A TRIBUTE TO THE POGUES – FAIRYTALE OF BUFFALO NY 2023

Four great bands in one night celebrating the Pogues, the godfather and forebears of everything celtic punk. What could possibly be bad?  Not a lot, I’ll sure as hell say.  Our man ‘cross the broad Atlantic’ didn’t have far to travel to check out this gig in his home town and even got on the stage for the grand finale!

Friday 10th March 2023 at The Sportsman Tavern, Buffalo NY State

CRIKWATER from South Buffalo opened the night. I’ve seen them as sessions before and they are fantastic players. Their set went really well. Brilliantly played. It was a little softer than I would have liked for a tribute to a band who’s lead singer bit someone’s ear at a Clash show, but still. Phenomenally executed.  Facebook   WebSite

Next up was McCARTHYIZM. A definite notable mention goes to their fiddle player Sally Schaefer, who I’ve been lucky enough to play with a few times. They ended the set with “Turkish Song of the Damned” which has that great ending. The band was lock tight but she stood out.  Facebook   WebSite

 

Next up was YELLOW JACK. Admittedly I didn’t catch the entire set. What I did catch, there was a long pause before they went on, was that they were likely the truest to the Pogues actual sound of what you hear on the records. Great instrumentation, good vocals. Had never heard of them before but they are definitely going to be on the radar from now on.  Facebook   WebSite

Last on was CAPTAIN TOM AND THE HOOLIGANS. Now I’m biased because I know a good chunk of the band and played with them for a stint. But at that point we playing polka, all polka, and nothing but the polka. I was a little nervous how a horn section etc would fit into a Pogues set, but they did not disappoint. Maybe it was a few hours of folks at the bar, maybe it was just them, maybe it was both, but there was a tangible energy. They closed with ‘Fiesta’ and then all the performers came on for ‘South Australia’ which was awesome and I snuck on for. All in all, it was a fantastic night and surrounded by friends who you might not even know, but were all sisters and brothers in one common denominator-the brilliance that is the Pogues.  Facebook  WebSite

The ‘big jam’ below, grand finale at A Tribute to the Pogues-A Fairytale of Buffalo, NY at The Sportsmens Tavern. Thanks to all who contributed to an amazing night in tribute to the Pogues and to the Buffalo Music Coalition who organised it.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=921429742393202

CELTIC-PUNK LIVE AND LOUD IN DEPTFORD

The Lagan / Dirty Artichokes / Anto Morra at The Bird’s Nest, Deptford, London

Thursday 4th August 2022

It had been a while since we put on any bands and had even debated whether or not to keep doing so but presented with the opportunity to put on Italian band Dirty Artichokes we just couldn’t say no. On their way to Outcider Festival down south and (sort of) passing through the big smoke we rounded up a couple of the best the London Irish had to offer and let the bands do what they do best. Séan Cregan was there and enjoyed the night so much he had to get it into print!

A lovely sunny Thursday evening sees me heading down to Deptford south London. I arrive at the Little Crown, a small recently refurbished Irish pub, for a few liveners with Mark, Amy and Pat before making the short walk to the Birds Nest one of the few remaining live music venues where gigs are usually free (as tonight’s is) and the drinks are reasonably priced unlike the eye watering six pounds fifty at the New Cross Inn down the road.

The Birds Nest has also had a makeover in recent years, which was well needed as in the past you’d struggle to see the band stuck in the corner with no stage. This has now thankfully been rectified with a stage centre front of the bar, making for a small cosy up close and personal experience for both bands and punters alike.
As it’s Amy’s birthday the drinks are flowing and the bar is getting another makeover by way of London Celtic Punks stickers (get your own from the LCP Shop) liberally splattered about the gaff. The evening’s entertainment begins by way of Punk / Folk legend Anto Morra who warms up the still arriving crowd with his humour and medleys of Punk and Folk classics. For a Thursday night the place is jumping and it’s standing room only for the late arrivals. The Dirty Artichokes are a new one for me but boy were we in for a treat! The nine piece Italian band from Turin shuffle onto the stage filling every inch. The fiddle player had to stand on a speaker cab as there was literally no room left. We are then entertained for the next forty minutes by some of the most energetic Celtic Folk / Punk it has been my pleasure to witness.

(The Dirty Artichokes final song of the night recorded now for posterity!)

The lead singer is a bald, bearded, whirling dervish who engages the audience with his energy and passion. He also plays a mean tin whistle. The fact that most of the songs are in Italian matters not a jot to the crowd who have started jigging about loving every minute. I can’t recommend this lot enough and I was left wanting more and cheering like a lunatic. Nothing to do with the trays of Sambucas that have been necked to toast the birthday girl I’m sure.

The band finish with a rousing cover of the Anti Fascist favourite ‘Bella Ciao’ before leaving the stage to make way for the evening’s final turn. The Lagan (named after the Belfast river) are a five piece that play souped up traditional Irish Celtic-Punk at its best. I’ve seen them a few times now and they never ever disappoint and tonight is no different as they put on a blinder of a set, with loads of us singing along, as the night draws to a close. Well at the Bird’s Nest anyway. Check out their debut album ‘Where’s Your Messiah Now?’

We saunter off into the night well oiled and satisfied. We find the Amersham Arms still open and serving and drink into the small wee hours. Not too shabby for a Thursday night in South London.

Up the Celts!

Photos – Anto / Amy / Séan / Donny / Pat

We are pleased to welcome Séan Cregan to our ‘roster’ of London Celtic Punks writers. Séan is a second-generation London-Irish boy through and through. Lived here all his days and has absolutely no interest in ever moving away. “A man who is tired of London is tired of life” said someone once. He is currently in the process of writing his autobiography of a life well lived. His previous works include 24/7 – Prison Poems From An Anti-Fascist still available from https://www.paypal.me/AFpoems for £4 and we look forward to many more pieces here.

 

THE POGUES LIVE IN LYON 1986 THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO TODAY!

FREE DOWNLOAD

I’m not a massive fan of live recordings but really enjoyed this one of a Pogues concert recorded for Radio-Bellevue in Lyon, France. I then realised the 36th anniversary was only days away so the perfect time to share this free download with you.

I tried to dig up some information for you and there wasn’t a lot out there but I did find some. The concert was recorded for a radio station, Radio-Bellevue, and took place at the ENTPE (Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics de l’État). This is not what is called an actual ‘traditional’ music venue but was in fact a school gymnasium. Neither a good place to play or watch a band I imagine. Still 1200 Pogues fans sold out the venue and enjoyed a fantastic show from the boys and gal. The original recorder of the concert went on to add some technical information

“For mixing the show, I’ve used soundboard outputs mixed on-the-fly (headphones) on Sony TCD5M with a couple of additional ambiance mikes (Sennheiser) standing in front of the PA. Some traditional mixing errors for the beginning….as usual.”

By the time of the concert the wheels on The Pogues juggernaut were beginning to wobble. Cait would soon leave the band, Stiff Records would go bust and Shane’s er… personal issues were beginning to take over but by the following year they would release If I Should Fall From Grace With God their most rounded and critically popular album and all would be ok for a while yet. None of the songs here though come from that and this is The Pogues in all their youthful vigour. The sound isn’t perfect by any means but neither is it at all bad but then Celtic-Punk has never been about perfect sound quality. Embrace the music and go back in time…

1. Intro

2. The Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn

3. Streams Of Whiskey

4. Billy’s Bones

5. Repeal Of The Licensing Laws

6. Transmetropolitan

7. The Old Main Drag 

8. Dirty Old Town

9. Wild Cats Of Kilkenny

10. Sally MacLennane

11. I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Everyday

12. Greenland Whale Fisheries

13. Dingle Regatta

14. The Body Of An American

15. Poor Paddy

16. Waxie’s Dargle

 

Encore 1:

17. Haunted Cait vocals

18. Waltzing Matilda

 

Encore 2:

19. Jesse James

20. The Parting Glass

Shane MacGowan – Vocals * Spider Stacy – Tin-Whistle * Phil Chevron – Guitars / Vocals * Terry Woods – Guitars / Vocals * Jeremy ‘Jem’ Finer – Guitars / Vocals * James Fearnley – Accordion / Vocals) * Cait O’Riordan –  Bass / Vocals * Andrew Ranken – Drums

You can stream the concert here on You Tube

or download for free here

On Fiddler’s Green The Sky Is As Blue As The Ocean

LIVE REVIEW: DROPKICK MURPHYS ST. PATRICK’S TOUR WITH THE RUMJACKS AND MORE

The power of your example is far greater than what you say!

and their ain’t no band who set a better example than the Dropkick Murphys. Love, loyalty and friendship. Ray Ball was lucky enough to catch the Murphys on only the second leg of their St. Patrick’s tour in Rochester, New York. 

So, we all know this is a DKM show. And I’ll get into that later, but I wanted to get into a couple of the other groups that played.

Jesse Ahern

First on deck was Jesse Ahern. Before walking in the doors even, I was a big fan. I got turned on to him when he was supposed to see him on a tour that got cancelled opening for DKM. Admittedly I’ve got all the records on my phone and keep them going pretty steadily on rotation in my car.

    But he’s got a classic act down. One guitar, a harmonica and his vocals when he plays live. The records have more instrumental parts but it is bare bones, solid, working-class folk music. Solid solid set, early on and probably didn’t get the attention he deserves but I was definitely right up front and center.

  Next came on The Rumjacks. First and foremost, replacing a band member is hard. I don’t care if you’re playing in a garage or were AC/DC trying to replace Bon Scott. Obviously a singer can also make or break a band. A new one-well damn. Uncharted waters. But they did it well.

The Rumjacks

The sound has changed. Personally I love the newer material-yes the ended with “Irish Pub Song” but ironically I wasn’t to familiar with the rest of the set. The overall sound and vibe is definitely headed in a direction I like. It makes me think definitely of what I wanted to sound like on record-only much, much better. No frills, crazy lighting, etc.  On, straight Celtic punk, filled with whistles, bouzouki’s and a set of highland pipes, and go.

The Bombpops

  The Bombpops are not a group I would have bought headlining tickets for. Just not in my normal spectrum. That said, they had come cool music. Even though in my mind it shouldn’t be, it’s always unique to see two girls on stage. To me, in my own work I could really care less who you are as long as we have a good vibe and make good music. But it made me think of the bonus track on “Elgin Avenue Breakdown” by the 101ers. The track is a live cover of “Gloria” in which Joe Strummer goes into talking about women in the punk scene. “I’ve seen Patti Smith do it…” he says, and in a long tangent into how the whole idea of the punk movement was to break down those walls of convention.

  Have we since 1976 when that was recorded made that headway?  I’m not certain. I think we could argue both sides. I’m not entirely familiar with Bombpops repertoire. But I want to say, girls onstage in any act-punk or no-should not be a novelty. I personally don’t care if you’re a guy, a girl, black, white, purple-if you can play solid music and mean it I will listen. And damn, their guitarist played some of the most true punk palm-muting-all-downstroke machine gun sounding guitar playing I’ve seen in a very long time.

   Ok, onwards. Dkm. I don’t need to introduce anyone here. But there were a few key points. Al Barr is out of the current tour on account of family matters. Much much much respect. The first thing I thought of when I heard that news was “Do you think Mick Jagger took time off from the Stones to help his sister take care of their mom?”  Much respect to those who made it possible for him to do that. Frankly I don’t know much about Mick Jagger’s life, but I’m thinking I’m going to err on the side of probably not.

That leaves a hefty job for Ken to hold down. And he did it like an absolute champion. I’m willing to bet that everyone reading has at least seen them live on one of the Live Streams if not once or many times over the years. You know exactly what a good show you’re in for. But the one thing I will point out-the set list. “Do or Die”, “Caught in a Jar”, Caps and Bottles” and “Curse of a Fallen Soul” (some of which are mostly Al songs) came out of the vaults. The opened with “Cadence to Arms”. I’ve seen them every chance I get since 2004 and don’t think I’ve ever heard that done like that. They also did a mean cover of AC/DC’s “ Rock n’ Roll Singer ”. Old school my friends. A lot of us there were on the older side of the spectrum. There were even a few wee ones with their parents at the front.

So overall, some music I love, some fresh sounds, some impressive unexpected artists? Yes. Some serious nostalgia? Sort of. It got a bit rowdy and we were yelled at by two street preachers waiting on doors to open. It’s a crazy world, and it’s a punk show. Expect anything.

Set-List : Hang ‘Em High / The Fighting 69th / Sunday Hardcore Matinee / Deeds Not Words / Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya / Never Alone / Time to Go / Cruel / Going Out in Style / Take ‘Em Down / Echoes on A. Street / Devil’s Brigade / Boys on the Docks / The Dirty Glass / The State of Massachusetts / The Irish Rover / The Burden / Your Spirit’s Alive / 1953 / Barroom Hero / I’m Shipping Up to Boston / Encore / Kiss Me, I’m Shitfaced / Skinhead on the MBTA / T.N.T. (AC/DC cover) /

Dropkick Murphys  WebSite  Facebook  Store

Dropkick Murphys – Fan Page

Now seems the perfect time to mention the #1 Dropkick Murphys group on Facebook. Ran by fans for fans. Simply click the link and join up and join in the Murphys related fun.

