REVIEWS '08

 Burns Night 2008

Our first Burns Night do was a  ceilidh dance with local band TORRIDON, twice MFR award winners, regulars at Hootananny and King Haakon's Bar as well as other quality Highland hostelries.  The four of them play half an orchestra's worth of instruments between them, including pipes and drums - great music! Folk from Kirkhill, Dingwall and Inverness braved the stormy night to come and dance. Liam's vegetable broth went down very well and so did the haggis - and we proved that dancing is the best way to shake off the post Hogmanay blues.

Friday February 8th - a great double bill

THEATRE FALL and SORREN MACLEAN

The Glen's own Stuart Moffat and Theatre Fall with their unique brand of Electro/Indie/Post Punk plus Mull's Sorren Maclean - lots of dancing, lots of fun, much excitement generated. A very good night. We'll try that again, no?

Sunday March 2nd OUR FIRST TEATIME CONCERT with
Michael Marra
Dundee's finest contribution to culture, a national treasure, a home-grown genius - Michael Marra is all these things, and one of the best singer-songwriters you will ever hear. This was our first AFTERNOON CONCERT,  and it was a great success. What better way to spend the afternoon than listening to superb music while drinking tea and sampling some homebaking?
Young and old had a lovely time, and we'll certainly do this again.

The sight  and sound of the immaculate baby grand piano was the high point of the day for audience and performer alike. Many thanks to the Scottish Arts Council whose funds supported the hire charge; it makes all the difference when you have the right equipment.


Friday March 21st 8pm
The Southern Tenant Folk Union
"Gleefully uplifting bluegrass melancholy"
A very talented band working the bluegrass/country/folk vein, led by Belfast-born banjo player Pat McGarvey (ex Coal Porters). Check them out and listen to their new single here on their MySpace site. Their influences are impeccable - the Louvin Brothers (beloved by Hank Wangford and Reg Meuross) included.

Their new album, "Revivals, Rituals and Union" has just been released, with an excellent review in London's "Morning Star" newspaper, which called it "a tight, sharp, glorious record" -read the full review here. 
Fiddler Frances Vaux was detained elsewhere so ex-Peatbog Roddy Nielson depped brilliantly for her, and Joe fae Essex stepped in for Eamon Flynn on Mandolin. But the vocal trio of Pete Gow, Oliver Talkes, and Pat McGarvey is the heart of this band and carried all before them.

 Friday March 28th 8pm The Shee with support from Cameron Gillespie

The return of The Shee who wowed us last year when they were called the Sirens and continue to wow us with their new name and new accordionist (and dancer) Amy Thatcher. Cameron Gillespie previewed some new songs and old favourites (A Thousand Things among them) and acquitted himself handsomely. The Shee opened with"Tom Paine's Bones", as spinetingling as ever, and closed with Olivia and Rachel duetting in English and Gaelic on McCrimmon's Lament, during which many tears were surreptitiously wiped away in the audience. Rachel and Lilias will be back as a duo for a teatime concert in June, by the way.

Sunday March 30th TEATIME CONCERT
MacGregor, Brechin and O hEadhra

Talking of teatime concerts.... Bruce MacGregor, Sandy Brechin & Brian Ó hEadhra blend some of the best musicianship and singing to come out of Scotland in recent years. The trio first performed together as the House Band at Hebridean Celtic Festival 2006 in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. Individually they perform with their own highly acclaimed acts; Bruce in Blazing Fiddles, Sandy in Burach and Brian in Anam. 

At our second teatime concert, the craic was indeed as superb as the music - and an audience ranging from 3 to over 70 loved every minute. Janet's cucumber sandwiches, Fiona's shortbread, Alison's scones and a huge chocolate cake donated very kindly by Cobb's bakery went down a treat too.
 Good news - the boys will be back in March 2009.

