Review by Jennie Macfie
Going Across The Sea
Resolis Memorial Hall, Resolis, 2 May 2009
Kris Drever
RESOLIS is one of my favourite Highland venues, despite being situated in what might well be termed the middle of nowhere, on the northern edge of the Black Isle, away from any settlements, in the midst of woodland and farmland, and also being handicapped by a stage which tends to be on the small side for most things.
Somehow Tim Matthew and half a dozen fellow-musicians from both sides of the Atlantic managed to squeeze themselves in the space and treated the capacity audience to an evening of outstanding entertainment.
“Kitchen music” is sometimes used to describe what musicians play for their own, rather than the audience’s, amusement. It sounds disparaging, but isn’t – it’s spontaneous, exhilarating and doesn’t just touch you, it grabs and embraces you in a big, warm, friendly hug.
The team for Going Across the Sea turned Resolis into a large, densely packed kitchen for the evening. Their tour had been, they said, like one long party, and they hit the ground running. A few bars into the first set of tunes, feet started not tapping but stamping, and had there been space, dancing would undoubtedly have broken out.
Throughout the show, the musicians took it in turns to introduce and explain the tunes, often arranged in sets which showed the progression of a tune or song from one side of the Atlantic to the other and in some cases back again.
Kris Drever, whose guitar work, whether intense or laidback, underpinned much of the evening’s music, sang the beautiful British ballad ‘Shady Grove’, which segued into a furiously explosive American version courtesy of formidable fiddler and singer, Betse Ellis (The Wilders) and affable young duo Caleb Clauder & Sammy Lind, otherwise known as The Foghorn String Band.
Betse joined Kris to harmonise a little later in the set, their voices perfectly matched and sharing a slight throatiness of timbre allied with a clear bell-like quality. Unforgettable.
Despite the whole hearted enjoyment of the music both on and off stage, there was a serious purpose to the evening as well, showing how tunes travel and evolve as they do so. Like the Indo-European family of languages, the Indo-European music changes beats and accents but retains a family likeness, whether it be played in the Balkans, Scandinavia or the Highlands; listening to Sarah McFadyen’s Shetland fiddle style, with its roots in Scandinavia and Scotland, and then to the Appalachian fiddle work of Betse Ellis, the links and likenesses became more and more apparent.
Eamonn Coyne stood for the Irish connection, particularly on a Strathspey which, he said, had been stolen by the Irish and had a few extra notes thrown into it, and the Lakeside barndances which retained an eerie echo of the Twenties.
When all four fiddlers (McFadyen, Matthew, Ellis and Lind) played together, the energy levels hit the 50-year-old Resolis roof and bounced back and forth exuberantly. They could have given even Blazin’ Fiddles a run for their money, underpinned as they were by the solid foundation of Clauder and Drever on guitar and Coyne on banjo. Mandolins were also involved, passing from hand to hand just as they would do in a kitchen. A superb, electrifying show and an exemplary use of the Scottish Arts Council’s Tune Up funding.
© Jennie Macfie, 2009
