Since their inception over 15 years ago, The Old Blind Dogs are a band who, like Stan Roger's Mary Ellen Carter, haven consistently risen again through numerous incarnations of line-ups.

On Monday night at the opening of St Brides they decisively showed that their current line up could arguably be the best yet.  The only downside was that the concert was seated, as The Dog's music has the kind of rhythmic power that would make even the most reticent of folkies want to get up and dance.

At the band's core is seasoned pro Jonny Hardy, the only surviving member from the original line up and, one must assume, the guardian of The Dog's traditional committment to the fusion of rhythmic/percussive elements with excellent folk music.  His varied and driving fiddle along with strong harmony vocals supporting Aaron Jones underlies much of the frenetic yet technically precise power the band infused into a varied set including a number of tunes and songs from their most recent "Four on the Floor" album.  His lead vocals on "Terror Time" and a storming version of "MacPherson's Rant" showcased his own ability to lead songs to a similar benchmark to that set by latest addition Aaron Jones.  From the moment the band took the stage to the final note of their encore, Jonny Hardy was at the heart of everything with his persausive fiddle melodies, cadjoling his band members and turning in a masterful performance.  One assumes it was not only diplomacy talking when he stated in interview after the show that this current incarnation of The Dogs is his "favourite yet".

The rich vocals and rhythmic bouzouki of Aaron Jones gives The Dogs a deadly edge which has surely re-ignited their musical spark since his inclusion in the line-up.  Introduction of material such as David Francey's "Saints and Sinners" and Davie Robertson's "Star O' The Bar" strengthens The Dogs repetoire and makes them seem equally comfortable in their familiar territory of upbeat songs merging into frenetic tune sets alongside a new terrain of slower laments tinged with a uniquely Dogs sound.

This sound has at its epicentre a percussive beat which often blurs the boundaries of tradition to force and fuse their music into new, challenging and exciting directions.  Fraser Stone has taken up the mantle of previous percussionists tasked with upholding this key ingredient of The Dog's success with aplomb.  Despite his ecclectic set up of djembes and cymbals (almost exclusively played by hand alone) looking like it was assembled from the yields of numerous car boot sales, there could be little doubt of his enthusiasm and passion allied with a deadly dose of technical brilliance, especially on Gavin Marwick's "Skye City" tune.    His prolonged percussive solo at the end of the gig laid down a clear gauntlet to some of the previous Dog's percussionists who were in the audience.

Last but by no means least, Ally Hutton's pipes and whistles were magnificent in concert with Hardy's fiddle, and the strategy of starting a tune with the whistle before using the pipes in the latter stages drove many of the compositions to even greater heights of syncopation and frenetic power.

Simply, The Old Blind Dogs in their current guise must be one of the best bands playing in Scotland and are a must see for any lover of music.