2010 Muirsical Highlights (thus far...)
In the Company of Wolves (concert highlight & review).
Wolfstone, January 22nd, 2010 Celtic Connections Festival, Glasgow.
This years Celtic Connections Festival, running events throughout the last two and a half weeks of January, has something for everyone - assuming of course you are a fan of Scottish/ celtic music and the other rhythmic forms on display that include celtic (or celtic influenced) music from other countries, world music, and folk.
Being more rock orientated in my muirsical tastes , I'm also pleased to say there was certainly something for me. And then some.
Wolfstone are one of my favourite bands and as they were performing a set on a Friday night, in the heart of Glasgow, during the celtic/ muiscal festivities, it was a win win for me.
Wolfstone were supported by Felpeyu, an Asturian band (Asturias is an autonomous community within Spain) whose own brand of celtic fare ranged from contemporary to traditional, and a couple of the songs were even very Moorish in influence.
Felpeyu kept the crowd entertained, and clearly had a lot of fun playing which the Weegie crowd appreciated.
The one gripe was that their sound mix was not great with many of the instruments not as clear or as 'individual' as they should have been and, as one of my buddies mentioned, the bass player should have been mixed down instead of dominating the sound as he did on a few of the numbers (and the bass guitar is not exactly a featured instrument within this style of music).
Wolftsone are one of those bands where it's impossible not to have fun at one of their gigs, and it's also fair to say that this band and their music thrive in the live environment - it's certainly where their music excels, which is not to say they don't deliver some fine studio albums.
If they are to be labelled it would be as 'Celtic Rock', but traditional celtic sounds and arrangements also feature, and the show was a perfect blend of both sides of the band.
Founder members Duncan Chisholm and Stuart Eaglesham are still the featured players (on fiddle, and lead vocals/acoustic guitar respectively) but piper and long time member Stevie Saint is also very much an integral piece of the Wolfstone sound, which is completed and complemented by the rhythm section of Alyn Cosker (drums), Colin Cunningham (bass), and guitarist Davie Dunsmuir who opened proceedings before leading the band into 'Quinie'.
Not only was the concert at the O2 ABC venue a highlight of the festival events featured throughout Glasgow the band were also celebrating their 21st Anniversary, and this show included a special guest appearance by Struan Eaglesham (a founder member who left the band in the mid-nineties, and brother of Stuart) who added some keyboard textures to a couple of songs as well as providing some lead vocals to the ever present Wolfstone staple 'The Prophet'.
The Prophet was one of two numbers in the middle of the set to be featured in an acoustic setting (along with 'Brave Boys'), and it was also nice to hear lesser known or under-rated numbers in the main set such as 'The Queen of Argyll' as well as a few from their last album (2007's 'Terra Firma') such as the lightweight rocker 'These are the Days'.
'Balivanich' was, as always, a highlight with its soft opening lulling those not in the know into a false sense of musical security before it's full steam ahead, although a better summation of how these more traditional numbers are delivered came from Stuart Eaglesham - "dancing is...mandatory".
Indeed traditional Wolfstone crowd 'dancing' is always part of the proceedings, and ranges from subtle shuffling, jigs, hops skips & jumps, and full on synchronised 'how-high-can-you-bounce' athletics (sometimes including the band, also in unison - quite a multi-talented outfit, these boys).
The latter dance movement also displays a trait which seems to be exclusive to Scottish crowds, or at least one we excel at...
It's quite a sight to see a crowd in full-on-bounce mode complete with rebel yells while holding aloft their beers in their plastic cups... and not spilling a drop.
Mind you at the prices you're paying in these venues, I'm not surprised, and we do have a reputation to keep up...
'Cleveland Park' also got an outing, and this infectious little piece was given an introduction by Duncan Chisholm that was as much a highlight of the show as the songs themselves. Duncan told of a man who came up to him last year while he was shopping in Inverness and shook his hand, thanking him for playing a gig in that very town back in 1991 where, it seems, this man's daughter was conceived.
During Cleveland Park.
