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The Real McKenzies and The Dwarfs – Berbati’s, Portland, OR (May 5, 2002)

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The Real McKenzies remind all of us how cool it is to be Scottish! Once again, these guys put on a god damn fantastic show! I remember very little, my review notes became my beer coaster as soon as I stumbled to the bar before the show! I remember writing the band names and the date on it and that’s about it! I give you this review from sheer memory! So I am sure it will be a shorty. My O my, If you have not seen these bastards before, do so now, or be damned for all eternity! The Real McKenzies put the C in Ceilidh if you ask me. They were the second act in a three-band show, and made the most of the too short set, and the too small stage. They tore up the stage in a pure Highland kind of way, with absolute chaos and mayhem, complete with kilts, a bagpipe and lots of alcohol! I think I remember that they insulted the English queen mum, praised Robert Burns, and sang about the forgotten subject of Scottish independence!! In my opinion, Berbati’s sucks for live music. And the happy hour also sucks. I tell you, mentally, the barkeep is a few beers short of a six pack, or about as bright as a burned out light bulb, or as sharp as a bowling ball, if you ask me, (Who actually is?)

Uhh, I remember the lads played “Auld Lang Syne”, “Scot’s Wha’ Ha’e”, “Mainland”, “King O’Glasgow” (My Favorite), “Wild Cattieyote”, “Bitch Off The Money”, and more, but I must apologize…. Did I mention I got shitfaced and don’t really recall much? Go see these guys right now! Get into a car and follow them from show, to show. They will spit beer at you, jump on you, flash you, insult you! And you will love it, because it’s The Real McKenzies, and they are here to remind the world that the Scottish can kick your ass!!!

The Dwarfs were the headliners, and my head was lined with alcohol by that point! Great band! They played a really good show and that is all I can tell you. Sorry!

Review by Brian “Beerbong” Gillespie

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Flogging Molly – The Underworld, Camden Town, London (August 27, 2002)

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Flogging Molly “Kings of the Camden High Street”
This was my first live experience of Flogging Molly, and the most positive thing to come out of it, was the fact that it certainly will not be my last.
The Underworld is quite a small venue and quickly filled up with people from all walks of life. Mostly spiky haired Punks, many of who were probably only there because the Underworld is mainly a Punk venue. They may not have been FM fans going in but they certainly were when they were leaving. There were Irish football shirts scattered around too and of course FM and Pogues tee shirts. There were 3 warm up bands, which were in the right order, as each one seemed better than the last.
The crowd got excited when Flogging Molly appeared on the stage around 9.30. After a brief instrument check, They steamed into “Drunken Lullabies”. The sound was excellent, the Underworld seemed to be the perfect place for FM to play. Dave briefly introduced each song, and they carried on as they started. “Selfish Man”, “The Likes of You”, “Rebels of the Sacred Heart” followed, with the moshers getting livelier with each song. The band then caught their breath with a perfect rendition of “The Worst Day Since Yesterday”. After a very long round of applause, off they went again “Black Friday Rule” , “Another Bag of Bricks”, “Devils Dance floor”, “What’s Left of the Flag”, “Salty Dog”, and the “Kings of the Kilburn High Road”, among others before the last song, “Delilah” Rocked Camden Town.
All in all, a very enjoyable evening. Watching them on stage, I could see that they really enjoyed what they were doing. Flogging Molly produced a unique self styled sound that was fuelled by pure adrenaline. Power packed songs performed to perfection. It was the kind of performance that even the master, Mr. MacGowan would have been proud of. To finish up, I’ll give one piece of advice to anyone who hasn’t seen Flogging Molly yet…..The next time they are playing near you, get yourselves down there to see them, and believe me, you won’t be disappointed.