Thanks to Ray Ball for the great review and all photos. He has already featured on these pages as the driving force behind The Fighting 69th from Buffalo. The review of his 2-volume set of Dropkick Murphys covers was one of the most viewed of the year. One of the most prolific and diverse artists in the Celtic-Punk scene we are proud to have Raymond on board the London Celtic Punks team. Writer, artist, musician he is a credit to the American-Irish community and you can find a wealth of his material available at his Bandcamp site .

GIG REVIEW: FEROCIOUS DOG – EDINBURGH 6/11/21

Ruff ruff! This weekend Ferocious Dog took to the stage in Edinburgh, at legendary venue La Belle Angele. They played a blinder, as if you needed telling 😉 Here’s a review o’ the gig by The Celtic Punk Author, who was there. With support from Mucky Scoundrel.

It feels bloody good to watch live gigs again after that pesky virus stopped ’em. If there’s one band that doesn’t disappoint, no matter how many lockdowns we’ve had, then Ferocious Dog is it. On Saturday 6th November the boys set up at La Belle Angele, an awesome wee venue in Scotland’s capital that brings in the finest in underground music names.

Supporting: Mucky Scoundrel

I got to the venue early, bought the obligatory pint and made a donation to the Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund (more info below). Soon after, it was time to enjoy Mucky Scoundrel, last-minute replacements for the injured Gimme Gimme Gimmes. Frontman Mark Feeney broke a string during the first song (a nightmare that all us guitarists can relate to!), but he played to an obliging audience as the club floor started to fill. Opening as a solo act can be a wee bit lonely, lemme tell ya, but Mark had an excellent accompaniment in Danny Kelly, who supplied some slick basslines and backing vocals.

The duo played 8 songs as I recall, with a mixture of humorous lyrics and more serious numbers, and some sweet vocal harmonies to bolster the music. To get a feel for what they can do, check this oot:

^{Mucky Scoundrel. Last-minute replacements for the injured Gimme Gimme Gimmes.}

To hear more from Mucky Scoundrel, check ’em out on Facebook, or watch the well-made, if slightly sad video to “Last To Fall” on YouTube. It’s a full studio version of a song that featured in Saturday’s setlist. Click HERE to watch it.

Headlining: Ferocious Dog

The Angele was nicely filled by the time The Dog’s walk-on music “Port Isaac” chimed into view. The band were to play many songs off their newest album The Hope (UK #31), and sure enough, they kicked things off with their rendition of fisherman’s shanty “Haul Away Joe”. After that it was straight into “Pentrich Rising”, arguably the band’s finest song to date (and there are many candidates for that!) A sample of the live performance, and how it got folks up and jumpin’, can be seen below:

^{“Pentrich Rising” – about the armed workers’ uprising of 1817, which started in ex-mining village South Wingfield.}

Next up was “Victims”, another track in E minor with a more melancholy fiddle riff. The front-row faithful, known affectionately as the band’s “hell hounds”, kept the mosh pit going and were well up for the “OK, let’s go!” shout during the song. We then moved into “Broken Soldier”, the first of a number of songs the band played about the horrors of war. For those who don’t know, Lee Bonsall (mentioned above) was lead singer Ken’s son. Lee gave the band their name when he was a boy, and went on to serve in Afghanistan at the age of 18. Sadly, he later took his own life at the age of just 24, unable to overcome what he’d seen and been through in the war. This gave rise to the Lee Bonsall Memorial Fund, and if you can spare a few quid for these guys, then get in touch with them HERE, and show your support for those still fighting the war in their hearts and minds, years later.

On the subject of charitable giving, “Sea Shepherd” is a song with a pirate-like feel to it, dedicated to the marine conservation charity of the same name. Ken was proudly sporting his Sea Shepherd T-shirt at the gig, and volunteers from Sea Shepherd themselves were at the doors with merch (I bought a beanie to replace the one I lost years ago). I first heard of these guys years ago through the Dutch band Omnia, who play[ed] pagan folk with a big dose of “fuck authority” thrown in. Sea Shepherd are more into direct action than Greenpeace, but they stay on the right side of the line. To learn more about these guys, make a donation or buy something, check ’em out HERE.

On “1914”, another track off The Hope, fiddler Dan Booth stepped up to sing lead vocals. Dan is one of two remaining members from the original 1988 line-up, with Ken being the other one. I particularly smiled at the line “there was whisky on Sundays” – if that ain’t a nod to The Pogues and “The Broad Majestic Shannon”, a fine piece of MacGowan magic, then I don’t know what it is, ye ken.

^{Ferocious Dog live in Edinburgh. L-R: Ryan Brooks, Dan Booth, Ken Bonsall, Alex Smith (hidden), Sam Wood and John Alexander.}

Music has the right to children

After a reel or two, which broke things up nicely but kept folks dancing, the band returned to their eponymous 2013 album, and the songs “Too Late” and the reggae-tinged “Freeborn John”. After these two strong tracks, it was back to The Hope again for “Born Under Punches”, another poignant song about homelessness in London. “Punk Police”, meanwhile, was written about those who feel they can tell others what’s punk and what’s not, or what they can listen to and what they can’t. As a famous Scottish duo once pointed out, “music has the right to children”. So although a punk band must understand what punk is about and how it originated, punk does have the right to morph and grow, as do all forms of music. With a “fuck the punk police” shouted at the end of the song, Ken made this clear.

The Dog closed their set with a few more songs, but were eagerly welcomed back for an encore. They had three more songs ready to go, the strongest of which was arguably the finisher, “Slow Motion Suicide”, taken from 2015’s From Without. This closer was another sad reminder of the terrible consequences of mental health problems, if the victims don’t get the support they need. Having suffered from depression and anxiety myself, I believe there’s an answer for everyone. People react differently to different types of treatment; what’s important is that people get the help that works for them.

All in all…

All in all, this was a fine gig, with a good dose o’ speedfolk to keep out the November cold. The band tore through their set impressively, never letting up but remaining as tight as we all knew they would be. As the crowd put their hands in the air for the obligatory end-of-gig photo, I was glad I went, and I’ll keep me ear to the ground for future FD gigs in this neck of the woods. Okay, my one complaint: the band didn’t play “Crime and Punishment” 😁 But that’s jammern auf hohem Niveau, as they say in Germany (English: “nitpicking”).

We would like to thank La Belle Angele for putting the show on, and for all they do to support live music. Show ’em some love and attention by visiting their website for further info and news about upcoming events. Next time you’re up Edinburgh way, we recommend checkin’ out what’s on there 👍

Folk on!

Andy x

ALBUM REVIEW: THE STANFIELDS – ‘Welcome To The Ball’ (2020)

London Celtic Punks favourites Nova Scotian Folk’n’Rollers The Stanfields have just released the incendiary live album Welcome To The Ball.

The Stanfields trod a well trodden path to 2020 by beginning their career back in 2008 playing cover songs during open mic performances at the Seahorse Tavern in their hometown of Halifax in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. As the years rolled by The Stanfields may sound like have taken some dramatic turns but to any long turn fan (ahem!) it’s been easy to follow their trajectory from full on their Celtic-Punk to where they are now. Influenced by the many many strands that make Canada and the description of them as “the bastard children of AC/DC and Stan Rogers” their music blends Working Class Hard-Rock with the strands of Folk that make up traditional Canadian music with much of it heavily influenced by Scotland and Ireland.

So far the guys have released seven albums, multiple singles, and have toured extensively throughout North America and Europe – sharing the stage with many of the Rock scene’s most popular bands. So, despite the Covid lockdown, they have been especially busy compared to a lot of bands with the release of the critically acclaimed Classic Fadeout, a bunch of great video releases (be sure to check out their You Tube channel) and now they have returned with their second full-length release of 2020, Welcome To The Ball. Band frontman Jon Landry says

“Since Covid-19 has effectively made it impossible for us to play live shows safely, and on our own terms, we thought that the time was right to release a live album. Luckily, we had this performance in the can, it’s fun to see how much the songs have evolved over the years, although it’s been a stark reminder to us of how much we miss our natural habitat.”

Welcome To The Ball documents The Stanfields performance at the 2019 Blacktop Ball and includes tracks from across their career along with an added bonus track. Welcome To The Ball begins with the aptly titled ‘Blacktop Blues’ from their 2012 album Death And Taxes, as do the first three songs.

The first thing to say is that the songs here are well chosen and include not just the fan favourites but also some important songs from the bands history. The other thing is that many of these songs are quite lengthy (notice I said lengthy NOT boring!) with three over seven minutes long! The sound recorded, mixed and mastered by Darren van Niekerk (hats off!!) and is absolutely fecking brilliant. Taking you right into the heart of the mosh pit! Nothing is spared as the band steam along at full pelt with the traditional anti-war Folk ballad ‘Mrs. McGrath’ given the epic Stanfields treatment next followed by ‘The Road to Guysborough’. Now I’ve never been much a fan of live records but when they are done well like here they can be explosive, capturing the very essence of a band. Next up are firm fan favourites ‘Fight Song’, taken from 2015’s Modem Operandi, and ‘Hard Miles’ from 2013’s For King And Country. Both songs saw the band tweak their original Celtic sound and bring in more harder Rock elements. 

‘Dagger Woods’ is the first of three tracks here from debut album ‘Vanguard Of The Young And Reckless’ from 2010 and is over eight minutes long and while that may displease the Dead Kennedys it fully deserves the word epic. A fantastic song that literally spills emotion and while it’s not just worthy it’s catchy as hell too. ‘Ship To Shore’ is relatively short at just four minutes while ‘Ghost Of The Eastern Seaboard’ at almost eight returns us to epic territory along with the final song from their set that night, the outstanding ‘Fox in The Heather’ at over eight.

‘Welcome To The Ball’ brings the curtain down as the bonus track and the only new song and sees The Stanfields accompanied by the Hatchet Lake Reverb Choir (Heather Harris, Sasha DeSouza, Brad MacDougall, Craig Eugene Harris, Trevor DeSouza) in a song that fully deserves to be the curtain puller at any future gigs.

“Take a look at the one beside you
Let the power of us provide you
The means to guide you, right beside you
Welcome to the Ball”

Written as a tribute and in the spirit of the Blacktop Festival which was sadly cancelled this year but The Stanfields love for the fest grows and they will return for their annual visit next year. Written as an over the top, 80’s-style Pomp-Rocker it comes with the most brilliant video you really ought not to miss. 

The line up for the gig that night was Jon Landry – Vocals, Guitar, Calen Kinney – Fiddle, Vocals, Jason MacIsaac – Guitar, Vocals, Dillan Tate – Bass, Vocals and Mark Murphy on Drums and the show is that kind of rambleshackly perfect that Celtic-Punk bands seem to be perfect at. Their may not be a better band around doing what The Stanfields do. Combining hard rock music with Celtic and Americana in a perffectly acessible way. Not only that be here they proove they can do it in style on the stage too. As they say themselves 

“we play what we want, sing what we feel and leave nothing on the table”.

Buy Welcome To The Ball FromTheBand

Contact The Stanfields  WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Instagram

THE POGUES LIVE IN LONDON ST. PATRICK’S DAY 1988

St. Patrick’s Day 2020 was cancelled so if you’re stuck indoors like me looking for something to do enjoy an hour or so of what made The Pogues so memorable and have a free download too and carry them around with you from room to room!! 

The Pogues were just an incredible band. In fact some think the #1 band of all time. It went beyond music making important changes to how we perceived ourselves. Here The Pogues perform shortly after the release of If I Should Fall From Grace With God, considered their best album. All their greatest songs are here alongside many friends including Joe Strummer and the dearly departed Kirsty MacColl.

So Paddy’s Day 2020 came and went and all I can say is thank Heavens for the Dropkick Murphys and their utterly brilliant Live Stream which saw me up until the early hours shouting drunkenly at the telly! With no gigs and the flow of new music, though not so bad at the moment, eventually set to dry up we are taking a trip back to 1988 to see The Bhoys in majestic full flow live at the iconic Town And Country Club in North London. Based in Kentish Town just up the road from Camden the venue played host to numerous Pogues concerts and in the aftermath of The Pogues gigs by Shane MacGowan solo and with The Popes. So no better venue for the London Irish community (near 2,000 of them) to flock to one night in the middle of March over thirty years ago to celebrate the patron saint of the country most of their parents came from.

