08/26/16 Mad Gael Music Festival
Read More08/30/16 Tulsa, OK Cain's Ballroom 09/02-03/16 Kansas City Irish Festival 09/19/16 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage 09/27/16 Sacramento, CA Harlow's Night Club 09/29/16 Grants Pass, OR Rogue Theatre 10/01/16 Seattle, WA The Neptune 10/06/16 Englewood, CO Gothic Theatre 02/10-15/2017 Norwegian Cruise Line "Rock Boat" 03/02/2017 Wilmington, DE Copeland Hall
|
Celtic rock band Gaelic Storm lived up to their name, as they played through the storm… then came back for more—
The occasion was the annual Irish Fair of Minnesota, held on Harriet Island, just south of downtown St. Paul, and where the band has played before to become a crowd-pleasing favorite. On the first of two nights, a summer rainstorm whipped about challenging the fairgoers, but Saturday night’s weather turned near perfect and the band and crowd were in a celebrating mood.
The quintet (Patrick Murphy (Accordion, Spoons, Bodhrán, Harmonica, Lead Vocals); Steve Twigger (Guitar, Bouzouki, Mandolin, Lead Vocals); Ryan Lacey (Djembe, Doumbek, Surdo, Cajón, Ukulele, Percussion); Peter Purvis (Highland Bagpipes, Uillean pipes, DegerPipes, Whistle);and Kiana Weber (Fiddle, Mandolin) continues touring festivals and theaters in support of last year’s Matching Sweaters (on Lost Again Records) and is always fun to see live.
Playing a shortened festival set, ‘Drink the Night Away’ further encouraged the party atmosphere, ‘Green Eyes, Red Hair’ was about “a woman who’s feisty… you’re all feisty!”, singer Steve Twigger remarked, and the true story behind ‘The Night I Punched Russell Crowe in the Head’, is always hilarious to hear.
Even Twigger’s oldest brother, Thomas, was laughing about it, in the area for the first time and brought on stage to verify the story, as he was at the bar when the incident happened. Twigger made the song funnier as he brought a young girl on to sing along, declaring after in his best Crowe voice, “Are you not entertained?!”
‘Me and the Moon’ was resurrected from their catalogue for the evening due to the night’s full moon, with the audience split into right and left to sing different choruses and ‘Darcy’s Donkey’ is always a crowd favorite, with the Guinness-swilling, green shirt wearing audience members on stage and elsewhere, dancing about like they’re riding a donkey.
‘Tap Room Set’ was done acoustically, with band members close knit in a line near the stage edge and percussionist Lacey trading his full kit for a cajon drum box that he sat and played on.
With time running short as the citywide curfew time approached, the band encored with an Irish-tinged version of ‘Stand By Me’ which had everyone swaying and singing along, and the band asked all the organizers and volunteers to come on stage for finale, ‘Kiss Me I’m Irish’, because “they never get to see any of the bands, because they’re working, working”.
Always a fun live experience, expect Gaelic Storm to return annually; either at the Zoo, a theater, or maybe under a full moon again at the Irish Fair of Minnesota.
The occasion was the annual Irish Fair of Minnesota, held on Harriet Island, just south of downtown St. Paul, and where the band has played before to become a crowd-pleasing favorite. On the first of two nights, a summer rainstorm whipped about challenging the fairgoers, but Saturday night’s weather turned near perfect and the band and crowd were in a celebrating mood.
The quintet (Patrick Murphy (Accordion, Spoons, Bodhrán, Harmonica, Lead Vocals); Steve Twigger (Guitar, Bouzouki, Mandolin, Lead Vocals); Ryan Lacey (Djembe, Doumbek, Surdo, Cajón, Ukulele, Percussion); Peter Purvis (Highland Bagpipes, Uillean pipes, DegerPipes, Whistle);and Kiana Weber (Fiddle, Mandolin) continues touring festivals and theaters in support of last year’s Matching Sweaters (on Lost Again Records) and is always fun to see live.
Playing a shortened festival set, ‘Drink the Night Away’ further encouraged the party atmosphere, ‘Green Eyes, Red Hair’ was about “a woman who’s feisty… you’re all feisty!”, singer Steve Twigger remarked, and the true story behind ‘The Night I Punched Russell Crowe in the Head’, is always hilarious to hear.
Even Twigger’s oldest brother, Thomas, was laughing about it, in the area for the first time and brought on stage to verify the story, as he was at the bar when the incident happened. Twigger made the song funnier as he brought a young girl on to sing along, declaring after in his best Crowe voice, “Are you not entertained?!”
‘Me and the Moon’ was resurrected from their catalogue for the evening due to the night’s full moon, with the audience split into right and left to sing different choruses and ‘Darcy’s Donkey’ is always a crowd favorite, with the Guinness-swilling, green shirt wearing audience members on stage and elsewhere, dancing about like they’re riding a donkey.
‘Tap Room Set’ was done acoustically, with band members close knit in a line near the stage edge and percussionist Lacey trading his full kit for a cajon drum box that he sat and played on.
With time running short as the citywide curfew time approached, the band encored with an Irish-tinged version of ‘Stand By Me’ which had everyone swaying and singing along, and the band asked all the organizers and volunteers to come on stage for finale, ‘Kiss Me I’m Irish’, because “they never get to see any of the bands, because they’re working, working”.
Always a fun live experience, expect Gaelic Storm to return annually; either at the Zoo, a theater, or maybe under a full moon again at the Irish Fair of Minnesota.
|
Setlist |
Gaelic Storm |
Gaelic Storm |
Gaelic Storm |
Gaelic Storm |
|
Gaelic Storm at Irish Fair of MN, St. Paul (12-13 August 2016) |