Duncan went on to say he found that a little unusual, especially as Cleveland Park "isn't the most romantic of tunes...and it's only three and half minutes long..."
Finest moment for me (and I suspect most of the crowd) was the encore, 'Gillies'. This instrumental is actually two pieces of music combined which starts with a lament ('The Sleeping Tune') played by Stevie Saint, but this version also included Jarlath Henderson on the Uilleann pipes. Henderson had come on to the stage for the last song of the main set as a special guest (he played on the Terra Firma album), and on the encore the band were again joined by Struan Eaglesham on the keyboards.
The song builds from the pipes and swells in sound before kicking into the second part of the song ('The Noose and the Gillies'), but what really stood the hairs on the back of the neck was the surprise inclusion of additional pipers who came on to accompany Saint as he was playing the opening melody.
I'm not the greatest fan of bagpipes, certainly not en masse, but individually, or in small numbers, playing a truly emotive lament or Scottish air...
Tear in the eye, lump in the throat, those aforementioned hairs on the back of the neck, and a warm...beer in a plastic cup.
Where's mee Claymore.
And where's the next gig, boys?
Great night, and it almost made up for the fact that I won't be able to make the Todd Rundgren concert in London in February.
Almost.
Ross Muir
January 2010
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In the Company of Wolves (concert highlight & review).
Wolfstone, January 22nd, 2010 Celtic Connections Festival, Glasgow.
This years Celtic Connections Festival, running events throughout the last two and a half weeks of January, has something for everyone - assuming of course you are a fan of Scottish/ celtic music and the other rhythmic forms on display that include celtic (or celtic influenced) music from other countries, world music, and folk.
Being more rock orientated in my muirsical tastes , I'm also pleased to say there was certainly something for me. And then some.
Wolfstone are one of my favourite bands and as they were performing a set on a Friday night, in the heart of Glasgow, during the celtic/ muiscal festivities, it was a win win for me.
Wolfstone were supported by Felpeyu, an Asturian band (Asturias is an autonomous community within Spain) whose own brand of celtic fare ranged from contemporary to traditional, and a couple of the songs were even very Moorish in influence.
Felpeyu kept the crowd entertained, and clearly had a lot of fun playing which the Weegie crowd appreciated.
The one gripe was that their sound mix was not great with many of the instruments not as clear or as 'individual' as they should have been and, as one of my buddies mentioned, the bass player should have been mixed down instead of dominating the sound as he did on a few of the numbers (and the bass guitar is not exactly a featured instrument within this style of music).
Wolftsone are one of those bands where it's impossible not to have fun at one of their gigs, and it's also fair to say that this band and their music thrive in the live environment - it's certainly where their music excels, which is not to say they don't deliver some fine studio albums.
If they are to be labelled it would be as 'Celtic Rock', but traditional celtic sounds and arrangements also feature, and the show was a perfect blend of both sides of the band.
Founder members Duncan Chisholm and Stuart Eaglesham are still the featured players (on fiddle, and lead vocals/acoustic guitar respectively) but piper and long time member Stevie Saint is also very much an integral piece of the Wolfstone sound, which is completed and complemented by the rhythm section of Alyn Cosker (drums), Colin Cunningham (bass), and guitarist Davie Dunsmuir who opened proceedings before leading the band into 'Quinie'.
Not only was the concert at the O2 ABC venue a highlight of the festival events featured throughout Glasgow the band were also celebrating their 21st Anniversary, and this show included a special guest appearance by Struan Eaglesham (a founder member who left the band in the mid-nineties, and brother of Stuart) who added some keyboard textures to a couple of songs as well as providing some lead vocals to the ever present Wolfstone staple 'The Prophet'.
The Prophet was one of two numbers in the middle of the set to be featured in an acoustic setting (along with 'Brave Boys'), and it was also nice to hear lesser known or under-rated numbers in the main set such as 'The Queen of Argyll' as well as a few from their last album (2007's 'Terra Firma') such as the lightweight rocker 'These are the Days'.
