March 5, 2007

THE TOP 20 GIGS OF ALL TIME

THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS, GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 26 JANUARY 2003
Scottish folk's first fantasy line-up?

NOTHING quite like it had ever been seen on a Scottish stage - nor, very probably, on any other stage.

The debut performance by what was instantly dubbed the "Scottish national folk orchestra" featured no fewer than 32 musicians, including fiddlers, singers, pipers, harpists and accordionists, plus a heavyweight rhythm section and four crack jazzers on brass.

The concept was dreamed up a decade earlier by its musical co-directors, David Milligan and Corrina Hewat when they met at college, but it took the tenth Celtic Connections festival to bring it to fruition.

Described by Milligan as "the musical equivalent of Fantasy League Football", the Unusual Suspects raised the Scottish folk scene's game to a whole new level.

The massed potency of this much contemporary roots talent delivered a near-seismic impact, both sonically and in terms of sheer spectacle.

But the crowning glory was the bravura boldness and finesse of the music's arrangements, covering the full dynamic spectrum, from juggernaut jigs and reels to spine-tingling vocal harmonies.

A protracted standing ovation bore witness to a true watershed event.

SUE WILSON

READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE