Fire on McGinnis

With a totally unique sound that mixes the appeal of rock with the woodiness of Irish and Celtic music, Fire on McGinnis can only be described as a quot;head-banging, bagpipe playing celebration.quot; The band evolved into the music scene influenced by bands like The Pogues, Flogging Molly and The Dropkick Murphy's. For their debut album, Fire on McGinnis takes Irish classics like quot;Foggy Dewquot; and quot;Nancy Whiskey' and plays them with the intensity of a riotous rock song. Fire on McGinnis proves that they are more than just a bar band by their clever arrangements and the colorful imagery that is woven into their songs. Scenes of men toiling on 19th century docks; a disenchanted king in hiding or waves crashing on a solemn shore take us to a different landscape rarely visited by modern bands. While songs like quot;The Bells of Dunblanequot; and quot;Seaforth Lullabyquot; leave us respectfully full, other songs like quot;Catharsisquot; and quot;Korgiquot; are driving rock instrumentals that leave only a few scraps on the plate. Of course, the band can't resist a visit to the rowdy side of Celtic music. This territory is spiced with songs like the infectious quot;Paddy's Leather Breeches,quot; the surf safari-esque quot;Wild Roverquot; and the long strange trip that can only be known as 'Bedlam Boys.' While the band like to keeps things hot with smoking fiddle and bagpipe jigs; their true goal is to get the audience fired up. In fact, they say Fire on McGinnis live is slightly larger than life - like an Irish pub with a hot stove in the corner! -Lara Kelleher.