Jivin’ Jones Irish Rock Festival Friday, September 16, 2005 Connolly’s Written by Keith C. Smith Photographed by Erica Burge

On Friday Sept. 16, I got in touch with my Irish roots. Yes, drinking was involved, but (for once) there was much more. It was the Jivin’ Jones Irish Rock Festival, held at a fancy-looking Irish pub called Connolly's on 121 West 45th street, Now, I've been to a fair number of rock shows and seen quite a few unusual things (I do live in New York), but I knew this show was going to be different when I saw The Pubcrawlers setting up to perform the first set of the night... and it wasn't just the kilts.

Keith (with the hat) dances a jig

"Is that guy playing a mandolin?" I asked myself, not sure if the Guinness was playing tricks on me. Then one of the band members pulled out a pearl white accordion and then someone else picked up fiddle and then a flute(?). "Not exactly the standard arsenal for a rock band," I thought. But hey, those folk instruments turned out to be more rock than the Blarney Stone.

"We are the Pubcrawlers, we're loud, we're punk rockers, we have fun," they told us. And they weren't the only ones having fun. Those Pub guys could switch between a heavy punk sound and a classic drinking song. It was a skill matched only by their ability to jump around wildly without spilling one of the many glasses of beer that littered the stage.

An Irish Leg

As The Pubcrawlers left the stage they embraced members of the next band, Jackdaw, and danced a quick jig with them. In fact, all of the bands were on the dance floor at some point, dancing with the crowd and enjoying the music. So great was the merriment, someone even bought a round of Jack Daniels for the whole bar.

When I finally felt that I couldn't dance another step, or swallow another beer, Icewagon Flu came on stage and mellowed things out a bit. Their sound (and look) was more modern than the last two bands. Their blues sound gave me a chance to catch my breath and sober up a bit before the final band.

The Peelers closed out the fest with the most traditional sounding Irish music of the night, but that doesn't mean it was slow. A fiery redhead played a high tempo fiddle as a sort of melodic “vocal.”. Their CD, "Boots and Suits" describes their style of playing as well as their style of dress: Heavy and loud, yet well composed and stylish. There was a lot of laughing and singing-along throughout the night (though not everybody who sung-along knew the words).

It was like all the bands were part of a rocking Irish family, but a rocking family that knows how to both wail and dance a jig. For more information see: www.irishrockfest.com.