Irish Fest '09: Beer, bands, big crowds

Sunday's crowd at the Boulevard Stage of this year's Irish Fest looked like the kind of crowd Dave Matthews gets at Sandstone. Or Aerosmith. Grand Boulevard was packed from the foot of the stage -- roughly aligned with the northern end of the Lathrop & Gage building -- south across Pershing Road and past Panera, close to the Crown Center fountains. Add to that throng people who spilled into the grass west of Grand and into Washington Square Park, west of the stage.

Organizers estimated about 17,000 people would show up to watch the Elders perform. By 8 p.m., when they were getting ready to start, that looked like a fair guess. Not bad for a band that used to play in bars and parking lots. 

 

The Elders ended this year's seventh annual Kansas City Irish Fest, and they closed it with a bang. In a year when most enterprises are prepared for a slump or worse, the Irish Fest expects the final numbers to show a bump in attendance, despite a Friday night showing that was hurt by the cold, damp evening air and the all-day rain that preceded it. The early numbers: a three-day total approaching 95,000, up from last year's total of approximately 94,000.

Those who attended got a dose of the usual, including the music, which showcased an array of bands playing several flavors of Celtic music. Some of the highlights:

The Elders (Sunday night): Their set lost some of its intimacy, depending on where you sat. The speaker fills helped; so did the video screen. But even from the Snug, which was just north of the UMB building, they felt a bit remote at times --usually during the new, midtemo numbers.

But they have so much power and polish, they were able to fill the space with energy during most of the show. When they opened the older stuff -- "Moore Street Girls," "Fire In The Hole," "Soil and Sky" and "Packy Go Home" -- they aroused some dancing and revelry all the way back to the fountains.

A couple of those new songs delivered a jolt, too, especially the upbeat "Better Days." Their finale included a straight cover of "Message In a Bottle" (from that Brit band the Police). When ther set was done, the stage was prepared for "The Mighty Craic," an all-out multi-band jam, like the kind that breaks out at the end of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. This one included a cover of "Kansas City."

Pogey (Saturday and Sunday): They're from Nova Scotia and they bring a game similar to the Elders': rock with a traditional Celtic flavor and lots of energy. Their set at the State Street Stage on Sunday drew the kind of crowd the Elders were getting four years ago or so.

Hothouse Flowers: Back in the late 1980s, they got some traction for the song "Don't Go." That song defined them for a lot of fans, but they are also the definitive Irish/soul/gospel band whose sound is most influenced by Van Morrison. In the mid-afternoon sun on Sunday, they were on the mellower/hippie side of groovy, until they broke into their sun-doppled cover of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now."

The Makem and Spain Brothers: The three Makems are sons of Irish folk hero Tommy Makem, who befriended and influenced people like a young Bob Dylan and a young Shane McGowan. His sons and the Spain brothers continue the tradition he made famous with the Clancy Brothers: line up and sing acoustic Irish folk songs in three- and four-part harmonies; and issue some jokes, stories and wisecracks along the way. Some of their songs continued the Makem/Clancy traditions, like "The Hills of Connemara" and "The Rare Old Mountain Dew."

The Indulgers: They're a straight-up Celtic folk/rock band from Colorado that comprises Americans and Irishmen. Their lead signer, Damien McCarron is from Dublin, so he can be excused for his awkward patronizing of the local crowd. He told them the Chiefs would beat Colorado's team in the Super Bowl. (Wrong on so many levels.)

 

Scythian: The are from the District of Columbia area and they call themselves a Celtic/gypsy/rock band, and for a good reason. They were the only band at Irish Fest who aroused a resemblance to Gogol Bordello. One of the liveliest and more appealing bands at the festival.

Ardal O'Hanlon: The standup comedian did two shows Saturday night. His first show (over) sold out. At the second show, only a slight smattering of single seats was noticable. He told some funny stories in the inimitable Irish way -- lots of floral language, some dirty bits, plenty of sarcasm.  He seemed to  lose his footing right about the 60-minute mark, when he started to reach for gags and jokes. Otherwise, he delivered lots of observational material (in the vein of Carlin, Seinfeld) with some pointed one-liners tossed in.

Timothy Finn, The Star

Comments

[Ellen K.]

Just to be clear, it's "Packy Go Home" (not Paki) and Packy is a personal name, a believe it's a nickname for Patrick. A very different word than paki, even if they sound the same.

A great festival, with many great bands.

[Gary Oldman]

When I lived in Boston, one of my buddies, a local, talked about going to the "packie" on our way to his house to get some beer. Another guy from Ireland went along with us. Leaving, the Irish guy remarked that the owner look American to him, and what did it matter to us where the person was from?

We had to explain to him that "packie" was short for "package liquor store" and not a British slur for an individual from south Asia. Therefore, I too wondered why the Elders song would have used the spelling "Paki."

[Tim Finn]

right. packy. that was a freudian typo (that's not worth the explanation).

[Mojo]

Some people are easily entertained.

[Ellen K.]

By the way, after getting over my shock, I found the typo (now corrected) humorous since it turned it into a phrase so contrary to that the song is about, and what the Elders are about.

[Damien]

To be honest, I know
both teams are in the same conference, nice catch Tim.

Great festval, KC knows how throw a welcome and we enjoyed every minute.
Slainte
Damien
The Indulgers