Red Hot Chilli Pipers at the Capitol Theatre -- March 20.
Thursday, March 20, 7:30 p.m.
Capitol Theatre, 330 West Third Street, Davenport IA
Popular touring artists and two-time winners of the Scottish Live Act of the Year Award, the Celtic rockers of Red Hot Chilli Pipers play Davenport's Capitol Theatre on March 20, the group's hits including popular covers of Queen's "We Will Rock You," Coldplay's "Clocks," and Journey's "Don't Stop Believing."
Currently composed of Kevin MacDonald, Willie Armstrong, and Malcolm McEwan, Red Hot Chilli Peppers originally formed in 2002, and its lineup features three highland bagpipers and traditional marching snare backed by a five- to seven-piece band, the live shows also boasting vocal performances and highland dancing. Since their formation, the musicians have combined guitars, keyboards, drums and their bagpipes to create "bagrock" sound, performing a fusion of traditional pipe tunes and contemporary pieces such as Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" and Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars." Although the band's first studio release, 2005's The Red Hot Chilli Pipers, was only a moderate success, their 2007 album Bagrock to the Masses went platinum in Scotland and silver in the rest of the United Kingdom, while their third album and first live album, 2008's Blast Live, went triple platinum in Scotland. Their fourth release Music for the Kilted Generation, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers' most successful International record to date, reached number two on the U.S. Amazon Chart, right behind Adele's record-breaking album 21.
In 2007, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers appeared on the BBC show When Will I be Famous? hosted by Graham Norton. The band competed against seven others, with the eight contestants paired into head-to-head showdowns in which the winner would be decided by 101 preregistered viewers who were dubbed the "Armchair Judges." The four winners of these head-to-heads would then compete against each other in the second show with the winner being decided by an open public phone vote. In their first head-to-head showdown, The Red Hot Chilli Pipers were pitted against Stringfever, a four-member string quartet, and went on to win the weekly prize of 10 thousand pounds. Meanwhile, in 2008, the group performed a Scottish-flavored medley of songs during the opening of Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 in Glasgow, and two years later, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers completed an 11-date sold-out tour of Scotland, as well as an 11-week tour of Germany and a seven-week tour of the United States.
Red Hot Chilli Pipers bring their North American tour to Davenport on March 20, admission to the 7:30 p.m. concert event is $29-45, and more information and tickets are available by visiting FirstFleetConcerts.com/first-fleet-venues/capitol-theatre.
