Young Dubliners
Thursday, June 3, 2010 – Harlow’s – Sacramento
Words & Photos by Anthony Giannotti
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the term Celtic rock? Hopefully not U2, maybe Flogging Molly, but more accurately you should think of Young Dubliners. After all, they are one of the most influential Celtic rock bands from the United States. After five years of skipping over the Sacramento area on tour, the Southern California-based Irishmen brought their flavor of traditional Irish folk and modern rock to Harlow’s night club Thursday night.
I had the privilege of witnessing it first-hand. After arriving a few minutes late and getting over the shock of a large portion of the crowd looking about the right age to have gone to high school with Betty White, I found the merrymaking in full swing. To fully appreciate the pub-like Irish folk, instrumental jam the Young Dubliners had broken into, I ordered a shot of Jameson with a Guinness back from the more than obliging bartender. Watching local Irish rockers BlackEyed Dempseys jump and bounce on the dance floor to the guitar-driven punk-inspired song “The Foggy Dew” set a mood that would make The Pogues proud.
Young Dubliners lead singer Keith Roberts made the casual announcement that since the band hadn’t been to Sacramento in so long, they would be playing songs from all eight of their albums. Young Dubliners showed a softer side with a few heartfelt acoustic ballads such as “In the End.” A great deal of the lyrics off their new album, Saints and Sinners, speak out against how bad things have gotten internationally without losing the profound belief that things can and will get better. Traditional folk instrumental pieces such as “Ashley Falls” really allowed the well-seasoned musicians space to showcase their individual talents; specifically allowing fiddle player extraordinaire Chas Waltz some room to show off his chops. Not since Gilles Apap has such fine fiddle work been laid down; Waltz solos are a perfect blend of classical training and folk improvisation not to mention he plays in an intense Johnny Ramone-style power stance! Touring with the five-piece rock ‘n’ roll group was famed Uilleann pipe and pennywhistle master Eric Rigler. On some of the darker power ballads, he was able to make the already ominous bagpipes sound a little spookier with a slight delay on it. You might know Rigler for his work on such small movie soundtracks as Braveheart and Titanic. The accomplished piper treated the audience to the theme song from Braveheart, which I assume is the equivalent, for people of Celtic decent, as an American watching Jimmy Hendrix shred “The Star Spangled Banner” at Woodstock. Traditional Irish folk songs “Molly Malone” and “Seven Drunken Nights” really brought a bounty of dancers and hip shakers to the floor and ending the show with the Dropkick Murphys-ish power song “The Rocky Road to Dublin” set the small but enthusiastic crowd on fire.
After the great set and a few more Guinnesses I had a chance to chat with Keith Roberts. Through a barely decipherable Irish accent he first apologized for coming to Northern California and having allergies. After I apologized for arriving 15 minutes late, he assured me with a sly smile that those precious early minutes of the set were indeed the best part. Roberts did inform me that Young Dubliners planned on making Sacramento a regular stop on their touring schedule. “We are in the same freaking state for God’s sake,” he excitedly barked. Hopefully these words will hold true, because an evening spent with the Young Dubliners is an evening well spent. Make sure to catch their next Sacramento performance and you to will fully understand what Celtic rock means.
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