Mànran gig gives folks final boost of festive energy
The Corran Halls, built in the 1960s and of its time, over the years has attracted all the major artists, writes Campbell Cameron.
Many came as a warm-up for the bigger tour events to follow. But they all had the place bouncing on the night.
The arrival of January 2 means the New Year celebrations have peaked and festive energy may be sagging but the other night I was fortunate to have a ticket to attend the Mànran gig which raised the spirits once more. The band made the Corran Halls their tour finale and made my celebrations perfectly complete. I can report that they are on top form, with a great solid wall of sound and a couple of front men in the form of Gary Innes and Ewen Henderson who create the chemistry with the audience and infuse the energy.
Eight and a half years into the journey, they are ready for a new album, so they told us. Presently they are roadtesting some new tunes.
The big village hall atmosphere of the Corran Halls makes it the ideal place to see reaction to new songs and tunes. Thus Thugainn, Port na Calliche and Ghost made their debuts on the Oban scene.
Four tracks in, Oran na Cloiche – the big band favourite – brought the audience to peak of appreciation and the dancing cobwebs disappeared as the catchy singalong had everyone joining in. And so it was for the remainder of their half, it was full participation and dancing, warmed up by the amazing Trail West who played the first half – the Corran Halls are now officially live for 2019 and the Celtic Rock Scene is all the better for having Mànran growing.
It is the country music fans who get the treatment this weekend with Friday night's Legends of American Country concert to look forward to. All the hits and all the favourites will have you singing along – I look forward to it.
Happy New Year!