That night saw one of the most raucous and memorable nights in the venues long and illustrious career and saw several stand out moments on a night that saw them joined on stage by Joe Strummer leads The Pogues through a Irish-ed up version of The Clash’s ‘London Calling’ while Kirsty MacColl accompanies Shane for an outstanding version of ‘Fairytale of New York’ which is only topped by the encore performance of ‘A Message To You (Rudi)’ featuring The Specials’ Lynval Golding himself sending the beer and sweat drenched crowd off into the night. For a band that had many special nights St. Patrick’s Day at The Town And Country 1988 was most definitely one of them.

Live at the Town and Country Club, London St. Patrick’s Day Concert March 1988

Special guests: Kirsty MacColl, Joe Strummer, After Tonite, Lynval Golding, Joe Cashman, Eli Thompson, Brian Clarke, Paul Taylor, Steve Lillywhite

James Fearnley- Accordion * Jem Finer- Banjo, Saxophone * Darryl Hunt- Bass * Terry Woods- Concertina * Andrew Ranken- Drums * Philip Chevron- Guitar * Spider Stacy- Tin Whistle * Shane MacGowan- Lead Vocals
Design- The Leisure Process * Film Director- Billy Magra

The accompanying video that came out soon after clocked in at a just paltry sixty minutes which left a hell of a lot of footage on the cutting room floor and leaves us crying out for more. Joe Strummer acts as narrator introducing band members and songs before taking the stage himself. Most notably for me Strummer pays tribute to who he saw as The Pogues powerhouse, Terry Woods

“That brings me on to Mr T. Woods, who I see as the master musician of the band. I don’t know what groups he’s been in and out of but he’s run the whole gamut of rock and roll. I like the story he tells me he used to go ‘In those days you know, I had a white horses head on my head when I go on stage’, and it makes me think ‘wow, we’ve all been through a few trip”.

As for the ‘Godfather Of Celtic-Punk’ himself, Shane is in classic Shane form. Hiding behind his shades for most of the night and drunk of course and while obviously pished you can still hear and understand him. His last few remaining teeth are also evident as he pops back and forth to the dressing room as he drags on a ciggie and swigs something exotic while clinging tightly to the mic stand. The Pogues and Shane continued to perform for years afterwards but whether it would ever reach these heights again is perhaps debatable but we never stopped loving them and with the recent news that Shane is all set to return to the recording studio and had already recorded new tracks for a forthcoming album The Pogues story continues. So for now enjoy the sound of a band whose style of Punk and traditional Irish made the most perfect cocktail, served with brilliant lyrics from a poetic soul.

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE

THE GO-SET LIVE IN LONDON

Finally it sees the light of day! Four years ago in a dingy sweaty packed out basement in Brixton Aussie Celtic-Punk LEGENDS The Go-Set blasted us away. The footage has only just been uploaded so join us for nearly a hour of some of the best Celtic-Punk ever played!

Comrade X

Back in 2016 we got the call from who I cannot remember to ask if we could help out with a band on tour from Australia called The Go-Set. Now being MASSIVE fans it was a chance we could not refuse and we said “F*ck Aye” straight away. I got on the blower to my auld school pal John McCullagh (he of ‘Dance On Your Grave Mrs. Thatcher’) who had not long returned from a decade in Oz himself for the lovely streets of Rossington, northern England. He said aye and then it was a simple task of rounding up The Lagan and Matilda’s Scoundrels as other supports. Matilda’s were yet to hit the heights they were later to reach but even then I knew they were going to go on to bigger things. Not long before the night John pulled out so we roped in another London Celtic Punks favourite the one and only Comrade X to kick proceedings off. The build up to the gig was the same as ever. A friend recommended The Veg Bar in Tulse Hill, south London. Their had been regular Punk gigs there for ages and I had enjoyed a drunken night there that had passed with very little memory of the venue or bands! So the venue was booked. The basement of a vegan restaurant ten minute walk from the centre of Brixton. Flyers were done and handed out at various gigs and in the run up to this gig we hosted a smaller gig at the same venue with The Cundeez bagpipe Punk from Scotland and Black Water County. The attendance that night was OK but did not prepare me for the crowds that would flock to The Go-Set two weeks later on that warm September evening in 2016. To say it was packed would be an understatement. The sweat was dripping off the walls and the 1 (yes one) bog was doing overtime as crowds of Celtic-Rockers flew in and out to get some air. The bands were outstanding and contrary to what Darren of Flat Cap says i thought yer man doing the sound did an excellent job. CX, The Lagan and Matilda’s played great sets of course and then the rest of the night was documented by Darren stood on a chair at the back of the crowd. Does it even need to be said that the bar was drunk completely dry and that when we opened the back door leading to the street to let in some air the off-license next door did a raving trade! The footage has remained hidden for a few years till Darren got sick and tired of me cajoling him to release it no matter what the quality. So here it is in all it’s glory sit back and enjoy the fabulous The Go-Set.

FLAT CAP PRODUCTIONS

In 2016 The Go Set took there Celtic folk punk tunes to the UK, I was taken along for the ride to help out with merch and do a bit of filming. We ended up in Brixton at The Veg bar for this celler dweller of a show! It’s a bit booming to start but the sound guy got to grips with it so stick with it, it was a cracking night thanks to the guys at London Celtic Punks and the support, Matilda’s Scoundrals and The lagan. It’s early Flatcap so don’t judge us too much just soak in the sweaty atmosphere and enjoy The Go Set Live! Thanks for having us along Cheers

The full fifty minute set (Blimey it felt like a lot longer at the time!) and maybe the sound quality aint the best but this wasn’t yer typical venue so I think Darren did a great job considering. Anyway its a shitload better than our offering that has been up for the last couple of years here…

Check out Flat Cap Productions they do a fantastic all round job supporting live music in Australia. They run a printing service that is dirt cheap for bands as well as regular You Tube interviews and all sorts of other malarkey worthy of your suppport.

FLAT CAP PRODUCTIONS

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(more photos from the night are here on Facebook)

Matilda’s Scoundrels

The Lagan

The Go-Set

The Go-Set

GIG REVIEW: BACKSEAT HOOLIGANS IN NEW YORK – 17th FEBRUARY 2019

“On the 1st day of March it was raining…” so sang yer man and if the Celtic nations ever do get more than a cursory glance then March would a perfect time to do Celtic History Month. With today being the feast of St. David of Cymru, the 5th for St. Piran of Kernow and the 17th Ireland’s for St. Patrick then we can safely say that March belongs to us. To get us in the right spirit we thought we’d give a shout out to one of the lesser known bands on the scene the Backseat Hooligans out of South Central Pennsylvania and Maryland. Good friend of the band Johnny Piper of brilliant fellow Celtic-Punkers Alternative Ulster popped along to their show a week or so ago to check out the competition and was suitably impressed.

February 17 in Poughkeepsie, NY saw the kick-off show of The Dropkick Murphys’ annual Spring tour culminating in their St. Paddy’s Day Boston bash. Central Pennsylvania’s Backseat Hooligans took the opportunity to stage a road trip and perform a pre-show party at Mahoney’s Irish Pub down the street from the concert venue. 

the Bhoys about to set sail…

Reminiscent of The Go Set and The Real McKenzies, their 90+ minute set kicked off with a bagpipe jig by Chris Spagnolo that built into a wall of sound as the rest of the band joined in. This lively tune morphed into an abbreviated DKM’s ‘The Boys are Back’, with multiple band members lending enthusiastic voice to the chorus. The six lads certainly seem to enjoy each others company, a necessity given how far they traveled together in drummer Johnny Sexx’s epic tour bus. The dedicated Johnny drove six hours one way from south of Baltimore to central PA to pick up the lads then on to Poughkeepsie. Ever gracious and supportive, The Hooligans stuck around for Alternative Ulster’s set prior to retracing their six hour odyssey. Next the bagpipes laid down the melody of Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring Of Fire’. Speaking of rings, Mahoney’s 2nd floor dining level is open to the lower stage level through a giant circle decorated with the crests of all 32 Irish Counties. During the song, the circle was lined with the toddlers and children of diners above enthusiastically dancing their diapers off. The Hooligan’s sound is infectiously vivacious.

(‘Battered Mug’ from the Backseat Hooligans upcoming EP.

Due out soon so watch this space for more to come!)

The band moved smoothly and rapidly through well rendered versions of ‘Galway Girl’, The Real McKenzies’ ‘10000 Shots’, a bagpipe driven medley of ‘Itchy Fingers’ (a difficult reel well executed), ‘Scotland The Brave’ and ‘Willie Nae’, onto ‘When Johnny Comes Marching Home’, ‘I Fought The Law’, ‘Drunken Sailor’, and The Stanfields ‘Dirtiest Drunk’. Numerous songs were punctuated by excellent lead guitar riffs by Arik Trimmer.

the quiet before the storm…

The Hooligans have recently been recording new original material and the two original songs they performed at Mahoney’s were the highlights of the show for this writer. First off was ‘Old Battered Mug’, a tribute to their local speakeasy which starts quietly with front man Keith Kelly singing the chorus accompanied only by mandolinist Dave Garry, followed by four quick stick clicks and the full band launches into a mighty sound with the bagpipes carrying the melody and the guitar and rhythm section with A.J. Mitchell on bass delivering an energetic punker. Things mellowed briefly with a fine rendition of Mr. Irish Bastard’s ‘I Hope They Sell Beer In Hell’ only to be amped up again with the ubiquitous ‘Shipping up to Boston’, the familiar jig line played on mandolin and, rather uniquely, Chris Spagnolo’s saxophone. 

A ska version of ‘Kiss My Irish Ass’, ‘Fields Of Athenry’ with the melody carried by bagpipes, something that sounded like ‘Skinhead On The MTA’, ‘Tooraloo’ and ‘Not Your Stepping Stone’ (perhaps only a coincidence that Peter Tork died soon after) led to the second, excellent original, ‘Pints Of Whiskey’, the opening guitar riff of which had me looking to the bagpipes as the source of the fantastic sound. Both originals were total class and here’s hoping for many more. Like many an Irish punk band before them, the closer was AC/DC’s ‘It’s A Long Way To The Top’ and these lads do not suffer by comparison. The large (especially for 4 PM) crowd demanded an encore which was duly delivered with the bagpipe-centric traditional folk tune ‘Blooming Heather’ (a/k/a ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ a/k/a ‘Purple Heather’ a/k/a ‘Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?’). Unwilling to go was the piper, who played on as if only just getting started, a fabulous conclusion to a fabulous gig.

Contact the Backseat Hooligans-

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As we have said a thousand times it’s not all about you know who (and you know who) its the little bands that makes a truly great scene and Backseat Hooligans are as important in it as anyone. We urge you all to continue to check out the lesser known bands in Celtic-Punk and never be put off by them being across a ocean or a continent as that means very little these days. Big thanks to Johnny for taking the time out to write the review and if you wish to see Backseat Hooligans they next take the stage at the Kingston Kilt Festival on March 9th and before anyone gets too excited this is Kingston in New York not Kingston on the outer edge of south-west London. A very easy mistake to make believe me! The festival is being held at Tony’s Pizzeria at 582 Broadway, Kingston, New York and you can find more details here at the Facebook event. 

ALBUM REVIEW: THE O’REILLYS AND THE PADDYHATS- ‘Green Blood’ (2018)

Here’s a German band that makes authentic Irish music with their third album release Green Blood. That may sound all a bit strange to yer average Joe but not to London Celtic Punks favourite Anto Morra. The O’Reillys and the Paddyhats are by no means a goose that thinks it’s a fox though they are much more fox and goose in one. This is an album that builds the bridge to those who carry green blood and those who want it. Because the yearning for Green Blood is insatiable.

There’s a London Celtic Punk sticker that reads ‘It’s not blood that makes you Irish but a willingness to be part of the Irish nation’ and The Paddyhats are most certainly proof of that. Their latest offering ‘Green Blood’ must surely be a contender for best Celtic Punk album of 2018.
The cover art is exceptional and could even double as an advertisment for Peaky Blinders! Like all their albums to date, this is available on vinyl and appropiately limited edition green vinyl, so definately one for those vinyl junkies and collectors like myself. This is what more records should sound like these days. The mix and production here are second to none. It does baffle me how a singer that is not singing in his first language, is so much easier to understand than the majority of those singing this type of Celtic Punk in their own language. It’s very refreshing. Here’s the running order and little about each song.

The O’Reillys And The Paddyhats from left to right: Tom O’Shaugnessy- Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals * Dr. Bones- Drums * Ian McFlannigan- Show, Backing Vocals * Sean O’Reilly- Vocals, Guitar, Tin and Low Whistle * Dwight O’Reilly- Vocals, Banjo, Mandolin, Accordion * Mia Callaghan- Fiddle, Vocals * Connor O’Sullivan- Electric guitar *

Green Blood
Pulled in by the tribal sound of the pounding drum and Celtic mysticism of the uilleann pipes & fiddle, with distorted guitar and bass feedback threateningly hiding down low in the mix and within 30 seconds you know what you’re getting! Green Blood, Green Blood, Green Blood is the chanting war cry and it’s powerful, aggessive and blissful. More Irish than Brennans Bread or Barry’s Tea and a true and honest celebration of the things that make people glad to be Irish and those that aren’t, wishing they were.

