Tonight was
an unexpected pairing. Scottish indie rocker Withered hand (aka Dan Wilson) has
been gathering top reviews for his albums and The Herald recently listed his
album as the top Scottish album of 2014.
The busy ABC
crowd were mainly there to see Brazilian rapper and hip hop artist Criolo, but
Withered Hand and his six piece band received a warm welcome and they played a
strong set with both thoughtful and upbeat songs.
He sang with
his band that consisted of cello, accordion, bass, guitar, drums and backing
singer. Songs included - King of Hollywood (dedicated to Chuck Berry), Fall
Apart, New Roads, Religious Song. His music is a all about the song stories and
catchy hooks that stand above many songs today - he writes songs to get lost
in.
Wilson's
first studio album, Good News and 2014 album, New Gods have been released in
both the UK and US. He performed at the South by Southwest festival in
Austin, Texas in 2014, as part of the Scottish Showcase. http://witheredhand.com
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Next up was Brazilian
rapper, singer songwriter and hip hop artist Criolo who owned the ABC stage as
he danced and acted out his songs and with many Glasgow fans there ready to
rock also and enjoy the show. He performed with his band, that included keys,
bass, guitar and drums, a dynamically energized set.
Withered
Hand joined Criolo on stage with his guitar for one song in the spirit of the
festival's dynamic and wide-ranging collaborations. Criolo was highly
entertaining and the audience danced and jumped along to his tracks. His music mixes
Afrobeats, soul, samba, and reggae. He certainly brought his sunshine rhythms
to a cold Glasgow night.
In 2011 “Nó na Orelha” won Best Album at the
Brazilian Music Video Awards. http://www.criolo.net/convoqueseubuda/
It was hard to see the Celtic connections here
except that the music festival does encourage music voices world wide – from roots,
folk, world and indie. Music at Celtic is
not about the mainstream, but rather about quality and challenging new boundaries.
