Not
Just Another Thursday Night-Not Just Another Irish Pub
Ronan Quinn at Tir Na NOg
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Review by Tabitha Aybar
There
was a magical atmosphere this July weeknight at the Irish pub Tir Na NOg,
located in Union Square, Somerville, MA. Perhaps, that is one reason that
it was recently voted as best Irish pub in Boston. One of the other reasons
is, that owner Robert Elliott from County Limerick in Ireland, plays a passionate
part in his business by performing in his band The Johnny Come Latelies and
by being part of the audience on many nights. Mr. Elliott has made the U.S
his home for over 12 years and has owned Tir Na NOg for over 6 years. His
band JCL will soon release a new live CD.
The
cozy size of the pub make any moment more intense, but this particular Thursday
night group was energized and full of surprises. The patrons were captivated
by the various songs and moods. There was the bluesy style original song of
Kevin Byrne and original songs of Ronan Quinn that were dabbled with revival
style Bob Marley tunes. There were gutsy instrumentals that allowed the musicians
to shine without any words being exchanged. There was a fun moment when owner
Robert Elliott jumped in playing his own percussion. If this wasn't enough
to keep the crowd swaying, there was a guest appearance on the guitar from
Mr. Paul Kenny (also from Ireland) of
Cherry Orchard, followed by a free style rap by Mr. Paul Breeden of Boston
Live Magazine, who was caught up in the moment of Ronan Quinn's original song
"Hold On". These unexpected performances caused sparks to fly! Everyone
enjoyed themselves so much more, that the time was forgotten, and no one seemed
to notice last call. People were in no hurry to leave. The smiles and the
applause spoke for themselves.
The
band members featured are a mixture of different musicians and bands who were
introduced to each other thru the owner and center around Mr. Ronan Quinn;
a powerful lead baritone vocalist, songwriter, and acoustic guitar player.
Ronan Quinn is from Milltown Malbay in County Clare, Ireland. He has been
performing since 1989, when he won a local talent show in Ireland and used
money earned to purchase equipment. Mr. Quinn has been entertaining in the
Irish community in Boston since 1997, as a solo artist, and as part of other
bands such as Cherry Orchard and with various members of Johnny Come Latelies.
Mr.
Kevin Byrne was born in Danvers, MA, and grew up in New Hampshire. In addition
to performing electric guitar, Kevin plays a hodgepodge of musical styles
and vocals including blue grass and traditional/folk with his dads band.
Andrew
Smith(or simply Drew) is from Westborough, MA, and conveniently found himself
living across the street from Tir Na NOg. He originally played guitar, but
the story is that his brother's band needed a base player and the rest is
history. He helped to produce and record Ronan Quinn's first CD.
Neal Cadogan is from Quincy, MA. Neal plays other percussion such as the bongos and the bodhrah(Irish drums) in an Irish rhythm section. He first met up with everyone by attending open sessions when they used to be held at the pub on Sunday nights.
If this information isn't enough to get you to Somerville on any night of the week, the musicians informed me that celebrities such as Mr. Peter Wolfe of the J.Geils Band frequents the pub, along with Mr. Duke Levine, known guitarist of Mary Chapin Carpenter. Mr. Levine has further connections with Tir Na NOg having offered his services with the band Hybrazil and on Quinn's recordings.
