Last week, Brian Buchanan from Enter the Haggis lost his fiddle. Whether it was simple misadventure or a criminal act has yet and may never be determined. Last night, Brian posted an appeal on the ETH website for donations. He included special premiums for different donation levels up to a private concert for anyone who would donate $1,000. The appeal was picked up on Twitter, Facebook and elsewhere and reposted throughout the night. I noticed this morning that friends of mine who aren’t even fans had picked up and reposted the appeal on Facebook.

It took just 15 hours to raise enough money to replace the fiddle.

Brian has spent a ton of time and effort establishing ETH on the social networks. ETH has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube and a bunch more sites. He figured out a way to stream the majority of their shows live and generally has achieved a level of accessibility that far surpasses most bands.

Today, he reaped the benefits of that effort. It’s a testament not only to his fans and his music, but to the incredible power of social networking.

Have fun shopping, Brian!

p.s. Brian suggested this morning that those who didn’t get the chance to donate should consider donating to school music programs. The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation does fantastic work in this area, if you wish to donate.

Want to know why I love Enter the Haggis so very much? Check out this video from last night’s performance at Jonathan’s in Ogunquit, Maine. There’s a lot to be said for guys that sound just as good spontaneous and acoustic as they do rehearsed and plugged in. A *lot*. So many acts do one thing and one thing only with just the slightest of variations in their style. Listen to a top 40 radio station for an hour and you’ll see what I mean. But Enter the Haggis draws from a wider range of styles and traditions than just about any artists I’ve yet seen. To say it’s impressive is a vast understatement.

So, yeah…check it out and let me know what you think.

From Dave S. on Twitter who got it from Enter the Haggis comes this post on making new fans. How to do it right and how to screw it up…

I haven’t been posting much the last couple weeks because this has been sucking up all my free time. UStream is a site that lets people stream live video and audio from their webcams. There are all kinds of applications (I’m planning on using it to deliver real-time lectures to my online students this summer). Enter the Haggis has been using it to stream the majority of their shows live for the last couple weeks. What makes this different from taping a show to play on YouTube or something similar is the interactive aspect. There’s an associated chat room where fans (or students) can interact with each other or with the person on the live stream. There are all kinds of features I haven’t explored yet, too. If an indie band is lucky enough to have a tech geek for a member, this is a great promo tool.

In other news, I have a huge list of bands that I’m slowly checking out. I started with an old band that’s new to me, The Tragically Hip. I vaguely knew they were Canadian and folk-rock esque, but that was about it. I mentioned to my husband that I’d heard a Hip song that I liked and his answer was to produce everything the band had done up to the year 2000 from his CD collection! He was a big fan growing up, apparently. The things you learn about your spouse… So I’ve been working my way through their older catalog and have plans to get the seven (!) CDs we need to complete our collection.

One thing I love about the Haggis Head community is the widely varying musical tastes of the folks who hang out there. Here’s my list so far of bands to check out: Tegan and Sara, Metric, Eisley, Missy Higgins, Jump Little Children, Dar Williams, the Abrams Brothers, the Decemberists and I have a whole other list somewhere that I can’t lay my hands on at the moment. I’m going to be a busy girl…

So what’s in your MP3 player today?

Yes, another road trip. What can I say? I’m in that kind of mood. I caught Enter the Haggis again at the Sun Music Hall in Floyd, Virginia on April 24 and again at the Sedalia Celtic Festival the next day.

Sun Music Hall is a small, relaxed venue in a picturesque Blue Ridge village. The crowd was young and energetic. I suspect many students from Virginia Tech made the trip from nearby Blacksburg. The guys played what’s becoming their pretty standard two sets, heavy on material from the new CD. Having seen them four times now, it’s been interesting to see the new songs evolve and begin to have a life of their own beyond what’s been recorded. And speaking of that, some of the “old” songs are taking on breathtaking new life. Specifically, “Long Way Home.” This tune has gone from one that I really didn’t think that highly of when it was recorded on “Soapbox Heroes” to one of my absolute favorites. I think a lot of that is due largely to Trevor’s growth as a musician (that’s Trevor Lewington, ETH’s guitar player for the uninitiated). It’s obvious that he’s gained a ton of confidence and technical skill in the last few years. Any semi-skilled guitar player can do a standard blues progression, but it takes real soul to pull it off the way he’s been doing lately on “Long Way.” I also got to hear “Death of Johnny Mooring” for the first time at Floyd. It was every bit as dynamic and exciting as I expected it to be. Brian (Buchanan, the fiddle player) has a lot of fun on this song, coaxing sounds out of his fiddle that are heretofore unknown to man.

The next day at the Sedalia Festival, the sets were much the same. Very, very solid, lots of material from the new CD. “Murphy’s Ashes” continues to be a standout. I simply love the way this song builds in intensity, backs off, and builds again to its nearly ear-splitting conclusion. It’s one of the ones I can feel right under my sternum, if that makes any sense. The crowd, however, could not have been more different than the previous night. It mostly resembled Sunday morning at a Southern Baptist Convention. People were appreciative to be sure, but simply would not get up and dance. The rest of it was everything a festival day should be. Warm, sunny weather. Good friends. Great music. Decent beer. It was a real treat to get to know some people I really hadn’t had a chance to hang out with before.