Review by Michael “Dublin Mickey” Fay

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The Tossers – the Hi-Dive, Champaign, IL (2002)

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“I can’t tell your songs from the traditionals, and that’s the highest compliment I can give.” So said my buddy Andy, a native of England/Scotland to Tony Duggins, lead singer of the Tossers. You could tell Tony was suitably impressed, as that is, I’m assuming, one of the Tossers goals – to be talked about in the same breath as the legends, and when it’s all said and done – Tony can tell tales in dark, dank bars – tales that go ‘hey, we wuz there, too, on the front line. And we made an impact…And we were good. Good enough for some drunken ex-pat one night, at the very least.’ It was good to see hometown boys The Tossers back in Champaign.
I don’t even know if there was an opening band. Could care less. I got there right as Tony and co. took the stage. Here I must add that since the last time I’ve seen the fellas, they’ve added a fiddler player, who is not only shit-hot on the fiddle, but just plain shit-hot. Great pick up, boys. Speaking of the band, they were as tight as ever on this night, too bad the crowd couldn’t keep up.

Yeah, the crowd was a bit mellow tonight, and even Tony’s drunken taunting didn’t get a lot of them moving. It could’ve been because it was an ‘early’ show and there was a fruity-ass rave DJ coming on after them, or it could’ve been the lack of drunken hooligans in the house, but it wasn’t as crazy as it could’ve been.

To be honest, the show was awhile back, I was drunk and the set-list in it’s entirety has escaped me – but I do know that the Tossers usual repertoire of Poguesy originals were in the house – “Buckets of Beer” “When You Get Here” “The Crutch” and “Mad Riot.” All sounded as good as ever, some even resulting in beer showers, and the usual covers were in effect as well with “The Irish Rover” among others.

In the end, the Tossers were cut short by some pud that was worried that the DJ was getting restless. And so ended a night when the Tossers were, as usual, up for it, but the crowd and the ambience of the evening just couldn’t keep up – like a college boy drinking with Shane.

After the set, we knocked back a few with the band, but as it was an early show’s end, they decided to head north for Chi-town. The mood was suitably high, thanks to the band, so we finished drinking and headed to the local Irish watering hole, Mike and Molly’s, and commented that hopefully next time the crowd is as up for it as the Tossers always are. No excuses next time, Champaign.

Review by Sean Holland

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Flogging Molly /The Supersuckers – The Crystal Ballroom, Portland, Or (March 28, 2003)

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WOW! What a performance! I have never been let down yet, out of the dozen or so times I have seen Flogging Molly. That’s why I think they are the best band out there at the moment. Remember this folks, You, and I, are both involved in something important. We are the fans who are involved in the most important band in music. We proudly cheer them on like the true fans we are. Take a look at MTV, take a listen to the so-called “Alternative” radio stations, read the Top Ten “Alternative” Charts. Do you notice anything? I do. I notice it’s all shite. It’s all bland, heartless, and dull. For the most part the music out there sucks. I’m glad to admit I have nothing to do with it. The most of the music covered in here, (Shite’n’Onions) on the other hand, is full of life, full of heart, and has a pulse that beats like a fucking machine gun.
As a fan of Flogging Molly, I am here to share my experience of a recent show here in Portland, Oregon. Sure, it’s not the mecca of the free world, but it’s an important location for Flogging Molly. It’s one of the first locations outside of California that Flogging Molly played. (finally, the west coast got a break!) It’s also a town that has an original solid fan base for the band since day one. A few years ago, Flogging Molly first came up here and played on a stage that was about the size of my doorstep.(for those with tape measures, my doorstep is very,very tiny.) To steal an old slogan describing The Clash back in the ’80’s, Flogging Molly has grown into the 21st century’s version of “The Only Band That Matters.” Now I may be a wee bit off base with that comment…I’m sure you’re smart enough to see that i’m not exactly serious, but i’m not exactly joking either. (In other words, I sure hope you see what I mean.) Starting up at Molly Malone’s, and those days of playing on small stages the size of doorsteps, to the moment they finally sold out a mid-size venue, The Crystal Ballroom, a few days ago. (They also sold out in Seattle the night before, and a few more venues across the country.) Who really knows how big this band may get. Who really cares? As long as they continue to play the type of songs they play, I could care less!