Another Town Another Girl
This is the Only Ones ‘Another Girl Another Planet’ meets Donegal Danny. The age old tale of the womanizing blaggard only in this case the man knows he is gonna get his comeuppance when he will ‘Drown in his self made crown’. It’s all very shanty until the stunning guitar solo reminds you that these aren’t a beardy, finger in the ear, woolly jumper and craft beer band. They’re very much Punk Rock.

Circus Of Fools
This one is a belter! The opening verse I can’t help but guess is aimed at the Trump administration but as the song progresses you know it’s a much broader reflection of the sickness of those in power. We are treated to almost Eastern European rhythmic chops on this and it’s two a half mins of no nonsence.

Gamble With The Devil
A perfect folk love song warning us not to gamble, especially with the devil. I don’t want to give too much away in a spoiler alert way, all I will say is that it is a craicin’ little story.

Swing Your Hammer
Starting like an Enio Moricone spaghetti western theme before leaping into a Ska-Punk dance beat and the big chorus in the work song tradition. Wonderfully tight banjo and fiddle instrumental breaks tie this catchy song together.

Promise
Now this is refreshing. A drinking song about abstinence! There’s an old country song that drones on about ‘One day at a time sweet Jesus’ well this is kind of that; but for people that fight instead of pray for the strength to stay sober and look forward to the day they can throw the towel in and get stocious again.

Boys On The Green
A celebration of the beautiful game and the ritual that surrounds it. No mention of fighting, just the pride in your club colours, the comaraderie of meeting before the match for a pint and singing song together on the terraces.

Greg O’Donovan
This one takes us away from terrafirma and puts us in the charge of an heroic captain, as he slaughters Spanish and drowns in the worship of women after. This has a great low whistle or flute hook, that sounds a little like the Fury’s ‘Lonesome Boatman’ on amphetamine suphate.

Roasie Lou
A beautiful bit of fiddle playing helps us feel the heartbreak in this love ballad and lament dedicated to a true love and criminal partner.

This is Our Time
…”To right the wrongs because failure is part of our lives” is the general message I get from this pounding, Poguesesque four minutes of fun.

Rockstar
This is the familiar sentiment for anyone who aspires to make a living in the music industry today. A fabulous female vocal performance and guitar solo puts this forward as one of the best tracks on this record in my opinion.

Where Your Heart Is
A joyus stomper “Your feet will take you where your heart is” and that’s down the boozer where you can see your mates and “blow the ladies a kiss”

Yesterday’s Rebel
Craicin’ closing song about an IRA man finding himself in hell after killing a policeman.

LIVE AT FOLK IN A FIELD IN THE SUMMER

Back in July I had the pleasure to witness their live show when the played my local festival in Norfolk. ‘Folk In A Field’ has been going about 4 years now and have had some great acts so far including Ferocious Dog, Punkfolkers, LongShore Drift and the Nobel Jacks – the latter due to headline in 2019 but The Paddyhats topped the bill and nailed it this year.
Their set as well as including songs from their first two albums

there was also time to throw in the odd Irish standard

and the most unexpected.

As well as playing each year, I also run the merchandise stall at ‘Folk in a Field’, so when The Paddyhats turned up, they took over my stall for the last couple of hours. I can honestly say a nicer bunch of people you couldn’t wish to meet. They came all the way from Germany for one show, with a small road crew and giant merch man

all of which were really easy going, friendly and a pleasure to have at the festival. I just hope they enjoyed it as much as we did.

Buy Green Blood

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Thanks to London Celtic Punks favourite Anto Morra for the review. Songwriter, performer and multi media artist that believes ‘Life is for laughing and fighting injustice’. Traditional folk songs and punk rock of his formative London years, along with his Irish roots and Norfolk home are the inspiration behind his work. You can catch up with Anto here or just look through the pages here to find several of his releases.

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EP REVIEW AND EP RELEASE SHOW! THE BRANDY THIEVES- ‘The Devil’s Wine’ (2018)

Combining Gypsy rhythms and punk energy, ska grooves and folk storytelling, The Brandy Thieves have created a sound that is uniquely their own, a sound that has stolen the hearts of all of whom that have seen them perform. Stephen Francis Bourke was at the release party at the Soundhouse Leicester for London Celtic Punks.

Already renowned as one of the Midland’s best live acts, The Brandy Thieves gypsy rhythms and punk energy, ska grooves and folk storytelling create a sound that is uniquely their own. ‘Raucous’ ‘Infectious’ ‘Enthralling’ ‘Captivating’ and ‘Sweaty’ are just a few of the words that have been used to describe the alcohol stealing gypsy punks. Now they have taken a new direction, embracing grass roots Americana in the form of new EP ‘The Devil’s Wine’.

Chatting to the punters ahead of the EP, ‘The Devil’s Wine’ launch at the Soundhouse in Leicester it became clear that I was in for “a hellava good show!”. The Brandy Thieves have a varied local fan base from punks that are old enough to remember seeing The Clash at Granby Halls, now a car park for The Tigers Rugby ground, to ska fans who had been encapsulated by the Two Tone launch just up the M69, through to ex-ravers disillusioned by the commercialisation of the scene, bearded lovers of country folk and exuberant students.

In a week when the City had come together in grief following the tragic loss of the football club’s beloved chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha they needed something to celebrate, felt when Demarai Gray’s strike put the winner in for the club on Saturday, felt on this Friday night. In short, there was a lot of love in the room.
This was more than a gig. We had a magician compère, fortune telling, belly dancers and free shots of brandy. Having already appeared on Monday at a London Celtic Punks show TC Costello, self proclaimed punk folk accordion player and part time Brandy Thief entertained the crowd with his highly entertaining solo slot, The Splitters supported with their tight, edgy rock/ska sound with added sound effects, like the embodiment of Mick Jones’ mind somewhere between the Sandinista album and Big Audio Dynamite. They played their way right through a blown amp!

Then we had the main event.

The Brandy Thieves are a live band, first and foremost. They told me that when they write the songs Andrea and Cain bring the lyrics to the rehearsal and the arrangement is done by the whole group. The first album ‘Old Tattoos’ has that live feel, ‘ The Devil’s Wine’ demonstrates just how in tune with one another’s mood the Brandy Thieves must be.

Photos by Philip Vernon

So how does the collection of new songs fit in? – Well the lyrical themes of earlier songs continue. A folk lore devil is ever present, right down to the title of the EP. He’s a curse to the protagonists of the ballads and an ever present feeling that the ‘old one’ may well have the best tunes. ‘Down the River’ is a personal lament of battling demons inside. The track was an early taste of the forthcoming EP and works well as a bridge from the old ska/punk folk beats of the first album ‘Old Tattoos’ towards the new cooler sharper sound of ‘Devils Wine’ by providing a gospel blues feel with the more familiar reggae beats.

For the new EP marks the Brandy Thieves anew. Like they took the Chattanooga choo choo, picking the grapes and grain of Americana music on the way and distilling a spirit of their own into ‘The Devil’s Wine’.
Andrea’s vocals are just as powerful but smokier and melodic throughout. Listen to her scat on jazz blues inspired ‘Midnight Circus’ and all of their voices come through the intro of the EP, an untitled drinking song in the form of a spiritual for the 21st Century, reminding us, in Brandy Thieves style, of our own mortality.
Joe’s trumpet and Sebastion’s banjo have been let off the leash of the rhythm section to offer encapsulating melodies and freestyle solos. Hear the horn sing with TC Costello’s accordion on ‘Midnight Circus’and the hauntingly restrained banjo, echoing southern gothic on ‘ This Mountain’, while Chris’ tight drum beats and Cain’s waking bass riffs have taken up their rightful role as the heartbeat of the band, saying “keep cool, we’ve got this”. the aforementioned ‘Midnight Circus’ is as rhythmically rolling as a Stray Cat Strut.
Gone on ‘The Devil’s Wine’ are the runaway mixed tempos of ‘Old Tattoos’ although they still went down well during the show, taking the crowd from swaying folksy singalongs and then distinctively upping the tempo in a ‘1,2,3,4!’ punk/ska rhythm to get them jigging and pogoing with abandonment. Whether that was ‘Didikai Lee’; The hurdy-gurdiness of ‘Broken Record’ or title track of the first album itself; ‘Old Tattoos’ this was the case tonight. The exceptions are ‘Molly Malone’ a swaying murder ballad reminiscent of the classic traditional song ‘Rose Connelly’ and on the night an acoustic version of ‘Blackbird’ that had loyal fans singing along, both these tunes will, I imagine, be mainstays of the band whatever direction they take.
The Brandy Thieves have evolved away from ska. This was acknowledged midway through the gig when they covered Toots and the Maytals’ ’54-46 Was My Number’ saying that this would, probably, be the last time their Leicester faithful would hear it, and then playing it with the gusto of saying goodbye to an old friend.  Now we have a sound that is just as comfortable for the listener at home or played in the car as it is live. ‘Girl from the Black County’ with a clear acoustic guitar, plucking banjo and singing accordion wouldn’t sound out of place blasted on the eight track of a classic 1970’s Chevy pick up as it kicks up dust from the road on the way to see Billy Jo Spears at the Whiskey River.

(listen to the EP below on the Bandcamp player)

Buy The Devil’s Wine

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The Brandy Thieves are bringing their sweaty, dancing, skanking frenzy to London on Saturday 17th November at the Hootananny in Brixton. Plenty of bands on so check the Facebook event here for details. Its free to get in before 10pm and gig ends at 3am. Hootananny Brixton, 95 Effra Road, Brixton, London SW2 1DF.

LIVE REVIEW: TC COSTELLO/ ANTO MORRA/ BRENDAN O’PREY AT THE GUNNERS 17th MAY 2018

A very nice review by the talented Anto Morra of the recent London Celtic Punks gig held in north London that saw the start of TC Costello’s European tour. Accompanied by Anto and Brendan O’Prey (literally at times!) the night saw Irish artists from three different countries perform and they will all, I am sure, go on to play much better attended gigs than this one! 

A GREAT NIGHT WITH THE LONDON CELTIC PUNKS

by Anto Morra

THE GUNNERS  LONDON N5 – TC Costello, Anto Morra, Brendan O’Prey  Despite a poor audience turn out for the gig it was quality not quantity that made the evening so great.   London visits are much more gruelling  for me as I get older and to avoid traffic congestion, parking tickets (or any of the other unjustifyable things they can charge you £60 for 3 days after the event) I have to travel in on public transport from my safe parking base in Woolwich, ironically the gig was in Arsenal / Finsbury Park quite a trek on public transport with instruments, leads & Merch.  I was as usual unfashionably early, the first there but was able to sound check my Bodhran and fill the sound man Andy in on the evenings proceedings.

As the small posse gathered I was reminded how lucky I am to know this motley crew,  a nicer bunch of people you couldn’t wish to meet and it was great to catch up with them again.  Established in 2009 The London Celtic Punks webzine has been putting on gigs, promoting bands and reviewing albums that fit the ever growing Celtic Punk genre.

Since The Pogues in the early 1980’s, Celtic Punk has grown beyond anyones expectations with the top names today being the likes of The Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, The Mahones and The Rumjacks.  The term Celtic is used very loosely I think as a replacement for the ‘Folk’ terminology to distinguish it from those finger in the ear, woolly jumper wearing acts I love so much as there is very little that is Celtic about The Levellers or Ferocious Dog but their names will always crop up when the genre is being analysed.  Three of the best Celtic Punk bands on the London circuit I’ve come across are the Bible Code Sundays, Neck and The Lagan.  Recently The Lagan front man Brendan O’Prey has started to venture out as a solo performer and he was the opening turn this evening and a very fine one it was too, packed with Christy Moore classics but unlike Christy these days performed with personality and passion.

After a bit of insistence he finally gave Me and the Bhoys the classic Lagan song we wanted.

Next up was myself I thought I’d start with my new revised ‘Ballad Of Margaret Thatcher’ and I nearly got through it without fault but still not quite!   As I never write a set list and try to work of the audience TC Costello had told me he had been listening to Gypsy Smile and London Irish a lot, so I thought I’d play that for him until I thought this might be better with a band.

I rattled through a few more including requests from the Merch King Chris Brown and Mr LCP himself- Mark, but slung this bit of Irish Trad in towards the end of my set, sticking to my only performance rule that is to start and finish with my own songs.

