A Mahones pre-show is like a family reunion. Having been in the music biz for so long, the familiar faces stream in, to pay respect to one of the hardest working Irish bands in Canada. Having at one time called Montreal their home, most of the band uses Toronto as a home base when they aren’t touring the world.
Sean “Riot” Ryan was doing double duty tonight with his band the Irish Nails. Sean, originally from Windsor used to sneak to Detroit to see every cool punk band you can name before moving to Montreal after our infamous ice storm.
They played some of the song from their upcoming album, including Southbound, Razors, Delia’s Gone, Win Some Lose Some, No Damn Lesson, All That I’ve Got In a Day, Bruises, The Waiting, “Expletive” This.
Sean’s unmistakable growl will remind you of Mike Ness, especially on the catchy “The Waiting”. Their infectious punk jams got the crowd moving with lots of love from some of the locals, who might have had a head start on the beer.
After a short intermission, The Mahones took the stage, headed by Finny McConnell along with his wife Katie “Kaboom” McConnell, Dom “The Bomb” Whelan on drums and local Sean “Riot” Ryan on bass. They were joined by Michael O’Grady on Tin Whistle and special guest Dave Barton from The Peelers.
Compared to the shows they play in Europe, this was very small in comparison, which is great for the crowd as it sets an intimate setting. Having a repertoire of 12 albums to choose from, they chose to open up with “A Drunken Night in Dublin” from the classic Draggin’ The Days album.
With a nod to Shane MacGowan, The Clash and O’Regan’s Irish Pub, “A Great Night On the Lash” got the crowd moving with its energy & attitude. I asked Finny after the show, which was the best Montreal pub. His answer was of course O’Regan’s, which is now closed, so his second choice was Brutopia, right next to his old place on Crescent Street, when they called Montreal home.
The next song “Paint the Town Red” was featured in the Academy Award winning film “The Fighter” with Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams, none of which were present at Petit Campus this time around.
“The Hunger and The Fight” off the album of the same name (Part 1) tells the story of Dublin and the perseverance of the Irish people who funneled their sorrow into song.
As you can see from the video, the band has great energy, a mean Whistle and of course Katie who can rock an accordion and perform punk yoga all at the same time.
“Angels & Devils” allowed Finny to let loose and have some fun on the guitar and the crowd joined in as you can see from the video…
“Is This Bar Open Till Tomorrow?” was a classic Mahones sing-along and some guests jumped on stage to help with the signing, even though Dave Barton was doing a great job and didn’t need any help. Having wobbly members of the crowd on stage was a little difficult for Sean, as they kept bumping into his bass. Oh well…at least everyone is having a good time as can be seen here:
Some of the other highlights were “Across the USA”, “Irish Rover” as well as “Give it All Ya Got (Or Forget About IT) with its Rancid influence, which hails from “The Black Irish”.
The band finished their lively set with the legendary song: “Drunken Lazy Bastard” which always gets the crowd singing along.
Attending a Mahones show is always memorable (unless you partake too much of the Ale, in which case…you could become the hero of last song) and the closest thing to a full on Irish party, right in our home turf. The Mahones continue to infuse energy and punk ethos into their shows and continually churn out new songs for our listening pleasure. It was great seeing Dave Barton on stage and we look forward to hearing the Peelers at the Montreal Highland Games on August 2nd, 2015.
If you are looking at more traditional Irish music by the Mahones, many of the songs on tonight’s set were from the classic “Draggin’ the Days” album available HERE. For a more rocking collection, “The Irish Punk Collection” contains a great selection HERE. In preparation for part II, get the latest album “The Hunger & The Fight” HERE.
More importantly, don’t miss the next Mahones show and get ready to sing along.
Review – Randal Wark
Photos – Kathleen Kline & Randal Wark
