A woman called Amy at Martin's gig in Inverness on Saturday told me that she thinks daisies duck when they feel the vibrations of the lawnmower... yes, yes, she could be right! Then they pop up again when they know they are safe.
Saturday was the first time I have seen Martin and his Ross-shire musicians. All over the UK there are groups of people who can accompany Martin's songs; in Inverness, he was joined by Henry Fosbrooke on didgeridoo and drum, and Chippy on electric guitar.
I have met Henry before: he has built an octagonal studio in the forest, on log legs, called the logtagon.
As he was playing the didgeridoo on Saturday evening I suddenly understood the origins of techno music- all those chaps with floppy fringes and long shorts returning from a gap year and wanting to create their own romantic drama with those deep, deep sounds...
Chippy is a psychedelic guitarist, and between them they shone a different light on Martin's perennially catchy songs. there are a lot of good musicians in Ross-shire.
Ally Macleod and her partner Donald played some songs: it was lovely to hear her singing live. They had come straight from a wedding and had a sleek retro look that everyone thought was deliberate!
I sang a couple myself, and the evening finished with a very odd ex-commando taking to the stage and running us through the battle theatres he'd fought through, all backed by the band playing Jesus. He was a bit scary, a lot drunk and very dramatic all at the same time.
The Highlands is like the Wild West, with its own outlaws and mad logic.
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