Red Hot Chili Pipers at the Volkshaus - 20 November 2013

Basel, the city of Fasnacht, has a strong affinity for drumming and fifing, so when the Red Hot Chili Pipers roll into town, it’s no wonder that half of Basel's Scottish drum and fife formations are in attendance. The English Show has never seen quite so many kilts per square metre outside of Scotland.

The Red Hot Chili Pipers are a force of nature: the nine-piece twirl around on stage, display nifty choreographed steps, take turns in the limelight, go quiet and then go LOUD, jump up and down while playing at full tilt - our hats are off to the Pipers’ energy. Seeing men in kilts shake their booty is a sight we can’t scrub from our brains now, which is not to say that that’s a bad thing.

The band rewrite classic rock and modern pop for bagpipes, guitar, bass, keyboards and drums and call it "Bagrock". Recognising the songs they play is half the fun of the concert. Who knew that Coldplay’s Clocks and Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars would sound so lovely on bagpipes? The two-hour set also includes Queen’s We Will Rock You, Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water, Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ as well as traditional Scottish tunes. Some songs work better than others and the Pipers’ on-stage antics occasionally veer into naffness, but the whole enterprise is so high-spirited and good-natured that these are minor gripes. The audience cheered, clapped, sang along and had a whale of an evening. The Red Hot Chili Pipers are welcome back in Basel any time.