2009 Craic Fest: Stand

Stand: March 12 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

A week ago I went 'round to Mercury Lounge to witness opening night of the 11th Annual Craic Festival. The third act on the bill that night was Irish band Stand.

The photos ...

Set List

www.standland.com
www.myspace.com/standland

Video: Enter The Haggis - Down With The Ship (live)

Since today is St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd celebrate. For the musical enjoyment of all, another video of Celtic rock band Enter The Haggis. This is from their set on March 12, at this year's Craic Fest. They're way better than green beer and tremendously more entertaining and talented than the guy who dresses up as a leprechaun and says everything with a fake Irish accent.

Enter The Haggis - Down With The Ship (live)

They also have an album, Gutter Anthems, coming out on March 24.

Track Listing

• Intro
• The Litter And The Leaves
• Cameos
• DNA
• Did You Call Me Albatross?
• Noseworthy And Piercy
• The Death of Johnny Mooring
• Suburban Plains
• Real Life/Alibis
• Murphy's Ashes
• Sea of Crutches
• Bury My Demons
• The Ghosts of Calico
• Lights And Cars
• Broken Line

www.enterthehaggis.com
www.myspace.com/enterthehaggis

2009 Craic Fest: Enter The Haggis

Enter The Haggis: March 12 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

Canadian Celtic rock band Enter The Haggis was the final band to take the stage Thursday; bringing opening night of this year's Craic Fest to a spirited end. The band, Trevor Lewington (guitar/vocals), Brian Buchanan (vocals/fiddle/keyboards/guitar), Craig Downie (bagpipes/harmonica/whistle/vocals), Mark Abraham (bass/vocals) and James Campbell (drums) showed that you can indeed rock out with a fiddle and bagpipes and they did it effortlessly. I would think you were made of stone if you didn't in some way move your body to the music while they were playing. They're definitely a band to see live.

The photos ...

Set List

The videos ...
Enter The Haggis - Minstral Boy (live)


Enter The Haggis - Congress (live)


www.enterthehaggis.com
www.myspace.com/enterthehaggis

2009 Craic Fest: Audio Fiction

Audio Fiction: March 12 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

Kicking things off Thursday night at this year's Craic Fest was Audio Fiction. The group consists of Kristin (vocals), Charles (guitar), Darren (bass) and Mark (drums). I'd never seen the band before and had only heard a couple of songs online so, I wasn't really sure what to expect. They were a lot more guitar rock than I thought they'd be ... not a bad thing.

The photos ...
Set List

• Race The Hourglass
• Suffocate
• All I Have Of You
• Wishful Thinking
• Dreams
• I'm Alive
• Johnny Go
• New Song (yes, that's what the set list says)
• Way Out
• Ever Wonder

www.audiofictionband.com
www.myspace.com/audiofictionband

A Bit Of Craic With The Voxys

The Voxys: March 12 @ Mercury Lounge, New York, NY

About a month ago, I informed all that The Voxys gained a new fan, me! Thursday night, I had the pleasure of seeing them perform again. The band, Julian Colin Sylvester (guitar/vocals), Trevor Murphy (guitar/vocals), William McCormack (bass) and Chad Flewwelling (drums) took the Mercury Lounge stage as part of the 2009 Craic Fest. For those that aren't familiar, The Craic Fest is an annual festival that presents a cultural feast of Irish film and music.

I was really looking forward to seeing The Voxys again. There aren't a lot of bands around that inspire that in me. Those that do, well, you read about them here ... like now. The Voxys are a brilliantly fun band. They have a sound that has them knee deep in the waters of raw garage rock. At the same time, they're reminiscent of 60's Brit pop complete with driving jangly guitars and danceable rhythms. At times, you almost expect to see them wearing matching suits and mop tops. Their live energy inspires and encourages you to bop around.

They kicked off their ten song set with "Bang Out of Order." It set the tone perfectly for the rest of the show. The whole set was great. I'd have to say the highlights of the night for me were the Beatlesque "Sunshine At Midnight" and "Wake Up Penelope." My only complaint is I wish they could have played longer!

They left me with a big smile on my face; a smile that saw me home while bobbing my head to remnants of their set, a set that continued playing in my head long after the band had left the stage. Sure, I garnered some strange looks on the train ride home but, I didn't care. I had a head full of The Voxys and that folks isn't a bad thing to have!

Set List

• Bang Out Of Order
• Champagne Charlie
• Sixth Floor
• Uncle's Gaff
• Zee Germans
• Sunshine At Midnight
• Dirty Protest
• Pirates
• We Die From That
• Wake Up Penelope
  

The video ...
The Voxys - Sixth Floor (live)

www.myspace.com/thevoxys
www.thevoxys.co.uk

The Voxys To Play 2009 Craic Fest

The Voxys will be taking to the Mercury Lounge stage, March 12, for a bit of merriment. I know where I'll be next Thursday!Also playing will be, Enter The Haggis, Stand and Audio Fiction.

www.thevoxys.co.uk
www.myspace.com/thevoxys
www.thecraicfest.com
www.myspace.com/craicfest
www.myspace.com/enterthehaggis
www.myspace.com/standland
www.myspace.com/audiofictionband
www.mercuryloungenyc.com