Double Highland Set
Karen Matheson, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, March 18th.
Wolfstone, The Ironworks, Inverness, March 19th.

Pitlochry, 'Gateway to the Highlands,' isn’t just one of the nicest towns in Scotland, it’s also home to one of the nicest theatre venues in the country.
The third weekend of March saw my wife and I head for that very venue to catch Karen Matheson and band in concert, before heading a further 90 miles north to Inverness for what was a Saturday night ‘hometown’ gig for Wolfstone.

Both acts share a commonality in their musical roots, but where Karen Matheson plies her trade primarily in traditional arrangements with a number of songs performed in Scots Gaelic, Wolfstone are the rock and reelers of Celtic and Scottish music.

Karen Matheson is the voice of folk-rockers Capercaillie but she also performs and records as a solo artist, backed by an able trio of musicians who have been the core of her touring band for a number if years.
Donald Shaw (piano, accordion) is not only Karen’s husband but an integral part of the Capercaillie sound. James Grant (acoustic guitars and the voice behind the Scottish band Love and Money) writes many of the songs Matheson performs and Ewen Vernal (double bass) was a member of the successful Scottish pop rockers Deacon Blue before joining Capercaillie.

At Pitlochry the quartet was a quintet for the first set of the show (and a few numbers of the second set) as multi-instrumentalist Michael McGoldrick sat in to add percussion and display his talents on whistles and Uilleann pipes, the instruments with which he is most associated.

Accomplished musicians that they are, it’s the voice of Karen Matheson that shines and is the featured instrument.

The sets were based around songs from her three solo albums although newer material, such as the well received ‘Diamond Ring,’ was also featured.
A fourth solo offering should be available later in the year.

A beautifully emotive singer, Matheson brings warmth to the songs.
Highlights included James Grant’s ‘Speed of Love’ (inspired by the beautiful Calgary Bay on the Isle of Mull), ‘All the Flowers of the Bough’ and ‘There’s Always Sunday.’
The set also included a couple of numbers that featured the singer in full Scots Gaelic flow when she performed ‘Puirt a beul’ (‘tunes from the mouth’), a style of Celtic singing where the up-tempo and usually light-hearted lyrics are delivered at fast pace.
Tricky to pull off with the phrasing and delivery required, Karen Matheson seems to revel in the lyrical dexterity of it all and is one of the best exponents of mouth music.
 
The set closed rather fittingly with ‘At the End of the Night,’ and the end of a captivating performance.

The ‘hometown’ reference to Wolfstone in Inverness is a little inaccurate.
Although renowned fiddle player Duncan Chisholm and his ancestral family hail from the area none of the other current members of the wolf pack do (piper Stevie Saint is however from just down the road in Pitlochry).
But Wolfstone have always been seen as a Highland band, and Inverness has always been seen as a homecoming gig.

The show was at The Ironworks, a great venue in the centre of town, and the crowd were treated to three acts, with the two supports very well received.
But then they would be…

Ross Hamilton was a major creative force on Wolfstone’s last album ‘Terra Firma,’ but has since left to pursue a solo career. He is also the bass player in Wolfstone drummer Alyn Cosker’s jazz trio.
Working under the name Model Jet Pilot, Hamilton and acoustic guitar opened proceedings with a great little set of punchy power pop numbers including a couple of songs where he was accompanied by Fiona Johnson on violin.
The songs performed will feature on the forthcoming debut album ‘Welcome to the Future.’

Cherry on the Cream, the Skye based group who have opened for Wolfstone before, followed on from Ross Hamilton's set. 
A very popular act, the guitar-pipes-fiddle trio fired off a number of reels and infectious tunes that had the crowd clapping and stamping in fine style, setting up the entrance of Wolfstone.

Led by the build-up riffing of guitarist Davie Dunsmuir (the third component of the Alyn Cosker jazz trio) ‘Quinie fae Rhynie’ kicked off the show, with the band going on to produce one of the best sets, and performances, I’ve seen/ heard them deliver.
Highlights included a ridiculously tight ‘Tinnie Run’ (tune of the night and a guest appearance from original member Struan Eaglesham on keyboards), fan favourite ‘Cleveland Park’ and a great version of ‘Crow Feathers’ with guitarist Stuart Eaglesham in fine voice.

There have been many incarnations of the band in its twenty-two years of existence but for many this is the best Wolfstone sextet to hit a stage.
Colin Cunningham holds down the rhythm on bass while Alyn Cosker, an exceptional talent behind the kit, drives the sound with a panache and style that owes as much to jazz as to rock.

The only problem is this particular line-up has yet to record an album and Duncan Chisholm is well aware new material is overdue. 
But as Duncan confirmed when I spoke to him a few days after the show he feels the creation of new material is in safe hands with this line-up.
His confidence would seem to be borne out by the quality of the two new numbers featured during the concert. 'Back of Beyond' (recorded by Irish traditional band Gráda but here fully 'Wolfstoned' and extended) is a new addition to their shows while ‘Time for Walking’ has been part of Wolfstone set-lists for more than a year.

Ross Hamilton joined the band on stage for ‘Balivanich,’ bringing the set to a rollicking dancing-is-mandatory close while the equally striking ‘Gillies’ featured as the encore.

Karen Matheson and Wolfstone were a perfect double highland set in a weekend that was also spent in the company of good friends in Culloden.
Our friends also have the surname of Muir and the last time there was such a Muir Clan gathering in Culloden was 265 years ago.
This time however, it was a far happier outcome. 

I also managed to drop a couple of pounds over the weekend, which I’ve been trying to do since Christmas due to over-indulgence and lack of decent weather for road cycling, which keeps me (relatively) fit.
Unfortunately, it was a couple of pounds lost in perspiration at The Ironworks.

But that’s a Wolfstone gig for you.

Ross Muir
March 2011