Famous Hat: Gaelic Storm

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Gaelic Storm

The show last night was excellent. It started with the Madison Pipes and Drums playing a rousing set, then a band came on called Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band, which was not actually a big band since it consisted of the Rev. Peyton on guitar (and he was unreal, he was so good), his wife Washboard Breezy on the washboard, and Jacob the Snacob on drums. They had a banner of what looked like a classic T-Bird behind them, and when they were playing, the headlights lit up. They didn't even need a bass player because this guy was so good that he played the bass line with his thumb. He had at least eight guitars, and I'm pretty sure he played them all. It was hardcore blues.

The headliners were Gaelic Storm, led by frontman Pat Murphy, who is apparently actually from somewhere in Ireland. He is very entertaining, spending as much time telling stories as he did singing. A lot of the people around us knew all the songs and sang along, including a black guy in a very impressive kilt outfit, and to my surprise I knew quite a few of them myself and sang along. I'm not sure if they're Irish folk songs or Gaelic Storm originals, but I've heard them somewhere before. The guitarist, who was named Parker, would start playing some random song, like "Don't Fear the Reaper" by the Blue Oyster Cult, and Pat Murphy would sing, "I don't know the words to this song," or whatever. When Parker (who is much younger) asked Pat his age, Pat sang, "I write your paychecks." There was also a woman playing fiddle whose name I didn't catch, a drummer whose name I didn't catch, and a guy named Peter who played tin whistle, uilleann pipes, and other instruments. Some local Irish dancers joined them for one song, and then for their encore, the Big Damn Band, the Pipes and Drums, and the Irish dancers all took the stage with them. What an entertaining show!

Today was Daylight Saving Time, but since we go to such a late Mass, I woke up in plenty of time. Right after that we hurried to Rex's Innkeeper for the Shamrock Club's St. Patrick's Day dinner. Here we are!

A band called Slipjig played beforehand, and we talked to a number of people and tried something amazing: Jameson's Orange. So good you can drink it straight! The food at the dinner was okay, but the dessert was this Bailey's cheesecake with a dark chocolate crust and chocolate whipped cream on top. So delicious! Good thing it's Sunday, because it was very un-Lenten. I even had coffee with a shot of chocolate Bailey's. We had bought $20 worth of raffle tickets, and Travalon really wanted a map of Ireland from 1779, so he was watching everyone eagerly whose ticket got drawn to see if they took his map. Of course the first few people took the bottles of booze, and then after all that coffee and Jameson and water I had to run to the bathroom so I didn't see Travalon's number get drawn. He was so excited to get his map! I was bummed to miss his moment of joy, but I contend that the reason he won is because I went to the bathroom. It always works for the Mallards - the moment I pop in the loo, they have a fabulous play. Here is the map.

The winning ticket had been in the middle of the string of tickets we had gotten, so I asked Travalon where the first two were. He had no idea, and I figured the odds that they would draw one of those two numbers were very small, but the lady sitting across from us asked to see the map, and when Travalon picked it up, there were the two missing tickets. And wouldn't you know that they drew one of those numbers? By then there was very little left to win, so I went up and chose a book of Irish humor. We had a good time talking to the couple across from us, who were about our age and very friendly.

It was a gorgeous day, and we had spent enough time stuck inside, so we went to Cherokee Marsh because an old coworker of mine from the Press said the swans were back. Indeed they were! Here are photos.