IN CONCERT
What: Ashley MacIsaac and Quinn Bachand with Qristina Bachand and Daniel Lapp鈥檚 B.C. Fiddle Orchestra
Where: St. Andrew鈥檚 Presbyterian Church, 924 Douglas St.
When: Saturday Feb. 9 and Monday Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m. (doors at 6:45)
Tickets: Sold out
Note: Bachand and MacIsaac also perform in Duncan on Thursday and Courtenay on Friday
Ashley MacIsaac began performing local shows with accompaniment from Victoria guitarist Quinn Bachand in 2010, after the Cape Breton-born fiddler came across videos of the then-teenaged 91原创 Island phenom on YouTube.
MacIsaac is back in Victoria this weekend for a pair of performances with Bachand at St. Andrew鈥檚 Presbyterian Church, the Douglas Street venue where the two first performed together in Victoria.
MacIsaac, 43, a former fiddle prodigy who sold more than 500,000 copies of his recordings in the 1990s and has performed with Paul Simon, David Byrne and Philip Glass, still remembers when he first saw Bachand.
鈥淔or whatever reason, I don鈥檛 think I was looking for a guitar player at the time, which I usually am,鈥� MacIsaac said in an interview from his home in Windsor, Ont. 鈥淏ut I was looking for something to do with Cape Breton, and there was a video with Quinn on it.鈥�
The pair will be joined at the gigs by Bachand鈥檚 older sister, fiddler Qristina Bachand, and Daniel Lapp鈥檚 B.C. Fiddle Orchestra, and tickets to both performances have sold out in advance. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 the English attitude there, or what it is, but there鈥檚 always been a kind vibe there,鈥� MacIsaac said of Victoria. 鈥淭he audiences are good listeners and lovers of music, so I enjoy playing for them.鈥�
The three-time Juno Award winner was full of praise for his young collaborator, a guitarist whose skill and range 鈥� with 鈥渓ots of feel and great timing and intuition鈥� 鈥� makes him one of the best in the country, according to MacIsaac.
鈥淚 play with rock bands, I play with DJs, I鈥檝e played in all different kinds of settings. But my natural way of playing is to play with a traditionally innate musician, and those are Cape Bretoners. Quinn is somebody who is not from there but can do that just as well as anyone else. I work with a lot of people like Quinn, but usually they are 50 and 60 years old.鈥�
Bachand, who turns 23 on Saturday, was five when he first picked up the guitar, similar to MacIsaac鈥檚 path.
But while Bachand has earned praise in both Celtic music and jazz circles, and recently graduated from Boston鈥檚 Berklee College of Music, MacIsaac has stuck to his roots.
鈥淚鈥檝e made a career of letting people think I do multiple styles of things, because of my fashion sense,鈥� he said with a laugh. 鈥淏ut when it comes down to it, I鈥檓 simply playing standard Cape Breton and Irish and Scottish melodies. When I play those, the context of the setting may change how it is presented. And that has always been the case.鈥�
MacIsaac said he hasn鈥檛 discussed with Bachand what they are going to play. He expects 90聽per cent of it will be the music they played together during their previous performances.
鈥淭he tunes we played when I first met him are the tunes that are my favourites. I didn鈥檛 play easy stuff with him, let鈥檚 put it that way. That鈥檚 what blew me away.鈥�
Fans should expect heaps of traditional fiddle, with a variety of jigs, reels, airs and marches interspersed with MacIsaac solo hits such as Sleepy Maggie.
鈥淚f I had the virtuosity to play bluegrass fiddle, or pick up a guitar and play jazz, I鈥檇 by this point be David Foster and producing albums and being very sensible. But I just stomp my feet and play聽tunes. I鈥檓 pretty straightforward.鈥�
At the end of the day, MacIsaac said he doesn鈥檛 mind being called a one-trick pony. 鈥淚鈥檝e done 25 years of this. That鈥檚 a pretty good life for a pony.鈥�
