It’s a Green Thing

The North Texas Irish Festival

3/5/2008, Liz Patton

The Dallas Skyline - courtesy of Liz Patton

After avoiding the Hilary Clinton rally in that same area, winding through the lines (note to self – get tickets online the next time I have the chance), and finding the haggis vendor I settled down to watch the largest of the nine stages at the fair, where the big names and bigger amplifiers were to see what basic trends were being played. The smaller stages tended to feature local bands and band that played more traditional Celtic music, which unfortunately rarely has bassists in the band, and were surrounded by vendors which added to the chaos and distractions.

Some bands, like Seamus Stout, Spriggan, Beyond the Pale and the Trinity River Whalers are familiar names to those who frequent the DFW metroplex Celtic scene. Others, like Town Pants and Brother, came in from other countries to perform.

Needfire is a Dallas area Celtic Rock band that I had seen perform at last year’s Texas Scottish Festival with fair success. This band is built on ‘70’s rock grooves, vocals and guitar with a fiddle player and a bagpiper – complete with Scottish tartan kilts. It may have been an Irish music festival, but those with Scottish heritage weren’t afraid to show their clan colors. They had an energetic stage presence, including letting their piper loose with a wireless mice to cavort through the audience. The bassist tended to play simple bass lines meshing with the roots of the sparse chords for their arrangements of traditional tunes. On the rock tunes the bassist played straight -ahead rock bass lines, using the pipes and fiddle for flair.

Didgeridoo duet between members of Brother and Needfire - courtesy of Liz Patton

For a little more traditionally minded band I wandered to one of the smaller stages where the local band Spriggan was playing. They were plagued with sound problems due to being in a building with poor acoustic design, and set up in a tent in the center of the myriad vendors. Their bassist, who doubled on flute, pennywhistle and accordion, played simple bluegrass inspired bass lines that often followed the bass lines their guitarist added by his chord inversions. Their performance sounded like a standard Celtic music jam – not surprising because three of the four band members play at a popular Celtic jam in Arlington, TX pretty much every week. Their energetic traditional style had a few of the roadies dancing Irish style in front of the stage, with copies of the band’s recently-released first album in their hands for advertisement.

As a nod to one of the more impressive Scottish traditions, the North Texas Caledonian Pipe s & Drums played a set, but due to their nature as a pipe and drum band, were of interest simply for the stark beauty of numerous pipers playing traditional melodies in time with excellent theatrics from their drummers.

For me, one of the most interesting bands to hear on the Celtic music circuit right now is the group Brother, an Australian band featuring drums, bagpipes and didgeridoo. Their music used pounding drums to evoke a very tribal feel, especially when the bassist matched the drummer with quarter note hits for the groove. Without the wild, throbbing sound of the didgeridoo or the bagpipes they sounded like a smooth, modern rock group. The unusual instrumentation and the Australian influences set this band apart from anything I hear on a regular basis.

The crows in front of the main tent - courtesy of Liz Patton

As the sun went down and temperatures dropped the crowds continued to grow, with several thousand people in the courtyard of the main stage. The volume and energy continued to increase at the bands got wilder and the festival-goers located the beer booths. The sound checks were fast and efficient and the stages stayed on schedule.

Brothers 3, another Dallas area band, offered a change from the Celtic rock which seemed to be the order of the day. Brothers 3 slowed things down around the dinner hour, with an easy-listening Celtic style, borrowing heavily from funk and jazz influences. Their bassist, Tim Menikos, brought a real funk element, using slap and staccato lines to punch up traditional tunes from many European cultures. The saxophone player played smooth lines similar to what flutes traditionally play in these styles. As a bassist, I really enjoyed Brothers 3 because of how much color and the different perspective Menikos brought to this Celtic fusion group. The band as a whole took more care in varying their arrangements than the other bands I saw that day, including lots of trading between the instrumentalists and the occasional Zydeco version of traditional tunes like ‘High Reel,’ because – to quote their violinist - “We can never leave something the way we found it.”

Town Pants was a surprise kick to the evening lineup. Based out of Vancouver Canada, they have an energetic style that reminded me of a cleaner and more bluegrass flavored version of Flogging Molly, a punk band with Celtic influences. They got the audience really engaged, with lots of dancing in the aisles. The bassist played with an even alternating bass pattern, providing a firm base for the antics of the other players in the band. Listening to their evening set made me wish I had gotten to the festival earlier so I could have heard their first set that day.

Well, I hope this has taken you to a place you might not have gone to before.

About the Author