CONCERT REVIEW: Gaelic Storm stirs up festive dust at Englert

By Diana Nollen

IOWA CITY - Wearin' o' the green didn't end on St. Patrick's Day. It was back in full force Friday night (3/19/10) as Gaelic Storm kicked up a hooley in the Englert Theatre.

Green boots, green shirts, green hair, green caps and blinking green beads greeted the popular Celtic band, along with hoots, hollers and beer bottle salutes from more than 700 people in the standing-room-only rowdy crowd.

Gaelic Storm shot to fame as the steerage band in the blockbuster film “Titanic,” and is now playing on top decks across the country and at Celtic fests in Europe. Wherever they play, a party breaks out.

All five wield their traditional instruments with masterful play, but they're even better at being playful with each other and their audience. Lead singer Patrick Murphy of Cork City, Ireland, has a leprechaun twinkle in his eye as he punctuates the lyrics and stories with fluid physical expression and an impish grin. He plays a mean bodhran, too, with lightning-quick flicks of his rubbery wrist.

His sense of humor shines brightest through one of his most delightfully lyrical tales, “The Night I Punched Russell Crowe.” It seems the Aussie actor was smoking one night at the pub Murphy was tending. That's not allowed in California. But instead of simply asking Crowe to put out the cigarette, Murphy just had to go one step further and add, “If you don't I'll have to kick you out.” The result was not pretty, but makes for a pretty funny song.

That cheekiness is what makes Gaelic Storm so delightful. The band takes the spirit of the old jigs, reels and story songs and updates them with contemporary twists.

Everything old sounds new, while the new hearkens back to the old.

The very first song, “Beggarman,” sounds very Old World, with Pete Purvis on pipes, Jessie Burns on fiddle, Steve Twigger playing a guitar-like Irish bouzouki and Ryan Lacey banging out beats with his bare hands. Then Murphy kicks in with lyrics racing at the speed of sound, sometimes sung, sometimes spoken and occasionally sounding a wee like rap.

Other huge hits with the sold-out crowd were “Johnny Jump Up/Morrison's Jig,” with Murphy breaking out the spoons; drinking songs like an extended version of “Me and the Moon,” where the crowd got to shout along in a friendly competition; the dancing song “Courtin' in the Kitchen,” which spun into breakneck speed at the end; the playful “What's the Rumpus”; and the final encore of “Kiss Me I'm Irish,” with the audience creating a waving glow from their cell phones.

These wild rovers say they swing through Iowa often, so break out some green and grab a ticket at the next opportunity. Follow their schedule at

http://gaelicstorm.musiccitynetworks.com/index.htm