We’re only a few days away from a red letter day on the calendars of lovers of great poetry – especially great Scots poetry.

Robert Burns Day is marked every January 25th, the day of great man’s birth in 1759. The day is often marked by a “Burns Supper”, a usually formal gathering marked by much ritual (and whisky).

Bagpipes are a big part of the Burns Supper sequence of events with the haggis “piped in” with the tune “A Man’s a Man for a’ That” (the name of one of Robert [never "Robbie" or "Rabbie"!] Burns’ great works).

Following the “Address to the Haggis” the haggis and haggis porters are piped out of the dining area to the tune “Neil Gow’s Farewell to Whisky“.

No need to attend a Burns Supper to mark the occasion. Read a Burns poem and reflect. That’ll do.

For those who can’t make the concert – and we hope at least 200 of you do (since that’s the capacity of the el Mocambo Club)  here’s where you can view the concert live, 8:00 pm (EDT):

Live Streaming by Ustream.TV

Canadian-based Scottish Guitar legend, Tony McManus, will be guesting with the Toronto Police Pipe Band (the “PoPo”) at their May 21, 2011 show at the el Mocambo Club in Toronto.   Last year’s sold-out show produced the band’s award-winning “Raw and Off the Floor” record and proved once again why the el Mocambo has been a home to some many legendary and historic shows: the accoustics are fantastic! 

The well-mic’d guitar styling of McManus alongside the sounds of the pipe band (and a solo or two) will be sure to help make another unforgetable night of music.

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The grade one Toronto Police Pipe Band will again be hosting a show at  Toronto’s iconic el Mocambo club, 464 Spadina Avenue, Toronto. The Saturday, May 21, show is slated to begin at 8:00 pm.   

Elvis Costello’s “Live at the El Mocambo” and the Rolling Stones’ “Love You Live” records are two of the most famous albums to be recorded off the floor of the “el Mo”.  The Toronto Police Pipe Band recorded a live show at the venue last May.  The recording went on to receive the pipes | drums award for 2010 “Album of the Year”.

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The grade one band’s “Live at the el Mocambo: Raw and Off the Floor” project was yesterday named Recording of the Year by pipes|drums, the world’s most read piping and pipe band-related website.  

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I’ve been reading lots of stuff on percussion lately.  I’ve been looking to educate myself further on what makes percussion what it is, why it is, and how a deeper understanding can help create great melodies.  I came across this youtube mini-documentary and thought you might enjoy. The message here is about drumming, yes, but also about music and musicians: “great chops” [wrists, fingers] may be great to have, but we still have to entertain and move listeners – the audience:
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The Toronto Police Pipe Band’s new recording, “Live at the el Mocambo”, is now available for downloading from iTunes. Over the coming days other major international download sites including puretracks.com, napster.com, etc will also host the record.

Here’s an interesting “panorama” shot of the grades one and two band playing together at Fergus Highland Games, Saturday, August 14, 2010.
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An interesting view of an army pipe band in Rome, 1944.  This is the regimental band of the Seaforth Highlanders of the Canadian 1st Division marching through Rome.  While the landmarks haven’t changed the sounds of pipe bands sure have.  

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