love At The Five and Dime, Heart of Indochine, Listen To The Radio, There's A Light Beyond These Woods (Mary Margaret), Love Conquers All (Nanci passed on singing an encore, I think she forgot her guitar picks)

The Chenille Sisters: unfortunately, I am not familiar with their songs, so I have no idea of the titles. They started out with a song from the 1940s by Una Mujor (?). Their next song was hilarious, about how, as you get older your memory fades - If anyone knows the title to this song, let me know! Then they sang a song about not liking to wear revealing clothes. Next, they sang a song that was a hit in 1955, which I think was called Come On Over (?). They also sang To Miss Someone, which was a beautiful song that nearly made me cry. I know I've forgotten one of their songs, but I just can't think of it. (It just hit me! It was May I Suggest, written by Susan Werner).

The final song was led by Maura, but everyone sang along: Crazy Love.

Again, it was just an amazing night! I took some pictures but I'm not sure if they'll turn out.

My Goodness,


My first favorite singer and my next favorite singer (john Gorka) and one of my favorite singers, Nancy Griffith, and I think I saw the Chenille Sisters at the Bottom Line in NYC many years ago (and thought they were great!),, Wow what a show and to finish with Crazy Love by my next favorite performer of all time, it must have been a Magic Time.

Theresa, you guys are soooooooo lucky, I know I sound like a kid in a candy store, but I can't conceal the envy, wow.

Thanks for the review and the nice words, you did good!!!!

I guess you are all lucky

Thanks to a dear friend of mine,I'm starting to find out who is Maura.So far,one song impressed me a lot:

"The Isle of Malachy"

Certainly,I'll look forward to listen more and more.She has a wonderful voice,indeed!!!


Sln,



Ahrod B.

Saturday was a wonderful day in Ann Arbor, topped off by a great concert at The Ark. After nearly 10 straight days of cold and rainy weather, we were treated to a beautiful sunny day with highs in the upper 60s.

Maura was joined by John Mock and Don Johnson, who were fabulous as always. I don't keep a set list, because my memory is usually good enough to remember the songs for at least a few days. However, I currently am suffering from "pregnancy brain" and my short term memory is toast. So, I cheated and looked at the discography section of the website to help jog things a bit.

The songs that Maura sang were (in no particular order):

To Be the One (which I think was the first song of the night)
Trip Around the Sun
Hold On
Love You In the Middle
Spinning Wheel
Phoenix Falling
Time To Learn
I Wonder
Walls
Blessing
Blue Chalk (w/o Don)
The Blue Train
It Don't Bring You
Trouble in the Fileds
Summerfly (Maura had to remind people not to clap along)
Western Highway
Galileo (by Declan O'Rourke)
The Shades of Gloria (the first time Maura had sung this one a cappella at a show)
Crazy Love

Thanks, Maura (and John and Don), for another great night of music and for singing my request.

My husband and I (and 4 of our friends) saw Maura this past Sunday at The Ark. We hadn't seen a show there for about a month, so it was great to get out and see "live music" again.

Jason Wilbur opened the show. I hadn't heard of him before, but I really enjoyed him. I especially liked the sound he got out of his guitar - I thought his playing was stellar. Then he told us that he's been playing guitar with John Prine for something like 9 years, and that he's played the guitar for 24 of his 38 years (by the way, I swear he doesn't look a day over 30, if that). If I had had more money in my pocket, I would have picked up his latest album because he had some beautiful songs.

After Jason's set ended, John and Don came to the stage, set up and then started playing. Maura then walked out and jumped right in to To Be the One. I've always enjoyed that song. To me, Maura's voice sounded strong and clear for at least the first half of the show. Later, a persistant "frog" caused Maura to cough a few times, but I thought she recovered well. I can commiserate, because the weather has wreaked havoc on my sinuses...of course, I don't have to sing in front of anyone.

