Monday, January 16, 2012

Be still my Irish Heart! Blaggards at Fado's

Some nights are carefully thought out and planned. Concerts are chosen, tickets are bought, and expectations rise. Other nights are much more accidental, venturing out with no more plan than to follow wherever the night may lead. Saturday was such a night. It found me leaving the dance floor of one club, sweaty and unsure where to go next until I heard the sounds of Irish music in the air.

“I want to go to there!” I pointed and shouted in the direction of the music, and so we ran across the street and found ourselves at Fado’s where Blaggards were playing stout Irish rock at its best. I darted to the front and let my dancing feet and Irish heart be carried away by the rowdy tunes. I questioned at the top of my singing lungs, “What DO you do with a drunken sailor?” Had I not been driving later and already reached my alcohol limit for the night, I would have been swigging Guinness and life would have reached perfection. As I danced to the pirate voice of Patrick Devlin, the lead singer, I noticed his long locks and the way he tosses his head like he’s in a heavy metal group and thought “Hot damn! I’ve seen this group before!” 

It was 2010, only days before I would pack up my life and move to Austin, TX. I had just left a venue at the Rochester Jazz Festival when a boy came up to my mother and me on the sidewalk and said, “Hey, weren’t you those crazy girls that were dancing right up front during that last show? You were awesome!” Yes, that was us and Blaggards were that band. It was, indeed, awesome!

Blaggards are a stout Irish rock band from Houston, TX, playing fast paced traditional Irish tunes with influences ranging from Elvis, Johnny Cash to Black Sabbath. Patrick’s voice is distinct, Brandi’s fiddle playing soulful and transcendent and at one point my friend shouted, “Is that a mandolin? Holy shit this group is great!” Saturday night I danced until my legs hurt and my voice near lost from singing out loud to every song. 


They will be playing again at Fado’s on January 28th and there’s no cover! Mark your calendars and get your dancing shoes out now. Come find me there for a dance and a Guinness!



Standards by blaggards

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