Categories: festivals, concerts
Tags: Celtic Connections
Date: 16 January 2006 12:20:47
Yesterday evening I braved the rain (of course it was dry all day whilst I was indoors) to head up to the newly revamped Old Fruit Market, which is a fantastic and really atmospheric concert venue which is part of Glasgow's City Halls complex. I'd never heard of the Celtic Connections Festival before moving to Glasgow, but I have to say - I can't believe my luck! As well as traditional Celtic music from Scotland and Ireland they have performers from all over the world and it has now grown into a major festival of world music, which runs for most of January each year. Unfortunately I'd have to take out a humungous overdraft if I were to get tickets to everything I wanted to see, but I think I'll be saving my pennies to make sure I can go to more gigs next year.
I spoke to my mum and dad yesterday as it was their 40th (Ruby) Wedding Anniversary, and my dad who is a bit of a diehard folkie was very jealous that I'm here and able to go gigging. He played in a folk band in the 60s and still regularly goes to folk clubs and that sort of thing (I blogged in September I think about going to one with him just before moving up here). He's a bit of a traditionalist though, and was moaning that on a Celtic Connections highlights programme he'd heard the other year most of the artists weren't actually Celtic. Personally I think it's great that the festival has widened out, and groups such as AfroCelts (formerly the AfroCelt Sound System) have proven how easy it is to mix traditional Celtic styles and instruments with music from round the world and for it to still be utterly fantastic. But that's a debate where he and I will always be on opposite sides of the fence and neither of us will ever back down!
So, I met up with a couple of other postgrads from my department and we wandered into the hall. First up was the support act (which would have had my dad chuntering away with disgust!) Johnny Kalsi and the Dhol Foundation, a group of Punjabi dhol drummers who combined bhangra and hiphop with the traditional dhol drumming and who were Very Loud Indeed - but absolutely fantastic! I really can't imagine how such a breathtakingly loud, energetic and atmospheric set could possibly work on CD, but one of my friends said she'd lend me her CD so I'll soon find out. But most definitely worth seeing live - utterly wonderful. They played for about 45 minutes, and I must admit that I could quite happily have listened to them all night. It was very amusing though seeing the older beardy-sandally types that had come for the more traditional main act looking really bemused at this tattooed turbaned club act and not knowing quite what to make of it!
After a half hour break, the main act came on, and what a stonking performance it was too. Yes, Michael McGoldrick that's you I'm talking about. Nearly 2 hours of utter incredibleness (including a fabulous encore when Johnny Kalsi and another dhol drummer joined them) from a master flute, whistle and uillean pipes player and his excellent band. Michael McGoldrick plays regularly with Capercaillie and Kate Rusby amongst many others (including the aforementioned AfroCelts), and is rightly considered one of the best in the world. I've been saying for years I ought to buy some whistles and get good so that I can play in a band, and this was so inspirational I may even get off my butt and do something about it (next month though, when cashflow is restored - sigh). It was amazing, and I'm still buzzing the next day. So that's a ton more CDs I need to buy then - good job I've got no money to speak of!
So - both acts absolute must-sees, whatever the cost. Just go!