Duckpond
House Concert No. 31
Mandy Connell Trio
27
May 2016
When we recently saw Vin Garbutt at the Spotted Mallard, the support
act was Mandy Connell.
Although I'd seen Mandy before with her band The Stray Hens, that was
the first time
I'd seen her solo and singing her own songs. I was impressed. So, Jonni spoke
to her and
persuaded her to come and play a house concert, although I don't think she
needed much persuasion
- word is getting out about how good it is to play at The Duckpond
Jonni was keen to show off his new waistcoat that he salvaged
when my nephew was throwing it out. Tom's defence,
it did have gold buttons, which I've since replaced with nice wooden
eucalypt slices with two holes drilled not quite in the middle!
Mandy bares her soul in her songs and performs them
with a passionate and compelling voice that fits perfectly to the tone of
each song.
All who attended were captivated by this lovely young woman.
We weren't originally expecting fellow Stray Hen Carmen O'Brien,
but we were delighted when Mandy asked if she could bring her along.
Her fiddle playing added a whole other dimension to Mandy's songs.
Craig Kelly's double bass was fitted with bronze colour strings, and I did
wonder if that was why it sounded so very good.
Like many musicians and songwriters, Mandy, Craig and Carmen perform
with other combinations, so it shouldn't be hard for you to see them again
if you missed this great night at The Duckpond.
To find out more about Mandy, go to her website at
mandyconnell.com and, if you'd like
to
listen to one of the songs Mandy sang on the night, Jonni has put a video
up on YouTube.