Celtic Connections review: Treacherous Orchestra, Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow

Eleven-piece powerhouse The Treacherous Orchestra got the Celtic Connections party started with an evening of maximalist yet judiciously calibrated energy, writes Fiona Shepherd

Treacherous Orchestra, Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow *****

The first Saturday night of Celtic Connections at the Old Fruitmarket is prime party territory and there can be no better band to fill that slot than the revitalised 11-piece powerhouse Treacherous Orchestra, returning to their spiritual home after an absence of five years.

Their dynamic and charismatic line-up has long made that Celtic connection between acoustic and electronic dance music using classic DJ techniques, from stoking anticipation to euphoric release to multiple false endings. This big band knows that the only thing better than an earworm hookline is repeating that hookline over and over like a Celtic raga.