By: Stacy Schwartz
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Gaelic Storm - Photo by Stacy Sandstrom (click for full set)
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The shoes of the entire crowd are pounding on the bare floor like a heartbeat. Boom! Boom! Boom! It’s only one minute past 9 p.m., yet they can’t contain themselves. The band isn’t even on stage yet. The thumping gets louder and louder and clapping begins in rhythm. Boom! Boom! There’s an energy filling The Fine Line that I’ve never felt before. The door from the basement opens and the five members of Gaelic Storm emerge. The pounding ceases and screaming begins. The band members hit the stage running and there is no looking back. No easing into things, no down time here. Just pure energy with an Irish beat.
If you’ve never heard of or seen Gaelic Storm, you’re missing out. I’m not saying that just because it’s that time of year when my pure, unadulterated, fanatic need for anything Irish hits its peak. It’s because they steal your soul and infuse it with that sort of crazy you didn’t know was inside of you. This is one of those bands that appeals to an insanely wide audience. You can expect to see little kids dancing a jig in front of the stage, college kids singing along to every word, and an old Irishman in the corner sipping his Guinness while beaming with delight. However, there’s much more than the stereotypical Irishness about them. You can tell by the glint in lead singer Patrick Murphy’s eyes that Gaelic Storm has more fun on stage than you may ever have in your entire life, and this is what attracts people to them. While Gaelic Storm is on stage you want to jump up and become part of this whirlwind of music and life. It also helps that they have more raw talent in the little pinky of band member Pete Purvis as he plays the electric bagpipes (no, really) than any other band I know.
Throughout the night Murphy and guitarist Steve Twigger regaled the attentive crowd with stories, jokes and anecdotes about their band, their lives, and travel on the road. Murphy’s facial expressions and storytelling were some of the reasons there was a line of ticket holders over two blocks long outside the venue before the doors even opened—no one in the crowd wanted to miss a thing. Their songs were filled with stories. The popular “Don’t Go For (the One)” told a familiar tale of a man who goes to the pub for “just one” with a friend and ends up missing the dinner he was supposed to bring home for his sister’s new husband. “Johnny Tarr” was an Irishman who drank and drank and finally died. But it’s not what you think—“this man died of thirst!” As the music continued Murphy and Twigger encouraged participation by feeding the audience lines from their songs, which kept people involved, though it hardly seemed necessary since everyone was singing anyway.
After all the storytelling, joking, and just plain good times it really came down to talent, and this is the point where my head starts to swim. Gaelic Storm is the only band I know where I want to watch the drummer for 99% of the show. Ryan Lacey graduated from the LA Music Academy twice—once for hands and once for sticks. It’s impossible not to be awed by the sheer heart that goes into his playing. The best part, and my favorite part of the show, is when the band brought Lacey front and center. He played what can only be described as a wooden box, although I’m sure there’s some technical name for it. The song was “Box Set,” an instrumental with Twigger on guitar, Ellery Klein on fiddle and Murphy on bodhran, and it needs to be seen to be believed. I literally got a little short of breath during that part of the night. Klein is an amazing fiddle player, and although she remained quiet for the majority of the show, she really didn’t have to say anything. It’s the sheer force of her bow gliding along that seems to keep the rest of the band in check. There are no gimmicks with Gaelic Storm. Just a passion for the music, love for life, and the ability to have a damn good time.
Location Info:
Fine Line Music Café
Artist Info: Gaelic Storm
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