Sat April 5th Scottish Arts Council Tune Up Tour

"Reinventing the Reel" Lau with the Ross Ainslie/Jarlath Henderson Trio

We were Lau'd and we were wau'd. Amazing evening, record breaking audience figures for a non Drums & Rockets gig, and some of the most exciting music you could hope to hear.

Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson, ably accompanied by Ali Hutton, warmed things up brilliantly with their intricate pipework and the supergroup ending was a treat. Dancing broke out sporadically throughout the sets, but really took off in the last number. The reels were indeed reinvented. Thanks, everyone!

2nd May,   Mazaika! Russian accordionist and tenor Igor Outkine and Sarah Harrison on fiddle have been the toast of the Edinburgh Fringe for several years. Now we know why. These two immensely likeable virtuosi showed us the full range of fiddle and accordion.
Sarah's playing took the audience's collective breath away - hitting notes that no fiddler has come close to at the Hall..soaring almost to the limit of hearing but retaining purity of tone.  Igor's tenor voice filled the space with no amplification, and we became dizzy trying to follow the blur of his fingers on the accordion buttons - both sides, this was not a piano accordion.
They made us laugh, too. A standing ovation at the end and many requests for a return, soon. We can't wait.

 
Monday 19th May, 8pm
FIDDLE RENDEZVOUS
another Tune Up tour, featuring six top musicians in a unique collaboration; Bruce Molsky and Mary Ann Kennedy, Gerry O'Connor and Gilles le Bigot, Mike and Ali Vass.

Photo by Louis de Carlo

Fiddle Rendezvous was a wonderful evening. Don't take our word for it, read Catriona Ross' review on Hi Arts, here!

 
June 8th Rachel and Lillias

Rachel Newton and Lillias Kinsman-Blake from the Shee returned as a duo for this teatime concert, playing clarsach, flute, and fiddle to accompany their beautiful vocals singing old traditional songs and their own, self-penned compositions.  Lovely stuff!

Friday June 13th Rumba Caliente 8.15 pm

 Led by Salsa Celtica's Toby Shippey and Lino Rocha, Rumba Caliente are nine world class musicians who demonstrated superbly their original salsa- soul sound; moving from salsa to soul, Latin jazz to funk and back to salsa  this was an irresistibly powerful, memorable, uniquely funky dancefloor-filling sound. Fabulous!

Mon June 23rd Chris Stout's RUN NORTH

"Deep, dastardly violin worthy of the Devil himself" (Maverick Magazine)

We couldn't put it better ourselves. A night of really, really amazing music played with fire, passion, panache and virtuosity by all concerned. Very possibly the best music ever heard in the Hall.  Chris will be back - don't miss him next time. 

Aug 24th Hank Wangford and Reg Meuross' Teatime Concert

Lovely jubbly! Hank and Reg were if anything in even finer voice than last year, despite the shock of performing at what is to most musicians breakfast time. The Standard Lamp of Fame (thanks to Carolyn and Mike Wilson) was resplendent in fringe and bobbles, and we revelled in song after song of misery from the despondent side of the tracks. Impossible not to leave with a smile!

Aug 28th Blazin Fiddles

They came, they saw, they sold out! We ran out of chairs and latecomers had to stand at the back. Teya (Bawden) and Andrew (Rough) opened for the Blazers, not an easy task, but having heard them at the soundcheck, Aidan O'Rourke not only volunteered to introduce them but stood to listen to their set. Lovely singing and guitar work.
Then the Blazers squeezed onto the stage and just rocked the Hall till after 11pm. Stories, solos, ensemble pieces all played with the telepathy that comes after ten years of making music together.  A triumph.

11th Sept Blas 2008 Nuala Kennedy & Rachel Hair

Glorious music from the lovely Nuala Kennedy and her band of very talented musicians, preceded by the Glen's Stuart Mackintosh on accordion, and clarsach player Rachel Hair, who won the audience over completely.

16th September 2008 Accidental Death of an Accordionist

20th September ORKESTRA DEL SOL

19th October 2008 Au Courant Baroque Trio

Review by Robert Livingstone here.