Mad Dog Mcrea
Creative Scilly Festival, Isles of Scilly
 

IF you’re looking for a quiet night out, then best avoid Mad Dog Mcrea. Considered reflection is hardly their bag — at least not in a live setting. 

Plymouth-based and West Country-proud, breakneck piratical folk is their stock in trade, and even the “slow ones” finish at a frenetic pace.

It’s drink-along, singalong music, with a ragbag of influences spanning everything from country rock to music hall and back.

First up is the six-piece band’s barnstorming mission statement, Am I Drinking Enough?, followed by a slew of upbeat tunes with scatological lyrics that have the dancefloor well-populated from the off.

It’s unpretentious stuff that would find little or no favour with the folk purist, but does its job with great effectiveness on a Saturday night with drink in hand.

The hour-long opening set rushes by, and after a short refuelling stop we get to see further evidence of their unabashedly eclectic style in the hour-and-a-half up to midnight, which includes a version of the old Jungle Book favourite The Bear Necessities, and, later on, The Devil Went Down to Georgia.

Few bands would dare venture into such naff territory, but MDM prefer to go where the music takes them. Fun is their watchword, and while there’s a more serious body of work lurking in there somewhere — as suggested by three albums that have never quite managed to convey the joy of their stage offering — above all they’re built for live performance, and it’s in that medium that they’ll always excel.

On tour in Britain until November 15. For more information see: maddogmcrea.co.uk.