>> Lords of the Dance
The Scotish Stage dramw Shooglenifty and Croft No.Five to get the real party started


Forget Rikki Fulton, your wee drams, and furniture-upsetting rounds of the Gay Gordons. This year's Hogmanay hot ticket is Glasgows street soiree, not least for its eclectic musical line-up.
With organisers granting the Scottish stage pride of place in Glasgows George Square, revellers can see in 2003 with some exciting homegrown talent, including veteran 'Acid Croft' act Shooglenifty and the rapidly up-and-coming Croft No. Five. For a pair of bands whose main objective and raison d'etre has been to get folk on their feet by fusing traditional instrumentation with dance music, there can be no more fitting event.

'Yeah, it should be a grand night,' agrees Garry Finlayson, the Shoogles' electric 'banjax' player. 'In general, playing to big crowds is something we love, because it's still possible to do that thing of sharing the energy between the performers and the crowd. And if you can get people moving and dancing, then the more and wilder the better.'

Croft No.Five's whistle player Misha Somerville echoes Finlayson's sentiments. 'We'll all be up there having a good time, so if we throw something out out to the crowd and they throw it back harder, that's when we get the buzz; that's the dog's bollocks.'

Glasgow's Hogmanay tops off a hectic year for the sickeningly youthful Crofters, which has seen the band tour the world, with New York and Scotland/Europe festivals being particular highlights. 'You learn that every audience reacts differently.' says Misha. 'New York has a real ambient energy, whereas continental audiences are more restrained. And, of course, in Scotland most people get lashed and throw themselves around, which works for us.'

Having played alongside their debut gig in Aviemore three years ago, Shooglenifty's Garry Finlayson is enthusiastic about the young band's success. 'There's no better reward than to see that you've been influential,' he says. 'And its good to see you're part of something that's growing, that's not going to go back now.'

Allan Radcliffe