Speaking of big, at this show, I saw many, many, more fans this time around. Tons more. Sure, not everyone sang all the words of every song like some of the previous shows did, but the important thing is that they were there. All of them, all wide eyed, laughing, and generally having a great fucking time. People from just about every walk of life showed up.Old and young. From the paddypunk fans jigging, to the hardcore fans slamming, side by side, arm over arm. From the somewhat normal-looking fans at their first FM show, not knowing the words, to the seasoned veterans screaming the lyrics louder than Dave, side by side, arm over arm. It was a great thing to see, especially nowadays. When people ask me about a Flogging Molly show, I tell ’em it’s quite possibly the best show I have ever seen. The crowd has the energy much like a football (soccer) match. The only difference is everyone is rooting for the same team! How great is that? Every person I saw fall down in the pit, never hit the ground. Two, sometimes three, fans helped them up before they even had a chance to hit the floor and get trampled. Before the show at the pub downstairs, I talked with an older Irish gentleman who was a big time Dubliners fan. He told me he was a bit intimidated by the whole experience he was about to witness. I told him when he was at those early Dubliners shows in the 60’s, the older guys felt just like he did tonight. It’s just the passing of the torch, so to speak. I wonder what he thought of The Supersuckers?

Speaking of The Supersuckers, I was glad they got to open the show. (Throw Rag actually opened the show, but I was downstairs still talking to the Irish guy about The Dubliners.) I hadn’t seen The Supersuckers in about 7 or 8 years, when they opened for Bad Religion, and blew them off stage! I knew that couldn’t happen this paticular evening, but it was nice to see those jokers on the stage “spreadin’ the evil” with those cowboy hats, & the cheesy two-horns-up finger salutes. The Supersuckers released an album a while back called “Motherfuckers Be Trippin’ ” And they still rock. Some of the tracks they played included “Bad,Bad,Bad”, “Pretty Fucked Up”, “Born With A Tail”, and plenty of others. Sure I wish The Tossers (who opened up at some mid-west gigs) could have made it out west, but The Supersuckers, were good enough for me. And when it comes down to it…When Flogging Molly hits town, no other band matters!

Review by Brian Gillespie

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The Real McKenzies – B Complex, Portland, Or (FEBRUARY 28, 2003)

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I’ve been really lucky as of late. Every gig I have wanted to see has been on a weekend. The Real McKenzies show was no exception. The funny thing was I had to be reminded about the show by my local barkeep! After work I went down to my local Public House, (The Liberator plug-plug) and had a pint of our local stout. I was starting to make plans for the night when the bartender reminded me about seeing “another fuckin’ Celtic punk show.” I had forgot completely about the gig! I pulled a 180 outta my current plans in the making, and changed them for the concert.

The show was at The B Complex. An all-ages venue a few blocks from The famous Burnside Skatepark. We got to the show late, and didn’t really care about the opening band, The Flipsides. As we walked into the place, it was obvious all the Real McKenzie fans were way out of place. A couple of punks in kilts pacing back and forth waiting for the “good band” to play, but not knowing how to kill time without a bar around. It was actually kind of funny to watch. You could almost hear them talking to themsevles, “no bar-no fun”, or “I need a pint!” As it turns out the Real McKenzies showed up late, (up the street drinking, maybe?) and because of the venue, they had to drink water of all things on stage!! The guys started out with the typical bagpipe-drum-guitar trio, and we all rushed up to the front of the stage like Highlanders at The Battle of Stirling Bridge!! I’m pretty sure most of the people there had never heard of the band before, (or if they did, they didn’t show it.) The band played the usual set, but included a few new songs, like “Get Lost”, and a couple others I didn’t catch the name of. (The Real McKenzies will be releasing a brand spanking new album “Oot & Aboot” this May.) By the end of the set it was obvious they had made some new fans, because the pit grew larger, and larger, with alot of kids not knowing the words, or the songs. They simply just enjoyed what they heard, and were getting into the music. That part I was happy about. The other thing I was happy about was seeing those kilted bastards play again. The part I wasn’t happy about was the location, the other bands on the ticket, and the lack of beer!

