The rather pretentiously titled "Guinness Global Gathering" featured the Donal Lunny Band and the highly-regarded traditional Japanese drumming ensemble Kodo.

The evening got off to a bad start - the Donal Lunny Band were amplified to deafening levels. Initially, the melodic instruments were rendered almost inaudible, drowned in a sea of drums and percussion. The sound improved eventually, but the band's preoccupation with rhythmic backing still made it hard for Nollaig Casey, John McSherry and guest artist Sharon Shannon to make any serious impression. It's a shame to drown out musicians of that calibre.

Maighread Ni Dhomhnaill made a brief appearance and sang a decent version of Siul a Run, among other numbers. The band's set closed predictably enough with a frenetic version of Sharon Shannon's Tobique set.

Kodo, meanwhile, do what they do brilliantly, and they put on a sensational show. Their presentation is all highly visual and theatrical, and the drumming itself has a primitive power and immediacy as well as a sophistication. However, I found that the relentless pounding rhythms and sustained climaxes became monotonous very quickly - the novelty wore off after about 10 minutes, and they played for over an hour.

The concert reached its anticlimactic ending when Kodo and the Lunny Band joined forces to play a few tunes. The crude, relentless wall of sound which resulted was frankly embarrassing. And when an Irish dancer emerged to join the melee of musicians at the front of the stage the whole event seemed to crystallise as a Riverdance-style commercial venture.