| | Issue #21.11 :: 03/12/2008 - 03/18/2008 | St. Patrick's Day Festival in Five Points
Your Comprehensive Guide
| BY FREE TIMES WRITERS
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Read Me!
Or, “How to Survive St. Patrick’s Day in Five Points”
Now in its 26th year celebrating Gaelic gaiety and brotherly binging, Columbia’s St. Pat’s in Five Points festival is one of the biggest bashes in the Southeast. And while it’s mostly fun and games — literally — there are going to be thirty-freaking-thousand partygoers in Five Points, so it’s in everyone’s best interest that we all use some common sense in traveling to and from the festival.
There aren’t a lot of places for 30,000 people to park, so we highly suggest that you carpool, take a cab or take advantage of the complimentary trolley/bus system that will safely escort you to and from the shindig. If you have to drive, parking will be available at Capital City Stadium on Assembly Street, and CMRTA buses will run in 20-minute intervals throughout the day, delivering riders to the Greene Street gate. Additional CMRTA buses will be running in 20-minute intervals with scheduled stops at:
- Park Street behind the Koger Center, dropping off at Greene Street gate
- Hampton Street at the Marriott, dropping off at Greene Street gate
- King Street at Hand Middle School, dropping off at Devine Street gate
- Millwood Avenue at Dreher High School, dropping off at Devine Street gate
Please note that you park at your own risk at the trolley stops.
Then again, with booze flowing like the River Shannon, it might not be the best idea to operate an automobile anyway. Should you need a designated driver to ferry your perfectly pickled posterior back home, Budweiser-sponsored taxicab stands will pick you up at:
- Harden Street at the Genesis Gate
- Devine Street at the Sam Adams Gate
- Saluda Avenue at the Canalside Gate
With thirty-freaking-thousand people descending upon about a square-mile area, even the hardiest of constitutions will be hard-pressed not to be overwhelmed by the crowd. But our benevolent festival organizers have you covered: Should you need a place to escape the crowd (or just take a breather in between Irish Car Bombs), there’s a designated Comfort Zone on Saluda Avenue in front of the Gourmet Shop, where you’ll find fruit, water, juice, Band-Aids, diapers and all manner of provisions to get you rested for your trek through the festival crowd.
Of course, when you get to the festival is important as how. And believe it or not, there is plenty to do before the first band plugs in at noon. We get started at 8:30 a.m. every year with the Get to the Green 5K Run and One-Mile Walk at the intersection of Blossom and Santee streets. The largest road race in the Midlands usually draws more than 700 participants who chase the rainbow through Shandon before returning to Five Points just in time to spoil all the good that race just did their bodies.
At 10 a.m., just as the runners and walkers are returning to Five Points, the First Citizens St. Pat’s Parade will begin shuffling down Devine Street from Dreher High School, making its final stop near the Free Times stage on Harden Street. And who doesn’t love a parade?
For the wee bairns, the Wachovia/WNOK Children’s Carnival on Pavilion Street keeps the little ones busy while the grown-ups are tying one (or eleven) on. Like any good carnival, there are rides, face painting, kids’ karaoke and all sorts of other wholesome activities available. Admission is free, but rides require purchased tickets. Following is a schedule of the entertainment:
11:30 a.m. Wild Irish Band
11:50 a.m. MLK Cheerleaders
12: 00 p.m. St. Pat’s Parade Winners
12:15 p.m. Caughman Road Steppers
12:30 p.m. Lunch Money
1:15 p.m. Irish Dancers
1:30 p.m. Hip-Hop Violin
1:45 p.m. Flow Circus
2:30 p.m. Dance Creations
3:00 p.m. Street Beats P & R Dance Competition Winners
3:15 p.m. Hip-Hop Violin
3:45 p.m. Envy Hip-Hop Dance Team
4:00 p.m. Old School/New School Dance-Off
4:15 p.m. Dance South
Of course, there’s more music than you can shake your shillelagh at. There’s something for everybody, and full descriptions of each act follow. More information can be found online at stpatsinfivepoints.com. Have fun, and be safe.
St. Pat’s Pre-Party
Five Points: Friday, March 14
So you just can’t wait to get the party started, eh? We hear you, and so do your gracious festival organizers. So head on down to Five Points on Friday to get your pre-party party on. And what’s a party without entertainment? At 6 p.m. on Santee Avenue, witness bicep-bulging feats of strength as 20 to 30 massive qualifiers in the National Strongman Competition lift cars, pull trucks and move all sort of things that aren’t on four wheels. The best of the best return to Santee on Saturday at 11 a.m. for a shot the national competition, where, ostensibly, they’ll be lifting even heavier things. The pre-party is free, and more information can be found at stpatsinfivepoints.com. — P.Wall
Get Really Green at St. Pat’s — Recycle
Festival goers, as you are carousing at the St. Patrick’s Day bash Saturday you have an opportunity to be green the environmental way as well as in the Irish sense.
