Mix of cultures makes for fascinating evening
A new group comprised of some of the local area’s bestknown musicians is launching its debut album at Birnam Arts Centre this Friday.
Simon Jauncey from Crieff formed Helias earlier this year to perform and record instrumental pieces he writes bringing together blues, rock and jazz.
Multi-instrumentalist Simon, who studied with leading jazz musician Gerry Weil when he formerly lived in Venezuela, plays keyboard and guitar.
The band features Pete Caban, who regularly hosts the Perthshire Blues Sessions at Perth’s Green Room, on guitar and Pitlochry man Leon Thorne, who runs his own soul band Stax of Motown, on sax.
Pete, who owns the Fair City’s Bandwagon Music Shop, previously played in the popular danceband Lateshift, Western swing outfit Rancho Rebop and the Full Moon Howlers and original Blues band Wang Dang Delta.
Leon, meanwhile, is a regular member of the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.
Also in the line-up is Ruairidh Maclean from Dundee, also of Stax of Motown, on bass and Doug Alec Rees, from Auchterarder, on drums.
The concert start at 7.30pm. Tickets available via the Birnam Arts website. An intriguing night at the Inchyra Arts Club was kickedoff in some style by the supremely gifted guitarist Rodney Branigan ... writes Peter Drummond-Hay.
His amazing ability to play two guitars at the same time and his instrumental dexterity shows a musician totally at ease with a wide variety of styles and with his audience.
He plays with a smile on his face and that transmits wonderfully.
He is full of surprises, not least of which is his unexpectedly warm, soulful, singing voice.
Anyone who can switch guitars midtune without missing a beat, sing and play so well and entertain so royally is someone well out of the ordinary.
Then came the bizarre culture clash that is Gangstagrass, a fascinating hybrid of bluegrass, hip-hop and rap.
The hip-hop beats suit the style brilliantly and once the shock of the urban colliding into the rural was assimilated, this became a hugely- entertaining show that the crowd took to their hearts and their feet. Traditional songs like ‘Will the Circle be Unbroken?’ and ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’ gave a glimpse of what was to come.
This was the Soggy Bottom Boys for the digital generation.
The energy and enthusiasm on display was infectious and the two rappers, R Son and Dolio, were more than ably backed by main man Rench on guitar, birthday girl Melody on fiddle, Daniel on banjo and Landry on steel slide guitar (dobro).
Instrumentally, these guys are superb and the combination of the two girls voices duetting on ‘the Cuckoo’ was magical.
The rabble-rousing country songs abetted by the extended raps just got better and better with the audience getting more and more involved until the standing ovation at the end summed up the ecstatic reaction to
Helias perform at the Birnam Arts Centre this Friday
Gangstagrass entertained at Inchyra Arts Club. Pic: Cameron Phillips Photography
what had been offered.
In answer to the question: ‘Why?’ The answer is because they can and do and because it makes for terrific entertainment.
Next to arrive at the Inchyra Arts Club are The Dunwells, a four-piece band from Leeds, on Wednesday, November 30.