After the very short set. I stuck around a while to see the band, Rise Against. They were okay, but not a way to spend a Friday night, if ya know what I mean. I absolutely wanted to be long gone from The B Complex before the headliners, The Mad Caddies, took the stage! I really don’t like the music much. Mainly because they call their music, Pirate-punk. An incorrect title that is nowhere near hitting a bulls-eye. Sure, they have a song “Weird Beard” on the album “Rock The Plank”, that is Pirate material, but the rest of the album is not. (If I am missing something, please let me know.) And when you play in around these parts, you better have yer scallywag on, or it’s “off with yer bluddie head!!”

A job well done by the Real McKenzies. I just can’t wait for them to have a long set, where they are the headliners, because they sure as hell deserve it, way more than those “poser-pirate” Mad Caddy bastards!!

Review by “Barnacle” Brian Gillespie

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Suspect Device, Kings of Nuthin’ – Middle East, Cambridge, MA (April 12, 2003)

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Here’s the deal. The Street Dogs and the Hudson Falcons played this show. But that afternoon I heard a rumor that the Street Dogs weren’t playing. “So,” I reasoned. “I don’t need to get there until 10 to see the Falcons.” At approximately quarter to nine I began preparing a ridiculously elaborate Italian-style dinner in my kitchen. It was a task that, once begun, couldn’t be broken off halfway through. Then there was the eating of it. Long story short, I walked through the door of the club as the Falcons were carting their stuff offstage. To make matters worse, Mark told me later that it was their last show of the year (they’ve played 600 shows in the last three years and are ready to take a step back, he said). I also learned that the Street Dogs did indeed play. Great.

Anyways, now the big question was, would the Kings of Nuthin’ light stuff on fire as they used to? The answer was no, and frankly, that makes sense. (Especially considering the Cambridge fire marshall was in attendance.) The Kings can and did play a kick-ass set without the use of lighter fluid.

If for some odd reason (detox stay, space travel) you haven’t seen or heard of the Kings of Nuthin’ before, I’ll sum up with the boilerplate description that they look like 1930s gangsters and sound like the rival saloon’s windows shattering from a blast of dynamite tossed out of a screeching black sedan. Chuck Berry on speed vs. Jerry Lee Lewis on downers. Or “Tom Waits and Slapshot” in the words of singer Torr, who phlegm-roars himself hoarse every show, backed by a finger-snappin’ maelstrom of drums, guitar, upright bass, piano, and saxophones. (The band currently has three saxes)(and no more washboard.)

Highlights: They rolled out a new song named after their two favorite things, “Women & Cadillacs.” Closed with “Fight Songs for Fuck-ups,” then for an encore brought out Kevin Stevenson (Shods) to sing “Born to Lose” by the Dead Boys. Fans onstage threw beer on everyone.

Suspect Device played last. Overall for the night there was a fantastic turnout. Unfortunately, half the crowd jetted after the Kings. Their loss, because they missed a great set by Suspect. (In fairness, many may have been trying to catch Mung and Gang Green at the Linwood that same night.)

Like the Falcons or, yes, Stiff Little Fingers, whose hit song gave this band of Roxbury punks their name, Suspect Device play catchy, moving street rock songs that are fun to drink to and sing along with, and sometimes even give you the chills. They played a new one tonight that singer/guitarist Jason said will appear on a split 7″ with Fit For Abuse, Tommy & the Terrors, and I forget who else. During that song, a fan doused Jason with water.

“The fact that I have an electrical appliance strapped to my body completely escaped you, didn’t it?” Jay asked.

Next up was a cover of Cock Sparrer “Take ‘em All” that got everyone jumping around up front, followed by a new one sung by guitarist Matt. “This goes out to everyone who left – it’s called ‘Fuck ‘em.’”

Well, those who stayed would not regret it.

