Just exactly how beautiful is Land Of My Other and how much did we look forward to the tour that brought The Breath to the Netherlands this April? From the moment master guitarist Stuart McCallum mentioned it in an interview held in January when, accompanied by snowfalling, they were still touring in Belgium up to last week, all we did was counting down time with sheer anticipation. It’s plain for all to see: we at Written love The Breath and we did so ever since we first listened to their astounding music.

From the very beginning, their debut Carry Your Kin, we have been thrilled by Rioghnach Connolly’s ever so beautiful vocals and Stuart’s staggeringly beautiful, always wonderfully surprising and very varied guitar playing. Yes, indeed, in January the band did a tour of Flanders and we were there to witness it. The enthousiasm certainly was there and now we realised we had a chance to see them in the Netherlands again, in Utrecht, Nijmegen, Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

There was only one thing to do and that was to dive in and enjoy the live experience. Four nights of The Breath of which we attended three. We would like to take you through our experience of the concert series. Spoiler in advance: you wouldn’t want to have missed out on this. If you weren’t there this time around, we implore you to definitely grab your chance on the next occasion.

The tour started off in Cloud Nine, one of the small halls of Vredenburg Utrecht and then took to the industrial history of Nijmegen, where the band performed in the historic warehouse of publishing company Thieme with us leaving out Amsterdam yet end in Lantaren Venster in Rotterdam.

The Cloud Nine venue was still pretty empty fairly soon after 20:00, but the small and fine venue filled up nicely towards 20:45 giving Rioghnach and Stuart a warm welcome. Performing as a duo and not with a band brought the music back to its essence: Stuart’s refined, inventive and always warm guitar playing, Rioghnach’s voice that captures and conveys emotion like no other.  And indeed her skills both on the flute and in playing the Shruti box: an Indian instrument that produces long-lasting sounds. It can best be compared to the sound of harmonica, accordion or harmonium. Perhaps also as an acoustic counterpart to the Mellotron. And it was  played skilfully and subtly by Rioghnach on Thursday.

The band played a fine mix of songs from the current album and added, well-matched, older songs. What you saw and heard from the two of them playing together already captured hearts and that is something that certainly shines on the album. On the other hand there were songs in which Stuart’s playing already seemed to be part of a world of its own and Rioghnach sang her parts, also with a very individual character, while the combination of playing and singing made for some serious synergy particularly in the way emotions were conveyed. The nice thing about this was that sometimes you could zoom in on exactly what Stuart was playing, then on to Rioghnach’s parts and then on tpothe songs as a whole.

In the process, one got to be fully touched by the songs. You can hear it in Rioghnach’s voice, the lyrics are not just some words cobbled together, the lyrics can just as easy carry you away as much as they can move you. The Breath was most certainly enchanting. And did so with fine mutual dynamics: the looks, the laughter, the shared messages. Rioghnach took the floor most of the time and managed to bring laughter to Cloud Nine apart from sharing some serious and deep tracks with us. Just how deep the meaning of Letters From Long Kesh must be for her, about her father who was active for the IRA and therefore ended up in Long Kesh, the prison where Bobby Sands was also detained? The song clearly speaks of the bond of a father and daughter right through it all.

And then there were Cliona’s Wave, Little One, Don’t Rush It and the stunning title track. Simply magnificent. The Thursday couldn’t have been better and after a brief and pleasant chat with both Rioghnach and Stuart, our next part of the tour would be the day after on Friday. On Friday, The Breath played the Thiemeloods in Nijmegen’s Bottendaal district, the least known of the four venues, at the same time fitting and atmospheric for concerts in an intimate setting. Tonight, the historic venue served as a fine Irish pub. Rioghnach and Stuart used much of the day in the area to acclimatise. They wanted to make the venue their own, so their afternoon stroll through the adjacent Thiemepark was inspiring for them. This was very much in evidence during the show. The pair were welcomed hospitably and were able to take in the peace and quiet. The performance was delightfully balanced.

As in Utrecht, the upper room of the Thiemeloods was nicely filled. The audience consisted mostly of people in their fifties who probably saw more shows at the Thiemeloods: it felt like homecoming and again with a warm welcome the band was greeted. That warmth also applied to the temperature. To temper that, a window was opened in the break between the two sets. After the break, Rioghnach returned wearing different clothes. She is an extraordinary performer who sees to fine banter on stage never missing out on her fine Irish accent. She shared varied anecdotes with the audience and certainly got laughs for that. In Ireland, she might have the upper hand in a pub, at the same time, to what extent was that very aspect of the performance not just a contrast to the vulnerability in the songs?

Their songs vulnerable, her vocals sounding intimate and occasionally her voice so powerful she wouldn’t even need a microphone. Her words in between might have been just the thing to keep everything from getting close. And of course, in everything she sang there was the spirit of Ireland. Stuart might have seemed quieter in her presence, but he too took his part of the onstage banter. A nice contrast between the two, swapping between instigator and finisher. But he too was sharp in his lines. However, it was mostly his playing that touched and that made a fine impression.

Yes, at times when Rioghnach was not singing, there was her flute. This kept her close to her musical roots. And indeed, in Ireland’s more traditional society, the importance of family still applies today. Touchingly beautiful was Rioghnach’s explaining of the bond with her father as she spoke about Letters From Long Kesh. The two appreciated the attention and they were particularly pleased that so many people were there on Friday. Especially since the audience kept wholly quite when the band played. And thus the perfect kick-off to a beautiful weekend. That left us with The Breath’s appearance at LantarenVenster on Sunday.

The final night of this short Dutch tour was at Rotterdam’s LantarenVenster. An excellent place to close a tour like this and again with a fine turnout for the Sunday night too. Stuart and Rioghnach are a great well-matched duo who can move their audiences with great songs. Rioghnach again proved herself to be a delightful conversationalist between songs with lots of jokes and anecdotes. But as soon as the songs started, her concentration was there so she could dive deep into the tracks. This evening in Lantaren Venster, Stuart again was on fantastic form with subtle guitar lines, his beautiful strumming, lovely rhythmic playing with the occasional virtuoso guitar line in between.

Rioghnach was in the same league vocally and musically. Let’s be honest: there is no second singer like her. Her Irish roots while living in Manchester, UK, made her an all-round folk singer. The BBC proclaimed her to be ‘folksinger of the year’. Every single song she sings is deep and full of emotion. Subtle, technically extremely convincing, shifting between fragile and more powerful and ever warm.

The set in Rotterdam consisted of many songs from their most recently released album Land of my Other and also offered a selection of songs from their previous two albums. It was one of those concerts where everything they made so far was allowed to be played. It was so incredibly beautiful and at the same time, after five quarters of an hour of playing, it was perfect and there was nothing left to be wishing for.

Nice to see the duo selling their records behind the stand themselves afterwards: hardly anyone walked away without anything. Oh please, oh please, do come back, very, very soon can only be our appeal to the band. And we discovered that it is not just us, but the whole of the Netherlands that loves The Breath. We saw three very fine concerts and enjoyed every moment: The Breath took us with them in a fine and intimate journey. A very fine experience and highly recommended if you want to dive into music with a dedicated and attentive audience.

Photos: Bart Vanoutrive (Flemish tour)