Church Concert 2007
Review by The Webmaster
The annual Limekilns Church Concert was held on Wednesday June 20th and was, once again, an evening of great entertainment. This year we wanted to get a host with panache, style and a shed-load of charisma. Unfortunately, no-one with such qualities was available, so we had Dougie again...
The evening got off to a disappointing start for me.
I had heard the choir were performing something by Gilbert and Sullivan and I was expecting 'Alone again naturally' or 'Claire' as sung by the cap wearing songster of the 1970s. What a surprise I got when they appeared in Oriental costume!
Apparently that was Gilbert O'Sullivan not Gilbert and Sullivan. When I had recovered from my initial confusion, I really enjoyed this polished performance despite one of them looking a bit out of place. Can you spot which one kids?
In contrast to last year, John Fotheringham said he was going to do a couple of serious songs, I'm not totally convinced the first was completely serious.
It offered a warning about the possible consequences of indulging too much in wine and women, amidst some (light-hearted) heckling from the crowd about being sexist. This didn't knock him off his stride though and he continued with an old Scottish love song. Definitely a five star performance.
Catherine and David Angus gave accomplished, individual performances on the keyboard.
It is really encouraging to have youngsters with such obvious talent playing at these concerts; let's hope that when they are rich and famous they don't forget how it all started and whose PA they used.
Hands up those of you who have actually seen a Marimba?
No! Me neither!
Fiona Stoddart introduced us to the this percussion instrument, which looks a bit like a Xylophone but sounds more mellow.
It looks incredibly difficult to play, having two sticks in each hand, but Fiona gave a real virtuoso performance which was well received by all; impressive stuff.
What can I say about Al Terris that you don't already know - probably a lot after this!
I have no idea how to categorise what he did, and these pictures will be of no help.
He sang and played Ramona, but after each line produced a prop which he gave to his willing stooge. As I said, categorising this is impossible, suffice to say, it is the funniest things I have seen in a long time.
In a shrewd piece of scheduling, the interval followed; good planning by the host, as no-one would have wanted to follow this.
Barry McDougall started the second part of the concert with songs by James Taylor, Paul Simon and Jim Reeves. Once again, it was a barely capable display but good enough this crowd and well worth the fee.
It was his 8th wedding anniversary, so, in an act of unmitigated 'cheese' he sang I Love You Because and dedicated it to Marcia, who was suitably embarrassed; some people have no shame.
Mary Donnelly and Janet Stoddart gave us a variety of songs. Three with Janet at the piano and Mary singing - two of which were in German. Then Janet joined Mary to sing and they gave us a beautiful rendition of Rowan tree.
Marcia McDougall and Douglas Kerr performed a couple of Scottish songs with Marcia singing and Dougie playing the Scottish Harp. The mix of Marcia's voice and the harp worked really well for these songs and provided a nice distraction from the usual accompaniment of keyboard or guitar.
Morag Angus sang How Deep The Father's Love For Us which was written by Stuart Townend.
This is one of the better, new worship songs, and one of my personal favourites, and really needs to be sung sensitively to retain the feeling the song conveys.
This did not disappoint. It was performed with a nice accompaniment by Douglas and sung beautifully by Morag. Nice one!
From what I have seen of Ian Humphris, his performances are never dull.
He gave us a couple of Scottish classics in his own inimitable style. His delivery is always practised and he conveys the feeling of the songs with some lively actions.
Bringing the evening to a close was David Blane, who started with a couple of songs along with the keyboard. When you tell me that you love me, which was a hit for Diana Ross and the Perry Como classic And I Love You So, (written by American Pie singer, Don McLean).
He finished off the proceedings with a bit of Karaoke. We had all been supplied with the lyrics of a medley of Boney M songs (You remember Boney M don't you?) and were encouraged to sing with gusto, something which many of us did.
All in all, this was an evening of varied acts.
The age range was vast, as was the range of acts. Everyone who had the courage to get up and do something deserves an enormous amount of credit. It's all very well doing it the house in front of the mirror, it's completely different when faced with an audience.
I can only speak personally, but I always appreciate the people who come out to see us perform and I always appreciate everyone who takes the trouble to put something together and do it in front of us all.
The evening had a serious side in that we were taking donations to the orphanage in Imkerhof, which Limekilns Church helps. We managed to raise £150 on the night and a huge THANK YOU goes to everyone who made this possible. Go to www.imkerhof.org to see where the money went.