Seth Lakeman is a class act; he comes on stage understated in black t shirt and jeans and plays with passion and commitment. Joined by his brother Sean (the one that’s not married to Cara Dillon!) Cormac Byrne and Ben Nicholls, he played old favourites from ‘Kitty Jay’ as well as trying some new songs too. It was fairly tempting to stay put, but I really wanted to see Niteworks, the Skye band that played a great set at Celtic Connections this year.
So glad I did, because they were storming. Just loud, pumping dance music that rocked the packed Scotland’s Island Stage and had the audience jumping, whistling and waving their arms in the air. Genius move getting the girls choir on board too, really adding to the old/new thing that Niteworks do so well. Band of the night so far for sure, particularly after moving back to the Big Blue to watch Stornoway. Now, Stornoway are definitely talented, they write fine songs and can recreate that sound live, but for me tonight it just wasn’t happening. They seemed overwhelmed by the headline slot and there was an almost apologetic air to their performance.
Anyway, it meant we were changed and at Festival Club in time for the Coal Porters and Ahab, who we’d missed earlier. A London five piece, the four guys at the front are so charismatic that it was almost a surprise when one of them moved aside and I spotted the drummer. The four play a variety of stringed instruments and seem equally happy swapping them around with each other or leaping to the floor to play amongst the dancing audience. Definitely a band I plan on seeing again when I get back home.
And so we left Festival club as Daimh took to the stage, feeling slightly like lightweights for leaving before the end. There’s a strict no sleeping policy at Festival Club- I’d seen a girl woken by security half an hour previously, so thought it best to go before I was found guilty of the same offence!
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