Many of the songs were melancholy or heart wrenching; one depicted a man who returns to the village he left behind only to find a dove where family and friends once resided. Stories such as these belied melodies that were either sweet or jovial, rather than foreboding or depressing. Interestingly, it was mentioned that Navan picked poems first and then matched them to tunes, a strategy backward from the norm.
The sound was average; I could only wonder how it would have been with the acoustics of a church setting. Harmonies were good most of the time, with Shigley singing out over Fine and Gorman on a few songs. By the end, her strained speaking voice proved a bit of restraint would be best for next time. Conversely, Fine's enunciation seemed compromised by the limits of her own mouth many times her words seemed stifled by the way in which she was forming them. She has a nice tone, but she needs to let it out. A forgotten lyric here, a nervous posture there, and some overzealous between song joking smacked of nervous excitement. Hopefully, by their sixth album release party they'll reel it in.
Overall, the show filled its niche nicely. Navan oozed a welcoming and thankful attitude toward their fans, and given the audience participation in some of the traditional sing a longs, their graciousness was appreciated.