Some magical stuff

the volume of the bass drum. It vibrated off the stage, across the floor, into the seat and rattled the rib cage. Unfortunately, it was to be omnipresent throughout the first half.

“The Man from Skye” set was next that included Phil Cunningham’s “The Centenary Jewel.” Lovely stuff. This was very musical and played at a lovely tempo that enhanced the musical arrangements

“Random Star 10” was next and saw the addition of tom-tom accompaniment that was very effective. While the opening tunes were slightly different from the norm, the set finished with an excellent rendition of the hornpipe “P-M George S. Allan” that had the audience swinging along to it.

A solo piping “tag-team” of Kris Coyle, Ross Hume and Connor Sinclair was up next, followed by a solo spot from piper Bradley Parker. Perhaps Parker should have just tagged himself onto the end. With the band pitch sitting at a high 487/488 and, as a unit, producing a sound that was clear and crisp, the same could not be said for the solo performers. The chanters, in isolation, sounded tinny and not to my taste at all. Surely the band chanter cannot go any higher, with a low-G struggling to cope.

But these young lads can play. No question. The finger dexterity was mind-blowing and this was also true of the second-half soloists, but a word to the wise: speed sacrifices music. An old head on young shoulders may have come out and played something with a bit of style and panache. That said, the audience lapped it up.

“A Wee Bit Out the Ordinary” was the next set. This was a sterling medley; FMM, a class act, at their best. Terrific arrangements and harmonies laced with excellent support from the mid-section and snares.

Next up was a set of tunes with full instrumental accompaniment under the title, “Superfly.” While I enjoyed the musical arrangements I found the balance of the . . .