Celtic Connections: From Scotland With Love – King Creosote / Tiny Ruins, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 22 January

A sell-out 2,400-plus crowd restless for the second half doesn’t make an easy support slot for understated Kiwi trio, Tiny Ruins. But their back-toned country-soul style effortlessly woos us with slow bass simmering under ethereal vocals and subtle percussion. Self penned Jamie Blue, inspired by the story of a 19th Century Glaswegian town crier, fits the archival theme of the show and the audience couldn’t be more apt.

As soon as the interval hits, the stage brims frantically with the AV team – this may well be the last chance we have to see From Scotland With Love’s full line up of 13-strong band, film screening, sound effects and all – there’s no mercy for anyone who messes this up. Showing just once before as part of Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games: Culture 2014, we’re already feeling lucky with a second viewing.

Virginia Heath’s collage of Scottish archival footage seeps nostalgia and stretches as far back as the beginning of the 20th century with colour and black & white clips depicting factory work, fun fairs, demolition. Heavy applause breaks the flow at scenes of protesters and their banners: “Let the voice of the Glasgow people be heard”, clashing with police in brutal, bloody mobs to the accompaniment’s fervent repetition of ‘You’ve got to rise above the gutter you’re inside’, it takes tear-jerkery to the limit.

King Creosote works his own My Favourite Girl and Auld Lang Syne into the original soundtrack, reinforcing a positive interpretation of potentially sore memories including war and emigration. Something To Believe In frames the show and there’s an overriding message of community and strength. It’s the perfect remedy for a shaky post-referendum audience.

A full auditorium shoots up in standing ovation at the credits, KC is overwhelmed, face buried in hands. Never mind 40 odd albums; this is clearly one of his high points. He and his band encore with Hamish Imlach’s Cod Liver Oil and the Orange Juice, everyone here knows it and sing in passionate unison. Groups hang around long after the performance, embracing and talking about old times – underlining its success as a social project. [Luisa Brown]