Despite the actual Ceilidh Trail tour having come to an end almost 5 weeks ago, the band's work is not finished just yet. On Friday the 5th of September we ("Feis Lochabair") joined other youthful, energetic traditional band Hò-rò and slightly less youthful yet more experienced musicians Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson for one of the first gigs of this year's Blas Festival. For those who don't know, the Blas Festival was set up to celebrate the culture of traditional music and Gaelic in the Highlands and consists of various (mainly musical) performances from a variety of different artists/bands in several venues and locations over the area. This year it's running from the 5th - 13th of September.
Our venue on Friday was the local(ish) village hall in Roy Bridge. It was nice to be reunited with the band yet the fact that we hadn't played as a full ensemble in over a month was, I imagine, lurking in the back of all our minds. We had nothing to worry about though as our little opening 15 minute slot consisting of our 3 most polished and entertaining sets (I refer largely to our step-dancing set here, starring Hannah, Joanne and their fancy shoes) went down a treat, despite the odd squeak or croak here and there...
Next up on the stage were Hò-rò, which consists of Crisdean MacDonald, Calum MacPhail, Lucy Doogan and Sean Cousins. I've met some before, seen some play, and played with one myself but I'd never witnessed them performing as Hò-rò before, and they did not disappoint! They really are a dynamic, driven group of musicians with really tasteful style and oodles of talent. They know how to get the audience going (as I've seen in videos from them playing much bigger, more bustling venues) and all of their material is finely and tightly arranged, contributing to how they come across so professional and can keep the crowd engaged. I was particularly impressed when Sean's guitar string broke mid-tune yet he did not fret (pardon the pun...) as he swiftly whipped out a second guitar from behind him after finishing of the set. I wish I was that prepared, aha. Also Lucy Doogan has the most lovely voice that I think everyone needs to hear! A song she did in particular (Mo Ghleannan taobh Loch Liobhainn) I'm doing myself for college so listening to her sing this made my heart break with both admiration and jealousy. Though good hearted jealousy! Really, it was beautiful.
I did manage to get a tiny bit of footage before my phone ran out of battery that I was going to share with you, however there's something wrong with the file and I'm too lazy to figure out what so I reckon you should just go check them oot yourself and give 'em a wee like too:
https://www.facebook.com/MusicHoro
It's safe to say I thoroughly enjoyed their performance that night and was left feeling energized by it myself!
I did manage to get a tiny bit of footage before my phone ran out of battery that I was going to share with you, however there's something wrong with the file and I'm too lazy to figure out what so I reckon you should just go check them oot yourself and give 'em a wee like too:
https://www.facebook.com/MusicHoro
It's safe to say I thoroughly enjoyed their performance that night and was left feeling energized by it myself!
Thennn after a wee break for tea/coffee and a raffle Ross and Jarlath took to the stage with their guitarist man Matheu Watson. I could go on an on about the technicalities of how good they were but I'm just going to put it plainly: they're pretty feckin' awesome. I confess that I'd never actually heard of them before we were advertised to be playing at the same gig, and even then I was too lazy to do any research. But, man, am I sorry I didn't find them sooner.
Seriously.
Amazing.
Of course I had to buy their CD after the gig, and I would like to think that if I gave that CD to anyone who claimed they hated bagpipes that they would be converted and could really appreciate the sounds made by these incredible musicians. Like, seriously, I have tried and failed to work a set of small pipes before and they remain a complete mystery to me... It amazes me how anyone can even get one proper note out of them never mind play them like these guys do.
Here's a video I found that gives you a little taste of what they can do:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UJwh7tR36o
And, like always, you've got to have a big stramash at the end when you've played with other bands. So all 15 of us squeezed onto the little stage (it was quite cosy) to play a big finale set together and get very hot and sweaty. All the while I was being punched in the ribs by the box player on my right and elbowed in the chest by the fiddler on my left. It was great fun! (Genuinely not sarcasm.)
So overall I had a fantastic night and I would imagine everyone else did too.
And seeing these great musicians that I'd never heard of before has made me realise how much other good stuff there probably is kicking about that I'm missing out on just because I haven't looked hard enough.
I'm away to explore.
I apologise for the lack of media/pictures on this post, so please enjoy this silly picture of our fiddler (Eddie), box player (Michael) and piper (Ewen), which is one of about 800 I found after they hijacked my phone one night... thanks, guys.
