Wednesday
The festival officially starts today, and I'd hoped to make it in time for the ceilidh, or Fred Morrison, but the late ferry meant that we missed both. Still, with the views that I'd seen from the ferry I was more than happy- the view back towards the mainland with all the mountains rising in the distance, is something I'd definitely pay to see again.
The festival is running from two main sites- a big blue circus style 'Big Top' in the grounds of Lews Castle; this is where all the big bands play in the evening - and an Lanntair [pronounced Anlanta], which is an arts centre across the road from the ferry terminal, in the heart of Stornaway. An Llanntair is the town's cinema, art gallery, theatre, coffee shop and restaurant combined.
After brief walk to the BnB just out of town with views of the sandy coastline and I was ready for bed. Beautiful views, trains, buses, ferries and a day and half travelling proving just enough!
Thursday
Blue skies and fluffy white clouds and by 11.30am I'd been to the Festival office,picked up my tickets, bought a rather beautiful green HebCelt hoody, [no pink ones left] been given a Festival cd along with my programme-a very good marketing idea and made my way to an Llantair for a Gaelic workshop. My first taste of this language, we were taught in a small group of ten by a young girl who was a native speaker and proved to be a very good teacher. We learnt various greetings, numbers, days of the week, and lots of descriptive words for the weather. Probably just as well really, because shortly afterwards the heavens opened and it tipped it down for the rest of the afternoon.
After a brief excursion for tea and cake I went back to the arts centre for the afternoon event, a concert by Gary Innes [Box Club] and Ewan Robertson [last year's winner of Radio Scotland's Young Traditional Musician of the Year] held in the venue's theatre. An Lanntair is a modern, multi level, galleried building, and the theatre inside is ideal for these kind of events, with amphitheatre style seating, and good quality sound.
Ewan and Gary were joined by Martin O' Neill on bodhran/keyboards and were in good spirits, telling jokes and bantering with the audience while playing songs and tunes from their new album 'Shouts'. 'Can't sing tonight I've left my teeth at home' probably wins the award for best title, while other tunes, like 'Rough as a badger' had the audience tapping their toes- a little bit too early in the day for whooping, calling and outright dancing! They're both talented composers, and work well together, with Martin O' Neill augmenting the blend brilliantly, whether on keyboard or bodhran. 'Little Niamh McDonald', written by Gary, was an emotionally beautifully piece of music, both sweet and sad, the audience leaving a respectful pause as the last notes died away before applauding.
After the concert, I rushed home to the BnB through the torrential rain, to eat and get dry before venturing back out in the evening.
Fortunately the rain had stopped by the time I made my way to the blue tent for the first time, the evening air cool as I walked over the bridge into the grounds of the castle. The tent is enormous, and sealed on all sides, with two flaps at the back left open for access. Unlike other folk festivals HebCelt has two screens up on either side of the stage, not only to show the bands, but also to show photos from previous years while the stage was being reset. The site slopes from the back down to the front, allowing everyone to see easily, and there was an air of expectancy amongst the waiting festival goers.
First band on were the Wilders, a four piece band from Kansas. Playing a kind of blue grass honky tonk fusion, they were exciting, entertaining and energetic. Think Neil Tennent in a cowboy outfit, and George Michael in his 'Faith' era and you're half way there. Add more cowboy hats, some steel guitar, double bass and Betsy Ellis on fiddle and the picture becomes clearer, the Wilders wowed the Stornaway crowd with their hilly billy antics.
Following the Wilders was the Blair Douglas Band, an act I'd been looking forward to because of the connections with Runrig. Technically proficient, with some really good tunes and the very excellent Gordon Gunn on fiddle, it all seemed a bit lacking in enthusiasm, more like a band going through the motions than one that wanted to entertain, until Kathleen MacInnes came on to sing. Her husky voice and natural warm manner added a welcome depth to the band's performance, and worked well with Blair Douglas' demeanour.
Last band of the night were the ten strong Quebecois all-stars that are la Bottine Souriante. I've seen them before at Celtic Connections in the festival club, but in this setting they excelled. Loud, exuberant and determined to make sure everyone was enjoying themselves. The four piece brass section running down to the front of the stage with their set pieces; the dancer in her blue outfit dancing on the specially laid out flooring, designed to pick up the taps from her feet. The highlight for me was the rhythm set led only by four sets of feet and hands, passing the beat between themselves and the audience to much applause and whistling.
Finally, at one a.m. I made my way out into the cold clear night to an Lanntair for festival club, where I was lucky enough to see another set from the Wilders, this time including an 'unplugged and live from the club floor' version of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire and Bryan Adam's Summer of 69! Macaroni cheese, a young girl singing some jazzlike ballads, and I finally left at three, the sounds of Gary Innes, Martin O'Neill, Ewan Robertson and Gordon Gunn coming from the club stage as I left the building.
continue here for Friday and Saturday