My Complete Set List:   Guardian Of The West (Ballad Of Margaret Thatcher). Gypsy Smile. London Irish, Wasted Life (Stiff Little Fingers Cover).  Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (The Jam Cover). Finnegans Wake (Trad). Rocky Road To Dublin (Trad).  Ballad Of Anto Morra.

Finally the star turn all the way from South Carolina and jet lagged from a gig in Brooklyn New York the night before (but you’d never know) a one man Celtic Punk machine….. TC Costello.

(Performing Waxies Dargle, Rose Connolly, Blow The Man Down, Mafia Punk)

To conclude: Brendan O’Prey’s pure Irish passion comes across in a genuine way.  As a solo performer myself I love to hear things stripped bare and hearing him without the band was a real joy.  His vocal style reminded me a little of Jake Burns from Stiff Little Fingers also from the North of Ireland and also with a rasp to die for.

I’m never happier than when I’m in performance mode and so had a thoroughly fun time and to be joined by Brendan and TC was a privilege.  I’ve no more plans to play in London so this may have been my last gig there and if so I’m happy it was a memorable one.

TC Costello is remarkable.  Pure Energy, Pure Punk, Pure Entertainment.  If he comes to a town near you don’t miss him- his warmth and charm is infectious and when he hits those high notes there is a vibrato reminiscent of John Lydon himself.  Let’s never forget John Lydon was the very first London Irish Punk.

You can catch Brendan O’Prey and TC Costello along with Matilda’s Scoundrels at another London Celtic Punks show on Thursday 5th of July at The Lamb in Surrey KT6 5NF. It is TC’s last gig before he heads back to the States so lets send him off with a rousing goodbye. The Lamb is just a couple of minutes walk from Surbiton station which is only 20 odd minutes from London by train and walking distance from Kingston and promises to be a fantastic night. Entry is **FREE** and the evening will start around 7-30pm but check the FB event here for set times and running order nearer the date.

Check out these great artists and buy all their records and merchandise!

Brendan O’Prey Twitter The Lagan- WebSite  Facebook  Twitter

Anto Morra  Facebook  Reverbnation  Twitter  YouTube  Bandcamp

TC Costello  Facebook  Bandcamp  Tumbler  ReverbNation  Twitter  YouTube

TC is probably pogoing around the Europe, as we speak, at a tremendous rate, so be sure to see if he is popping up in your town. It’s more than possible!

ALBUM REVIEW: CHRISTY MOORE- ‘On The Road’ (2017)

Christy Moore is one of a handful of people who brought Irish folk music out of the backroom sessions in pubs and homes and out in to the mainstream. With influences from rock, pop, and jazz music he is one of the architects of modern Irish folk music.

Released this very day is On The Road the new album from Irish music icon Christy Moore, a two-disc, 24-song set of classic tracks Christy has made his own in an incredible fifty years of touring and recording. The tracks have been recorded in seventeen live venues from London to Westport, Glasgow to Galway, over the past three years and is the first time Christy’s biggest tunes have been made available on one album. Of course with a career as long and successful as his not everyone will be happy and personally I would have liked to have seen some of the songs that gained him notoriety in the 1980’s when he was the bain of the Irish establishment recording tracks such as ‘They Never Came Home’ about 1981’s Stardust fire where 48 people died at a Dublin nightclub. Christy was hauled before the courts and fined and had his album withdrawn for suggesting, quite correctly, that the fire exits being chained was the reason for the disaster. ‘The Time Has Come’ described the last meeting of a hunger striker and his mother receiving regular plays on Irish Radio until it was revealed exactly what the song was about and it was subsequently banned. One song included here though banned at the time was ‘Mcllhatton’, which along with ‘Back Home in Derry’ was banned after it was discovered they were written by Bobby Sands whilst in prison. So there is no ’90 Miles From Dublin’ but what were we to expect. Much of the material here is of the leftfield kind and while ‘Viva La Quinte Brigada’ may have been the embodiment of everything the Irish government hated upon it’s release the years have been kind to this roll call of the brave Irishmen and women who left Ireland to fight Franco and the fascists in 1936 Spain. With his political output having ground to a halt, hopefully temporarily, it is Christy’s renowned sense of humour that takes centre stage. It is on songs such as ‘Joxer Goes To Stuttgart’ about Irish fans travelling to Euro 1988, in West Germany and, utilizing the same tune, ‘Delirium Tremens’ telling of his alcoholic demons, an idea later stolen by indie rock band Carter USM for ‘Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere’, that Christy’s music comes alive with the audience enthusiastically singing and clapping along.

“Goodbye to the Port and Brandy, to the Vodka and the Stag,
To the Schmiddick and the Harpic, the bottled draught and keg.
As I sat lookin’ up the Guinness ad I could never figure out
How your man stayed up on the surfboard after 14 pints of stout”

As much as I love the more raucous and lively tracks there is no denying the beauty of the slower songs here. Well known standards such as ‘Nancy Spain’ and ‘Cliffs Of Dooneen’ are putty in his hands extolling emotion that not many can squeeze out of a song heard countless times. One of the highlights of the album is his take on The Pogues ‘Fairytale Of New York’ and his half whispered voice and relaxed guitar adds another dimension to this amazing song. It ends with Christy whispering of a night on the lash with Shane in Tipp and it is breath-takingly beautiful. There is a new song in the shape of ‘Lingo Politico’ dedicated to politicians everywhere! The quality of these recordings is simply outstanding and they have been edited together superbly to make an album that flows and ebbs beautifully. Accompanied by a booklet that tells you every single thing you need to know about these recordings. Christy’s voice is strong and powerful when needed and gentle and kind at other times. Their can’t be many who need an introduction to his recordings but to those who love him and those looking for an introduction to his best work this can be recommended mainly because of that excellent production..

AN ORDINARY MAN By Scott Feemster

Christopher Moore was born in Kildare, Ireland in May, 1945. His father owned a grocery shop while his mother was a keen music fan and was often caught singing around the house to Clancy Brothers records. Christy and two of his five siblings, Ailish and Barry, all went on to be notable singers, Barry adopting the stage name Luka Bloom later in life. When Christy was young, he became aware of the deep well of Irish folk songs, though, at the time, he was more impressed with rock’n’roll than folk tunes. Regardless of influence, he took up the guitar and bodhran and played briefly in a band with who would become his long-time collaborator, Donal Lunny. When he was out of school, Christy took a job as a bank clerk in Dublin and became fascinated by the local folk scene. Though he played a few gigs he couldn’t work his way into the Dublin scene as much as he wanted, and when a labour strike struck in the mid 60’s he decided to pack it in and move to England to find work. Christy spent the next few years gaining quite a reputation in England with his mix of traditional Irish and British songs and towards the end of the 60’s he decided to take the next logical step. Managing to get noted songwriter (and brother of Brendan) Dominic Behan to produce an album of traditional folk and political songs called Paddy On The Road (1969) and it has become something of a rarity in later years since only 500 copies were pressed. Though thrilled that he finally had an album to show for his efforts, he was disappointed that the English musicians backing him didn’t have the proper feel for the Irish material he was presenting. Christy moved back to Ireland and set upon finding some musicians who could play the fiery brand of politically-charged folk music he wanted to produce. Moore teamed up with his old friend guitarist/bouzouki player Donal Lunny, uillean piper and whistle player Liam O’Flynn, mandolinist Andy Irvine and bodhran player Kevin Conneff to produce Prosperous (1972), an album that marked a turning point in Irish folk music. Suddenly, younger Irish musicians were taking up traditional instruments and songs and injecting new urgency and fire into them. This combination worked so well together that they decided to carry on as a group, calling themselves Planxty. Touring relentlessly and recording the landmark Planxty (1973) and The Well Below The Valley (1973).

Moore set to work on a solo album that would show all of his strengths, and decided to split Whatever Tickles Your Fancy (1975) between an acoustic side and an electric side. The acoustic side featured Moore’s voice, guitar and bodhran playing, while the electric side was similar to the folk-rock style Fairport Convention were popularizing around the same time. Moore followed it up with his self-titled Christy Moore (1976), this time concentrating on acoustic-based narrative folk songs that were his strength. Moore took on a heavy schedule of touring and playing gigs but kept his connection with his former Planxty bandmates, and by late 1978 the original four members were keen to try the band again adding fifth member flutist Matt Molloy to the band and recording three further album’s between 1979 and 1983. Wanting to branch out from the traditional sound put forth by Planxty, Moore joined with Lunny in 1981 and formed Moving Hearts, who combined traditional Irish music with contemporary elements from rock and jazz. Other members of Moving Hearts included guitarist Declan Sinnott, saxophonist Keith Donald, bassist Eoghan O’Neill, drummer Brian Calnan and uillean piper Davy Spillane. Protests against internment, the ‘H Blocks’ and in support of the hunger strikers led to several bans and Christy’s outspoken opinions left him no friends in the establishment. Two politically-charged albums resulted, Moving Hearts (1981) and Dark End Of The Street (1982), before again Christy left to concentrate on his solo career.

To say that the 1980’s was a busy period would be an understatement, as Christy managed to be a member of Planxty, Moving Hearts and a solo artist all at the same time. He released a whole series of solo albums throughout the 80’s, including The Time Has Come (1983), the critically acclaimed Ride On (1984),  Ordinary Man (1985), Spirit Of Freedom (1985) Unfinished Revolution (1987) and Voyage (1989), with guests including Sinead O’Connor and Elvis Costello. If Christy wasn’t enough of an Irish national treasure with his work in the 70’s, his output during the 80’s combined with populist political commentary in his lyrics cemented his stature in Irish music as Ireland’s equivalent of America’s Woody Guthrie.

Moore entered the 90’s still touring and releasing albums, though slowing down a bit to near human levels. Releasing the over-produced Smoke & Strong Whiskey (1991) before a more traditional, stripped-down sound with King Puck (1993). The rousing Live At The Point(1994) followed but in 1997, Christy’s decades of constant touring, combined with his attraction to copious amounts of alcohol finally caught up with him. Told if he continued performing at the level he had been his heart would kill him he retired to take care of his health, but soon returned to the studio to make Traveller (1999), a giant left turn for Moore. The album was techno-pop utilizing synthesizers, drum machines and heavily effected electric guitar, along with the usual traditional Irish instrumentation. The album was greeted by surprise by Christy’s fans, but was generally well reviewed. He planned a return to performing live again in 1999, but his health still wasn’t up to it using the down time to his advantage writing his autobiography, One Voice (2000).

Though it looked like his days of heavy touring were over, he was not done recording getting together with Donal Lunny and Declan Sinnot for This Is The Day (2001), which, sound-wise, split the difference between his earlier stripped-down acoustic records and the sound captured on Traveller. Moore followed with a series of low-key appearances in Dublin, and after being profiled on an Irish TV special, renewed interest was shown towards Planxty, and Moore joined with Lunny, Irvine and O’Flynn for some reunion shows. Planxty kept their reunion open-ended, and did not rule out working together in the future but Christy returned to his solo career with the critically-acclaimed Burning Times (2006), which featured his own compositions mixed in with covers by such songwriters as Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan and Morrissey. Again, Moore took to playing some shows, although in a much more low-key manner, and put out the double album Live In Dublin (2006). Recent years have seen no let up but with his releases now tending to be of the tribute/live/greatest hits variety he is still a regular visitor to this side of the Irish sea and although recently the admission fee’s have been somewhat expensive he still remains one of Ireland’s most treasured performers and, dare I say it, now part of the establishment.

Buy On The Road- All links here

Christy Moore- WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  ChristyMooreForum  Twitter

LIVE REVIEW: FEROCIOUS DOG AND NECK AT THE GARAGE, NORTH LONDON LAST NIGHT!

We don’t hang about here and hot off the press here’s a review of last nights shenanigans. It all happened in the heart of Arsenal territory in North London but thankfully they weren’t at home and we had the Wetherspoons to ourselves pre-gig. Two of the greatest celtic-punk bands around combined for the perfect night and gave their London Hellhound following a night to remember.

Review by Chris Brown

Tonight’s gig was Ferocious Dog and Neck at The Garage in Highbury.

The Garage

An easy trip from Pimlico to Highbury and Islington on the Victoria line and the venue was opposite the tube station.

Ferocious Dog and Neck have been talking about doing this gig at The Garage for a year or two now and finally it’s happened.

I was there to do Neck’s merch and covered a couple of Leanne’s breaks too. Also had a Sea Shepherd stand next to us so I was able to talk to them about having a stall at my event raising funds for Hunt Sabs and Sea Shepherd in Derby on May 6th. 13 bands in 12 hours and free entry.

pre-gig

Neck’s set was superb. Playing favourite tracks like ‘Every Day Is Saint Patrick’s Day’, ‘Always Upsetting Somebody’, ‘McAlpine’s Fusiliers’, ‘Star Of The County Down’, ‘Everyone’s Welcome To The Hooley’ and ‘The Psycho-Ceilidh Mayhem Set’. A wonderful set of London-Irish Psycho-Ceilidh performed with the added bonus of Ruts DC’s Leigh Heggarty as guest guitarist.