It’s a simple little practice you know well — recycling. As you saunter, stammer and slosh around the festival, look for white recycling receptacles about 3 feet tall into which you can deposit your glass, plastic and aluminum bottles and cans.
About 50 of the receptacles will be posted across the festival grounds. The receptacles represent what will be the first large-scale organized recycling effort in the 26-year history of the festival.
“Going ‘green’ at the St. Pat’s in Five Points festival is well overdue,” says Jack Van Loan, a retired businessman and chair of the festival.
The effort is possible courtesy of a grant from the Anheuser-Busch Recycling Corp. and support from Sonoco Recycling and the city of Columbia.
A small army of volunteers from the South Carolina Sierra Club, Keep the Midlands Beautiful and Shaw Air Force Base will provide labor for the undertaking, certain to be massive. The grant pays for the receptacles and T-shirts, gloves and recycling bags for the volunteers.
Several bars and other hospitality merchants in Five Points also will participate in the effort.
So let’s everybody do our part to make it successful and realize the dream of an Earth-friendly festival. As the venerable Irish poet William Butler Yeats said, “In dreams begin responsibilities.” — E. Ward
The Music: Official Stages
Budweiser/Rock 93.5/FOX 102 Stage
12:00-12:30 Souls Harbor
12:55-1:25 Hot Lava Monster
1:50-2:20 Everything After
2:45-3:15 Deepfield
3:30 p.m. A Toast to Chris
3:40-4:30 Villanova
5:00-6:00 Theory of a Deadman
Souls Harbor — Noon
Where you’re from affects who you are, and in the case of Lowcountry hard rockers Souls Harbor, it’s easy to draw comparisons between the hot, thick and heavy environs of Beaufort and the grinding musical assault the band offers up. Shades of Killswitch Engage and Avenged Sevenfold color the sound of Souls Harbor’s tandem guitars and drill-press drums. Lead singer Doug Marshall growls his lyrics at you like you would expect a former Marine to do, but rather than the gruff and unwilling indoctrination that might conjure, look at it rather as kicking ass and making fans. Semper rock! — J. Cataldo
Hot Lava Monster — 12:55 p.m.
If memory serves, it was at a St. Patrick’s Day in Five Points performance a few years back when Wes Pellerin debuted on bass for Hot Lava Monster, thus freeing up Patrick Baxley to assume the role of quintessential rock frontman. Regardless, the move brought vigor to an already potent blend of classic and alternative rock styles, and the addition of veteran drummer Andy Dumiak was the proverbial cherry on top of a live volcano that spews forth the band’s molten rock ‘n’ roll. Of course, it’s the opinion of many, myself included, that Mike Schaming is the best guitarist in Columbia. — K. Foster
Everything After — 1:50 p.m.
Having only been a band since late 2006, Everything After has a very polished, professional sound. Perhaps that’s because four-fifths of the group played together in the popular frat-funk outfit Pause for Effect. Under the Everything After banner, they’ve fashioned a tight, modern-rock style that’s brought them early regional recognition and stage time with the likes of Buckcherry, Crossfade, Seven Mary Three and Hanson. Singer Dana Andrews was a finalist on the CBS show Rock Star: Supernova and brings a delicate toughness to the proceedings. The band released The Lamp Store Sessions EP in 2007, and oh my god is the snare on the song “Satisfied” tight. — K. Foster
Deepfield — 2:45 p.m.
“I want to write your name into my flesh; I want to be in love with myself again,” sings Deepfield vocalist Baxter Teal on “Into the Flood,” which appears on the band’s Archetypes and Repetition. And he sings that line like he really means it, with a passion that almost jumps off the plastic the disc it’s pressed onto. It’s the sort of visceral tug on your ears all too uncommon in a world where bands feel the need to scream at you. Stretched over the backbone of crisp guitars and swirled around with the harmonies Deepfield is so very good at, you’ll find yourself singing along in no time. Passion, indeed! — J. Cataldo
A Toast to Chris — 3:30 p.m.
Much beloved singer/songwriter Chris Conner, who fronted wildly popular local groups The South and Sourwood Honey, passed away Nov. 21 after a highly publicized 10-month battle with lung cancer. Here, we take a break from our saturnalia to remember Chris Conner — the man, the musician and, most importantly, the friend. — P. Wall
Villanova — 3:40 p.m.
It’s fitting, really, that Villanova takes the stage right after the toast to Chris Conner; after all, Chris’ brother Brian fronts the hip-hop-cum-rock ensemble. (And, indeed, penned the most touching song, “My Calling,” on the Chris Conner tribute record, Never Said It Was Easy.) Brian inherited Chris’ gift for melody, but applies it in a completely different context, melding hip-hop, funk and rock instead of rustic roots music and Southern psychedelia. Brian’s also a crackerjack guitarist, equally adept at plucking meticulously fingered jazz chords as he is slinging searing solos.
