Club, Saturday.

*** A rich mix of musical styles went into the Mad Pudding served up twice this week by the Bermuda Folk Club.

A concert on Thursday brought out the crowds to the Old Colony Club for a virtuoso display of music rooted in the Celtic tradition, but with a distinctive North American twist.

The regular line-up was complemented by the multi-talented April Verch as guest fiddler.

And Ms Verch -- a winner of the Canadian Grand Nationals -- almost stole the entire show with a violin solo combined with step dancing, a derivative of traditional Irish dancing by the looks of it.

Highlights of the concert included Hoedown -- a lively US adaptation of an old fiddle tune called Buonaparte's Retreat, presumably written to commemorate Napoleon taking a pounding from the Duke of Wellington's lads at Waterloo.

The tune was picked up by American Aaron Copland, worked over and renamed -- but its origins in the kilted legions who distinguished themselves on the battlefields of Europe came through loud and clear.

The North American influence on a music style transplanted in the 1800s to foreign soil by a huge wave of Celtic immigration -- caused by the clearance of the Highlands of Scotland by aristocratic landowners -- was ably demonstrated by Grand Hotel.

A hugely funny song -- done a cappella by the five-strong band who hail from Vancouver -- it tells the tale of British Columbia loggers descending on a seedy hotel in the city loaded with cash and wholly improper intentions.

Saturday night's ceilidh saw the band in more traditional mode, supplying music for everything from the Canadian Barn Dance to the horrendously complicated Strip the Willow.

And what the audience lacked in technical skills -- and that was generally quite a lot -- they more than made up for with enthusiasm.

Amy Stephen on accordion and guitarists Andy Hillhouse and Boris Favre, backed by drummer Allan Dionne provided a superb backdrop for Ms Verch to once again showcase her talents -- and the dancers just lapped it up.

Gordon Ness provided a valuable service as MC/dancemaster -- although his clear and thorough instructions were honoured more in the breach than the observance once the music started and things started to get out of hand.

But half the fun of a real ceilidh is the falling about and improvisation, which, despite the very best intentions, almost invariably lands dancers exactly where they ought not to be at any given moment.

Once again, the Bermuda Folk Club should be complimented on finding and bringing to Bermuda an absolutely first-class band.

The Folk Club -- who threw a very successful Spring Festival in 1998 -- have changed their game plan this time around and are spreading their acts throughout the year, instead.

And if Mad Pudding are any indication of the quality they're looking for, folk fans have a lot to look forward to over the coming months.

RAYMOND HAINEY THEATRE THR REVIEW REV