From what I recall, here are the songs that were played (not really in order):

To Be the One
Spinning Wheel
Trip Around the Sun
Blue Chalk
Unwinding
Blue Train
No Place to Hide (by Declan O'Rourke)
I Would Be Stronger Than That
Summerfly
If I Fell
Hold On
Love You in the Middle
Half Moon Bay (before they started, I heard Don say "I thought we were doing "Shades," which I would have loved to hear since that song holds memories for me, but when they started playing Half Moon Bay, I was equally happy because I love this song, too)
Galileo (by Declan O'Rourke)
Poor Man's House
Blessing
Encores:
Hay Una Mujar Desaparecida (a very haunting song by Holly Near)
Crazy Love

After the show, I was able to have a nice little chat with Maura a bit before we went home to relieve the baby sitter. Thanks for remembering me, Maura, and thanks for a wonderful show (despite that frog)!

Theresa...Thanks for the post. Seems like a great show. I like it when Maura has someone that I have never heard of open for her. That is like an extra treat. Five years back I heard Teddy Thompson open for her. Now he is becoming a bit well known in his own right. It is like discovering a new find!

A few new songs in the set...Not bad. Cant wait for the new stuff!

I recently re-purchased "Stories." Mine was all scratched up. I bought it along with repurchasing Emmylou Harris' "Wrecking Ball," (also all scratched up). Two great albums...but I am really enjoying "Stories" again.

My husband and I had reserved tickets so that we could go out to a leisurely dinner before the show. We usually don't get reserved tickets, but we wanted to celebrate my birthday and Father's Day 8 days early (good thing, too, because we won our hockey game tonight so we have a playoff game next Sunday on the actual date of those events).

John Mock opened the show, and did a great job. Plus, he managed to play songs featuring three different instruments in his short set.

After much too long a gap (2-1/2 years!), it was great to see Maura again. The only negative about the show is that The Ark must have had someone new on lights and sound, because poor Don Johnson was in the dark! Of course, maybe it was just because he's so darn tall! Oh, and someone also managed to have their phone ring during the show - thankfully during a song intro and not the song itself - but it rang something like 5 times in a row!

The set list included many of my favorites. From my memory, here's what was played. I think the first handful are in order, but after that, well, my memory isn't as good as it used to be!

Spinning Wheel
A Far Cry
No Place to Hide (Declan O'Rourke)
Blue Train
Summerfly
Love You in the Middle
*Arrow
*Anach Cuain
Blue Chalk
Poetic Justice
It Don't Bring You
Trouble in the Fields
Shades of Gloria
*The Bright Blue Rose
*Weakness in Me
Galileo (Declan O'Rourke)
Blessing
Encores:
*Hay Una Mujer Desaparecida
Crazy Love

(* indicates acapella)

Maura threw me off a bit by playing sing-a-longs so near the beginning of the show. After that, I heard a lot of people singing the rest of the show (thankfully, they sang quietly and in tune).

Thanks to Maura, John and Don for a great time - especially for playing Shades of Gloria and for dedicating Galileo to my husband and me.

Theresa-

It sure sounds like you and your husband had a thoroughly enjoyable night.

Very happy that you got to see Maura in concert!

Her music is s000000000 good.

-Bob

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend of live music the last couple days. First we saw Chris Smither at The Ark on Saturday, followed by Maura on Sunday. The Ark is truly a treasure in our community!

Last night, Maura was joined by Don Johnson on bass, John Mock on guitar and Dave Francis on guitar. I don't think I've seen Dave play at The Ark with Maura in a long time - at least 8 to 10 years ago, if I remember correctly!

From what I can recall, here are the songs (partially in order):

To Be the One
Spinning Wheel
Summerfly
No Place to Hide (Declan O'Rourke)
Poetic Justice
Shades of Gloria
Weakness in Me (acapella)
Hay Una Mujer Desapercida (acapella)
I Know My Love (acapella, with the audience on the chorus)
Love You in the Middle
A Far Cry
Trouble in the Fields
Blue Train
Western Highway
Galileo (Declan O'Rourke)
Down By the Salley Gardens
Blessing
Encore:
When We Ran
Crazy Love

All in all, a lovely evening with good music and good friends (we had 7 in our group). My husband and I had a nice chat with Maura afterward - thanks again Maura!