Kimmel Center Blog

The Black Watch and the Welsh Guards, January 15th

The word to describe the sound of bagpipes is "skirl." It's a great word to say with a tremendously affected Scots accent; I encourage you to try it at home. Or, if you were able to get to the Kimmel Center on Sunday afternoon, then you heard the "skirl" yourself. The Pipes, Drums and Highland Dancers of the Black Watch are joined by the Band of the Welsh Guards for a performance of traditional music from England, Scotland and Ireland. The Black Watch and the Welsh Guards are fully operational military regiments of the British Army—members of the regiment have served in Iraq.

How was your Sunday afternoon? Did you have whiskey before or after the show? Do you really want a kilt of your own now?

Re: Black Watch & Welsh Guard
A wonderful program. Too bad the bands were so confined and restricted by the small concert stage. The venue took away from the impact of these wonderful military marching bands. Please, no more Kimmel Center for the Black Watch; they need to perform in an arena.

I loved this program, especially the songs that specifically referenced the bands' military history. I thought "Pogo's Call" was an amazing display of the drums and a moving tribute to one of the unit's members killed in Iraq. Seeing members of the Kimmel Center audience stand for their respective service anthems was also very touching. I really liked seeing the bands perform in a smaller space, and unamplified. I could hear the dynamics of the arrangements much more clearly than if they were mic'ed. The soft trombone entry on "Ode to Joy" would have been lost.

A great performance! and the sound quality was terrific.

My only complaints are with the venue. The pipers are just as brilliant when in circle but the stage is too small for a marching band.
I understand delaying seating for late-comers until a set is finished but can't you leave enough light on so they can find their seats during the pauses?
What's with the time restriction on sales of memorabilia? Fifteen minutes is not enough time to allow those on the third tier to get to the lobby, especially when disabled. Would it be such an affront to allow sales to continue until the audience has left?