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What to expect from a Madcap eveningWhat's a Ceilidh?It could be lot's of things but what you get from Madcap is a dance evening for everyone to join in. We provide a caller who will explain each dance and then help you through it. We usually start with very easy dances and then they get a bit more complex as the evening goes on - or perhaps even more simple if the flow of booze has been excessive. Getting it a bit wrong adds to the fun - we aim to put on a relaxed, lively and enjoyable event. It won't matter if you haven't done this sort of thing before - just turn up willing to get up and have a go. Barn Dance, Ceilidh, Hoe-down - what's the difference?Well you could call it a barn dance - except I can't remember the last time we did it in a real barn complete with farmyard smells. Hoe-down is the American version - verging on line dancing - not our thing but we do a couple of square set dances and one or two American tunes have crept in to our repertoire. If you want a Scottish or Irish feel to the evening we can manage that but we're not a 'pure' Scottish or Irish ceilidh band even though between us we have a fair sprinkling of celtic blood in our veins. Do we have to dance non-stop all evening?Not unless the caller decides you deserve a really hard time and he's trying to wear you out. There should be enough dancers to allow you to sit out one or two dances. There's usually a break half way through the evening for some food or just to rest a bit. We might be persuaded to sing a folk song or two. For the hard of hearing Mike might do a blast on his highland pipes or we can just put on some background music. What do Madcap actually sound like?Best way to judge us is to pop into one of our bookings to have a chat and get a real idea of what's on offer. Contact us to see if there are any convenient dates/ venues. For a rough idea of the sound try the low-fi sound samples here. (WAV files- Right click; 'save as' then open with Windows Media etc..): Polka Pepper Iain Pease Knife French Live Will Granny need ear plugs?We put on a lively show with the music loud enough to create an atmosphere, but the normal amount of ear wax harboured by granny should be plenty to protect her. We can turn the volume up or down but it's always going to be a lot more tolerable to the majority than a disco. Iain, as well as being our guitarist, is into PA systems in a big way and we'll turn up with a high quality sound system - so no pain of an inadequate PA system straining to cope LanguagesWe've done a ceilidh with a German translation and we reckon we could probably manage French and Spanish as well. Madcap's friendsWe have contacts with other ceilidh and folk bands and callers and are quite happy to put you in contact with them if we aren't available or don't quite fit what you are planning. If you'd like a string quartet to entertain you eg during a meal we can recommend Caldara Mike, our wind player also appears in an excellent early music group, the Ordsall Consort
And finally ...
Katherine
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