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Raising the Bar
By Kirsten
Ferguson
Black
47
Revolution Hall, March 20
In their 20-plus years
together as a band, New York City’s eclectic Celtic rock
outfit Black 47 have played well over 2,000 shows, with a
fair-sized chunk of those taking place here in the Capital
Region, from repeat appearances at local Irish pubs like
Saratoga’s Parting Glass and Albany’s McGeary’s to a memorable
show at Bogie’s years ago where frontman Larry Kirwan lost a
tooth after the crowd surged the stage, knocking the
microphone into his mouth.
Last Saturday the band
returned to the area for a post-St. Patrick’s Day gig at
Troy’s Revolution Hall. In honor of the occasion, they played
“Banks of the Hudson” from their debut album, inspired by the
hall’s waterfront location, to toast the river that unites
upstate with down. They also paid tribute to Troy’s Riverfront
Park statue of Irishman and temporary Troy resident James
Connolly, the only monument of its kind in the United States,
with a ripping version of “James Connolly,” their fiery ode to
the slain workingman’s hero.
“We’re gonna have an Irish
dancing competition. You don’t have to know how to do it, just
do it,” the affable Kirwan—wearing green suede shoes—said
early on after executing a dexterous jig himself on “Celtic
Rocker” from the band’s new Bankers and Gangsters
album, a tongue-in-cheek tune that kicks off with a blast of
E-Street-style horns before descending into a swirling Celtic
groove.
Promises of free T-shirts
and (jokingly proffered) post-show dalliances with the band
got the smallish crowd in front of the stage to move, but it’s
a shame more people didn’t catch this local appearance by a
band who offer so much instrumental bang—including trombone,
saxophone, pennywhistle and the absurdist looking,
bellow-driven uilleann pipes—for the buck.
They were especially
smoking on the reggae-inflected “Fire of Freedom,” the
horn-blasting “Sadr City” from their acclaimed Iraq album, and
set-closer and joyous rave-up “Maria’s Wedding.” “Mychal” was
a touching homage to Black 47 fan and fire department chaplain
Mychal Judge, who died on 9/11.
Local Black 47 fans who
missed this one will have a second chance of sorts when Kirwan
appears at the Van Dyck in Schenectady on April 23 as part of
his Rock & Read tour. The frontman, who is also an author
and playwright, will perform songs and read from his latest
novel, Rockin’ the Bronx.
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Missing in
Action
Photo: Joe
Putrock |
Some people went for the
music, others for the promise of a potential trainwreck, and
there was a little of each at Friday night’s Club 1980s tour
stop at Bogie’s. Following opening sets from locals the John
Morse Band and Dead Serious, the night’s reported high point
came from power-poppers Tommy Tutone, the band known pretty
much exclusively for the 1982 hit “867-5309 (Jenny).” Then,
Michael Astin of Gene Loves Jezebel played a solo acoustic
set. Finally, and ironically, Missing Persons were short
singer Dale Bozzio—one rumor has her splitting town with the
tour manager and all the cash. Bozzio’s backup musicians
instead played cover tunes and ran through a few Missing
Persons hits with a fill-in vocalist. Good times.
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