Look for a focus on local and solo musicians coming up here in the next few weeks as the Oklahoma Renaissance Faire begins and I start reviewing some faire band CDs and performances.

Sorry for the belatedness of this review. It’s been a week.

The Dublin Pub…nice venue. The owner was awesome. A true publican who made sure everyone was comfortable and having a good time. It was already packed when I got there around 7:30 and I ended up in the back by the bar among the people who preferred to talk rather than listen.  Most of the crowd seemed to be people who came to their favorite bar and, ooh, look, a band!

I would like to say for the record that I was not the only crazy person there. I met a guy, Dan, who had flown in from Alexandria, LA! We debated who was nuttier. He’d come farther, but I had driven the whole 10 hours. I think it was a tie.

OK, the show. The first of the two sets was…interesting. The first two songs were great (The Litter and the Leaves, Lancaster Gate). Then it got sort of uneven. Not bad, just not as tight as I’ve come to expect. The guys seemed to be having trouble finding and holding a consistent groove. I’m not sure if it was something technical going on, or the odd crowd, or what. Or maybe it was just me in my vantage point among the talkers.

However, things changed in the second of the two sets. Not only did the guys find the groove, they caught it, wrestled it to the ground, kicked its ass and showed it who was boss. It was the best single set of Enter the Haggis I’ve heard in the ten years I’ve been seeing them.

A thunderous version of Murphy’s Ashes opened the set followed by Ghosts of Calico which is catchy and haunting all at the same time. Apothecary with a gorgeous new intro…I love it played this way! Couple more solid tunes then Craig played “Amazing Grace” as the intro to “Long Way Home.” Apparently, a Dayton police officer had fallen the day before and this was a tribute. That few minutes alone would have been worth driving 10 hours to hear. It was moving and technically spot-on. Some more really solid stuff, then Broken Line. It is not hyperbole to say this song is a masterpiece, both live and on the CD. Lanigan’s closed the set and Brian had fun playing with his new toys (violin effect pedals), much to the delight of the crowd, who finally seemed to get into things. Particularly, when Trevor decided to be a rock star and jumped up on one of the tables to close out the tune!

The encore was Lights and Cars which never fails to move me, Congress and Gasoline. Trevor had to get a bit acrobatic for the drum-guitar bit during Congress because the stage was so small. All in all? Completely worth the 20 hours in the car. Completely. Bravo, guys!

Enter the Haggis brought their unique blend of Celtic rock fusion to Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn, IL on Saturday night, March 28, 2009. The Canadian quintet is currently touring in support of their new album, “Gutter Anthems,” and songs from the new CD were prominently featured throughout the night.

Fitzgerald’s is a quality venue with a comfortable ambiance and a good selection of imported and domestic beer on tap. By the time the show started (delayed to 9:30 so that the club could observe Earth Hour by dimming the lights) there was a full house of long-time fans, newcomers and club regulars unfamiliar with Enter the Haggis’ particular mixture of rock, pop, funk, jazz overlain by a strong Celtic influence.

The band opened with the high-energy The Litter and the Leaves, an Irish punk-sounding call-to-arms against the status quo. The sound quality was excellent, with guitarist Trevor Lewington and piper Craig Downie blending perfectly. Brian Buchanan, normally on keyboard or fiddle, looked perfectly comfortable wielding a beer bottle instead as he riled up the crowd with strong vocals.

Enter the Haggis followed up that rousing opener with Lancaster Gate, an instrumental from their third studio album, “Soapbox Heroes.” Bassist Mark Abraham really shone with his melodic style of playing. Smoking hot versions of Another Round and the new pop-rock tune DNA followed, inspiring some enthusiastic dancing.

Buchanan picked up his fiddle for “Fiddle Set,” a lively compilation of several traditional Canadian tunes. A competent keyboard player, Buchanan really shines on the fiddle with his high level of technical talent combined with true musical artistry. Downie’s antics during this tune drew the crowd further into the groove.

The rest of the set was a mixture of older tunes interspersed with new songs from “Gutter Anthems.” The only slight hitch occurred at the end of the set when Buchanan’s battery died during “Down with the Ship” forcing him to forgo the soaring fiddle solo that usually closes out the tune. However, drummer James Campbell more than made up the difference with his heart-shaking drumming.

The second set opened with a new instrumental from “Gutter Anthems,” Murphy’s Ashes. Downie proved on this and several other tunes that he’s far more than a traditional Highland piper, pushing the boundaries of his instrument to its limit and beyond. Enter the Haggis followed that up with the haunting, country-influenced Ghosts of Calico and then a mix of new tunes and crowd-pleasing favorites.

The most powerful moments of the night came from two of the band’s older tracks, One Last Drink and Congress which showed two distinct sides of the band. One Last Drink allowed the band to show off their vocal prowess with perfectly blended harmonies. The instrumental Congress showed off the high level of technical ability that each member of Enter the Haggis brings to the table along with pure, joyful showmanship.

