Traditional Celtic music that recalls the glory days of Tommy Makem and The Clancy Brothers; sincere, robust playing and tight, manly harmonies

15 MP3 Songs in this album (54:35) !
Related styles: Folk: Irish Traditional, Folk: Celtic Folk, Mood: Party Music

People who are interested in McGinty The Clancy Brothers Tommy Makem should consider this download.


Details:
With a blend of traditional, east coast and original tunes, The Pub Boys have, as individuals and as a group been entertaining audiences across Cape Breton and beyond, for many years. Each brings their unique instrumental and vocal abilities to the stage and collectively they produce a collaborative sound that guarantees to have the crowd demanding more at the end of the night! When you combine music, with large doses of laughter, both on and off the stage, you have a recipe for a great evening out! The Pub Boys have proven their ability to entertain no matter the event. Whether providing the supper-time crowd with great accompaniment to a meal; helping folks dance the night away; or a full eveningâs concert; The Pub Boys are capable of putting together a show to suit the mood of any crowd. The Pub Boys have gained a loyal following of people who return again and again as they are guaranteed to hear the songs to sing along to, and music to chase their cares away.

Review by Ken Chisholm
âHereâs a drinking game for you,â fiddler Matthew Earhart tells the audience at the Cedarsâ Club for the launch of the Pub Boys cd, âWhenever Gordie says âlittleâ, take one drink; whenever he says âIrishâ, take two drinks; and whenever he says âlittle Irishâ, down the rest of your glass and call the cab now!â

Everybody laughs. Family and friends and fans from all of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality have filled the Sydney hall on a Wednesday night in the third week of July. Besides The Pub Boys, the other acts include Willâs Addiction, pianist Adam Cook (who plays on the cd and remarked at the release party: âI feel like Iâm opening for The Rolling Stones!â), and emcee and performer Donnie Campbell (who helpfully informed the audience: âYou can dance here, you can dance there, and thereâs a table over there you can dance onâ).

The Pub Boysâ music, on the cd and live on stage, is retro even for traditional music. It recalls the glory days of Tommy Makem and The Clancy Brothers: sincere, robust playing and tight, manly harmonies (and Earhartâs supple and assured fiddle playing is an asset). For anyone used to the punk snarl of the Pogues or the mystic overdubs of Enya, this is an adjustment but one with lasting pleasures.

But the audience at the launch party is already with them: Willâs Addiction asks âAny John Allan fans here tonight?â and the roar of glee in response leads into a roomful of voices joining in on âRise and Follow Charlieâ.

And when they sing âWhiskey In The Jarâ, the Pub Boys make it an audience participation song with everyone joining in on the chorus, lead by Earhart, âClap four times-clapclapclapclapâthen twice-clapclap.â

Was it Gordie Parsons, lead vocalist/guitarist, or Tom McMullin, vocalist/bassist, or Shawn Bigley, who was busy switching from the bouzouki to the bodhran to the mandolin, who told the story about one Halloween while playing a gig, a couple dressed as pigs asked them how the band got together, and they had to tell them, âWe met in church.â And they did; they were playing together in their parish choir when they decided to take their show on the road.

And then itâs into âFinneganâs Wakeâ about âa guy who dies and comes back to lifeâbut not Jesus.â

The Pub Boys play with energy and joy and their songs are so familiar, they might be part of the genome for anyone growing up on Cape Breton. They have just the two original tunes on the cd, both by Bigley (with Parsons helping out on the second tune), âSong for Allieâ, a heartfelt ballad about a fellow bard, and âSummertime on Cape Breton Islandâ, a spritely ode to all the good things here even if âSome days will rain and some days will shineâ, both sounding as timeless as the more well known tunes like âKellyâs Mountainâ and âWild Mountain Thymeâ.

Trays of snacks from Amadeo wafted around the room (âIn French, theyâre hor dâouveres,â somebody explained from the stage, âIn Cape Breton, theyâre munchies.â). Stacks of cds were happily purchased. And there were spontaneous displays of stepdancing.

The launch was more fun than should be allowed on a weeknight, and the cd is a reminder that honouring the virtues of classic songs never goes out of style. Catch the Pub Boys live if you can, and if you canât, buy their cd and have your own pub party at home.