Our first gig of the day took on a decidedly Viking theme -- we attended an event staged by musicians who are regulars at Tonder Festival, Denmark. On reflection, I'd conclude that the mighty Danes have had a superb festival this year -- they've been incredibly well received wherever they performed (to the extent of total delirium at one particular gig)!

The lineup for this afternoon was Instinkt, Zar, Henrik Jansberg and, finally, Helene Blum and Karen Mose with their band. The afternoon audience was, to be perfectly honest, pretty lackluster, but my companions and I loved this set: Zar delivered a punchy, lyrical set of contemporary songs beautifully sung by the sultry voice of Sine Lahm Lauritsen. With left-handed bassist, two fiddlers and a guitarist looking like a very young, slightly grungy Pat Metheny, they were huge fun to watch and I was struck by their excellent rhythmic drive.

Instinkt was something else (more later -- they gigged at The Arches later this evening and deservedly had main billing). It's a fine ensemble of jazz musicians, including a double bassist and keyboard player, accompanied by fiddle player Henrik Jansberg. It was a great set, though I felt this part of the gig lost some of its momentum because a jazz ambience replaced the livelier vibe created by the earlier bands. A delightful duet of female voices, Helene Blum and Karen Mose, closed the afternoon's performances with their stunning, sinuous, sensual vocal harmonisations -- it was a total pleasure to listen to them!

I mentioned Danish band Instinkt just now. I can happily report that their gig at The Arches that evening, with Beolach in support, was an absolute blast! We arrived at this excellent venue to find Cape Breton band Beolach about to take stage, and WHAT a set they performed! A standing event, the crowd was soon jumping about and punching the air as fiddle, flutes, uillean pipes, keyboard and guitar belted out glorious, rhythmic tunes, filling the air with an intoxicating Celtic groove. The band got a truly fantastic reception when several members came to the front of the stage to give us a taste of some wonderful stepdancing -- what an excellent start to the evening!

Instinkt is a band that packs a tremendous punch. Starting their set with a rather innocuous-sounding fiddle tune, one of my companions asked: "Is this a prelude to chaos?" Having seen the band earlier in the day, I could only advise him to wait and see -- he did, and found out for himself! The musicians in Instinkt are absolute masters of their craft and tradition, and they perform with shed loads of humour, drama, panache -- their live act is quite honestly overwhelming! Their sense of timing is SUPERB. They're blessed with one of the most outrageously talented drummers I've ever heard in years, Vivi di Bap Kristensen -- she won a Danish Folk Award in 2003, and is so "up for it," it's unbelievable. This band plays a sense-ravishing combination of drums, bass, fiddles, guitar, hurdy gurdy, flutes, viola and Jew's harp -- and they are VERY full on!

Working their way through their latest album Hur, and much more besides, they had the audience baying for more at the end of every stunning set. Vivi di Bap delivered an astonishing vocal, seemingly from the depths of her soul, on "Ode til Dollerup Bakker." Seeberg invoked roars of approval when he let rip, Jimi Hendrix style, on hurdy gurdy -- he opened the cover over the instrument's keybox and thrashed out a devilish improvisation on this centuries-old instrument -- absolutely stunning! Bassist Malene Daniels Beck, fiddler and vocalist Louise Ring Vansgaard, and Soren Korshoj (violin/guitar/voice) were equally stunning contributors to what became an evening of superb musicianship, high drama and fabulous craic and good humour. Their command of English excellent, they were totally at home in Glasgow this evening, and seemed to relish every moment of this headline gig. This band came back for two encores -- their energy was unstoppable, and we could have danced all night!

Back to the Festival Club for a superb late night set by the Barra MacNeils -- this audience was so much more up for their gorgeous brand of Cape Breton camaraderie than the more formal audience at Karen Matheson's gig the night before, and absolutely loved their fabulous stepdancing routines! After a day of such full-on music, however, it was time for an "early" night -- 2.30 a.m.!

- Rambles
written by Debbie Koritsas
published 26 February 2005