by Victoria Perras
*The Tilted Kilts photo by Victoria Perras
If you have ever seen Regina's The Tilted Kilts perform you know that they bring the heat and give it their all every time that they are on stage. After being off for nine months due to the Coronavirus they cranked up that trademark heat for their first show back as they rocked Montmartre, Saskatchewan for the ‘Stick it to Covid Cabaret’ this past Saturday, July 31st. This Cabaret was a fundraiser for the town's pool expansion project.
The Tilted Kilts are no stranger to Montmartre, as they have regularly played shows there over the years whether it is for the All Folk’d Up Music Festival, or just for Cabarets and Street Dances. Todd McCubbin and Rick McBain told NSMZ “I feel like we own somebody big, like we are always here. We love Montmartre and Montmartre obviously loves us”.
The band had only 4 practices before their first show back but that did not discourage them from being excited about playing live music again. Kilts bassist Thom Allen described playing live as a "total dopamine rush" you get the second you hit the stage. Allen along with his other bandmates love every minute of playing on stage in front of people. Singer Kelly Bruce and fiddle player Donna Hiller-Turk are the newbies to the group. When I asked the group about playing live again and being in Montmartre, Bruce gave me this response, “I retired from the music scene about 20 years ago and then these blessed musicians kindly brought the old guy back on. So, I got really wound up, livin’ it and lovin’ it, then we got shut down with the Covid. So I’m looking forward to this show tonight, first time in Montmartre for me so expectations”.
Hiller-Turk told NSMZ , “Kelly and I are new to the group and for us we barely got started and then we got shut down. So being able to play together is so nice. I’ve been looking forward to it for 9 months”.
After having a splendid interview with The Tilted Kilts, they hit the stage. The band was so on point and showed that they hadn’t skipped a beat since they last played live. With a wide age group of people in the crowd, they managed to get everyone to participate. Whether it was clapping along to the beat or getting up and dancing, The Tilted Kilts make sure that everyone is having a good time. That's what makes their shows so intimate between the band and the audience. This is only one of many great concert return shows by the band and we cannot wait for more.
*photos courtesy of The Tilted Kilts