Was able to hear these lads live many years back, when they did a small warm-up tour with a very informal “figuring this out” kind of vibe. It was brilliant and so much fun.
The Nightride Set from Kan: Aidan O’Rourke, Brian Finnegan, Ian Stephenson and Jim Goodwin (go baldies ;)
For me it’s The Mary Wallopers rendition of Frost Is All Over. I bought tickets to see them in NYC in March and my wife and I made a whole weeks worth of vacation around it. We got to the place early and had a fantastic spot in the crowd right in the middle close to the front. I was absolutely in fucking heaven the entire time. I’ve been obsessed with this band since I saw their video of Smuggling the Tin that Gems on VHS produced, and I wasn’t certain they would come back to the states for another tour, so I was fuckin estatic to be there. My wife sorta didn’t give a damn about it and went downstairs to drink at the bar after a while. Well, eventually I foolishly left my place to get a pint and once I got it, I quickly realized that there was no fuckin way I was returning to where I was. I admit I had a bit of a minor breakdown. I said something to the nearest person and he said something to me in the most completely incomprehensible Irish accent I have ever encountered. I asked him to repeat himself at least twice, and still had no early fuckin wonder what he was saying, so I put on a brave face and tried to console myself with my beer. Then they started playing this tune and I fuckin left my goddamn body I swear to you. I was dancing with this man and his group of friends like nothing else in the world mattered, all the way in the very back, next to the bar. I’ll remember that night for the rest of my life. Going to see them again in Chicago in September and I cannot fuckin wait.
