REVIEW: MacMaster revs up Christmas with spirited concert

By Diana Nollen

RIVERSIDE - Natalie MacMaster is the master of her realm.

Everything she does onstage is masterful, from her flawless fiddle playing to her fancy footwork and her fun dialogue with her bandmates and audience. Nearly all 1,100 seats were filled for her “Christmas in Cape Breton” concert present by Hancher on Saturday night at the Riverside Casino Event Center.

Genetically blessed by generations of musicians, she grew up steeped in the Scottish traditions of Cape Breton Island in northern Nova Scotia. Her mother taught her step-dancing at age 5, her father started her on violin at age 9 and now she's known internationally as a fiddling phenom.

Smoke practically rises from her instrument as her fiery fingerwork and bowing erupt from deep within her soul.

And yet her concert began quietly, with the angelic voice of her 4-year-old daughter speaking the lyrics to “What Child is This?” MacMaster then picked up the mournful melody with solo violin, joined seamlessly by cello and acoustic guitar. The mood changed instantly as piano and percussion helped them crank up the heat with a Celtic kick that got my side of the room clapping and stomping as MacMaster skipped across the festive stage.

She plays music that moves you, literally and figuratively. She's a perpetual motion machine who throws her whole body into the action of the song and lets out a whoop or two along the way. At her invitation, a few audience members got up and danced to her jigs.

She decks familiar Christmas tunes with ornaments and flourishes, giving a light and lively feel to “It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” spinning “Christmas in Killarney” into a jig and turning “Winter Wonderland” over to her cellist, who gave it a bluesy feel.

All of her band members are accomplished musicians, but a special nod must go to her cellist, 15-year-old prodigy Nathaniel Smith of Brandon, Miss. He matches her in style, fury and finesse and has a resume performers twice his age would die for.

So many moments were worthy of mention, including a playful step-dance twist on “Dancing Cheek to Cheek,” featuring MacMaster and her Cape Breton pianist, Mac Morin.

The sweetest moment of the two-hour show, however, came when little Mary Frances Leahy, who just turned 4, danced to her mother's music onstage. All smiles in her red taffeta dress with a black velvet bodice, she gingerly grabbed her mother's hem at first, then let loose with her step-dance flair. When she realized everyone was looking at her, she covered her eyes while her feet and her curls kept flying. And everyone's hearts melted in a peppermint puddle.

The whole audience got the chance to dance and clap on the jazzy encore of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” leaving us all with tidings of comfort and joy, Cape Breton style.