Another Celtic Connections gig at the tail-end of January, on an evening where the rain, wind and general weather just refused to stop. The small basement of the H&P was already quite busy to watch opener Eve Simpson.
A resident of Edinburgh, via Aberdeen but originally from North Shields, she gave us a selection of tracks mainly from her forthcoming EP. Playing an acoustic guitar and accompanied on piano/percussion and another acoustic, the three-piece started with several Joni Mitchell-infused melodic folk tunes such as ‘Absent Friends’ and ‘Old College’.
The threesome are obviously very talented players while Eve’s strong and sweet voice and talent for a tune and a word couplet makes her stand out from the herd, as it were. Things got more interesting later in the set when the mood got a bit angrier, with a song whose title BM did not quite catch about being patronised by posh people and the closing number where Eve really got to grips with the electric piano and sang a real storm. Aside from the EP there will be further performances in Scotland this year and it looks as if Eve Simpson is already one to watch.
Things got pretty crowded by the time Broken Chanter appeared around 8.30 (the gig was sold out after all) – playing as a four-piece tonight (David on vocals/guitar, Bart on additional guitar, Charlotte on bass and Audrey on drums, they gave us an extensive run through tracks from both the BC albums. David explained that he was on full antibio after his (possibly Aberdeen FC related) sore throat had gone into his chest, but he was still in fine voice and fighting back.
Every lineup interprets these fine songs slightly differently and every gig is a bit different so it was fascinating to hear the latest treatments of tracks which have been favourite for years. Things to ponder here were the way that lockdown shaped (not just consciously) some of the ‘Catastrophe Hits’ tracks and also which tracks overall the audience responds best to on any given occasion.
Tonight’s closers ‘So Long (I’m Not Around)’ and ‘Allow Yourself’ certainly came off best for BM, while ‘Wholesale’ also hit the mark. All three comprised some furious guitar, throbbing basslines and that trademark Audrey Tait drumming, deceptively open until she starts rat-tat-tat, absolutely vital additions to the tune arrangements.
David came back out for a solo version of ‘Low Winter Sun’, an old number from his previous band, and thanked everyone. There had been a certain amount of sharp banter with the audience, especially about Aberdeen FC, but in the end this gig was about love, respect and trying to take care of one another, whatever the weather.