Reviews Festival 2008
HCF 2008 IN PICTURES: WEDNESDAY · THURSDAY · FRIDAY · SATURDAY
HCF 2008 IN WORDS: WEDNESDAY · THURSDAY · FRIDAY · SATURDAY
Ross Ainslie and Jarlath Henderson Trio – Friday pm
We were lucky to catch Ross Ainslie at An Lanntair on his 25th birthday – and the talent of the duo of Ross and Jarlath Henderson with their guitarist Ali Hutton made several of us in the audience feel that, at almost twice their age, we hadn't perhaps achieved half as much.
What stands out about Ross and Jarlath is the quality of their compositions, which are an equal collaboration between the two of them and draw on both Irish and Scottish traditions. We're not talking stage-storming tunes, but intricate and haunting music, beautifully played on Uilleann pipes and whistles. That this partnership is able to hold its head up among much more experienced performers is not in question – but they are typically modest about what they owe to their tutors and mentors. And there's a playfulness about it, too – a tune written by Ross about the curly-haired Jarlath, 'Get your hair cut', sticks in the memory, and the banter between the two of them on the 'Scottish vs Irish music' debate is good to hear.
But what stood out for me was a beautiful love song written and sung by Jarlath, which had more than a few people in the audience reaching for a hanky. Great stuff – we'll expect to hear far more of them.
Griff/The Chair/The Saw Doctors - Friday
It clearly evident it's going to take more than a bit of rain to dampen what's become the Outer Hebrides biggest party of the year – the Heb Celt Festival. Forget the wet, it's festival Friday, the Saw Doctors are in town and over the last couple of days since the event kicked off the buzz on the streets of Stornoway has been palpable, amazing and best of all downright friendly and welcoming.
What's perhaps most noticeable among all the goings on are the sheer number of young folk flying the flag for their festival by proudly sporting the festival t-shirts and 'hoodies' on the streets of the islands capital. It's all a very far cry from the stuffy, stereotypical, finger in the ear view that most people have of Celtic or folk festival audiences in general. The Heb Celt is a real community event in the Outer Hebrides and the islands younger population are clearly into it big style and at the very heart of it all. They are proud of their festival, and rightly so. This is clearly a festival with a healthy future, and given the activity going on around you, heaven only knows what it must be worth to the local economy into the bargain. The pubs are heaving, with the copious session musicians firing things up till the main events kick in later on.
Fast forward to early evening and the town centre excitement has transferred itself across the river to 'Big Blue' - the affectionate local name for the awesome 5,000 capacity 'tent' that's home to the main festival events. An audience that represents around 20% of the local population is certainly something to behold in this relatively small community and Belgian band 'Griff', making their Scottish debut, are clearly revelling in and feeding off the atmosphere. A myriad of screaming Flemish pipes, a rock-solid rhythm section, not to mention the incredible voice of Raphael De Cock, offer up a fusion of traditional values and near prog-rock / psychedelic influences, creating an intriguing and hugely entertaining start to the evening. Expect to see these guys at a festival near you very soon.
Orkney's 'The Chair', winners of a coveted Danny Award at this year's Celtic Connections festival and a veritable musical 'blitzkrieg' in their own right, have been lauded by many as the "must see' band of this year's festival - and they certainly don't disappoint. Firing up the already boiling audience still further is clearly their intention and they do just that via a series of largely frantic but brilliant crafted sets, underpinned in the main by jigs and reels. "Are you having a good time?" fiddler Douglas Montgomery asks the audience – a question he doesn't really need to ask. "Yes" comes back a roar that would grace Hampden Park itself. "Me too" he says – and from the smile literally exploding across his face you know he's more than telling the truth. 'The Chair' are indeed brilliant – the right band for the right occasion and right audience, no mistake - and thousands of sweat-drenched new fans of Orkney's finest are certainly testament to that.
When tonight's headliners the 'Saw Doctors' hit the stage the roar that greets them runs the risk of wakening those unfortunate souls trying to sleep on the distant Scottish mainland. You can almost picture seismologists scratching their heads at Richter scale tremor activity being measured with an epicentre in Stornoway.
Ripping straight into the classic "I Uesta Lover' you are left in no doubt whatsoever that the Outer Hebrides is prime, committed Saw Doctors country. Five minutes in and the place is a sea of flailing arms and legs and stays that way right till the end. The guys simply do what it says on the Saw Doctors tin. If Carlsberg did bar-bands these guys would top their list.
During crowd pleasing sing-a-longs such as 'The Green and Red of Mayo', N17 and Clare Island the band members swell to over 5000 as everyone joins in, roaring the words alongside the searing Irish vocal deliveries of Leo Moran and Davy Carton.
By the time the encores arrive the place is in full human meltdown - classics such as 'That's What She Said Last Night, Joyce Country Ceili Band and What a Day are duly delivered and greeted with what can only be termed increasing delirium. What a day indeed. In fact what a night and what a festival.
