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View Full Version : Busy week in Inverness



Dagger Gordon
Jun-02-2004, 2:15am
A lot happening in Inverness last week, which might be of interest.

Monday night saw Danu in Eden Court theatre. Hadn't seen them before. They do quite a nice line in bouzouki/ guitar duets, with both guys capable of leading the melody. They also take turns accompanying the other instruments. Pretty good band.

Wednesday Ian MacLeod showed up at a session I sometimes play in Hootananny, which is the town's leading music bar. He was up for an aunt's funeral in Beauly and didn't have his mandolin, so he played mine. As we both have Sobell 10 stringers (bottom ones tuned to D) that was fine. Incidentally the bar pays 2 people to be the backbone of the session, thereby ensuring something actually happens and hopefully keeping the quality up - important if you're advertising it for tourists looking for music.

The same night at Farr Hall just up the road Altan and Scottish band Cliar were playing their first night of a joint Highland / Ireland tour.

Shooglenifty played Hootananny on Sunday night on their way home from the Orkney Folk Festival at the weekend. They were great, particularly doing a pub gig. They played music from all their albums. It was also my first time seeing new mandolinist Luke Plumb play. He was grand, mostly playing mando but doing banjo about a third of the time. Some of that was because he broke at least 2 mandolin strings and had to turn to the banjo while someone replaced it for him. His mandolin is well up in the mix. He wasn't playing his Gilchrist. Not sure what it was, Angus the fiddler thought it was made by a friend from Tasmania. Didn't speak to Luke myself. The other interesting thing was that Conrad was back on bass. I don't know if that was because new member Quee MacArthur couldn't make it or what. Anyway, a good night.

I'm playing Inverness Cathedral tonight (Wed 2 June) if anybody happens to be around. Playing with The Feis Rois Kiltearn Fiddlers. They are a really good group of young fiddlers (at least 20 of them tonight I should think) who are taught by an excellent organisation called Feis Rois. I'm their guitar teacher, and I'll be playing mando and cittern along with some of my students, including my 17 year old son Colin (bouzouki and guitar) who helps me with the class.

Cheers,

Dagger

stanley
Jun-02-2004, 9:53am
David,

Thanks for the report. I'll be in Inverness july 8-12, and it sounds like I'll most likely be found at the Hootananny!

Thanks again, and keep 'em coming.
'tourist bill'

mad dawg
Jun-02-2004, 3:09pm
What a world apart Inverness is from where I am right now for work: absolutely nothing at all happened in north-eastern Ohio (US) last week except for the massive cunsumption of beef and beer.