BY STEVEN SAWADA
Jump in the Jig-Pit
Irish rockers get jiggy.
T
This veteran quintet, which has toured
he last time The Young Dubliners
with the likes of Jonny Lang and Jethro Tull,
performed in town they literally tore
plays anywhere from 170 to 180 gigs a years.
the roof off the building. Hungover
Their fervent legion of fans, garnered over a
and spent from the previous night’s perform-
decade of performances at small, accessible
ance and revelry, the haggard band piled in
pubs and bars, flyer and poster towns across
their tour bus, inadvertently missed the over-
the U.S. promoting the group’s concerts and
head clearance warnings and ripped off the
new releases. The band in turn reciprocates
awning of the motel they stayed in.
with constant fan communication and unre-
“You don’t need to mention the hotel’s
lenting live performances, including an
name” said vocalist and guitarist Keith
upcoming excursion with
Roberts with a chuckle.
fan club members to
In nearly every write-up
THE YOUNG 120
Ireland. “We reply to every e-
about the Young Dubliners,
DUBLINERS
mail we get,” Roberts says.
reviewers describe their
THE KOOZIES
If the Dubliners’grassroots
music as “Rollicking.” But
John Henry’s, 9 pm
approach to promotion isn’t
being so cliché in its use to
TUESDAY, 4/12,
enough to get you juiced about
describe Irish folk music,
their upcoming performance,
especially any Irish music
$8 adv./$10 door
with roots in pubs and club- www.johnhenry’sclub.com their new album, Real World,
will undoubtedly tip the scale.
scapes, I’ll spare you the droll
An amalgamation of sound resembling a battle
adjective and opt for another, “rip-roaring.”
of the bands between Big Country, the Pogues
If that doesn’t help much, then imagine a
and contemporaries Flogging Molly, Real
frenzied mosh-pit, a “jig-pit” in this case, set
World reawakens and invigorates even the
to the impassioned sounds of Irish folk-
most jaded music fan with uptempo punk
infused rock: Sweaty bodies linked at the
rhythms, traditional Celtic instrumentation and
elbow, skipping heartily around in time to a
classic American rock guitar riffs. When
cacophony of violin, tin-whistle, piano, guitar
Roberts says that with Real World, the Young
and male vocal harmonies. The frenetic pace
Dubliners have finally created a sound that per-
and wall-of-sound style of the Dubliners’
fectly blends Irish folk music and American
music beckons loyal fans to match energies
rock, he’s right on.
not only in the club but on the streets.
ew
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APRIL 7, 2005 27