By Pat Kennedy

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The Rag & Bonemen, The Wages Of Sin, Rum Rebellion – Portland, Or (May 18, 2007)

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I did something I rarely do nowadays… I went out on a Friday night. You see, work wise, Fridays kicks my ass so bad, I usually go straight home like an old man, but not this time. There was no way I was going to miss this gig, so with that being said, on with the review… Considering the nautical element of the bands involved, the neighborhood for tonight’s gig was fitting. The Mt. Tabor Legacy, is located smack dab in the middle of Portland’s Bermuda triangle. (There’s so many bars in this area, the odds of ever leaving are not in your favor!) Rag & Bonemen start the show off with those haunted folk-punk tunes they do so well at. Rag & Bonemen played some new songs, and some classic ones from their recent EP. (BTW, When’s that full album due?) It’s a shame their set was so short, because I was just warming up, the damn house lights came on, which of course was followed by a mad dash to the bar, and next thing you know, The Wages Of Sin are setting up, and like Rag & Bonemen before them, I was seriously impressed. Their stage presence was full of energy, their delivery was amazing, and quite honestly, The Wages Of Sin flat out kick ass. I can’t wait for their new album. If you’re in the Pacific Northwest, try and catch them live. Up next, was Rum Rebellion, I think I have seen them over a dozen times, and I can honestly tell you, they keep getting better, and better! They already have a number of new songs, and are probably spending every waking moment writing new material. By the end of the night we were a drunken mess, and things got a wee bit hazy. I must admit, I feel quite lucky to be living in an area full of great folk punk bands.

This is a good thing to be surrounded by.

Review by Barnacle Brian

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BibleCodeSundays, The PubCrawlers, TheGobshites – Bulfinch Yacht Club, Boston (April 6, 2007)

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Don’t be fooled by the name – The Bulfinch Yacht Club is a pretty cool rock club. A good size room, decent stage (though built for regular 4 piece bands not 8 piece celtic punk bands so all the bands were a little cramped playing) and nice sound system. The people who run the place were pretty cool as well. Some of you might remember the place when it was The Irish Embassy back in the 90’s were Black 47 would play on a regular basis

First up on stage were old friends The PubCrawlers, who despite being one member short (the mandolin player – though I almost think there wouldn’t have been room on stage anyway) played a real solid set. The band has had a few line up changes since last time I saw them including adding new vocalist Ron. Ron has added a much stronger Street Punk/Oi feel to the band which I think is the right direction for them.

BibleCodeSundays were next and by the time they came on the club was pretty full – not bad for Good Friday – the band lined up straight across the stage with drummer Carlton kicking up a huge storm from behind and with big smiles on their faces, great songs (both from the debut CD and from the forth coming release) and musically a tight as the proverbial ducks ass BCS kicked the shit outta the audience. The crowd swelled forward and they made a hell of a lot of new friends in Boston

Much thanks to Pete from the Gobshites for being part of the night. Peter played a solo show across town earlier so it was really cool of him and The Gobshites to play. The Gobshites were their usual fun selves and treated every one to a great time – I’d have a fuller review but by the time The Gobshites came on I was totally shit faced but that’s the point of going to a Gobshits gig anyway, isn’t it?.

Review by Mustard Finnegan

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The Mickey Finns – Half Door, Hartford, CT (February 2007)

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The Sort of Mickey Finns

It was certainly friggin cold out this night we ventured out down to the Half Door for this first time checking out this band “The Mickey Finns”. I guess it was to be expected, it was February, but the month before during an Enter the Haggis show it was so warm out we ate outside! So when I had to park on the street so far away we couldn’t see the door, my passengers moaned and groaned, I told ‘em all to shaddup and quit whining!

The Mickey Finns are the latest in the New York Irish rock, compiled of the same twenty or so roaming musicians that rotate in and out of different bands. The best way to describe the scene there is if you know someone you are welcomed wholeheartedly into this wildly energetic and extremely talented group of bands and solo musicians. However if you do not know someone to introduce you to this musical madness, you’ll pass right over this group without ever knowing it, literally if you take the 7 train into Sunnyside/Woodside area of Queens. Some of these bands have made it out and become quite popular like Black 47 and The Prodigals. Others you should know, but probably haven’t even had a clue about are bands like Trigger, The Temp and the band of focus in this article, The Mickey Finns.