And then, Ferocious Dog tore the fucking roof off. This is the first time I’ve seen Ferocious Dog with their new line-up after the departure of Scott Walters and Ellis Waring earlier this year.

Their more than capable replacements in the form of Hung Like Hanratty’s ex-drummer Alex Smith and multi-instrumentalist John Leonard of Seven Little Sisters have fitted in nicely and added their own thing to the mix that is Ferocious Dog.

From the atmospheric intro written and recorded by Hell Hound John James JJ Kirk to the opening notes of ‘Gallows Justice’ through to ‘Mairi’s Wedding Pt II’ and the encore of ‘Paddy On The Railway’ and ‘Slow Motion Suicide’ via ‘Poor, Angry and Young’, ‘Verse For Lee/The Glass/Lee’s Tune’, ‘Ruby Bridges’, ‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘I Stand’, ‘Unconditional’, ‘Raggle Taggle Gypsy’, ‘Freeborn John’, ‘Hell Hounds’, ‘Criminal Justice’, Blind Leading The Blind’ and ‘Freethinker’ (not in order and a few missing but yeah) the set was non-stop foot-stomping, hand-clapping, Ferocious moshing, heel-to-heeling and toe-to-toeing punk folk at it’s best.

I love the fact that Blind Leading The Blind is reappearing in the set now and that the loss of two very accomplished band members hasn’t meant Ferocious Dog calling it a day. They survived three members leaving before so it was hardly a surprise but I am genuinely delighted that the new line-up sounds so feckin’ good.

There’s life in the old Dog yet.

Ferocious Dog– WebSite  FacebookPage  FacebookGroup  YouTube  Twitter

Neck– WebSite  Facebook  YouTube  Twitter

thanks to Chris for the review, Amy O’D for the photos.

LQR’s ’10 PINTER’ FESTIVAL 2017

10 PINTER FESTIVAL- Bladen, Netherlands

Saturday 14th January 2017

Last Saturday, Dutch folk punk band LQR (Liquor) celebrated their 10th anniversary with their own ’10 PINTER’ festival at Grand Café De Baron. At the entrance to the gig was a festival banner and a sign that says

“Tonight only: 10 PINTER (10%) – Limited Edition”

That’s right! LQR has their own beer. A blond Triple Grand Cru, and of course it’s named after their last CD ’10 Pinter’. They have their own LQR-coins specially made for the festival. No detail is spared, everywhere you look you see LQR on shirts, coasters, beer bottles etc. There’s even a bowl with pink M&M’s (with LQR on it) backstage.

10 Pinter Beer Logo

The evening kicked off with the band Daisy Chain. Four ladies on guitar, banjo, bass and violin who play bluegrass in English, French and Dutch. Great opener! At the end of their set LQR jump on stage and join in and together they play a nice version of Dropkick Murphy’s ‘Rose Tattoo’. Meanwhile the place is absolutely packed and LQR start their set with ‘Muffins and Coffins’, normally the last song of a LQR gig. The set includes mostly up-tempo songs out of the 10 years of LQR. Halfway the set, accordion player Arjan calls on the audience to grab their phone’s and to film their next song, ‘Mis Amigos’, and send it to LQR’s e-mail address. The same trick they did in 2015 for the video of ‘Leprechauns’ which can be found at the end of this review.  The crowd goes mad when they play Gogol Bordello’s  ‘Start Wearing Purple’, which is always a personal favourite of the band. After over an hour they finish their performance with two Flogging Molly covers, ‘Black Friday Rule’ and ‘Salty Dog’. The crowd loves it! Next one up are the Hillbilly Moonshiners. A cover band who play pop and rock songs in bluegrass style. Hilarious is their version of Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’. An energetic set from the lads is driving people insane and there is a LOT of dancing going on. It is possible that some of it is influenced by 10 Pinter beer I’m sure! The last band of the night is LQR’s fellow Dutch celtic-punkers The Royal Spuds. They surely know how to party! The band keeps the energy level high with some great songs from their 2015 album It’s a Feckin’ Freakshow along with some older material and a few covers. At the end of the night LQR members Mark and Arjan join the Spuds for their last two songs, ‘Drunken Lullabies’ and ‘What’s Left of the Flag’, both Flogging Molly covers.

A great first edition and a roaring success that will certainly will have a sequel in 2018.

Contact LQR

Facebook  WebSite  Bandcamp  Soundcloud  YouTube  Twitter  Google+

• You can read our reviews of LQR’s great 2015 EP A Touch Of Liquor here and their even better 2016 album 10 Pinter here.

LIVE REVIEW: THE CUNDEEZ IN SOUTH LONDON SEPTEMBER 2016

KEEPIN’ IT OARY DOWN AMONG THE SASSENACHS DAY TWO

by Vincent Mahon

Fresh from their triumphant London debut at the Gunners in Finsbury Park on Friday, Saturday finds the Cundeez saarf ov ver rivver at the Veg Bar in sunny Brixton as guests of the London Celtic Punks.
The Veg Bar is a vegan restaurant on Tulse Hill, just up from Brixton station. It’s a quiet, unassuming place and certainly not the sort of establishment generally considered home to the kind of mayhem and shenanigans associated with punk rock. However, there is a cellar bar. And that’s where the chaos ensues…

Dissent

There’s other bands tonight, all of whom are good at what they do and some more to my taste than others. The stand outs for me were Comrade X, who always delivers the goods, and Black Water County, whose punk-infused folk may invite some obvious comparisons, but they play with enough talent and conviction to mark themselves out as contenders in their own right. I’d definitely be up for seeing them again.
By the time the Cundeez fire up, it’s hot in that little cellar bar. Damn hot. And there’s a pissed-up bunch of good natured yobbos and n’er do wells more than ready for them. The choice of London Calling as an opener is superb. It’s The Cundeez saying hello to their southern friends, and it’s an acknowledgement that wherever we’re from, we share similar tastes, backgrounds and experiences. And that’s what matters.

Black Water County

A Cundeez gig is a thing of great joy. Like a cross between a benevolent riot and the greatest party you’ve ever been invited to. Every song they play represents what’s great about punk rock when it’s done properly: energy, excitement, anger and humour are all present, wrapped up in killer tunes that hit you full-on and take no prisoners. What marks the Cundeez out from so many of their peers is that even when they are angry (“Austerity,” “Mr Politician” or the magnificently vitriolic “Yer Talkin’ Shite”), there is a sense of positivity and energy that’s sadly missing in so many other bands who generally seem content to just moan and wallow in it. There’s no room for negativity or despondency when the Cundeez are playing because you’re too busy having a bloody good time. Just watch them performing “Roota” and I defy you not to end up grinning from ear to ear and at the very least, tapping your foot.
Tonight’s crowd need no second bidding to get stuck in and show their appreciation by leaping around like a bunch of loons. The sweltering heat means “taps aaf” is pretty much obligatory. New single, “Rebellion” sounds incredible, and is a definite highlight in a flawless set. The Buzzcocks’ classic “Ever Fallen in Love…” is given a grand shake up, and by the time they hit “Night Boat to Cairo” everybody in the crowd is going ballistic. The energy and excitement this friendly bunch of Dundonians generate in one gig would be enough to power a small town.
And so the Cundeez came to London and it would be no exaggeration to say that they absolutely smashed it on both nights. For me personally, it meant I got to support a band I’ve been raving about for the last year, and see them twice in one weekend. That’s pretty good going as far as I’m concerned. Not only are they an amazing live band, but they’re also some of the nicest, most decent folk I’ve met on the punk scene. Gary, Stevie, Trotsky and Tez, you’re welcome back anytime. London loves the Cundeez. Keep it Oary!

Contact The Bands

The Cundeez  Facebook  ReverbNation  Soundcloud  Twitter  YouTube

Black Water County  WebSite  Facebook  Twitter  Bandcamp  YouTube  Google+

Kilburn Bomb Squad  Facebook

Comrade X  Facebook  YouTube  Twitter  ReverbNation

Dissent  Facebook

Cheers and beers to Dissent, Kilburn Bomb Squad, Comrade X, Black Water County and The Cundeez. Absolutely spot on and all were just brilliant. Ta to The Sweat Box… sorry Veg Bar. I didn’t eat myself but was told the grub was fantastic, to the bar man didn’t catch yer name but you was a star and Assad thanks for the brilliant sound everyone was really happy with it. Hope to catch you at The Go Set on the 30th I hope. To Patrick and Peter who did the door. God bless you both.

Again thanks to you all we love and respect youse all. xx

Thanks to Vincent for the great review. He plays in another great London band worth checking out Morgellions so in the absence of any vid’s from the gig here’s one of them playing the night previous.

Their is a Facebook file with photos from the gig over at the London Celtic Punks page here.

CELTIC CELTIC-PUNK. BLACK FRIDAY LIVE IN CORNWALL FEBRUARY 13th 2016

Traditional celtic punk for a real shanty knees up!

Straight out of Kernow and heading our way to London real soon here’s a review of a recent Black Friday gig to wet your whistles for the real thing. A high energy Celtic folk band from St Germans in Cornwall. They play a fine mix of original songs, traditional Irish jigs, reels and ballads and a few cover’s thrown in by bands such as the Pogues, Flogging Molly and the Mahones. 

They have toured all over England and Europe including a variety of venues and festivals such as The Maker Festival, The Port Eliot Lit Fest, The Electric Picnic in Ireland, The Plymouth Folk Festival, Calstock Biker Festival, Burnham-on-Sea Folk Festival and Wimbourne Folk Festival as well as a tour of Austria, which including playing at the worlds largest festival, the Donauinsel Fest. After playing at the reknowned Gaz’s Rockin’ Blues Club in London they were spotted by top Radio DJ, Marc Lamarr, who invited them to record a 6 song session at the famous Maida Vale studio in London for his show. Whilst they were there, they played for and met their hero and Pogues singer, Shane MacGowan. In 2015 the band got into the Guinness Book of Records for performing the most gigs in one day, 30 gigs in 12 hours!

Live at The Inn On The Shore, Downderry, Cornwall

OK, full disclosure here, I was really in attendance at this gig to help a good friend celebrate a significant birthday in my local but, by happy accident, this coincided with the chance to see one of the most highly respected bands currently working the circuit in Cornwall. Black Friday ply their trade in the realms of celtic folk but there is so, so much more to them than that. With all seven members squeezed in to one corner of the pub, the group set about winding up the atmosphere slowly, raising the temperature and creating an atmosphere. Original compositions mixed in amongst classics like ‘Dirty Old Town’ and ‘Whiskey In The Jar’ without missing a beat, showing the quality of the band’s rendition of these classic songs.

It is, however, in the live arena that this collective excels and, even in a tiny space, they can’t help but perform like the natural entertainers they are. From the lowest slung Banjo I’ve ever seen to some seriously fierce Mandolin work, Black Friday an absolute joy to watch if you can manage to take it all in.

The folk ethos is up front for everyone to see but then you’ve got elements of Blues, Country, Rock’n’Roll and, when that wah-wah pedal kicks in, things get a little funky as well. I’ll admit that alcohol and socialising deflected my full attention but I’ll definitely be checking these guys out again. On first impressions, if you want a band to turn up, play fiercely uplifting music that will get the place jumping and have any audience eating out of the palm of their hands then Black Friday are the guys and girls for you, make no mistake.

Review by LISTEN WITH MONGER

check out their blog here

Black Friday make a rare foray into enemy territory and play a gig in good old London town soon in the run up to St Patrick’s Day. Performing at the infamous ‘Gaz’s Rockin Blues’ club at the St. Moritz, 159 Wardour Street, Soho, London W1 (nearest tube Tottenham Court Road). An amazing club run by Gaz Mayall from the legendary celtic-ska band The Trojans who has been running this night every Thursday for the past 30 years. So as you can see it’s not to be missed and you can check out what’s happening at the Facebook event page here. One thing though the gig doesn’t start till 10pm so might be worth throwing a sickie and enjoying a long weekend!

Contact Black Friday

WebSite  Facebook  Twitter  Soundcloud

for an excellent resource on Cornwall go check out ‘An Omsav- The Cornish Republican’ here

“It’s not that Cornwall became part of England, it’s just that the English forgot Cornwall was not part of their country”

LIVE REVIEW: THE POGUE TRADERS at The Water Rats 13th December 20015

Reviewed by Heather Hoy

It was on the 4th October 1982 that The Pogues played their first ever gig at The Pindar of Wakefield on London’s Gray’s Inn Road.

Back then, they could never have imagined the impact their music would have on the world around them or how people’s lives would be changed as they introduced the audience to a slightly different style of Irish Music, Celtic Punk.

