An Excellent Display of Piping and Drumming Second to None
By PAT CONNELL
VANCOUVER - On the first of three nights - "The Kiltless Night" - attended by some 400-plus folks at the SFU Theatre, the SFU Pipe Band were in top form. Master of Ceremonies Neil Dickie had the crowd in stitches right from the start with his usual banter and the band went through their entire set, which they are recording for their new CD On Home Ground - Volume I.
The playing and the various sets were excellent with mostly new material. Some of it such as the Hourglass Suite – an incredible piece of piping and drumming – written by SFU Piper Andrew Douglas, will be sure to delight audiences around the world who purchase the new CD.
The drum solos – two in fact – one written by SFU drummer Steven McWhirtter, were indeed some of the most amazing drumming one can expect to hear from pipe band drummers. Steven McWhirtter placed eleventh in the World Solo Pipe Band drumming competitions last October in Scotland and hails from Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
The evening was a total success and the first of three nights for the live taping of the new CD. The crowd was very entertained as usual by the antics of Neil Dickie. It’s fair to say he had everyone laughing and enjoying the evening as there were a few minor setbacks and restarts but that was to be expected due to the nature of the recording experience.
The SFU Pipe Band put on an excellent display of piping and drumming second to none and it will definitely be reflected when the new CD hits the recording stands in the very near future.
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