Performance By Pipes, Drums Outstanding

Pipes and Drums of the Black Watch and the Band of the Scots Guards Monday night, Feb. 2, at the Spokane Arena

The lower level of the Spokane Arena was fairly well packed Monday night, with a little spillover into the upper seats. This to hear the Pipes and Drums of the Black Watch, and the Band of the Scots Guards.

There is something about bagpipes that gets the blood going, and the energy of this pipe band had the audience on its feet and clapping in rhythm a couple of times by the end of the show.

The quality was outstanding. Intonation, especially on the high notes, often suffers when four or five pipers gather. The Black Watch had 16 pipers playing as one, in sync with nary a wrong note.

The Scots Guards Band was also a high-caliber ensemble. The entire performance was played at the march, with more variety than one would think possible. Trudging back and forth on the floor of the Arena could have been dull, but the band changed from quickstep to slide step to match the music and continually shifted their formation.

With the exception of the herald trumpets used in the opening fanfare and national anthems, the band employed cornets for the lead brass, which helps give the British bands their mellow quality.

While marches were the mainstay of the program, a keyboard and a couple of timpani, tucked away in the corner, assisted on the several concert numbers. These included both modern band literature and some popular tunes, including “New York, New York.”

Acoustics in the Arena were surprisingly good. Most of the shows I have seen there have been miked and broadcast over the sound system. This is hardly necessary with bagpipes and a military band.

“Unplugged” works here: It is not so live that the sound is bouncing off the walls and not so dead that the music seems distant. Ironically, the one time an instrument was miked - for an oboe solo - there was pretty heavy feedback.

The Highland dancers, four each male and female, performed “Argyle Broadswords” and the “Highland Fling,” both physically demanding dances. The dancers exhibited exuberance and tight synchrony in the jubilant steps.

Historic narration served as a way to introduce elements of the program, and it loosely tied the selections together. While there were some good fits between music and monologue, some selections deserved a better introduction or explanation for those of us who like to keep tabs on that sort of thing.

The program ended with tunes guaranteed to charge the audience up. “Amazing Grace” began with a singer, who was joined by the full band, then finally complemented by the pipes. Wow. What could have followed that except “Auld Lang Syne” and the title tune for the show, “Scotland the Brave.”