Rab Noakes Playlist in The Ardshiel Hotel

We currently have a Rab Noakes playlist on rotation in the bar/restaurant of the Ardshiel. If you are curious to hear the man's music, we suggest you head down there, grab a comfy seat and a drink then give your ears a treat. If Rab isn't on the speakers, just ask our friendly bar staff and they will sort that out for you. In the meantime, here's the playlist for your private perusal:

Aye, The Nights Are Fair Drawin' In.......

So that's October nearly done in.

No idea where it went to but this blog certainly got neglected....

Swiftly recapping, we had our first Thursday gig with Elliott Morris on 3rd October and it was a cracker!

Can't praise this guy highly enough - his guitar technique is jaw dropping, his own songs are excellent and his choice of covers is eclectic to say the least.  There aren't many people who would dare to mix up traditional ballads with material from Michael Hedges, John Martyn, Michael Jackson and perhaps most surprising of all, Basshunter!  All in all, Elliott made a lot of new friends in Campbeltown and we look forward to welcoming him back next year some time. In the meantime, his new E.P. Shadows and Whispers is officially released on 1st November via iTunes or on hard copy at gigs. We've all had a sneaky listen and it's well worth checking out!

Elliott meets Donkey and some of the chums

Next up we are looking forward to the visit of Rab Noakes on Saturday 26th October. Details of the gig can be found here but suffice to say, as well as being the sharpest dresser we've had at Ceol so far, Rab also comes with an exemplary catalogue of old and new songs of his own plus a very clever line in covers which work totally outside the constraints of the original arrangements. In musical terms, he's got preciously close to reinventing the wheel on more than one occasion!  Also, we like our guests to be able to tell a good story at Ceol and Rab Noakes certainly does that! From tales of the road to the history of western popular music, he's the man!

Rab Noakes- Ceol bound and rarin' to go......

Our November guest is Jane Blue who is the singer/songwriter/face of Jane Blue and the Hunters, a Dutch collective of musicians, film-makers and artists who have made a number of award-winning, atmospheric videos including White Swan.  Some of their more recent films, such as The Pagan and Evening Disease, were shot on location in North Kintyre and indeed the opening shots of the former may well be familiar to some of our readers.  Earlier in the year, Jane Blue and the Hunters released their first album, The North, to great acclaim. You can have a listen here

This will be a solo, acoustic show and will be a great opportunity to see how Jane's songs work in a stripped back format. Jane Blue plays Ceol on Saturday 16th November at 8pm. Tickets are £6 and will be available at the Rab Noakes gig for purchase and thereafter from the Ardshiel Hotel or on-line at www.wegottickets.com (10% handling charge payable for on-line purchases).

Jane Blue in repose

Starting to lag behind with playlists but will get to it and catch up soon!

John Goldie Gig - Walk- in Playlist

Here's the walk-in playlist from Saturday's John Goldie gig and before anyone asks, the reason it is so long is because it also covered the interval and the aftermath. Anyway, as usual, most of this stuff can be found on iTunes/Amazon etc. but if you need any help or advice please drop us a line

Elliott Morris Playlist now in the Ardshiel

Outrageously talented guitarist singer/songwriter Elliott Morris plays Ceol on Thursday 3rd October.  As part of the general build-up we now have a playlist in The Ardshiel Hotel where it is on rotation in the famous Whisky Bar and restaurant. So....... if you want to hear what Elliott sounds like in advance of the gig,  a good idea might be to head for the Ardshiel, ask them to put on the playlist and then relax your mind with a large one in the company of Elliott and of course any pals that are with you.....

In the meantime, here's a copy of the Elliott Morris playlist for your own personal perusal.

Some thoughts on the John Goldie gig

So, John Goldie then? He came, he saw and conquered.  He gave us a fabulous concert of music and anecdotes from his life on the road and left the Ceol audience desperate for more. The good news is he has promised to return. The bad news is that it won't be until next year...

John Goldie tells us why old Nashville side-men have long beards

It is very difficult to explain what exactly happened at the gig. John was so laid-back that he underwent the shortest soundcheck I have ever witnessed and then proceeded to provide us with an unparalleled musical education stretching from jazz standards via, Dolly Parton (9 to 5), The Stones (Honky Tonk Women), Tom Jones (It's Not Unusual) to Nashville, Motown (Heard it Through the Grapevine) and unusual hybrids (Summertime versus Green Onions!). We also had a close encounter with Smoke on the Water and an impromptu rendering of Postman Pat alongside some Blues, old and new. Most people take the chance to clear their throats between songs but John carelessly blurts out the introduction to Sweet Home Alabama as if it were a passing thought.

