Band brings back memories of the Beatles' Irish roots

by Jude Southerland Kessler, author of Shoulda Been There

I never forget that The Beatles were, at heart, an Irish band. Anyone knows that. Listen to Starkey's half-on-the-rim, half-on-the-drumhead Mersey drumming, and you'll hear the sound of Gaelic beat. Sing along with "All Together Now," or "Ob La Di, Ob La Da," or "Luck of the Irish," or "I Will," and you'll find yourself lost in Irish melody. The very Celtic James Paul McCartney and the red-headed (yes, he was!) John O'Leannin (original family name) never abandoned their Irish roots. The folk songs that heavily influenced them gave their music a magic - the mystique of Celtic origins.

Liverpool, in fact, is officially called "The Capitol of Ireland," and with the Irish comprising almost 80 per cent of its population, why not?

So, it comes as no surprise that a girl who loves Irish music also loves The Beatles. I have that passion in common with Jessie Burns. And who is Jesse Burns? She is the very lovely and supremely talented fiddler for the rockingly wonderful band, Gaelic Storm.

The last time I heard Irish music as powerful and thunderous as Gaelic Storm's, I was standing upstairs in Flannigan's Apple, Mathew Street, Liverpool. But tonight, as I stood upstairs in the WorkPlay Theater in Birmingham (no, not England), Alabama, the sound was the same. The second that Gaelic Storm took the stage, Liverpool was all around me.

Patrick Murphy - on spoons, accordion (which he calls "the sexiest instrument in the world"), and a very Lennonesque harmonica -bounded onto the stage with Nicky Cuff's unbridled enthusiasm! Murphy was witty, charming, and amazingly talented as he led his group in "Bring Your Wellies" and "The Night I Hit Russell Crowe in the Head" (which he did!!!). He introduced each song with Irish banter and storytelling, and he connected with the audience in a way that seemed very familiar somehow!

And Steve Twigger, the sole guitarist - who made it sound like a host of guitars at once - commanded gentle ballads such as "Faithful Land." A tall blond with a disarming smile, Twigger hearkened back to McCartney when he sang of his deep love for Ireland. His talented use of the mandolin and bouzouki, and his lilting voice were not far from the "Mull of Kintyre." The unique Irish ability to quietly woo audiences links both performers.

But it was the drummer, Ryan Lacey, who evoked chants of "Lacey! Lacey!" from the crowd. Early in the first set, patrons at WorkPlay were requesting (okay, wildly shouting for) Lacey's drum solo. When it finally transpired, late in the second set, it was a performance that rivaled Broadway's "Stomp!" I won't spoil it for you. Go see this group and check it out.

In the far corner of the stage, Pete Purvis kept changing instruments...tin whistle, deger pipes, and highland pipes...the man was amazing! In a Kelly green t-shirt and jeans, he added instrumental power to Murphy and Twigger's vocals. When he soloed on pipes, you could have heard a pin drop in the room, but in "What's the Rumpus?" Purvis spun up the crowd and kept them waving their arms and shouting to the skies.

However, it was clearly the fiddler - the aforementioned Jessie Burns - who most amazed me. A native of Suffolk, England, Burns skipped, romped, and danced while adeptly doling out the sounds of Liverpool from every corner of the stage. In a black t-shirt that said, "The Beatles" (featuring all four of the boys' faces in bright, basic colors) Jessie laid down Merseyside Irish tunes and offered the audience the same wry smiles that "the lads" used to offer.

And when Purvis and Burns battled for instrumental domination, the two almost brought the roof down on our heads.

After the concert, I interviewed Burns, asking her about her Beatle roots. "Ah, the Beatles!" she smiled. "They were always there, weren't they...in the background of m'life...when I was drivin' 'round the country, goin' on holiday with m'family, they were always there. Growin' up in England, who wasn't influenced by The Beatles? I mean, I remember the day John Lennon died. M'dad broke into tears...I can never forget that...Who can?"

Tonight John would have been proud of the music that swirled through WorkPlay Theater. It was strong, heavily back-beated, harmonized, humorous at times and sentimental at others...it elicited whoops and cheers and screams from the crowd. And when the band said something that the "punters" didn't believe, the crowd yelled, "B.S.!" back at the band, just the way they do in Liverpool.

Gaelic Storm was, very early in its career, featured as the shipboard Irish band in the movie, "Titanic." Tonight, in Birmingham, Alabama, they once again shook the rafters and beams. Scheduled to appear in New Orleans, Austin, and Dallas in the next week, the Storm keeps moving. When they come to your town, don't miss them.

If you haven't ever made it to Liverpool, you will (at least for the two hours that Gaelic Storm is onstage) feel as if you had.

Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of Shoulda Been There, the first volume in the only documented, historically accurate novel about the life of John Lennon. For more information, visit Jude at www.ontherockbooks.com.

Published June 10, 2009

This article is Copyright © 2009, The Author, and may not be reproduced on other web sites or in print, in whole or in part, without expressed permission

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