Celtic Band At The Edinburgh Arts Festival

The Edinburgh Arts Festival has something for everyone. There are kilted jugglers and street comedians, mimes bronze-painted into living statues, theatre galore and music every which way you turn. The acts that stirred my blood right down to the very strands of its R1b-ness were the Celtic bands. These specialize in driven, if somewhat repetitive melodies, full of the insistent tweedling of woodwinds and thunderous percussion. Buy one of their CD's, if you must - but the best way to experience one of these bands is in person. Nothing can match the snarling challenge of its grizzled warrior-drummers or its wildly flirtatious dancing girls. You will come away with the sense that the Celtic spirit of Scotland is at once beckoning you and warding you off, thrilling you all the while with its fierce ambivalence.