The bright lights play across his muscular frame as the audience's already heightened anticipation ratchets up another notch. For one thing, the name is not some flight of fancy. Lead performers Hamish and Angus Richardson really are brothers. And, although they wear kilts and play the occasional Scottish ballad, they grew up herding cattle on the family ranch in the Australian outback. What's more, they're classically trained pianists whose signature instrument is the bagpipes.
Bagpipes are the original rock instruments.
They create a primal reaction. If you don't like bagpipes, then you haven't heard them played properly. And there's something else about Hamish Richardson. You might pick up on it when, halfway through a concert, his brother Angus, drummer Roel Kuyper, and lead guitarist Steve Luxenberg rest a moment between songs while Hamish downs a bottle of fruit juice. Hamish has type 1 diabetes.