Tags: Celtic Connections, concert, Glasgow, ill
Date: 27 January 2007 12:18:28
Yesterday's gig was another belter - I was wondering if we'd made the right decision, not seeing Karine Polwart and Seth Lakeman (who I'm sure were great), but our chosen gig turned out to be absolutely brilliant. Shetland group Fiddler's Bid (4 fiddles, an acoustic guitar, electric bass and piano/harp) were joined by 6 international musicians (all of whom I'd not heard of before) and all were fantastic, so at various points we were regaled by a Canadian singer and guitarist (who did the fastest fingerwork I think I've ever ever seen on a guitar), an Irish (I think) violinist, an Irish banjo and whistle player, a Swedish guy who played this thing which they call a harp but which looked to me like a funny-shaped guitar which is bowed, a cellist who looked like a cross between Captain Sensible and Kevin the Teenager and who played his cello like Animal from the Muppets, and a singer from the Faroe Islands who at first reminded me of the eastern European Eurovision ethnicy type slightly bonkers novelty bands (with Abba-esque shiny eye shadow) but who turned out to have the most incredible voice. The Shetlands stuff they did reminded me very much of the Canadian Cape Breton Island music I have, a very similar style of playing (fiddles more or less in unison and a particular plinky plonk type of rhythm (yes it's a technical term) from the piano). And it was all absolutely fantastic - what a great night. Every gig I go to I think couldn't possibly be bettered, and then I go to another one which is at least as good, and this was no exception.
Can I just say Grrrrr though to those people who insisted on taking flash photographs during the gig, despite being asked not to? They were even worse at Kate Rusby on Wednesday - I've no idea if the performers found it offputting, but I certainly did, and what's the point when all they'll get is a picture of the back of the head of the person in front of them and the stage in darkness? Don't do it, you silly people. Gah.
Sadly though today we're having to not go to our two planned events, the workshop this afternoon (which was on the Hebridean (I think) skill of waulking, which is a form of Gaelic singing which the tweedmakers sang when shrinking the tweed) and a Breton singer tonight called Soig Siberil (this was another of our experimental choices). HD woke up this morning with a raging temperature and there's no way he's well enough to go up into town. So after our week of excitement and culture, today is being spent with him in bed and me doing housework. Woohoo.
Oh well. There's still one more gig to go tomorrow, so hopefully he'll have recovered after my wonderful nursing (I wonder if Florence Nightingale coughed and spluttered this much in front of her patients? What a right pair we are). Either way, we'll just have to make sure we go again next year :D