What do you call a coach full of accordionists at the bottom of the ocean? A good start… This was the mindset with which I took on last week’s Wee Folk Club at the Royal Oak (Edinburgh), knowing very little about what Sandy Brechin & Ewan Wilkinson’s show would consist of – I braced myself for a couple of hours of Shandesque accordion. By the time we’d had a couple of tunes, I realised I had vastly underestimated Brechin & Wilkinson – not only was it good – but, of all the many Wee Folk Club’s that I have seen – this was the cream of the crop.

The tunes vs. songs debate is one which rages within the folk community, whether or not many folkies are willing to admit it or not. Whilst I am a fan of both, songs always seem to offer more substance (in my humble opinion) – What Brechin & Wilkinson offered up was a 50/50 mixture of tunes & songs, interspersed with what felt like a well oiled stand up comedy routine, of which the most memorable moment was the surreal tale of a dog that was run over no less than 3 times and somehow – still survived. The anecdotes and humour were what made the instrumental sets work for me, making them more accessible as well as giving me a few minutes in which to digest Brechin & Wilkinson’s yarns. I do not exaggerate when I say my face ached from laughing.

Sandy Brechin is already a respected name in the folk scene having played with ‘Burach’ for many’s a moon now, as well as running the independent label ‘Brechin All Records’ which has been responsible for the release of ‘The Sensational Jimi Shandrix Experience’, ‘The Complete Songs Of Robert Tannahill’ and ‘Gregor Borland’s Bow Stroke’ to name but a few. He proves that the accordion can in fact be a very powerful instrument in the right hands.

Ewan Wilkinson was the secret weapon of this show though, and his renditions of songs such as ‘Ay Waulin O’, ‘Broom O The CowdenKnowes’ and ‘Both Sides The Tweed’ were the highlights of the evening, beautiful, heartfelt and tight performances, woven seamlessly with Brechin’s lilting accordion creating a powerhouse of folk. The next chance you get to see this duo, take it.