A St. Andrew's Day Party

This Monday (today) is St. Andrew's Day. Which can be a big deal in Scotland. And I had a ticket to "A St. Andrew's Day Party" at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain were playing with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Phil Cunningham is one of the best accordion players in the world, and Any Bain is one of the best fiddlers. He was a founder of Boys of the Lough. There were guests such as the 15 times world champion House of Egdar Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band. It should have been an amazing concert. It was pretty good, but fell far short of what it could have been.

The problem was twofold. (1) These amazing songs had been arranged for a full orchestra, but that is not how they should be played. Orchestrised folk music always sounds very fake to me. It also sounded many many many times like they were playing Copeland. I would have sworn they were if they hadn't introduced the pieces beforehand. I don't dislike Copeland, but it was odd and distracting. (2) It was the wrong venue for folk music. This is a beautiful concert hall, great acoustics (except when the sound guys messed up, which was often, and also distracting), but I was so far removed from the performer, and thus from the music, that it hardly carried me at all. Folk music needs to be personal, needs to be close.

About a week ago, I was in City Centre one night, not far from where the Concert Hall is. These two guys were playing really amazing fiddle and guitar. Some of the best I'd ever heard. I even bought their CD. That is how folk music is best: simple and close. You can listen to them on their myspace.