Irish bars in america

Jay Barracato

Jay Barracato

Graduate Student
Jan 11, 2011
1,528
5
38
Solomons MD
No offense to anyone in or from Ireland.

But it appears that "Irish bar" in America means "we want live music but no one thought of leaving enough space for two musicians to stand next to each other."

Is it really normal for people to push their way past the musicians to get to the bar?
 
Re: Irish bars in america

Jay Barracato said:
No offense to anyone in or from Ireland.

But it appears that "Irish bar" in America means "we want live music but no one thought of leaving enough space for two musicians to stand next to each other."

Is it really normal for people to push their way past the musicians to get to the bar?
Click to expand...

Oh Jay, where do I start...

We played one Scottish Pub on the north side of Chicago for many years where, upon my arrival with the gear, I'd usually have to wait for the customers in the front at the window to finish with their food and drinks, then one of the bus boys would clear out the the three tables and chairs, taking them out the front door and down the walkway between buildings to the back somewhere.

I'd load in, setting the FOH up right off the corner of the bar. Two subs with two tops, 10u rack, two wedges, and a mixer on top of the rack. The keyboard player would then set up behind me against the window, and the rest would squeeze in after that.

Our guitar player would have to pivot to his right, to let people come in thru the vestibule door.

Oh, and for a couple of years, I had to open the "Exit" light above this door, and screw in a receptacle adapter to power up. Later on, we got to feed a proper 12ga extension cord through a vent grate in the floor, and the manager would plug me into a "proper" outlet. Unfortunately, this circuit was the same one the walk in cooler operated on downstairs, and when it kicked on, a great thumpy noise emenated from the sound system.

In the coldest part of Winter, the band had to keep their coats draped on their chairs, as the single pane front window iced up badly during our sets, making for very cold players.

To top that all off, Cabs driving by with illegal CB's or radios would blast through on the system too, with this nice doppler effect as the sped by.

If it was a good night for me, I had the corner stool at the bar to sit at and mix. I'd say this happened about one in four gigs.

I could go on.

There is an unwritten rule in Irish music that the best sessions always take place in the smallest pubs. Guess it's written now. ;>)

Best regards,

John
 
Re: Irish bars in america

A friend explained it to me offline.

Apparently, in Ireland, when the music starts, the audience shuts up and actually listens...

Imagine that.
 
Re: Irish bars in america

There is a club/pub in Glasgow where the door into the store for the bottled beers and the like used to be behind the stage so during a gig one of the bartenders would have to goon stage and through the door and then back out with a crate of bottles quite often there would be a collision with some interesting results for the bar profits. I think they've changed it now though, in another venue years ago the sound desk was a scaff deck flown from the roof, to get to it you had to climb a rickety ladder not good for anyone with a fear of heights. G
 
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