So, yes, it was that kind of night, a mixture of virtuosity and fun supported by some brilliant stories from the road delivered in a very humorous and self-effacing manner. Yet, the real musical highlights of the evening came from John's own pen - they were in turn, amusing, thrilling and poignant and straight out of the top drawer. Indeed, for many, his beautiful slow air, Here and Now, was the emotional highpoint of the night. Straight from the heart, simple and direct, it really struck home.

John Goldie  gives Honky Tonk Women some welly!

At the interval, a few members of the audience expressed doubts about the number of fingers John possessed on each hand, the highest estimate being 12! It was also instructive to see them file past him at the end just so as they could check. There was something right Campbeltown about that!

Sadly, all good things come to an end and the grumpy old Janny brought the curtain down on the night by showing everybody the door!

 A stunned John Goldie is usurped by Mr Jobsworth the Janitor

All in all, then another great night at Ceol, a winning combination of music and yarns delivered by one of Scotland's finest living musicians.  It is such a shame that the is better known in Europe, Asia and America than he is in his own native land. If you ever have the chance to see him live, grab it with both hands and don't let go!

A Word About Playlists

Now that we're on a semi-roll, as they say in Carradale, I'd better say a few words about playlists.

Firstly, I've had a few enquiries about the "walk-in" music played before, during and after the gigs, so I've decided to post the tracks and artistes names on the Blog for reference. Most of the music can be found on-line by sticking the names in the search engine of your favourite on-line music store but if something is proving elusive, give us a shout and hopefully we can help you find it.

So, here's the first playlist from the Alan Murphy/Chris Adams & George Tucker gigs.....

......and here's the one from the Steve Daggett night:

                                             

Also, just to finish this off for now we have another playlist in The Ardshiel which features music by artistes who are due to play at Ceol. The idea behind this playlist is to provide a gentle reminder of or even an introduction to the artistes' work. A copy of this playlist is kept behind the bar so if anything happens to catch your ear while you are indulging in quiet drink or even when you are at your dinner, please don't be shy about asking to see it. I shall post the Ardshiel playlists on the Blog as time allows........

Our First Two Gigs and Beyond!

Ceol's doors finally opened on Friday 12th July 2013 with a wonderful performance from Glasgow bluesman Alan Murphy and his new musical foil, bassist Martin Byrne from The Wirral.  This was Alan and Martin's first "proper" gig after meeting at a recent John Martyn tribute event and it augers well for the future. Playing a mixture of Alan's own material and some favourites from the repertoire of the afore-mentioned John Martyn, the pair looked and sounded as if they had been playing together for years, which given the complexity of the music, was no mean feat!

Aside from the quality of the music, we were pleased at how well the venue worked - the sound was excellent, the audience, by and large, bought into the idea that they were there to listen and closing the bar during the performance was perhaps brutal but effective!We also introduced the concept of the Telt-a-Gram which ironically was dealt to Alan's buddy Michael!

See Michael's Telt-a-Gram for more information....

We will take confidence from the  things we got right and will give some thought to the areas where we can do better. Here is Alan on his trusty Gibson SG and Martin on his amazing electric double bass.

Here's Alan's take on  Ceol: 

A great venue in a beautiful part of Scotland. The gig is very individual with it's telt-a-grams and a new, musical, don't -miss destination for west coast music. - Alan Murphy

........... and here's the view from a member of the audience:

Excellent music last night at Ceol- Alan Murphy- so much so I'm off to get tickets for tonight's guests! Well done the organisers!  - Jacqui Millar

On to Saturday 13th July and we welcomed Chris Adams and George Tucker from String Driven Thing, who played a selection of songs that literally spanned Chris's career from Mark 1 String Driven Thing through to the present day via all the essential incarnations of the band as well as Chris's solo stuff. In addition to playing some beautifully fluid lead guitar lines in a variety of styles and throwing in the occasional backing vocal, George also gave us one of his own songs, Strange, which really deserves to get out to a wider audience.  Naturally, the set contained a number of SDT anthems which worked very well in a stripped-down acoustic format and there was something right Campbeltown about the way Jack Diamond, a song about a man facing the gallows and maybe not in the best of spirits, was transformed by a section of the crowd into an anthem to the restorative properties of Jack Daniels!

On both nights, we played The Lucky Chair, which gave every person in the audience the opportunity to win a signed CD by the evening's artiste(s). Here's Chris and George with Maureen who won a copy of String Driven's "Songs from Another Country" signed by the pair of them.

Chris's verdict on Ceol?

 A gem in the making in deepest Kintyre. Great room, intimate setting, and an excellent audience - Chris Adams (String Driven Thing)

.... and here's what Jacqui thought:

 Just back from another evenings entertainment at Ceol. You can't beat a man with a guitar, or, better still, 2 men and guitars!  - Jacqui Millar

Now we look forward to our next gig on Friday 16th August featuring Steve Daggett of Lindisfarne and no doubt there will another blog about that in the not too distant.........