TONY BURKE plots the career of the legendary Senegalese band from Dakar nightclubs to Glastonbury
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Piratical folk
PETER MASON relishes a band whose live gigs make for a night to remember
AM I DRINKING ENOUGH? Mad Dog Macrae play the Isles of Scilly
[Peter Mason]
RITA DI SANTO contemplates two films about journalism that opened this year’s festival
GEOFF BOTTOMS applauds a world-class production King Lear that pits late feudalism against a rising bourgeoisie
MARY CONWAY keeps up with the sheer pace of a drama about the terrible gap between sanitised reporting and real-life turmoil of race and gender
New releases from Brian Fallon, Antony Szmierek and Hollow Hand
PAUL DONOVAN welcomes a revival of Reginald Rose’s classic play that reminds us of the fundamental need for trials with juries
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.
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