Reviews
Artists: Rua MacMillan And Ewan Robertson
Venue: The Railway
Town: Winchester
Date: 29th March
Website:
http://www.myspace.com/ruamacmillan
http://www.myspace.com/ewanrobertson
Rua MacMillan's "Tyro" was Fatea's Instrumental album of the year for 2010. Ewan Robertson was pipped to best male vocal by the other great singing Ewan, McLennan, so when I heard that the two of them were about to head out on a double header tour, my first thought was, "How far am I going to have to travel to see the?"
The answer turned out to be The Railway at Winchester, which is, as the name suggests, just a short walk from the station. Two of my favourite artists and being able to drink, this has all the hallmarks of being one of those great nights and I haven't heard a note yet. The evening gets better when I unexpectedly bump into old friend, Martin Driver, for a good natter.
Whilst the Attic in the Railway isn't the biggest of venues, it appears to be well run. The sound is good, it's lit so you can not only see the artist, but also get an atmosphere going very quickly.
First up is Ewan who, with supreme confidence, decides that the first thing he's going to do is teach us the chorus to his first song. It's going to be a set of songs about drink, characters and above all audience participation.
Lyrics are taught in the gaps between the banter when he's tuning his guitar. You know that a song is going to be more serious/sombre if there's not a brief lesson before he Ewan starts. He's an artist that can switch a mood on a sixpence, laughing and joking one minute, deep and thoughtful the next.
Naturally there's a Scottish bent to the characters in the songs, but whatever their disposition there is so much for everyone to relate to. We know people that have made the same mistakes, enjoyed the same highs, it's just that us mortals don't put it into words and songs with the same finesse.
Robertson has a great relationship with his audience, he makes them feel part of the set, when he's talking he's talking to you, when he's playing, he's playing for everyone. The forty minute set almost seems over before it's begun, you check your watch, not quite sure where the time went. Ewan's delivering on the unwritten promises he wrote when he first took to the stage.
For the last song, he calls his friend Rua to the stage, for a bit of fiddle and drive to his last number, a cover version of the Richard Thompson classic, "Vincent Black Lightning", but not before Rua's had to go back to the dressing room to actually get his fiddle.
"Vincent Black Lightning" an iconic song and one that's not been weakened by the various covers over the years. Ewan Robertson's Scots drawl gives edge to the song, hinting at the hard life of the main participants, for some reason, I've always thought of Red Molly as a Scot. Great song and a great way to finish a stunning set.
Following short break and a chance to top up the falling down water, it was time for the Rua MacMillan Trio to take to the stage. The other two thirds being bodhran virtuoso Adam Brown and guitarist Tia Fyles, which means on the same stage we've had musicians from Braebach, The Paul McKenna Band and Bodega, boy is there some strength in depth in Scottish music at the moment. That said Newmarket's Adam Brown isn't exactly out gunned.
MacMillan is a larger than life character, his personality fills the venue. That personality is matched by the dexterity of all the musicians on the stage, to the point where you forget that this is an instrumental set, there's no voice missing and not one to be missed.
It's a storming, soaring performance, not only as a trio, but through the solos and duos that intersperse and interact throughout the songs.
Adam Brown cuts the set in half with a bodhran solo that really has to be heard to be believed, the delicate touches that he infuses into pretty much every beat of the drum making the instrument into a living breathing thing. It's almost as if he put a piece of his soul into the instrument when he was making it. If Adam Brown was Voldemort, his bodhran would be a horcrux, no dispute.
Rua and Tia have left the stage for the solo to make sure the spotlight is properly held by Adam for his featured slot, they return as a duo to allow Adam to get his breath back, I say Adam to get his breath back, because they as sure as hell aren't going to let us get ours back.
If this all sounds a bit gushy, it probably is because there was such a charge in the room. The interaction between the musicians is intuitive they feed off each other's brilliance with MacMillan in the middle giving the whole focus.
There is a magic at work here, it's not just the fast and furious tunes that grab you and thrown you around, it's the way you listen to the slower with such rapt attention.
You know things are close to the end as Ewan is called up to the stage to guest at the end of Rua's set, picking up Rua's Octave fiddle to turn the trio into a quartet to end the evening with one last waltz.
If there was one small niggle, it's that the sets felt a little too short, but in all honesty if the gig had gone on all night and into the morning, to those of us that survived it would have still felt it was too short. A night long destined for the memory.
Neil King