Foster and Allen

Press, 28 May 1984, Page 8

Foster and Allen

Foster and Allen in Concert; Town Hall Auditorium. Saturday, May 26. Running time: 8.20 p.m. to 10.12 p.m. Reviewed by Frank Duggan. The Irish duo, Foster and Allen, stopped off briefly at the Town Hall Auditorium on Saturday evening on an 18-concert whistle-stop tour of Australia and New Zealand. A near-capacity house was evidence of the impact they have made since their album, "Maggie,” drifted on to the air waves several months ago. As the revivalists of the age-old melody they have, to use an overworked cliche,* been an overnight success, their appeal resting mainly with the 35-years and older bracket Little wonder then that to the surprise and chagrin of the New Zealand pop scene, the “senior citizens” forced “Maggie” into the top of the charts for several weeks. The Christchurch audience gave a good idea of

their growing popularity among this age group. Tenor and guitarist Tony Allen and baritone-piano accordionist, Mick Foster, enjoyably interspersed numbers from their two albums with jigs, reels, sea-shanties, and Irish ballads, leaving the impression that “Maggie” will certainly not be a “oncer” for the duo, who prefer to be classified as half-way between country and western and traditional Irish .singers. Their second and latest album, “I Will Love You All My Life,” is making a sudden impact on the charts. Several of their songs on Saturday evening delved deeply into the emotions, particularly “Maggie,” “I Will Love You AU My Life,” “Bunch of Thyme,” r ‘Gentle Mother,” and “Weeping Willow”, but the down-to-earth lyrical witticisms of “The Hills of Tullamore” and “Neil Flaherty’s Drake” and the like did not aUow sentiment to linger too

long. AUen peaked with the ballads; Foster, besides being a highly accomplished piano accordionist, provided the duo’s stability with a fine and compelling baritone voice. However, they would have perhaps left a much more lingering memory, but for a strangely abrupt finale. From having an almost complete rapport with the audience towards the end of the concert — they had been on stage for an hour and 20 minutes — they allowed only two encores by which time most people had completely warmed to the duo’s ease and appeal. It was the only off-key note of an otherwise enjoyable first tour for the Irishmen. Perhaps a drop of poteen might have helped. Lyn Clarke, a singerguitarist,. preceded Foster and AUen with a varied bracket of four numbers, featuring the appealing “Water Lily.”