Live

Disc 1
1	The Farewell
2	The Fairy Dance
3	Torna A Surriento
4	Bog an Lochan Steps
5	Blue Bonnets
6	Welcome to the Trossachs
7	David's Jig
8	Tullochgorum
9	The A Medley
10	The Encore
Disc 2
1	Natalie's Intro
2	Opening Figure
3	Second Figure
4	Lively Steps
5	Jerry Tunes
6	Pipe Jigs
7	Grand Promenade
8	The Stepdancers Queue
9	One Good Holler

Barnes & Noble

The Cape Breton fiddling sensation Natalie MacMaster is an artist of parts, and this concert showcase reflects all of them. Steeped in the fiddling traditions of Cape Breton -- a rough-and-ready hybrid of European and American styles -- MacMaster's got a foot in the global pop pastiche as well; her American breakthrough, In My Hands, pumped up the jams -- er, jigs -- with drum 'n' bass beats and pop accents. MacMaster followed up with the aptly titled My Roots Are Showing, a Grammy nominee that was less a retrenchment than a reaffirmation of her interest in and affection for acoustic music making. Fittingly, the first disc captures MacMaster and her fiddlin' fusioneers in concert at the Living Arts Center in Ontario, while Disc Two documents her down-and-dirty trad attack -- backed only by guitar and piano -- at a square dance in Glencoe Mills, Cape Breton. It's especially gratifying to hear the enthusiasm she generates from both audiences, whether it's the concert-hall thunder of the first set (MacMaster is a much bigger star in her native Canada, and it shows), or the wild whooping of dancers in what must be a packed-to-the-rafters hoedown. The effect is a little bit like one of Prince's legendary after-parties, sets that would commence in a small after-hours dive after one of the funkster's concerts let out. The comparison's not completely specious -- MacMaster's huge repertoire of reels and jigs, each track encompassing eight or more furiously sawed melodies -- mirrors the Purple One's encyclopedic knowledge of R&B. And judging from the heat she generates on both of these sets, a Natalie MacMaster concert offers an equally sweaty alternative. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

If you've been wondering what the big fuss is about Cape Breton fiddler Natalie McMaster, it may be because you haven't had the chance to see her perform live. This two-disc set doesn't provide quite the same experience as one of her concerts, but it does offer plenty of high-energy foot-stomping fun, as well as demonstrating the intriguing contrast between her concert-hall shows -- during which she dresses like Shania Twain and is accompanied by drums, electric guitar, keyboards, and percussion -- and her dancehall gigs, during which she is generally accompanied only by acoustic guitar and piano. The energy level is the same in both contexts, but the vibe, obviously, is quite different. On disc one, she skirls out her medleys of Irish, Scottish, and Canadian tunes over a bed of rock and funk grooves that mesh surprisingly well with her snappy hornpipes and jigs; on disc two, which was recorded in a small dancehall in the tiny town of Glencoe Mills, her playing is every bit as exuberant -- maybe even a bit more so, as the dancing intensifies and the temperature in the room rises. The fiddle tunes from this part of the world have a very particular flavor, and rural dancehalls like this one are their natural habitat. Highly recommended. Rick Anderson

New York Times

She thrives on the homey task of pushing dancers around the floor. Jon Pareles