With a style uniquely New York Irish, The Mickey Finns don’t even try to punk rock a trad song, or Pogues out and original song. The sound is stripped down; the drummer plays two congas a high hat and a kick drum. The singer plays the acoustic guitar and there is the fiddle player. Oh the fiddle player, there is always one star to a group and in this case it is the other worldly playing of Matt Mancuso. Matt and I used to drink together years ago when I lived in Queens. I would go and watch him and his band Raglan Road play every Sunday night at Taylor’s Hall, then we’d all trek down to The Wall (now McGuire’s) which was a few blocks away on Roosevelt in Woodside, under the 7 train. It was a two or three day a week scavenger hunt to find what group of musicians were playing under what name and at what bar. I’ll tell you though that when any of these bands got rocking and the crowd was right you could easily spend all night there, not emerging from the pub door till the sun came up.

Back to the boys in the band, however cold it was and whoever replaced Matt the whole style of the band was definitely built for the Irish pub of tomorrow. The musicians do honors to the music and make it there own by not changing it to some gimmick, but by playing the hell out of what was handed down to them for generations. And improvised jigs and reels got all the drunken forty something’s up and dancing, however I missed Matt’s hornpipes he did with Raglan Road. All and all these guys despite their CD not being ready yet, were able to rock out as if this were the way the band always sounded, and I made the suggestion that the stand in for Matt, a great banjo player should become a permanent member, come on how about it?

Review by The Rover

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Paddy’s Day Report – K.M.R.I.A. – Portland, Oregon (March 17, 2007)

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Beware The Ides Of March…Beware The Ides Of March… Crazy shit happens in the middle of March, and this years festivities were no different. Started out the holiday with a Smithwick’s or two down at a local Irish Pub. I thought they’d have some trad music in the morning. I was wrong. Instead it was much better… As I walk into the pub, I see Casey Neill and Zak Borden outside. Turns out they’re about to play a set. Heard a few tunes from Casey’s upcoming album “Brooklyn Bridge”, and let me tell you folks, there’s some good stuff right there! After about an hour or so, it’s off to a pre-party or two.

Eventually it’s time for the gig and we head down to the Wonder Ballroom for K.M.R.I.A. (Kiss My Royal Irish Ass) KMRIA play Pogues music. Nothing but. They are a celebration of the virtuosity, songcraft, and spirit of the Pogues. The band features an all star cast of Pacific Northwest rock – Chris Funk and Jenny Conlee of The DECEMBERISTS, Ezra Holbrook of DR THEOPOLIS, Scott McCaughey of THE MINUS 5, YOUNG FRESH FELLOWS & REM sideman, Hanz Araki of THE WHYOS & PAPERBOYS, Jesse Emerson of AMELIA, singer CASEY NEILL, and DEREK BROWN of The EELS, and FERNANDO. The show features as much grit, bluster, and drunken glory as can be mustered without sacrificing the intricacies of the material. The name KMRIA is an acronym for “Kiss my Royal Irish Ass” excerpted from James Joyce’s Ulysses and used in the Pogues song “Transmetropolitan”. K.M.R.I.A. only play shows around X-MAS and ST PATS. Let me tell you, I have heard a million Pogues covers, and these guys (& Boys From The County Hell) are as close to the real thing as you can get… I swear the only difference is that K.M.R.I.A. have more teeth! During the opening band someone tells me Shane MacGowan fucked up his knee a couple of nights before, and The Pogues had to cancel their Paddy’s Day shows, which somehow translates in my drunken head as the best live Pogues music in the world is currently playing in Portland, Oregon!

Everyone in the building were singing (slurring) word for word, most were dancing,(stumbling) and a few were simply making out.(groping) As the night wore on, they played all the Pogues classics, and that’s about all I can tell you! Show me a person who didn’t have a good time that night and I will show you someone who either didn’t have a clue, or didn’t have a pulse. I will also say this.. If anyone needs to record a live album, it’s KMRIA! It was a great night that ended with Chris Funk (Also in The Decemberists) throwing his mandolin into the crowd, and hitting me square on the head… I ended up keeping the Mandolin only to have Max (f/ Rag & Bonemen, & The Dolomites) headbutting the back so hard the base fell off! Classic!

Review by Barnacle Brian

Potato-eating, Whiskey-drinking, Bog-trotting, CELTIC PUNK ROCK