'Balivanich' was, as always, a highlight with its soft opening lulling those not in the know into a false sense of musical security before it's full steam ahead, although a better summation of how these more traditional numbers are delivered came from Stuart Eaglesham - "dancing is...mandatory".
Indeed traditional Wolfstone crowd 'dancing' is always part of the proceedings, and ranges from subtle shuffling, jigs, hops skips & jumps, and full on synchronised 'how-high-can-you-bounce' athletics (sometimes including the band, also in unison - quite a multi-talented outfit, these boys).
The latter dance movement also displays a trait which seems to be exclusive to Scottish crowds, or at least one we excel at...
It's quite a sight to see a crowd in full-on-bounce mode complete with rebel yells while holding aloft their beers in their plastic cups... and not spilling a drop.
Mind you at the prices you're paying in these venues, I'm not surprised, and we do have a reputation to keep up...
'Cleveland Park' also got an outing, and this infectious little piece was given an introduction by Duncan Chisholm that was as much a highlight of the show as the songs themselves. Duncan told of a man who came up to him last year while he was shopping in Inverness and shook his hand, thanking him for playing a gig in that very town back in 1991 where, it seems, this man's daughter was conceived.
During Cleveland Park.
Duncan went on to say he found that a little unusual, especially as Cleveland Park "isn't the most romantic of tunes...and it's only three and half minutes long..."
Finest moment for me (and I suspect most of the crowd) was the encore, 'Gillies'. This instrumental is actually two pieces of music combined which starts with a lament ('The Sleeping Tune') played by Stevie Saint, but this version also included Jarlath Henderson on the Uilleann pipes. Henderson had come on to the stage for the last song of the main set as a special guest (he played on the Terra Firma album), and on the encore the band were again joined by Struan Eaglesham on the keyboards.
The song builds from the pipes and swells in sound before kicking into the second part of the song ('The Noose and the Gillies'), but what really stood the hairs on the back of the neck was the surprise inclusion of additional pipers who came on to accompany Saint as he was playing the opening melody.
I'm not the greatest fan of bagpipes, certainly not en masse, but individually, or in small numbers, playing a truly emotive lament or Scottish air...
Tear in the eye, lump in the throat, those aforementioned hairs on the back of the neck, and a warm...beer in a plastic cup.
Where's mee Claymore.
And where's the next gig, boys?
Great night, and it almost made up for the fact that I won't be able to make the Todd Rundgren concert in London in February.
Almost.
Ross Muir
January 2010
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Can You Re-imagine? (album highlight & review)
Some of you may have already seen/ heard/ bought/ avoided (depending on taste) the intentionally re-imagined sounds of 'Rock Sugar' but it certainly hits a spot with me...
Their album 'Reimaginator' does a bit more than it says on the cover, as not only do they re-imagine classic eighties rock and pop, they merge (or 'mashup' as the term goes) them in the same song, and produce something that, for me, is clever, fun, and eminently listenable.
Rock Sugar are, in effect, three quarters of 'Loud & Clear', the American Rock/ power-pop band, and Chuck Duran (all guitars, vocals), Alex Track (drums, keyboards, vocals) and vocalist Jess Harnell all play their part, and play all the parts (they have since been joined by Johnny Five on bass guitar & vocals).
Harnell has a great ability to 'voice mimic' the necessary husky tenors and purer high tenor notes required to make these musical mash-ups work so well, but then Harnell isn't just a very good vocalist, he is also a renowned voice actor, and has contributed to many a project, particularly animated series and films.
'Don't Stop The Sandman' sums it all up nicely (video at end of this article), and the more bizarre the re-imagined mix the better the song - Rick Springfield's 'Jessies Girl' and Ozzy's 'Crazy Train' anybody? Or how about 'You Shook Me all Night Long' by AC/DC sharing musical space with Madonna's 'Say a Prayer'...
I find it highly ironic and not a little funny that in this re-imagined retro rock day and age of ours, where most bands are producing the same or similar product for a market that both accepts and supports such, Rock Sugar are reinventing the genre, performing versions of songs that are primarily twenty years old or more (some go back to the mid/ late seventies) and have produced something... new.
