Monday 24 January 2011

GIGS in Glasgow February 2011

Here are a few gigs highlights.

8th - Bright Eyes - Oran Mor
15th - Adele - ABC
19th - Dubliners - Concert Hall
28th - Ray Lamontagne - Concert Hall

'Steele The Show' Tribute concert to Davy Steele @ Old Fruitmarket Celtic Connections 20th Jan 2011


Davy Steele:  "Passion for life and Laughter"
Davy's friends gathered for the tenth anniversary of his tragic early death - not simply to honour him but to relive his spirit through his songs. Davy Steele was a member of several bands including Drinker's Drouth, Ceolbeg, and Battlefield.  He started out writing mostly rocking soul songs, then work songs - and later Scottish folk songs and intimate love ballads.  He died from a brain tumour at the age of 51 - and to celebrate his work his wife Patsy Sedon invited several Scottish artists to record some of Davy's best loved songs for a CD entitled - 'Steele The Show'.

In between each performance the artists told stories of Davy. It was abundantly clear from these and from their performance of his songs, the great affection they felt for him - and
the man that emerged was one with a big heart and a huge grin.  It's hard to explain the joy of this concert -  it was at once about Steele's warm and generous heart, but mostly about his warm and generous songs.  I hope my photos express the sincere feelings of the different performances of his songs.

The Performers. The show was hosted by Ian McCalman and Phil Cunningham. Performances were by Dick Gaughan, Karine Polwart, Andy M Stewart, Sally Barker, Kath Stewart, Siobhan Miller - backed by a band that featured Andy Throburn, Donald Hay, Mary Macmaster, Karen Tweed, Eilidh Shaw and Mairearad Green.

Davy's Songs.
Karine Polwart -  'Scotland Yet'
Dick Gauaghan - 'The Ballad of Jimmy Steele'
Kath Stewart - 'Friends'
Andy M. Stewart - 'Here's A Health of the Seuter'
Patsy Sedon - 'Rose of Summerlea'
Siobhan Miller - 'Eye of A Child'
Dick Gaughan - 'The Last Trip Home'
Patsy Sedon ( and the Steelettos!) - 'Sliding'
Siobhan Miller - 'Chasing Shadows'
Sally Barker - 'Quietly Song You To Sleep'
Jamie Steele - 'Just One More Chorus'


The heartfelt moments of the concert were - Jamie Steele's singing 'Just One More Chorus;'   Sally Barker singing 'Quietly Song You To Sleep', and Patsy Sedon - 'Rose of Summerlea.'
There were the fun dancing songs also and one sung by Patsy Sedon and the Steelettos! called 'Sliding.'
Poignant traditional songs from Dick Gaughan - 'The Ballad of Jimmy Steele' and 'The Last Trip Home.'   And for the last 2 songs, Davey's friends and family were invited on to the stage, and his widow Patsy Seddon was given a bouquet from her son Jamie.
There were some great characters at this concert. After the concert I spoke with Alex Reid ( lead singer of Battlefield band) who spoke of Davy's time with the band. Alan now has a duo called Robran Sante.  He said that one of Davy's biggest ambitions was to tour the world with a band - a dream he realised when he became the front man for the Battlefield band in the 90s.  A moving and heart-warming concert.  

Tuesday 18 January 2011

'The Burns Unit' Celtic Connections Old Fruitmarket 2011


'The Burns Unit' first debuted at Celtic 2009. I took photos at this gig - and was immediately struck by the diverse colourful nature of the young talents of this Scottish and Canadian eight-piece line-up. From well renowned folk singer songwriter Karine Polwart to Emma Pollock of Delgados fame; to Fife's King Creosote and guitarist AKA pilot to pianist Kim Edgar; to exuberant Canadian Michael Johnston and rapper MC Soom T; and to producer and drummer Mattie Foulds.  I had previously seen Karine perform her emotional acoustic folk songs at several gigs - and to see her pounding those drums ( I assume to initiate her into the rockier rhythms of the band) appeared a big change in direction! 

At first glance it appears a disparate while accomplished group with little in common except their love of music and Celtic roots. However they have brought together a unique blending of influences to produce challenging and interesting songs, and they appear to enjoy their musical collaborationsDuring their set the mood altered from mainly folk/rock to the dancing Caribbean-tinged rhythms of singer MC Soom T very catchy numbers. 
The Old Fruitmarket is full of old-world charms and the perfect venue for this kind of line-up and they appeared more relaxed together. The stand out performances were from singer songwriters Emma Pollock and King Creosote - along with strong vocal harmoniesKarine performed some of her touching and sincere acoustic guitar songs.