75concerts

Concert Reviews
From Dirty Linen #75

The Battlefield Band
Matilija Jr. High School, Ojai, CA
December 8, 1997

If the last Battlefield Band recording, the live Across the Borders, summed up the strengths of the Alan Reid, John McCusker, Iain MacDonald, Alistair Russell version of the band, it also displayed its growing weaknesses. While remaining a crowd-pleasing live band, the overall sound of the group had become stale. Now a new kick comes in the form of two new members, Davy Steele and Mike Katz.

Ninety percent of the material for this show was new and un-recorded, a true test of an audience’s patience. And the band, from the opening, showed they weren’t going to play it safe: They started with a slow air on flute and whistle, leading into a slow-paced song sung by Steele before heading into a lively set of bagpipe tunes. The audience loved it.

The traditional "The Barnyards O’Delgaty" made for a nice example of how well Steele’s and Reid’s voices complement one another. Full tilt bagpipes instrumentals have been a part of the Battlefield Band repertoire, and it was Katz’s turn to show he’s yet another fine piper in the Battlefield tradition. His dueting with McCusker on fiddle brought back memories of Brian McNeill dueling it out with Dougie Pincock.

The set ended with a song that, in the past, ended up being a parody, but this version of "Proud Mary," sung in fine fashion by Steele, was played straight with the bagpipes wailing away.

The second set took off where the first left off, with a driving set of bagpipe tunes ("The Top Tier Set") and then into the first older song of the night, Reid’s "The Arran Convict." McCusker played a slow air, "Ms Kate Rusby," before Steele sang what had to be the most moving song of the night, the story of how his father’s brother had been left on the beach in France to be captured by the Germans during World War II. The bitterness he felt about being left lead him to abandon Scotland for Canada upon his return from the war, never to come home again.

Katz played guitar for the last song of the evening, "Miner’s Life," a strong pro-union song sung by Steele. The show closed with another hot set of pipe tunes, again with McCusker and Katz trying to outplay one another, bringing the audience to its feet. Another short set of pipe tunes for the encore closed the show. The audience went home happy and content, the strength of the new material overcoming their lack of familiarity with it. - Jim Lee (Simi Valley, CA)