Hamilton.

Virtuoso violins powered a superb set by veteran folk-rockers Fairport Convention at the Island's Folk Club at the weekend.

Star performances by Ric Sanders and Chris Leslie made the show one of the highlights of this year's Spring Folk Festival.

Sanders and Leslie got the performance off to a great start with a duel for violins tailor-made to show off their respective talents.

And it's hardly surprising that the band ran out of copies of their latest album, Who Knows Where the Time Goes?, well before the end of evening.

The sell-out performances on both nights was tribute to the 30-plus years Fairport have been on the road.

But -- in their current four-man acoustic line-up -- they definitely haven't run out of steam or ingenuity.

The band mixed their own songs with an eclectic selection from the best of folk and rock, drawing heavily on Irish and Scottish traditional music.

Former Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson, now a fish farmer on a Scottish island, got a mention with Life's a Long Song and Ralph McTell's The Hiring Fair, written especially for Fairport, also got an airing.

But Sanders on violin and Leslie on violin and mandolin stole the show with tunes like Jigs and Reels.

Fairport founder Simon Nicol kept the show moving along with a wry sense of humour, while Dave Pegg supplied a driving force bass beat.

Sanders, a showman down to his fingertips, was outstanding on The Wishfulness Waltz, as was Leslie.

And the wild anti-colonial boys took a sly dig at Britain's imperial past with The Jewel in the Crown, a witty sideswipe at everything from the British class system to what they see as the rather shameful handover of Hong Kong to Communist China.

The Yeoman's Retreat again showed off Sanders' and Leslie's talents with superb solos.

And Fairport got back to their roots with the title song of their latest album, written by early member Sandy Denny in 1969 and reworked for their 30th anniversary album as a tribute to Denny, who died in a freak accident 20 years ago.

Matty Groves -- a Scots ballad and one of the band's earliest recordings -- provided a touch of tradition in the closing stages of the set.

The Spring Festival has still to see top acts like Anni Clark and Acoustic Nuisance from the US, as well as Pete Sumner and John Connoly from the UK.

But Fairport Convention will be a hard act to follow and the Folk Club, which is not nearly as well-known as it should be, deserves nothing but praise for providing top-class acts in their field on an Island generally felt to be falling short on the entertainment side.

--Raymond Hainey FOLKIES -- The Fairport Convention is from left to right Dave Pegg, Chris Leslie, Ric Sanders and Simon Nicol.

ENTERTAIMENT ENT