Enter the Haggis
at Milestones,
Rochester, New York
(27 April 2004)

The popular Celtic rock quintet from Toronto Enter the Haggis made a return trip to Rochester on April 27. The band had not been to the flower city since an appearance at the Rochester Irish Festival in September 2003. Haggis Heads filled the downtown club to hear their favourites along with some unfamiliar tunes.

Although it was not billed as an official CD release party; the show was only a few days after the release of the band's fourth album Casualties of Retail. As a result, about half of the show was dedicated to the new material.

True to form, the boys from Enter the Haggis put on a lively show, complete with piper Craig Downie's tale to "Officer" Brian Buchanan explaining why he was wearing his kilt and not a pair of trousers.

The fast-paced show had few breaks for anyone, including the band, to cool down. Slow songs were few and far between. Upon introducing "Wild Mountain Thyme," lead singer and fiddler Buchanan said that was as slow as the band gets. The only way members of the audience could sit still was if they were dead. It took a while for the dance crowd to get in the spirit of things, but once they did, what little floor space that was open had been taken up by dancing Haggis Heads performing jigs and reels.

Enter the Haggis members are known for wearing kilts, but for this show only piper Downie donned one. Buchanan said band members felt people were more interested in seeing the kilts than hearing the music, so they decided to remove the distraction. Fortunately, the music is solid and Enter the Haggis will have a following of Haggis Heads for some time to come.

- Rambles
written by Sherrill Fulghum
published 29 May 2004