Gig review: An Tobar Sessions

Published on Wednesday 20 January 2010 18:07

THE AN TOBAR SESSIONS **** GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL

"MULL is famous for lots of things," noted a silver-haired kilted Mulloch known simply as Uncle Eric in his intro to this Celtic Connections show. The list includes whisky, wildlife, the name of a Womble and children's TV show Balamory. But the particular feature of the west coast island people had gathered to celebrate on this evening was An Tobar, the ever-innovative Tobermoray arts centre run by Gordon Maclean.

There were three sets. Jazz collective the Dave Milligan Trio were commissioned by An Tobar to create compositions inspired by Tobermoray shops, then debut them in the individual stores. The resulting suite, Shops, was given an airing in a more conventional venue here, proving a quirky mix of inventive playing and looped found-sound recordings.

Next, fiddler Aidan O'Rourke, leading an ensemble featuring harpist Catriona McKay and accordionist Martin Green, revisited An Tobar, an album composed and recorded on Mull in 2008 to mark the arts centre's tenthth anniversary.It's a beguiling blend of traditional with an experimental twist.

Last up was Colin MacIntyre, backed by a band featuring Maclean on upright bass and his son Sorren Maclean on guitar. The former Mull Historical Society man went full circle last year, returning to his old schoolhouse on Mull to record the stripped-down album Island.

The wonky stuff of that record was the mainstay of this set, while some of MacIntyre's older numbers – including Final Arrears and I Tried – were also reduced to their acoustic basics.