 Over thirty years later, on Sunday 13th December 2015, The Pindar of Wakefield, which is now called The Water Rats, recreated that historic day and welcomed The Pogue Trader’s. The band are described as ‘the UK’s number one Pogues tribute act’ by Pogues drummer Andrew Ranken and were playing their first gig at the venue that night.

Comrade X

There were two support acts on the bill, Comrade X and Anto Morra, both guitarist singers who played sets of just over half an hour each.  Both were entertaining and energetic and treated anyone who turned up early to a lively versions of a range of folk and punk songs.

 

 As 9.30pm approached, the room filled up and the atmosphere was electric as The Pogue Trader’s took to the stage. They started the show with ‘Streams of Whiskey’, from The Pogues first album, Red Roses For Me, which The Pogues have usually started their own sets with since they reunited in 2001.

The Pogue Traders

This was followed by a wide range of Pogues classics, ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’, ‘Sally MacLennane’, ‘Dirty Old Town’, ‘Fiesta’, ‘Transmetropolitan’, ‘Poor Paddy on The Railway’, ‘The Irish Rover’, ‘Waxie’s Dargle’ and the classic ‘Fairytale of New York’ were amongst the many highlights and they even did an excellent rendition of ‘Johnny Come Lately’, a Steve Earle number for which The Pogues provided the backing.  The show was about an hour and a half long and The Pogue Trader’s, sounding every bit like the real Pogues, gave it their all even though there was not much room on stage for dancing. From start to finish, the crowd sang along and danced just the same as they would had they have if they had been watching the originals. By the end of the night, the bar was almost drunk dry and there were a lot of people who left The Water Rats in high spirits happy to have been part of this momentous occasion.

The Pogue Traders are without doubt, one of the finest Pogues tribute bands around and their sound is so close to the original band that sometimes it is hard to differentiate between them, which is what a tribute band should be about.

Unlike some of the other tribute bands around, they seem to have the ability to balance correct style, choice of instruments and musicians which is a formula that works well.

• thanks to Heather for the review. She does an excellent blog on The Pogues here called Pogues Fan 4 Eva so go and check it out.

The Pogue Traders

are available for the proverbial weddings, christenings and bar mitzvah’s so give them a knock if you want them to come play for you.

Facebook  WebSite  Soundcloud

and here for Comrade X and here for Anto Morra

for me though there is no bigger or better band in celtic-punk than The Pogues so here’s this here

The Best Pogues Related Sites

In The Wake Of The Medusa * Paddy Rolling Stone * The Parting Glass * Pogues Facebook Page

For me though the best place on the internet for The Pogues is this unofficial group on Facebook (here) all the diverse views you would expect from a bunch of people who follow The Pogues. Be sure and join up won’t you?

photos by Nessa and Comrade X

LONDON’S GREEN’n’WHITE: THE WAKES LIVE AT THE COCK TAVERN SATURDAY 29th AUGUST 2015

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

CHANGE OF VENUE

LONDON’S GREEN’n’WHITE

CELTIC SUPPORTERS IN LONDON UNITE!

supported by the
UNDERGROUND CELTIC SUPPORTERS CLUB
HAYES BHOYS CELTIC SUPPORTERS CLUB
BRIGHTON CELTIC SUPPORTERS CLUB
LONDON CELTIC SUPPORTERS-FACEBOOK
URBANKELT
LONDON CELTIC PUNKS

click above to buy advance tickets

THE WAKES

we are pleased to announce the headliners who will be making a very rare London appearance. The Wakes are a folk rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band’s sound is a mixture of Celtic traditional music fused with punk rock. The band’s lyrics embrace their culture, heritage and surroundings. They cover all manner of subjects from anti-fascist politics, immigration and unemployment to uprising and rebellion in Scotland, Ireland and beyond.
http://www.thewakes.info/

supports act will include
ANTO MORRA
the music of London Irish Celtic and QPR supporter Anto can be found somewhere between the Pogues and Ian Dury with a dash of Madness.
http://www.antomorra.com/

BUCKETS OF COURAGE
an old school streetpunk band made up of Celtic fans all the way from County Kilburn!
https://www.facebook.com/bucketsofcourage

GREENFORD BHOY

our resident DJ Mr.GREENFORD BHOY will be spinning his ipod playing a whole host of celtic punk and rock, trad folk, rebel Irish and just plain auld rebel before, inbetween and after the bands.

more acts to be announced (and SPECIAL GUESTS to be confirmed!) so keep an eye out here…

the proceeds for the gig will go to the Clapton One. an anti-fascist Celtic supporter who was recently arrested unfairly in London and received a huge fine. lets show that we look after our own…

Entry is from 7-30pm and is £10 and advance tickets are available (click the giant ticket stub above). If their are any tickets left then it will be Pay On The Door. The gig will end at midnight.

The Water Rats is closed for refurbishment (thanks for telling us!) so we have had to move to The Cock Tavern, home of the Underground Celtic Supporters Club, literally just around the corner from Euston station and not far from the Water Rats either!
Plenty of trains, tubes and buses galore will get you back to pretty much anywhere all through the night. Map and some other shit here and here.

The Cock Tavern

23 Phoenix Road, Euston, London, NW1 1HB

020 7387 1884

Facebook event here

https://www.facebook.com/events/933811693308277/

come down before the gig and join the infamous UNDERGROUND CELTIC SUPPORTERS CLUB for the Celtic v St Johnstone game which will be shown live in the pub at 3pm.

ALBUM REVIEW: THE KILMAINE SAINTS- ‘Live At The Abbey’ (2015)

Explosive, high-energy celtic-punk rock band from Pennsylvania will lift your hearts and your spirit…

and your pint when you’re not looking!

Formed in 2009 The Kilmaine Saints were the brainchild of two members of the Harrisburg Pipe And Drum Band (Pennsylvania). With celtic-punk taking off they decided to form a band that would get them free beer at St Patrick’s Day shows in the Central PA area. With the addition of  a couple of local musicians and a couple more Pipe band members The Kilmaine Saints took off and haven’t looked back since. Hundreds of gigs and festival appearances have seen them become one of the most popular celtic-punk bands in America. Two full length albums behind them,  ‘The Good, The Plaid And The Ugly’ and ‘Drunken Redemption’ as well as a mini-album ‘un-Traditonal’ from last year, their releases have all been a solid mix of ramped up celtic classics and some extremely good compositions of their own. After all it has to be said that you can be a great band playing covers, and especially if you do something with them rather than being just a standard cover, but to go further you need strong songs of your own and The Kilmaine Saints have them as well.

2012

2010

2014

‘Live At The Abbey’ is just over an hours worth of celtic-punk rock that is I reckon an exact replica of a Saints show. What I mean is it captures completely the feel, as well as the sound, of a Kilmaine Saints gig. The actual recording is clear and captures the various band members and their instruments perfectly. ‘Amazing Grace/Will The Circle Be Unbroken’ kicks off the album and straight away you can feel the energy busting out of the speakers. Blimey if every show is like this then they better keep a medic by the stage with a defibrillator! ‘Haul Away Joe/Tamlin’ is a typical song of what gives the Saints that special something. They take a song and just as you think its about to end will fly off into something even more manic not giving you pause for breath. Their background in the Harrisburg Pipe And Drum Band certainly gives them an edge on other bands when it comes to playing traditional songs and also shows that the music is literally in their blood too. The best Irish rebel song ever written is next and ‘Come Out Ye Black And Tans’ could be written as a celtic-punk song so easy to turn into one is it. Shane MacGowan’s classic’Streams Of Whiskey’ is punked up to heaven while ‘Long Walk To Sonnagh’ is my favourite track on the album with a celtic/country crossover sound while not losing any of its punk rock feel.

Dave

Billy

Brendan

Jon

Liz

Mike

‘Black And Blue Jig’ tells of a Irish bare knuckle boxer follows the same musical path and ‘I’m A Man You Don’t Meet Every Day’ is the trad Irish song made famous by the Pogues but imagine the Pogues playing it with electric guitars and you know what I mean. Bagpipes kick off a thrash version of ‘The Wild Rover’ with chugging guitar a 77 punk band would be proud of! ‘Swallowtail Jig/Drunken Sailor’ and ‘Rattlin’ Bog’ everyone will be familiar with but again given that Saints twist that brings something new to them. Next up is the Kilmaine Saints anthem ‘Saints Are Up’ and its what every bands signature tune should be about. The lyrics say it all

“Raise the blue raise the green and all the colors in between
Sing along, sing it loud, ‘cuz we’re Celtic and we’re proud
Raise a shot, raise a pint, put your arms around your mate
‘cuz we’re the noisy drunken bastards called the Kilmaine Saints”

‘Devil’s Den (Painting Paradise Square Pt.2) is a hill where the Battle Of Gettysberg took place in the American civil war and tells of an Irish recruit forced to defend the hill against enormous odds.

“Born on the streets he grew up hard & mean
Raised in Paradise Square
But the blood and the gore of this cruel Civil War
Five Points cannot compare”

With Black And Tans covered the Saints bring the fight for Irish independence up to date with the modern day rebel song ‘Go On Home British Soldiers’ and they certainly put some oompf into it.

‘The Whiskey’s Calling’ is another great song with brilliant pint, and fist, in the air chorus of

“So raise a pint
and give a cheer
This one’s for friends
both far and near
Some are here
and some have fallen
Bottoms Up! The whiskey’s calling”

With the first half of the album given over to the classics the second half is mostly Kilmaine Saints songs and ‘Battle Cry’ is a great example. The pipes flow the guitars chug and Mayo born singer Brendan’s voice soars over the top of it all. The lyrics are inspiring and motivational

“All men have the strength inside to get up on their feet
I’d rather stand and fight than live my life down on my knees”

Following are  ‘Old Brown’s Daughter’ and ’10 Fathoms Deep’ and this is the first time I have ever heard ‘Old Rugged Cross’ on a celtic-punk band album but I soon realise that its quite a long way both musically and lyrically from my Nanna’s favourite song!

“Twenty five Hail Marys will absolve all my sins!
So don’t judge me son til you know where I’ve been
The Lord will have mercy on a man of the cloth
Who sometimes will stray from the old rugged cross”

The album ends with the amazing ‘Rakes Of Mallow/Jump Around’. Combining two of my favourite songs its no surprise its an absolute firm fan favourite and as you can see it the attached video it certainly gets the crowds going and even sitting at home listening to this with just cup of Barry’s on the go I feel the need to get up off me ass and jump around. A fecking brilliant way to close and I’m already searching for their first album to stick it on and have a listen. The Abbey is a music venue situated above a brewery in Harrisburg Pennsylvania, called the Appalachian Brewing Company so the absolutely perfect place to record a live album! With equal parts Irish swagger, Scottish pride, and whiskey The Kilmaine Saints have risen in such a short time to being one of the most popular and certainly one of the best American bands in the scene. If by chance you haven’t checked them out yet ‘Live At The Abbey’ is an excellent place to start.

(you can listen to ‘Live At The Abbey’ by pressing play on the Bandcamp player below)

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LIVE REVIEW: BLACK WATER COUNTY AT THE BARRINGTON, DORSET AUGUST 2014.

By Stuart Walker

Drink, dancing, songs, a smashed mandolin – what’s not to like?

If you have a new EP to promote then you can go about it two ways. Do it the label way and have a nice refined lunch at a restaurant, invite some journos and hand out a few freebies or have a massive piss up come party on your drummers’ birthday. Guess which one Black water County did.

You can see a picture of the drummer on the right. He’s the one with a guitar in his hands.

That pretty much sums up any Black Water County appearance. Mayhem sprinkled with laughs and beer and of course some rollicking good tunes.

Turning up to The Barrington Theatre in Ferndown I was pleasantly surprised. My memory of the place is of antique fairs that smelled of wee and biscuits, but when cleared the main theatre is a good size and has a decent stage.

With a warm up by the excellent Southern Corruption (involving more products of the Harris production line) the crowd were ready for a memorable Saturday night. Speaking during the support act Tim told me that the good news was that Black Water County were ALMOST ready for a good time as they had to go and practice the song they hadn’t played for three months. Nothing like a bit of prep eh Tim?

The group took to the stage in an almost muted way (which is the last time you’ll see that word during this piece) before Tim’s powerful gravelly voice beats people over the head and they launch into their excellent ‘Steaming’ followed by one of my personal favourites ‘Irish Rover’. Instantly we can see that they have their game faces on although I’ve yet to see a gig where they didn’t.

Noticeable is the addition of Rus Scagell, he of Walk the Night, Colt 45, Delaney Mansions, One Night Only (are you bored yet?). Rus’ guitar phattens up the sound nicely and it’s a welcome extra boost as I find that if you’re going for a live Pogues/Dubliners noise then you need a lot going on. I’m practicing my accordion as we speak.

Things are getting going nicely and the crowd thickens up. It turns out to be close on a sell out which is nice – both for the Barrington where manager Andy is trying to get a few younger live bands in and for BWC who must now be getting the feeling that something good is happening.

