2005 Festival Reviews - Fèis 2005
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WEDNESDAY
Poet on the Loose, 13th July
Bha teine ann an Ionad Coimhearsnachd Bhreascleit a-raoir? Whoa, whoa, hold the front page. There was a fire in Breasclete Communtiy Hall last night?
Don't worry, festival-goers, this Teine ('fire') was the much-acclaimed Lewis-based band of massively talented teenagers who are currently setting the world of Celtic music alight with their brand of energetic, impassioned music.
And, let me tell you, it was an amazing start to the best music festival of its kind on the planet. It was also a highly appropriate beginning, merging youth and tradition, the local and the universal, bringing diverse people together in a joyful atmosphere in much the same way that the festival itself has been doing on a larger scale since its inception. No wonder this festival gets better every year. Everything about tonight just felt so right.
The large - indeed, sold-out - audience gracing the new community hall tonight consisted, gratifyingly, of people of all ages and the atmosphere was one of good-will, rich anticipation, and of palpable excitement. Everyone knew this gig would be good...but how good?
Teine - Catriona Watt, Michelle Morrison, Lynsey MacRitchie and Judie Morrison, multi-instrumentalists all - formed while they were still students at the Nicolson Institute, Stornoway (all but one have just recently left school). Though they are young, they have achieved a great deal already.
I spoke to a relaxed Michelle Morrison prior to the concert and she gave a brief account of the band's genesis:
"We all knew each other at school. The first time we played was at the local Mòd. After that we did things ourselves, it wasn't part of the school anymore. It was kind of like a hobby, but bigger!"
They have now played at a number of Mòds and other festivals and have gained a reputation for themselves as a fresh, vital and ambitious band.
Michelle pointed out that, though Teine have played at festivals such as Celtic Fusion in Ireland and Celtic Connections in Glasgow, the HebCeltFest holds a special place in their hearts:
"This is what it's all about! This festival is excellent! Out of all the festivals, this one is just outstanding!"
Her excitement spilled over into plans for the future - including a full-length CD they hope to record with Gaelic music legend Art Cormack soon.
After a friendly chat, Michelle went off join her chums in a one-hour concert that was a blissful combination of stirring vocal harmonies, marvellously fluent fiddle playing and sheer cool fun. These girls - swapping instruments the way other teenage girls swap gossip - are learning to hone a set that mingles professionalism, charisma and a very natural-seeming musicianship.
The packed audience was very attentive, respectful and appreciative; the bar was moderately rather than boisterously frequented and it was a delight to witness a musical event at which young children enjoyed themselves safely and quietly in a friendly, family atmosphere (one fifth of all HebCeltFest tickets sold are for children).
Teine's set included reels, hornpipes, Gaelic songs, waltzes, laments, Irish tunes, English songs - and even some audience participation.
Many people appreciated the way in which all of the band members took time to bond with the audience in such a natural and down-to-earth way between songs. They introduced all of the songs and even sometimes translated Gaelic verses into English - a typically thoughtful touch in a most professional set.
Their songs included Oran Chaluim Sgàire, Nach freagair thu, Chairstiona? (which the girls learned from Maggie MacInnes at last years's HebCeltFest), Dougie MacLean's The Storm, two Irish fiddle tunes from the film Titanic and Runrig's classic An Ròs/The Rose.
I appreciated the literary touch of Breisleach/Delirium, made famous by Capercaillie (and Machair), the words of which were composed by Gaelic poetry's favourite uncle, the great Aonghas MacNeacail. I hope Teine's achingly beautiful version of Breisleach makes it onto their CD; it was a highlight of a set that could well prove itself to be a highlight of the festival. It is no surprise that the audience demanded that these inordinately talented youngsters perform an encore.
Their onstage personalities are as sparky and attractive as a fire, and their future is similarly bright. Indeed, I couldn't help but feel that the warm and cosy atmosphere this band creates is akin to the fire around which everyone used to gather at a traditional Highland cèilidh. If that's not the reason they're called Teine, then it should be!
Given judicious management and sustained integrity, this band could be huge. On the evidence I saw and heard tonight, it is entirely conceivable that Teine will be headlining this festival themselves sometime in the future.
From a band at the beginning of an auspicious career to an much-loved accordion player with over four decades of experience. But first I should make an apology. My Tardis wasn't working tonight - something to do with the BS drive - so I couldn't be in the Town Hall and at Ionad Coimhearsnachd Bhreascleit at the same time as I'd initially wished. I therefore set my roving reporter The Scandinavian on the case. The Scandinavian's comments on the Seamus Begley/James Graham gig are as follows:
"James Graham. Wonderful voice. Good communication with audience. Lovely cello...
Seamus Begley.
Jigs, polkas. Fast slides. Airs. Good patter, limericks and several jokes - a lot about Scots and Irishmen understanding each other's dialects. Lots of laughs - they're funny, these guys.
Sean nós dancing very much appreciated.
Halfway through, Seamus asks audience if they're talking too much. We're making up for Van Morrison tomorrow, Jim says.
Two songs in encore - one singalong (this one easy) and one with dancing.
Mood brilliant, audience loved it."
That latter comment would easily fit Fergie MacDonald's gig in Breasclete, too. After Teine's memorable gig, Fergie's good time ceilidh band set up their weapons of mass recreation and the hall was rearranged to allow room for dancing and for expansive talking and for generally being in the musical moment. Over the next few hours Fergie's music energised and entranced the dancers and sitters alike with its self-assured mix of vitality and understated artistry.
Occasional poignant tunes such as The Dark Island punctuated the joyously upbeat nature of Fergie's set. The great majority of the audience danced with glee and delicious abandon. Canadian Barn Dances, Strip the Willows, Gay Gordons and everything else in between - if you can hum it, they played it - and the dancers danced. Wow, did they dance. I almost forgot the trauma of school dances...Remember the run-up to Christmas when P.E. was a no man's land of gym hall to be skulked across, a partner shrugged at and grasped?
Well, virtuoso performances of traditional dance music make you forget about all that and about everything else that isn't good because this is the expression of movement and life and shared decency, this is the expression of hope and unity; music like this brings us together, brings out the best in us...and this is just the beginning of the anniversary celebrations of the best music festival you've been to yet.
Now that is something to make a song and dance about.
K.MacNeil
Kevin's Random Bit at the End
In order to augment - or offset - your enjoyment of the Celtic Festival, I shall be providing for you, at no extra cost, random pieces of bemusing, distracting, or baffling information you could easily have lived without. This is a service few other festivals would have thought of providing you with.
You can email the culprit at Loveandzen@hotmail.com
Sight of the Day: It's a well-known fact that the HebCeltFest brings people from many different time zones to the Isle of Lewis. Some pedestrians in the Narrows were shocked, however, to find controversial 19th Century entrepreneur Sir James Matheson, his wife and a contemporaneous crofter verbally battling it out on the street today. Fear not, festival-goers, you weren't hallucinating (though I heard at least one passer-by swear off the whisky). This spirited open-air performance was a mature, confident piece of street theatre brought to us courtesy of Theatre Hebrides. Excellent! More, please.
Song title of the day: Chuir i a glùin air a' bhodach.
Confusion of the day: Not quite hearing if a tune Fergie MacDonald played was something to do with Lauren Bacall or Laura from Coll.
Lost item of the day: A small portion of my sanity, which was only there in bargain bin quantities in the first place. (I know; this early in the Festival)...I'm also guessing that a number of people lost: some money, their keys, their sense of balance, their sense of dignity and/or their sense of direction. But never - never - their sense of humour!? :)KM
