The all day snow storm did not dampen the spirits of the very Irish crowd at Gaelic Park tonight and The Merry Ploughboys did their best to warm up a cold night with traditional Irish music. They mixed in bar sing-a-long songs with ballads and drinking songs that had everyone singing and clapping along all night. The band traded off lead vocals which always adds a different sound to each song.
The band was definitely having fun on stage which usually means the crowd is doing the same. Tonight was no exception. I had a great time enjoying a few Harp beers with my friend Mike. I also want to thank Kim, Molly, Brian, Sheila and John for including me in their group. Sheila is friends with members of the Merry Ploughboys. The band even wrote a song called Chicago Town about her father. I think this is how Molly got picked to come onstage and seductively put on one of the band's t-shirts.
Here Gareth explains that in 25 years of doing this, they have never had a man up on stage to do this...
...and Molly was a good sport about it and got a free t-shirt and CD from the band.
After the show, I had a chance to talk music with Gareth Campbell, the mandolin player in the band. I also talked with Molly about music therapy, which is her job at a local hospital. It was interesting to talk about how music is used in such different ways...the band plays it to entertain people drinking in a bar, Molly plays it to soothe or distract little kids from the reason they are in a hospital. It really made me think just how amazing and powerful music can be. I'm also glad I went out tonight to enjoy it with a few beers. Maybe tomorrow I will use it to soothe a medical condition commonly known as a hangover. Two shows down, forty-eight to go.
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