Review: Greg Phillips Photos: Jason Rosewarne
Direct from their triumphant appearance at Port Fairy Folk Festival, it was now Melbourne’s turn to experience Skerryvore, one of Scotland’s most acclaimed live acts. A packed house at the Brunswick Ballroom included a fair percentage of Scottish expats, whose thick accents wafted throughout the air.
Six piece outfit Gusto Gusto provided a perfect warm up act with their quirky blend of ska, polka, disco, and gypsy jazz, Call it what you want, it makes you jump and fills you with joy. Led by multi-instrumentalist and mischief maker Mal Webb (Oxo Cubans), over the last couple of years, they’ve become global festival faves and it’s easy to see why. Earlier in the week they launched a fabulous new single Sunday Scaries and the tune went down a treat tonight.
With the venue’s green room situated on a mezzanine level above the stage, the staircase down makes for a dramatic entrance for any band. Six of the eight members descended to fervent applause and launched into the intro to Gun Fhios from their current album Tempus, followed soon after by the two pipers who immediately added gravitas to the tune.
The Showman is a powerful yet gorgeously melodic tune, spotlighting all members of the band, offering the audience their first opportunity to engage in a serious jig. While many in the crowd would be seeing the band for the first time, there were clearly many longtime fans too, who sung back the lyrics to Happy To Be Home and Caledonia in particular with much enthusiasm. Singer Alec Dalglish asked how many Scots were in the audience, with most of the crowd shouting back their allegiance. I guess we’re all a little bit Scottish tonight. Ginger Grouse, another blissful, traditional style jig had has all pogoing manically on the spot. A dramatic Live Forever from their Evo album followed, with the crowd participating in full voice. The Exorcists, another fierce jig-like tune rung out around the room as the band and audience took a well-earned breather.
After a short break the band return and immediately pick up where they left us, slamming into an energetic Good Times, featuring the band’s magnificent duel bagpipe grandeur of Martin Gillespie and Scott Wood. You And I from Tempus requires a mass singalong and of course we all comply without much persuasion. The Angry Fiddler of course allows Craig Espie to shine on violin. Eye of the Storm, the opening track from Tempus shows the band’s contemporary pop/rock side.
As a stark bagpipe solo silences the crowd, it signals a group of half a dozen more pipers to the stage to play the beautiful Soraidh San. As they begin to play in unison, all around the venue, arms are placed around friends’ backs and tears trickle down faces. The magnificence of the moment can’t be underestimated, this is pure, unadulterated musical joy. They suddenly break to allow a traditional percussionist to stir the emotions even further and rejoin the musical euphoria in a sustained jig of epic proportions. There’s your price of admission right there.
By now, it’s a complete communal experience, with everyone singing along to The Rise, Path to Home and Take My Hand. Dalglish thanks the receptive crowd and suggests that they’d be back soon but in the meantime said we’re all welcome to come see them in Scotland anytime. The thought it tempting. Of course the band couldn’t leave us without one more frenzied jig as they let loose Legends of the Sun upon us. In short, one of the most joyous and uplifting concerts I’ve ever witnessed.
SET LIST:
Gun Fhios Intro
Beasts
Together Again
The Showman
Happy To Be Home
Hold on
Caledonia
Ginger Grouse jig
Live Forever
The Exorcists
Second set:
Good Times
You And I
The Angry Fiddler
Eye of the Storm
Soraidh San (Pipe band)
The Rise
Path to Home
Take My Hand
Legends