But I digress.

The point of the night was to launch the new EP by the band “Fellowship of the Craic” which we will review in due course. On the night they go through the tracks of the EP that are exceptionally well received live. It’s difficult to pick a standout for the set but ‘The Happy Drunk’ was an enjoyable romp and interesting for its move towards ‘Thrash Folk’.

Not only this but we have a fine singalong in “All the pubs” which is a tribute to the hostelries that we all know and love in and about the town of Wimborne. Again this was very well received by an appreciative crowd

As the Guinness flowed freely the chaps (and chapess) moved seamlessly through songs that fans will know and love from their usual set including the ‘Wo Wo Wo’ song and ‘Dirty glass’. All executed with aplomb.

I’ve watched a few bands recently where I’ve thought that they are good musicians but need a character in the band to provide a bit of interest. At this point of the night I’m realising that Black Water County have five (now six) characters and it makes for a busy, full on night where you’d better come match fit because you’re unlikely to get out alive otherwise.

By this time of the night the artificial dividing line between crowd and band has been successfully broken down as two itinerant musicians are invited on stage (can you see who they are yet?) along with a well known rock photographer and members of the band disappear into the crowd for a bit of a dance.

Now it starts to get messy. Shan disappears off the stage and into the crowd, Andy L Smooth is called forward to sing and play guitar, Will Harris comes on to play drums and Gav smashes up his mandolin On purpose.

At one point everyone is lying down although Rus keeps hold of his Guinness without spillage. There’s a ‘wall of death’ and people are on other peoples shoulders before a concerned looking Andy is doing a mini crowd surf with guitar in hand.

Before long the night (for me at least) is finished and the crowd and I trundle off in to the Ferndown night humming ‘The Pirate Song’.

What a great set by the band. What was notable was that they had obviously been working on their stagecraft as there were one or two extra items in there that came from elsewhere. They may give the impression of a shambling fun time bunch of randomness but it’s clear that there is method and dare I say an amount of professionalism in there too. This band is developing into something good.

When I instituted my review rating system I resolved that I wouldn’t give anyone five stars. I’m trying to think of a reason why this gig wouldn’t get top marks. Ermm…

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this first appeared on the Gigs And Bands web-site and is published again here with Stuart’s permission. cheers Stuart!  Gigs And Bands

 

LIVE REVIEW: THE POGUES IN BRIXTON DECEMBER 2013

LONDON YOU’RE A LADY. AND ITALY LOVES YOU

by Eddie Murchy

When I was a child and my dad used to fetch me ’round with his car, the main rule was – and, actually, still is – ‘I drive, I choose the soundtrack’ (now that I drive, it applies to my car, too).

Bored in the first place, that rule, in the end, turned out to be a sort of blessing: thanks to my dad, since my early years, I started listening to great bands. Among them, obviously, The Pogues.

When, many years later, I made my first trip to Ireland and dived deep into Irish music, memories and melodies came back to the surface, and the unmistakable mark in Shane’s voice re-exploded in my mind as if I had never stopped listening to it. It was the very beginning of a love story that is still on and that, last december, brought me from the italian countryside to the O2 Academy in Brixton. ‘London Girl’, ‘Dark Streets Of London’, ‘Lullaby Of London’, ‘London You’re A lady’, I thought to myself, must have been more than a mere coincidence. So, without telling anybody, I bought the ticket, I booked the flight and chosed an hostel nearby the venue.

I arrived in London on 19th morning and, during the whole day, I was as excited as a 5-year old child on Christmas Eve. Well, actually, we were pretty close to that day (and, actually, I’m pretty close to a 5-year old child). ‘The Sick Bed Of Cuchulain’ was echoing in my head and really couldn’t wait to hear it live. For that reason, entering the O2 Academy was a kind of dream come true. Alright, ’twas not my first Pogues’ gig, but who tells I can only dream once, who tells I can only have one dream, who tells I can only dream alone?

Forgive my lines, this is not a review, I’m not technical at all; this is a sort of ’emotional’ report, a short list of the things that I, as a simple boy madly fond of music (specially live), liked and liked not.

First of all, I must say the side-band, Crowns from Cornwall, left me unsatisfied: nice tunes but, in my opinion, the guys were a bit too cold and posers, I would have definitely preferred somebody like Frank Turner, who indeed opened the act in 2012. Then, I was shocked by the ‘no stage-diving’ sign: c’mon, I made 2000 miles to attend a rock concert, I just wanted to have fun, you can’t tell me surfing over people’s heads is not allowed! At last, even though I generally loved the tracklist, where the hell had ‘If I should fall’ gone?

Apart from these little insignificant flaws, the night was amazing. ‘Rum Sodomy And The Lash’, a necklace of 13 pure gems, played in its entirety, the way I had always listened to it; creeps when ‘Thousands Are Sailing’ was played in loving memory of Phil; first time I heard ‘Fairytale of New York’ live, surely the best Christmas wishes ever; the people, the sweat, the pogo, the Italian friend I met just before the show, the random hugs, the drunken haze, the whole concert lived exactly where rock concerts are supposed to be lived, between the stage and the third row. At the end, I was soaking wet and totally knackered, and I considered it both a prize and the proof I lived the night up.

When the gig was over, I realised my legs were not making it, my voice was vanishing but, at the same time, my emotions were doomed to remain. I spent two more days in London, whistling Pogues’ tunes, having beers in dirty pubs, enjoying the good weather the City offered me. I must say, I was happy to stay right there, on the sunny side of the street.

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NECK IN SEISUIN SUNDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2013

Next month (20-22 September) is the annual North London Punx Picnic festival. Its basically a DIY punk festival in the spirit of the old picnic’s not what passes for them now as they’re more like wee mini Rebellions! its all done as non-profit with cheap gigs that are all benefits for decent causes with a picnic in the middle… beware though the picnic doesn’t involve much food!

This year the whole event is in Tottenham in North London within a few minutes walk from Seven Sisters tube station. For more info and times and transport details check out the official picnic facebook events page here

To bring down the curtain on the last day of the Picnic are London-Irish ‘psycho-ceilídh’ punks NECK led by a former member of Shane MacGowan’s The Popes, they’ve forged a (well-earned) reputation as a great, tried and tested, festival band – from Texas to Moscow! Released four albums, plus their Anti-racism single charted in the UK. Bring ‘The Hooley’!

At the very forefront of the international celtic folk-punk scene NECK’s music reflects the life experience of the emigrant and second-generation Irish. Their 19 years have seen them tour right across the globe spreading their message. The band takes their lead, both musically and ideologically, from two other great London rebel bands: The Clash and The Pogues, blending full-on punk rock with swirling traditional Irish music, and distilling it all to come-up with their own unique, intoxicating London-Irish brew known as ‘Psycho-Ceilídh’. For full details on the gig go to our events page-

Occasionally though the band play a completely stripped down acoustic seisiún like what our mammies and da’s met at! Such is their flair, energy and passion you may be forgiven for thinking you’re at a full on punk gig. It’s all free on the afternoon of Sunday 22nd September so pop down after mass. The beer is cheap the sun should be out  and the music is guaranteed!

slainte!

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LIVE REVIEW: MAHONES/THE LAGAN IN CAMDEN AUGUST 2013

Been looking forward to this gig for months  and boy-o-boy it did not disappoint. Been a major fan of The Mahones for a long time and I remember well being heartbroken at not being able to afford to go their debut London show back in 1994. I also proposed to the Mrs at one of their Dalston gigs a few years back. These days they play London regular at least once a year except now that’s our lot until late 2015.

With the Rebellion Punk Festival money machine in full flow bands flock into the UK during August and they all want to play London so hardly surprising in a week that we had to choose between bands from Jello Biafra to The Adolescents to the Casualties to The Street Dogs and others that it wasn’t a overly massive crowd. Still it wasn’t small and with a good few London Celtic Punkers away at either Rebellion or Boomtown fest their can be no complaints.

The Black Heart was a decent enough venue, I remembered it as The Laurel Tree. Back in day I came to see Drop Dead play there. It was expensive then but Christ on a bike its £5 £6 and more now…for a pint! As a mate said “I normally want a lap dance with my drink at these prices”.  I know its Camden but them prices are criminal at a punk gig. The sound was what really set the place apart though. Never have I heard either band sound so perfect. Even The Lagans spoons came out crystal clear. Nice big stage as well and The Lagan were in great form ratcheting up the punk of their folk punk for the occasion and belting their way through their LP tracks plus a few others and even time to play both their acapella sea shanties. Everyone was raving about their set  afterwards and just goes to show how far they’ve come since they supported The Mahones last year.

Twas a hot and sweaty occasion so nipped outside after they’d  finished for a smoke and a moan about the beer prices but must have been moaning too much as missed the start of The Mahones set. When we finally came in the sound was still as good and they were rocking through all the favourites plus a few songs about London chucked in. No ‘Celtic Pride’  but lots of Irish Folk Punk Rock! The set is a bit of a blur as we’d had a few in a proper Camden Irish boozer before the gig and I found meself in the moshpit against me better judgement.

Still I thoroughly enjoyed it but I’ll never be setting foot in that venue again. What is the point of them having great beers if people can’t afford them? From what I could see its the sort of trendy hipster middle class bar that’s ruined Camden. A couple of questions A) would people have still gone if it had been somewhere less trendy? Answer probably yes and probably more and B) would people have enjoyed it more if they’d been able to have 2 pints for the cost of 1? Answer you bet they would… especially me!

photos: 2) Vanessa 3) Iva 4) Vanessa

POST GIG EDIT!

Seems they did play ‘Celtic Pride’ I was just too pissed to remember it!

Got a long wait for them to hit our shores again now…

LIVE REVIEW: NAYMEDICI AT KEMPTON PARK JULY 2013

Not a huge fan of horse racing I must admit. Years of having it drummed into me by my mammy that it was (along with drink) the curse of the Irish working classes… and for evidence we only had to look at our Uncle Pat who would be living the highlife if he hadn’t spent so much money in the bookies over the years!!
So we headed off to Kempton Park Irish Night At The Races last week. The day before was scorching so needless to say everyone turned up in barely nothing only for it be bitter cold. Had one bet ‘Divine Right’ £2 to win -last of the big spenders!- came in 5th so we buggered off out the cold and waited for NAYMEDICIC to play. Their a pretty new band to us but they’ve been gigging away in their native Manchester for a couple of years now. a recent move to west Cork has seen the band picking up some great press and also some pretty big gigs. These kind of gigs can be seen as like a corporate thing and I suppose they are but has to be said the Irish + good music + a drink or two = a pretty damn good time!

NAYMEDICI came on after the last race and started with a excellent trad instrumental. They’ve the standard celtic-punk set up but with fiddle, instantly reminding me a lot of the Lagan. What followed was some great traditional Irish folk music with loads of covers of The Dubliners kind but with some nice obscure songs in as well as the family favourites.

the crowd were lapping it up and all ages from 8 to 80 were jigging away. Chucking in quite a few of their own songs was probably a brave thing to do but the crowd didn’t notice. The only difference was the rise in tempo of the songs and the dancing getting that bit faster. Best song on the night was their hit ‘Paddy McGee’ sounding just like The Dubliners fronted by Mike Harding!

One of the reasons people love celtic-punk music is its infectious energy and fun and NAYMEDICI have got it in bucketfulls.

Needless to say I look forward to seeing them play a gig with their own material and having a quick chat and a couple of fags with the boys afterwards it hopefully wont be too long before we get them to London to entertain us!

Official Website – http://www.naymedici.co.uk/
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/naymedici
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/naymedici
YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/naymedici

COMING SOON:THE MAHONES v THE LAGAN

SUNDAY 11th AUGUST

VANCOUVER v LONDON!

THE CELTIC-PUNK GAME OF THE SEASON!

THE MAHONES return to London from Canada for a one-off gig in Camden town. Formed on St Patricks Day 1990 they are one of the top celtic-punk bands in the world and have been the inspiration for many of the bands that have come later. Having toured with the DROPKICK MURPHYS many times Ken Casey guested vocals on their last LP. Don’t miss this show as it will be a year before they hit our shores again! Support is from THE LAGAN with their own original brand of London Irish Celtic Punk. With the release of their first LP ‘Where’s Your Messiah Now?’ on Banquet Records this band are set for bigger things…mark my words!

PLEASE NOTE:VENUE CHANGE This gig has been moved from the Underworld to the OUR BLACK HEART MUSIC BAR. Its still pretty close to the tube station though and looks easy to find as well. Our Black Heart 3 Greenland Place, Camden, London, NW1 0AP Telephone:020 7428 9730 All enquiries:life@ourblackheart.com according to venue website gig curfew is 11pm. No news on ticket details yet…

gig event page here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/375023045949007/?ref=2