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Hebridean Celtic Festival                                        19/7/08

Review:  Four Men and A Dog       by Ruaraidh Mackay


Four Men and A Dog, the five piece band from Ireland, performed on Thursday night at the main stage of the festival.  The band performed a number of excellent tracks, and were adored by the crowd as they proved to be a wonderful stage band, very lively and full of energy.

The band, comprise of Gino Lutari, the charismatic bodhran player, award winning banjo player Gerry O’ Connor, accordion player Donal Murphy, Fiddle player Cathal Hayden and guitarist Kevin Doherty.  Each member provided vocal support as the band played a number of the jigs and reels on which they have built they fan base from.  

Whilst Four Men and A Dog are known for their traditional Irish jigs and reels, the band also played a number of modern classics with an Irish spin on, such as “Boogy all night long” which was enjoyed by an extremely enthusiastic crowd.  The bands bodhran player Lutari provided extra entertainment through his dancing and general merriment on stage.  The crowd loved him.

The seemingly endless amount of tracks in which the band consistently churned out was astounding, as they performed effortlessly their best hits through the years.  “Maybe Tonight” and “Rambles in Russia” were two tracks which were extremely well received by the now bouncing festival crowd.

The band were red hot at this point and the instrumental talent on offer was a joy to behold.  Two particular highlights were Lupari’s mind inducing bodhran solos and the clearly skilled and experienced performance of O’ Connor on the banjo as he moved his fingers up and down the banjo frets with frightening speed.

Lupari continued to delight the crowd with his stage antics, but  it certainly wasn’t a case of all style and no substance for Lupari and his bandmates as the finale of their set proved every bit as impressive as the rest of the concert before previously.  The packed crowd were jumping up and down in sheer delight at the exceptional performance from 4 Men and A Dog with the band looking on at the mass of folks delighted, young and old, which they had created.

The band certainly had the crowd fired up, and will have made a good few more fans based on the exciting show they performed at the festival.  Definitely one of the better acts on show and a real joy to watch, whether it be because of the excellent instrumental talent shown by O’Connor, Lupari and not to mention Cathal Hayden, particularly impressive on the fiddle.  Five real musical talents.