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... by Joanne Corsano ... joanne@picturelake.com

Maura Kennedy and Pete Kennedy, guitar and vocals. Backing vocals during the second set: Chris and Meredith Thompson. Opener: Anthony Savino.

River of Fallen Stars - Same Old Way - Month of Hours - Wall of Death {Richard Thompson} - Day in and Day Out - Winterheart - Fortune Teller Road - Stephen's Green - House on Fire - Run the Red Horses - Life Goes On - Chelsea Embankment - Spirit Compass ... intermission ... Life Is Large - Gypsy Rose {Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer} - Nuah (with Chris and Meredith Thompson) - Matty Groves (with Chris and Meredith Thompson) - Heal You Now (with Chris and Meredith Thompson) - Stand (with Chris and Meredith Thompson).

Setlist also available at setlist.fm.

Scroll to below videos for a review of the show.

Same Old Way

Run the Red Horses

Nuah (a Strangelings reunion with Chris and Meredith Thompson)

It's the 25th anniversary of The Kennedys' first album, River Of Fallen Stars, and Maura and Pete have been playing live shows in which they recreate the album in its entirety. They admitted this was a challenge, since there are songs on there that they haven't played live in decades, or have never played live. But I must say they pulled it off effectively. It's a stretch to call this album folk, since there is a lot of psychedelia in there, but there were no sitars in evidence -- Pete played the entire set on a 12-string D'Angelico acoustic and Maura used her trusty Gibson acoustic. The live audience, many of whom were Kennedys followers, found the format exciting and fun -- something very different from other shows by this talented duo. It's definitely true that Pete and Maura don't play the same show all the time; there is a lot of variety in their format from one show to the next, and it sure doesn't get boring.

The first set consisted of Pete and Maura recreating the album, then they took a very short intermission and came on for a second set. Because there was a dance band coming in later in the night, they didn't have time for a lot of audience requests, but even better than that, they were able to put together a Strangelings reunion. Twin sisters Chris and Meredith Thompson, who recorded many years ago with Maura and Pete as The Strangelings, were in the house, and Maura invited them up on stage. They dug right in and sang along with a couple of Strangelings tunes (the Strangelings mostly did traditional songs with a folk-rock sound), a new song that The Kennedys were introducing called "Heal You Now" (a song set in the topical social climate of today), and the encore "Stand." Chris and Meredith had a blast singing along with their old bandmates and added a really dynamic element to the show. One of them was particularly demonstrative while singing, but I don't know which one is Chris and which is Meredith, so I can't tell you who the really lively one was.

All in all it was very different from many shows by The Kennedys, with its recreation of their first album and the fab contribution from the Thompson sisters. The Burren is an excellent venue to see Pete and Maura, with a stage plenty big enough and a light show that really enhanced the songs; especially appropriate for the songs with a psychedelic sound.

The show was opened by a young singer-songwriter, Anthony Savino, who played a half hour of originals accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. He has a new album coming out and played several songs from it. His songs were tuneful and interesting, but they had a habit of just stopping (as opposed to finishing) and the audience was a little unsure of when to clap. He's a good singer and his songs were well written, so with a bit more experience with live performing, he might become a name on the Boston area folk scene.

This show was at the Burren just outside Davis Square in Somerville. Usually this venue is easy to reach using the MBTA subway train, but due to delays on the train and bus service replacing some of the train stations, it was a long, long trip to get there. Once there, we were comfortable and were able to order a satisfactory pub food meal from the efficient and friendly servers. It's not the venue's fault that getting there on the Boston subway can be a nightmare.

Here is a page with a handy list of links to all pages on this website with content relating to Pete and Maura Kennedy.

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