Celtic Connections
Kathleen MacInnes & Friends
Strathclyde Suite, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Keith Bruce
five stars
THE above heading is my space-saving construction, not the festival's title, but this partnership of South Uist's finest singer with Nairn composer, guitarist and fiddler Mike Vass and, from Ireland, Altan's accordionist Dermot Byrne and Flook's whistle player Brian Finnegan, suits the shorthand favoured for other gigs. The combination was assembled for an Irish tour last year, and it seems unlikely that it was ever other than the showcase of relaxed virtuosity a packed house heard on Tuesday evening. When Celtic Connections translates the pub session to the concert stage as successfully as this, it is truly at the top of its game.
All four members of the ad-hoc ensemble contributed tunes, MacInnes adding an effective wordless descant to some of the instrumentals alongside her own choice of Gaelic classics. Her characteristically droll between-song banter had a fine foil in Finnegan's own wry song introductions, and his playing was often truly startling, full of constantly fluctuating rhythmic variation. Beautifully thoughtful arrangements also featured bowed guitar chords and subtle electronic from Vass, who also picked a ska bassline to one breathless reel.
As winners of both a Danny Kyle award at last year's Celtic Connections and the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk award, trio Talisk more than deserved the support slot, but the acoustic parallel (fiddle, concertina and guitar) made their inclusion particularly appropriate, even if their music tends more towards foot-stomping gusto. Fiddler Hayley Keenan's relatively understated presence displayed appreciation of minimalist composition and Western Swing as well as the trio's geographically wide-ranging trad repertoire. They play again at St Andrew's in the Square on Saturday evening.
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