Always friendly and accessible to their fans, the band stayed after the show to mingle and sign CDs. Enter the Haggis continues the tour next weekend with shows in Ohio and West Virginia, followed later in April by a string of East Coast dates. Tour information can be found at http://www.enterthehaggis.com along with audio streams of the band’s last four CDs.

I have my typical Haggis hangover this morning. My feet hurt from dancing, I’m hoarse from singing and cheering, and I’m *so* tired. Totally, totally worth it. This is the first of two posts about the show. This one will be an informal trip report. The next will be a more formal review of the actual show.

The Canadian and I got up Saturday morning at 5:00 and were out the door by 6:00. The trip was mostly uneventful but UGH…southern Illinois. I-55 between St. Louis and Chicago has to be the most boring drive on the planet. There are no cows, no houses, no horses, no trees, no scenery, no hills, no towns. *nothing* Just fields and grain silos.

We got to Chicago about 3:00 and I immediately collapsed for a nap while the Canadian went to do some reconnaissance at the venue. The hotel room was amazing! Hotels.com rocks. $88 for a suite at the Write Inn, a gorgeous, vintage 1920s hotel. The suite had a jacuzzi tub, kitchenette, and a gas fireplace! The hotel even had one of those old-fashioned elevators with the doors you open yourself. The Canadian woke me up around 5:00 and I spent the next hour or so making myself sufficiently beautiful. Chicago is a big city and I wanted to look stylish. Besides, we were meeting friends I hadn’t seen in almost nine years.

We headed over, scored a great parking space and met up with our friends at Wishbone, next door to Fitzgerald’s where the show would be. It was a real treat to see my friend and her husband. We hadn’t seen or talked to them in almost eight years. Facebook is the devil, but it can come in handy for reconnecting with old friends. The restaurant’s contemporary Cajun and Creole cuisine was a welcome surprise. It’s rare to find creative vegetarian food where I’m from and Wishbone really hit the mark with a large section of delicious-looking vegetarian dishes. I settled on the hoe cakes with grilled vegetables, described in the menu as “Roasted red peppers, spinach, portabella mushrooms and zucchini sautéed in white wine with a touch of cream smothered over a cheese grit cake.” It was rich, yet not too heavy and the vegetables were cooked perfectly. We carried our food over to Fitzgerald’s to eat, as the host had invited us to do. As we ate and drank, the waitresses set out candles and the club dimmed all the lights for Earth Hour which made for a really nice ambiance.

At this point, I need to digress about beer. Imported honey wheat beer by the pint does not equal domestic beer by the bottle. I forgot to get the name of it, but whatever it was, it was a lovely, sour honey wheat with a lemony undertone. Very refreshing, smooth and *deceptively* alcoholic! It really snuck up on me and I wound up being a lot more…erm…tipsy… than I like to get. But the Canadian tells me that I handled it relatively well and didn’t make an apocalyptic fool of myself, so it’s all good.

We also met up with some online friends, both awesome guys. As we all talked and got to know each other we realized that three of the couples, including us, had had home births! Three homebirth families in a crowd of about…150? is an amazing coincidence.

So, back to the show. Enter the Haggis opened with “The Litter and the Leaves” off their new CD, “Gutter Anthems.” It was wacky high-energy. I’ll write more about the actual show in my more formal review in my next post. Suffice it to say here that the first set was excellent.

Here, I’ve got to put in a note about the “dancers”. There was one woman…good god. I’d talked to her outside. She was super drunk and ranting about Obama being a terrorist, if that tells you anything. Anyway, inside, she was…amusing. Advice for posterity? Attempting to step dance in high heels is not a good idea. Honestly, I didn’t notice her much, being lost in the music as I tend to get. But from other people’s reports it was quite the spectacle.

After the break, another full set including the *best* version of “One Last Drink” that I’ve ever heard. (That might have been in the first set, my memory is a bit hazy on the order of things.) Also, “Ghosts of Calico” which was exactly as amazing as I knew it would be. Like I said, I’ll write more about that in my next post…

I was Craig-side during the show, a vantage point I’d never had before. He’s hilarious and clearly loves what he’s doing. He gets a twinkle in his eye that’s just a joy to see. It was also a new experience for me to see the guys so close up. It made seeing intricate tunes like “Congress” so much more amazing, just from being able to see Trevor play up close.

After the show, prodded by the Canadian and friends, I managed to actually speak with each of the guys and get my picture taken and my CD signed. Some of you may realize what a huge deal that was for me. Social anxiety sucks sometimes. It’s not like a star-struck thing, either (that, my friends, is a whole separate post). It’s just terminal shyness around anyone I don’t know.

Discovered that the car battery had died, but thankfully a friend was able to give us a jump and we headed back to the hotel to collapse. Trip home was uneventful and boring. The snow that started to fall in the night stopped about an hour south of Chicago, so didn’t slow us down as much as we’d feared. Got a Twitter from the band that made me laugh. They made it back to Canada before we made it home one state away! That either speaks to how big this country is, or to what insane nuts we are for driving so far in the first place. I’m thinking the latter…

Peace out…look for the show review within the next day or so.