Is it Summer, or St. Pat’s?

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Irish Voice Entertainment

Is it Summer, or St. Pat’s?

July 10, 2008

Off the Record by Mike Farragher

THE dog days of summer are upon us, and while most folks complained bitterly of the rain we had during the Fourth of July weekend many of us were thankful for the showers that turned our lawns from brown to green!

That’s not the only thing green lately. Manhattan and the surrounding areas are teeming with some great live Irish music in July. So many national acts are spending their summers with us that you’d think it was St. Patrick’s Day!

Van Morrison will be attempting a tan this weekend as he visits the Jersey Shore as part of his summer tour in support of his newest release, Keep It Simple. Van the Man is on his umpteenth career upswing of late. Following its U.S. release on April 1, Keep it Simple reached the highest-ever U.S. chart position of any Morrison album by debuting at number 10 on the Billboard 200.

After a sold-out spring tour that included stops in Austin, Boston, Nashville and New York City, Morrison returns to Philadelphia’s Tower Theater July 10 and 11 and Atlantic City’s Borgata Event Center the following day.

If you like the acoustic stylings of David Gray and the sharp pop sensibilities of Squeeze, you’ll probably love Irish singer-songwriter Andy White, who plays Manhattan’s the Living Room on July 22. He’s not a household name to many of you, but he should be. The man has talent to burn!

Belfast-born Andy has nine internationally released solo albums, two compilations and a book of poetry to his name. He has worked and played with some great musicians and writers like Peter Gabriel, Sinead O’Connor and the Finn Brothers among others. He won Irelands Hot Press Songwriter of the Year a few years ago, beating Bono and Christy Moore to the finishing line.

He not only does great solo work, but is part of a dream bill of folkies called ALT, which stands for Andy, Tim Finn (T) and Liam O Maonlai (L) of Hothouse Flowers. He is touring behind his new album Garageband, which was inspired by the immediacy of Apple’s program of the same name.

The Irish Rock Fest will return to Connolly’s Klub 45 Room (45th Street and Times Square) on July 24. This concert series is run by the fine folks at Icewagon Flu, the experimental Celtic jam band from Hoboken.

They usually bring the funk and a bus load of fans from across the river to their gigs, along with a few bands that deserve your attention. For this installment, the Town Pants and Ceann will be in tow. With offbeat Celtic tunes like “Blame the Viking,” Ceann reminds you of Barenaked Ladies if they hailed from Pittsburgh instead of Canada. They should l fit right in with the rubbery rhythm of Icewagon Flu.

It’s been way too long since the Young Dubliners played Manhattan, but that is about to change as Keith Roberts brings his brand of fiery Celtic rock to the Highline Ballroom (431 West 16th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues) on July 26. Tickets are $25 and can be found on TicketWeb.com. The band is on a seemingly endless tour in support of With All Due Respect: The Irish Sessions.

In typical Young Dubs fashion, the band plays fast and loose with trad ditties by amping them up with snarling guitars and booming drums. It would indeed be a treat to see them pillage through the old melodies. Don’t miss this show!

There are many who say that regular rock residencies in Irish bars are as rare as hen’s teeth, but there are still a few spots to catch some great music. Stout is one of my favorite bars in Midtown, and they usually offer some live music most weekends.

They have Boston’s Gobshites coming down for a visit on Saturday, July 26. Stout is mere steps away from Penn Station at 133 West 33rd Street.

I still get emails from people lamenting how Rocky Sullivan’s has left the East Side. The bar, owned by Black 47 founder and current Seanchai front man Chris Byrne, was an Irish cultural lifeline that featured the live music of the likes of Damien Dempsey and literary readings.

They moved out of Manhattan over to the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, which is about as far away as Mars for many Manhattanites that are afraid to venture into the outer boroughs.

Fear not! A convenient water taxi service takes you from Wall Street to a spot within blocks of the new Rocky Sullivan’s (34 Van Dyke Street). Go on. Admit it. You missed the rebel hip hop served by Seanchai and the Unity Squad. For more information on the service, log onto rockysullivans.com.

Many folks retreat to the Hamptons for the weekend to beat the city heat, and the Irish music will follow you along the LIE. Black 47 will be performing at the Long Island Irish Festival at Abbess Farms in Calverton, New York on Friday, July 18. The band will perform in the Tommy Makem Pavilion at 9 p.m., and tickets are $15 for the day.

“Going back to the days of playing in My Father’s Place in Roslyn, Long Island, audiences mix the sophistication of New York City with a rare enthusiasm of their own,” said Black 47’s Larry Kirwan when asked how he felt about playing Long Island again.

“They take nothing for granted but know exactly what they want. As someone who’s played at all the major Irish festivals around the country, I’m certain that the Long Island one will become one of the biggest.”

The festival features a white hot lineup that includes the Prodigals, the McKrells, Andy Cooney, the Dublin City Ramblers, Ceili Rain and Morning Star, and many more.

In the face of a crumbling economy, rising gas prices and the high price of concert tickets and babysitters, many rock music fans understandably feel fenced in lately. The Irish festivals continually prove to be a value for your entertainment dollar in this economic climate.

Wherever you may roam this month, Irish music is sure to follow you. Raise a pint to the dog days of summer!

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