RUSSIAN RED at CELTIC CONNECTIONS GLASGOW

Lourdes Hernández is her real name , and she comes from Mad-reed ( as our Spanish cousins say).

She goes by the name of Russian Red, named after her favourite shade of lipstick.The celtic Connections programme hailed her as a "Spanish Indie sensation" , now what self-respecting music lover is not going to buy a ticket for that.

Add to that her second album was produced and recorded right here in Glasgow by the legendary producer Tony Doogan , famed for his work with Belle and Sebastian and Mogwai amongst others.Her band was also to be joined by two members of Belle and Sebastian.

I asked a Good Friend of mine living in Spain if she had ever heard of her and if the hype was correct.My Friend mostly likes to communicate via telepathy , to add spice she sometimes does a Lord Lucan and disappears for long periods of time.I never have the heart to tell her , us men arent as skilled at mind-reading as the fair sex , the best we can do is ever inaccurate second-guesses which yield "interesting" and occasionally "very interesting" results.To her credit she got back to me and was kind enough to use formal channels.She had not seen Red Russian herself , but a Friend of hers did and found her not play for long and to deal only in medleys , all in all they were not impressed.

Well Russian Reds ears must have been burning , because she seemed to take all that on board and gave full renditions , and what renditions , of her best songs and a long set to boot.

My take on this is her Friend may have seen her as part of an outdoor festival type format , rather than a full indoor show ,Or , more importantly , having two members of Belle and Sebastian on stage may have lifted the professional standards and brought tautness to the set.Whatever the reason , we were treated to a superb show and i hope Lourdes will continue to maintain these exceptionally high standards for the rest of her career.

Lourdes best quality was the strength of her voice ( you get the impression listening to her videos that it could pack up at any time, but not a bit of it).She is also a fine guitar player of great merit.

Nature and the heart are never far away from her songs:

Here is a song of hers dedicated the the great Spanish all class-embracing passion:



Here is my favourite song with a wonderful calypso laced with rock feel: ( be sure to skip the add):



Like Steve Earle a while back , Lourdes also stated Glasgow is always on the lips of Spanish musicians when they get together to talk shop and discuss music scenes and audiences, and a full house for her first gig in the city is ample evidence she will be most welcome back.

And last , and not least, a fine song on a favourite theme.



One last piece of advice to Lourdes i can give is,,,,never,never,never , ever cancel a concert in MALAGA again...its not worth it!.