Muckle and Friends.

Esquires Bedford Lev 1 Saturday 22nd April 2006.

Reviewed by Martin Stapleton / Pictures by Suzy Cook.

MUCKLE AND FRIENDS, this is a gig that I have been looking forward to for quite a few weeks. With a deep seated love of traditional Celtic music, which I am sad to say does not feature very often here at Esquires, I approach the venue full of eager anticipation.

The evening gets off to an authentic start with Fergus and Robbie (of Sctatchplate fame) putting on an Electric-Acoustic covers show that pulls from all decades and includes Free's 'Wishing Well, T-Rex's '20th Century Boy' right up to the modern day with The Artic Monkeys' 'When the Sun Goes Down'. The boys enjoyment is more than matched by the audience.

Stephen Jones, he of Hair of the Dog fame, gave us a short and sweet 25 minute set that once again leant heavily towards all genres of popular music and it included David Gray's 'Babylon', The Pogues 'Streams of Whiskey' and a traditional rendition of 'Night Visit' that receives a tremendous ovation.

And so we come to Muckles, the main event of the evening and a real treat for all lovers of quality music. With the Celtic pipes (wonderfully plated by Mr Andrew Miller) ushering in Muckle, infact it is quite surreal that on the eve of St. Georges Day we have this type of music and its unique atmosphere which transforms Danny's Bar into a Dublin or Edinburgh venue.

At the end of 'Sam's Set (Reels)', Martin McGrath (guitar / vocals) jokes to the audience that Muckle are not remotely like the Sisters of Mercy and that Folk is the new Rock.

'Strathspeys' showcases Muckle's fiddle player Amanda Smith who puts an incredible amount of energy into the 90 minute set. 'Johnny Don't Go' is sung with immense feeling by Martin, so much that even original songwriter Christy Moore would have been proud. It is given an extra edge by Andrew who takes hold of the Bodhran and the song climaxes with Amanda's fiddle playing.





'The Blackthham Jig' sees Christie take centre stage with her consummate playing of the banjo (her long frizzy blonde hair reminding DJ Steve Norman of legendary Twisted Sister start Dee Snyder!). In fact, the songs proves a good warm-up for her as the following songs 'Annette's Reels' and 'The Scary Monster Song' both feature the distinctive Banjo sounds. At this point Muckle tell us they are making the set up as they go along, to which Martin steps up to sing 'Nancy Whiskey', a song about drinking a wee too much of the Bushmills.

The next song features an instrument made famous by dear old Rolf Harris, the Didgeridoo, and a mighty fine blow Andrew gives it. 'The Ferret Reels' sees Muckle compete with the bands upstairs and is probably their heaviest of the set, a complete contrast to the following 'Fingal's Set' which brings tears to my eyes for the first part of the song. It is a total tear-jerkers, courtesy of Amanda's fiddle playing. The latter part see the tempo raised, however the sound of the fiddle is still stirring my emotions - take a well deserved bow Amanda.

The final two songs of Muckle's terrific set sees Stephen Jones join in and demonstrate his skill with the Bodhran. In fact, so popular was it all tonight that the crowd would not let them leave without an encore.