Flogging Molly and the
Frames are fine, but if you want to do St. Paddy’s Day right
this year, then get yourself a copy of
Black 47’s righteous new
album,
Bankers & Gangsters.
Emerging from Bainbridge Avenue, an Irish immigrant neighborhood in the
northwest Bronx, Black 47 is famous for extraordinary live shows that have
earned them a reputation as “the house band for New York City.”
While other Irish-inclined outfits are content to apply an emerald gloss to
their rock or folk leanings, Black 47 takes no prisoner with its stormy mix of
Celtic punk, Clash-city rockers, elegiac anthems and incendiary odes to Irish
Republican heroes like James Connolly and Michael
Collins.
So if you're feeling a bit revolutionary this week, or just want to kick up
the adrenaline level, let Black 47 be your La Fheile Padraig soundtrack.To get a
better idea of what they're all about, check out this three-minute interview
with frontman Larry Kirwan: