Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, 3 February 2008

Eddi Reader

AS DONALD SHAW walked on stage to a roar of applause from the packed house, it was like seeing the first marathon runner enter the Olympic stadium. Look at the statistics for Celtic Connections – 300 concerts, ceilidhs, talks, free events, late night sessions and workshops, in 14 venues across Glasgow over 19 days, during which musicians from all over the world had enthralled audiences.

And on top of that, there were the nightly Festival Club sessions which usually ran till 3am but had the previous night, as Eddi Reader confessed, finished at 5am. A marathon indeed.

For this last night bash, there was a rich mix of musicians from both sides of the Atlantic. Shetland’s national treasure Aly Bain and CMA Musician of the Year 2007 Jerry Douglas were in musical charge of the proceedings, heading up a posse of trad and country brilliance including, in no particular order, John Doyle, Casey Driesen, Tim O’Brien, Bruce Molsky, Alison Brown, Michael McGoldrick, Donald Hay, James Mackintosh, Russ Barenberg, Darrell Scott, Garry West, ” Professor” Phil Cunningham and of course Mr Shaw himself.

As if that wasn’t enough, we were treated to songs from country divas Joan Osborne and Mindy Smith, plus our own Karen Matheson and Eddi Reader, making up an overflowing cornucopia of talent.

With so many musicians on stage there was at first almost too much of a good thing, musically, everyone eager to pile into the mix and the risk of a muddy sounding mess, but as the evening developed they relaxed and got firmly into the groove. A standard lamp, (recalling Hank Wangford’s “Standard Lamp of Fame”) lit several sofas and a coffee table on one side of the stage, to which those who were not playing could retreat, grab a drink, chat quietly but mostly listen, tap feet and clap along to the music.

A small daughter allowed to stay up well past her bedtime and eventually given some small shakers by Eddi Reader so she could join in, added to the living room atmosphere this created, which gradually spilled over first onto the rest of the stage and then outwards, into the auditorium. Two and a half thousand people in a very, very big living room….

Jerry Douglas introduced the second half with a dobro solo, and then everyone had a go. Alison Brown showed why she is country music’s star banjoist on her own ‘Leaving Cottondale’, Eddi Reader showed off a song she had borrowed from Willie Nelson on a tour last year, Casey Driesen demonstrated a fiddle style that matched his red shoes for shine and eccentricity, Darrell Scott sang of his Kentucky roots, Bruce Molsky played a song about pushing the pig’s foot into the fire (you had to be there), and Phil Cunningham slowed things down with a lovely air composed while driving from Kansas City to New Mexico which elicited the loudest cheers of the night so far.

It had also elicited a speeding ticket for the Professor, oddly enough. Sir Aly Bain gave us two old Shetland tunes and Tim O’Brien sang beautifully of ‘Brother Wind’ before Mindy Smith’s entrancing voice was set off by backing vocals from a stellar lineup of Joan Osborne, Karen Matheson, Eddi Reader and Phil Cunningham (imagine being able to recreate that in the recording studio).

Joan Osborne returned to the stage pulling in Karen Matheson and Phil Cunningham as her backing singers. Karen Matheson sang mouth music in Nashville style and so it continued as glorious tune followed glorious tune until audience and artists alike were reeling with the embarrassment of musical riches.

The last number, introduced and led by Darrell Scott who paid tribute to “the greatest orchestra in the world”, was the late Stuart Adamson’s ‘Shattered Cross’. Rousing cheers, standing ovations, and the end of Celtic Connections for another year – apart from one final winddown session at the Festival Club for some very hardy souls.

© Jennie Macfie, 2008

Links

• Celtic Connections