The Corrs

The Corrs
The Troubadour, Los Angeles, June 29, 1998

It must be pretty tough for Jim Corr to stand up on stage every night watching testosterone-fueled men in the audience ogle his three sisters, Andrea, Sharon and Caroline, but he doesn't let it show. Despite a barrage of construction worker-like tactics and cat-calling throughout the evening, Jim remained the calm and collected big brother. He's probably used to it by now. As the Corrs, the family foursome have sold a gazillion records in Ireland, where their 1995 self-titled album became one of the best-selling debuts from a native act in the country's history. However, unless you caught their New Year's Eve gig singing "Auld Lang Syne" at the Peach Pit on a 1995 episode of Beverly Hills 90210 or have picked up the recent Fleetwood Mac tribute album, you've probably never heard of them. That should all change soon.

Although it's an evil trick to pit the Corrs against Irish favorite and former Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan (he was playing across town at the House of Blues), the Troubadour was nearly packed to receive the band's musical concoction -- traditional Irish folk mixed with buttery pop melodies. On the pop end, the music can be a bit derivative, conjuring up images of cutesy girl bands who sing about love-lost and love-renewed in every song (think Abba with a violin or Wilson Phillips with Irish accents). But the traditional elements, when called upon, make the music more engaging than the average sweet-and-low pop group. That, along with the fact that Andrea, Sharon and Caroline are the finest Emerald Isle exports since Irish whiskey, makes the Corrs live show a near aphrodisiac.

While we won't hold it against Andrea for wearing the same outfit as the night before in San Jose, we will berate her -- and the rest of the band -- for not playing the Irish card enough. Dreamy pop tunes like "Only When I Sleep" and "So Young" from the band's new album Talk On Corners are catchy, but it's hoe-down-like Irish jamming at which the Corrs excel. Sharon, whose wrist action could give the devil down in Georgia a run for his money, is a prodigious talent on the violin. During instrumentals like "Erin Camp" and "Toss the Feathers" it wasn't hard to imagine her smoking strings sending the Troubadour up in flames. Likewise for lead singer Andrea's tin whistle and Caroline's work on the bodhran, an Irish goatskin drum.

During "What Can I Do," Andrea cooed like a pigeon until someone in the front row presented her with a Caramello chocolate bar. An odd gift, but Andrea accepted it with humble gratitude. She was visibly embarrassed by the attention as she managed a reticent "Thank you for the chocolates" to the adoring fan. The chorus to the song, "What can I do to make you love me?" ended up being one hell of a loaded question with this crowd. Besides the traditional instrumental ditties, the musical highlight of the night was the group's Irish-tinged treatment of the Fleetwood Mac classic "Dreams," a much-welcomed kick in the arse complete with tin whistle and some spiffy percussion. The show's only downfall was its hour-and-twenty-minute length, which was a bit of a stretch for a relatively unknown band purveying sugar pop.

Still, from the evening's first note, the Corrs exhibited a surefire confidence in their music as well as a refined sensuality. With the biting of her lower lip and occasional come-and-get-me-slowly glances, Andrea radiates a passion on stage that the audience inhaled at will. At the tender age of twenty-four, she already realizes she might be wearing too much passion on her sleeve. When one audience member screamed for the song "Closer," Andrea pointed out, "Aren't you close enough?" Not just yet.

KEVIN RAUB