Gig review: The Michael McGoldrick Band | Robert Tannahill Bicentenary Concert | Carlos Nunez | The Imagined Village

Published on Sunday 17 January 2010 21:51

THE MICHAEL MCGOLDRICK BAND **** O2 ABC, GLASGOW

IT'S 11 years now since The Michael McGoldrick Band had their first rehearsal together – as the Mancunian virtuoso flute, whistle and uilleann pipes player informed us – and they can't have looked back since. McGoldrick has assembled a fantastic squad of players in his ten-piece backing ensemble, on everything from accordion and fiddle to guitar, drums and trumpet. He even has festival artistic director Donald Shaw on keyboards.

They rattle off sprinting, tightly honed, multi-layered jigs and reels with flourish and a hearty eclecticism that sees elements of rock, jazz and funk thrown in alongside traditional styles. The snappy tabla playing of Parvinder Bharat was just one accent of many transplanted from a different genre which brought freshness to the band sound.

This was largely an up-tempo, feelgood set, although a guest appearance from Irish vocalist Karan Casey shifted the mood in a misty Celt-jazz direction for a couple of songs.

We could probably have done without the ten-minute bodhran and tabla duel – the time would have been better filled with a couple more full-band numbers. Scant criticism, though, of a joyful performance that neatly captured a lot of what Celtic Connections is all about.

ROBERT TANNAHILL BICENTENARY CONCERT

****

STRATHCLYDE SUITE, GLASGOW

THE reputation of Robert Tannahill has been eclipsed by that of the Burns song canon over the past two centuries. This concert marking the bicentenary of his suicide assembled 19 singers and musicians in a song sequence demonstrating that the ill-starred Paisley weaver poet, like Burns, possessed an ear for a good melody. There was the strathspey snap of When John and I Were Married, sung with gusto by Wendy Weatherby and John Morran, and Jim Malcolm's Bonnie Heilan' Laddie, complete with spirited harmonica. Brian hEadhra pointed up Tannahill's Irish sympathies with the slip jig-driven One Night In My Youth.

Better-known numbers included the gently swinging Braes of Balquhidder and driving Are Ye Sleeping, Maggie? Fine singing, too, from Lucy Pringle and Steve Byrne, and a poignant rendering of Gloomy Winter's Now Awa' from Emily Smith – given a Beethoven-ish prelude as Sandy Brechin briefly swapped accordion for concert grand.

Back on his box, Brechin gave mettlesome instrumental interludes with fiddler Gavin Marwick, while director Fred Freeman's commentary elucidated without impeding the musical flow. The gig ended on a lyrical, melancholy note, as Weatherby sang I'll Lay Me on the Wintry Lea over shadowy accordion. The enthusiastic reception might have gladdened the tormented spirit of the self-described "obscure, verse-making weaver", had it been hovering in the wings.

CARLOS NUNEZ

****

ROYAL CONCERT HALL, GLASGOW

GALICIAN piper Carlos Nunez is the life, soul and essence of the Celtic Connections party. On this occasion, he mustered more than 30 fellow performers from Spain, Brazil, Ireland and Scotland to create moments which may not be surpassed this year.

Nunez was an entertaining guide to the links between Brazilian traditional music and that of the Portuguese colonists. Playfully dismissing samba and bossa nova as music "for tourists", he showcased a regional Brazilian style with distinctly Celtic flavour in the opening jamboree, featuring drummers and bagpipers from across Scotland.

Nunez exploited the impact of the massed pipes and drums. Who would have thought the bagpipes could be integrated so seamlessly and powerfully into a Japanese cartoon soundtrack?

But there were equally stirring numbers involving just his core band, including a dramatic Ravel's Bolero, originally inspired by a Galician tune, and a tribute to The Chieftains, during which his percussionist brother, Xurxo, commandeered a flight case to beat out a clacking sound.

The revels concluded with a Galician dance. Participants snaked around the venue, picking up audience members along the way – what better expression of Nunez's passion for making musical connections which go way beyond the Celtic?

THE IMAGINED VILLAGE

****

OLD FRUITMARKET, GLASGOW

GIVEN the late timing of this show, it may have been intended as a late-night club set geared towards getting people dancing. As it transpired, though, the blend of electronics and traditional instruments was only infrequently used to noisy effect. Otherwise, watching Simon Emmerson of Afro-Celt Sound Systems scratch supergroup was a mellow experience, a dreamy mixture of trip-hop and folk.

Alongside Emmerson stood vocalists Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy and Chris Wood, with a guest appearance from support act Jackie Oates for her haunting song Mermaid. Among an excellent supporting cast were cellist Barney Morse-Brown, sitar player Sheema Muckherjee and Johnny Kalsi on dhol. These latter eastern influences were the unsung focal points of the show. Muckherjee's playing floated over the music beautifully, while Kalsi's appearances during My Son John (a modern song about a war amputee) and Cold Hailey Rainy Night saw the show swing into high-volume action.

Otherwise, it was a folktronica treat, with highlights including Eliza Carthy's Space Girl, Wood's nigh somnambulant take on Slade's Cum On Feel the Noize and Martin Carthy's Scarborough Fair.