And very listenable.So thanks Rock Sugar - You cost me 20 bucks or so to have a copy of the album sent over (I refuse to use the non-sanctioned download services available on this or any official product), and as it was released in January 2010 it's the early leader for Muirsical Album of the Year award - and I honestly think it will be hard to beat.
And thanks, Rock Sugar - for providing a version of 'Don't Stop Believing' (complete with Metallic(a) sheen) that I can both appreciate and thoroughly enjoy, other than the original - although special mention must go to Kevin Chalfant for his cover of the song, with a tip of the mic to Mickey Thomas' own rendition.
But then Harnell, Chalfant, and Thomas are alike in their vocal sensibilities, and swim in similar 'melodic rock' waters, so it's almost a given they would deliver worthy interpretations.
Even Rock Sugar's 'background story' and 'bio's, as featured on their website, are re-imagined tongue in cheek pieces, and for those still not convinced, you could do worse than check out the audio clips from the album and hear what you think for yourselves...
In fact, you know what, just go buy the damn album - but from their site, thanks very much - not the 'alternative' sites that shaft the band.
Ross Muir
February 2010
Some of you may have already seen/ heard/ bought/ avoided (depending on taste) the intentionally re-imagined sounds of 'Rock Sugar' but it certainly hits a spot with me...
Their album 'Reimaginator' does a bit more than it says on the cover, as not only do they re-imagine classic eighties rock and pop, they merge (or 'mashup' as the term goes) them in the same song, and produce something that, for me, is clever, fun, and eminently listenable.
Rock Sugar are, in effect, three quarters of 'Loud & Clear', the American Rock/ power-pop band, and Chuck Duran (all guitars, vocals), Alex Track (drums, keyboards, vocals) and vocalist Jess Harnell all play their part, and play all the parts (they have since been joined by Johnny Five on bass guitar & vocals).
Harnell has a great ability to 'voice mimic' the necessary husky tenors and purer high tenor notes required to make these musical mash-ups work so well, but then Harnell isn't just a very good vocalist, he is also a renowned voice actor, and has contributed to many a project, particularly animated series and films.
'Don't Stop The Sandman' sums it all up nicely (video at end of this article), and the more bizarre the re-imagined mix the better the song - Rick Springfield's 'Jessies Girl' and Ozzy's 'Crazy Train' anybody? Or how about 'You Shook Me all Night Long' by AC/DC sharing musical space with Madonna's 'Say a Prayer'...
I find it highly ironic and not a little funny that in this re-imagined retro rock day and age of ours, where most bands are producing the same or similar product for a market that both accepts and supports such, Rock Sugar are reinventing the genre, performing versions of songs that are primarily twenty years old or more (some go back to the mid/ late seventies) and have produced something... new.
And very listenable.So thanks Rock Sugar - You cost me 20 bucks or so to have a copy of the album sent over (I refuse to use the non-sanctioned download services available on this or any official product), and as it was released in January 2010 it's the early leader for Muirsical Album of the Year award - and I honestly think it will be hard to beat.
And thanks, Rock Sugar - for providing a version of 'Don't Stop Believing' (complete with Metallic(a) sheen) that I can both appreciate and thoroughly enjoy, other than the original - although special mention must go to Kevin Chalfant for his cover of the song, with a tip of the mic to Mickey Thomas' own rendition.
But then Harnell, Chalfant, and Thomas are alike in their vocal sensibilities, and swim in similar 'melodic rock' waters, so it's almost a given they would deliver worthy interpretations.
Even Rock Sugar's 'background story' and 'bio's, as featured on their website, are re-imagined tongue in cheek pieces, and for those still not convinced, you could do worse than check out the audio clips from the album and hear what you think for yourselves...
In fact, you know what, just go buy the damn album - but from their site, thanks very much - not the 'alternative' sites that shaft the band.
Ross Muir
February 2010