Oh yeah, he also has one hell of a rhythm section in bassist Bobby Dredd and Jeremy Thompson: Dredd provides the funk with a slap-bass style reminiscent of Victor Wooten; Robinson’s earned his nickname — “Finesse” — with his penchant for smooth, sinewy drum fills. Add to this the extensive sample library of DJ Able One and you have one seriously tight musical ensemble. — P. Wall
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| Theory of a Deadman |
Theory of a Deadman — 5 p.m.
Talk about synchronicity: Theory of a Deadman’s first single, “So Happy,” from its upcoming record, Scars and Souvenirs, is getting major airplay on mainstream rock stations, peaking at No. 5 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock charts. And you WARQ fans who’ve been eating up “So Happy” are in for a special treat: The Vancouver-based rockers are using this appearance at the St. Pat’s Festival as a springboard for their nationwide tour, and will be treating fans to a sneak peek of Scars and Souvenirs, which drops April 1.
“We’re going to be playing a bunch of new songs off the new record,” frontman Tyler Connolly says. “I love to play just for that: To play the new stuff and see how the fans react to it.”
While the band’s still waiting for its big break in the States (“We’re all very optimistic,” says Connolly), Theory of a Deadman got a good headstart in its native Canada, garnering No. 1 singles and winning the Juno award in 2003 for New Group of the Year, after striking up a friendship with a band of famous fellow Canucks — Nickelback.
“It was Chad [Kroeger] specifically that helped us,” Connolly says. “I had made this demo and he got to hear it because we were friends. And he really just wanted to help [us] get a record deal.”
But the band’s relationship with Kroeger didn’t parlay into instant success.
“We’re still paying dues,” Connolly says. “It’s funny because you meet so many people who think, ‘Oh, I just want to get a record deal,’ you know? And the hard work doesn’t begin until you get a record deal, because up until that point, you’re just kind of floating; you don’t really know what hard work is ahead until you get a deal, and then you realize that it’s a lot of struggle and a lot of work.”
Still, that doesn’t mean Connolly wants to go back to Vancouver.
“Oh, it’s a lot of fun, too,” he says. “I wouldn’t change this for the world.” — P. Wall
Miller Lite/WCOS Stage
12:00-12:30 Brantley Gilbert
1:00-1:45 DB Bryant
2:15-3:00 Danielle Howle
3:30-4:15 Cross Canadian Ragweed
4:45-6:00 Edwin McCain
Brantley Gilbert — Noon
Straight outta Jefferson, Ga., crazy redneck named Brantley Gilbert! OK, it might not be as catchy as “Straight Outta Compton,” but the intent is the same: Gilbert makes Southern rock and country music the same way that N.W.A. made gangsta rap, glorifying stereotypes to empowering levels. With songs like “GRITS” (Girls Raised in the South, duh) and the country-hop mash “Dirt Road Anthem,” about driving down dirt roads in a Chevy while listening to George Jones, Gilbert appeals to a very specific audience, like that guy at Trackside Tavern the other night who played that new Kid Rock song three times in an hour. — T. Baker
DB Bryant — 1 p.m.
Though he might be unfamiliar to the young folks, guitarist DB Bryant is a big deal in certain reaches of the region. His band has shared the stage with country and classic rock heavyweights like Big and Rich, Montgomery-Gentry, The Wreckers, David Allan Coe, Diamond Rio, .38 Special, Bad Company, Lynyrd Skynyrd and others. Not exactly a lightweight. It’s fans of the aforementioned bands in particular who should find Bryant’s blues-tinged Southern rock appealing. — K. Foster
Danielle Howle — 2:15 p.m.
If Columbia’s music scene is to ever have a Hall of Fame, Howle deserves to be in the inaugural class of inductees. She’s been a perennial favorite in and beyond Columbia for her uncanny ability to consistently amaze us with her musical musings on life, the universe and everything. Howle likes to think of herself of a photographer that uses melody and words in place of film and a camera, and like a good picture, her songs have that ability to capture entire worlds. Recently, Howle’s been performing with Mac Leaphart of Five Way Friday fame, but she’s collaborated with some of the best and brightest musical minds Columbia’s ever nurtured (or neglected). — K. Foster
Cross Canadian Ragweed — 3:30 p.m.
Despite the band’s success on the country music charts — its last two albums cracked Billboard’s U.S. Country Top 10 in sales — Oklahoma’s Cross Canadian Ragweed has never really thought of itself as anything other than rock ‘n’ roll.
“We are a rock band,” singer Cody Canada says. “Our label is located in Nashville, so they push us to the country industry.” For a rock band, however, CCR have some close friends in Nashville, such as Lee Ann Womack.
“We’ve been friends with her for years,” Canada says. “When I wrote some songs that I thought could use a feminine voice, we invited her to sing on about half of the last album, Mission California.”
The musical connections the band has made over its 13 years together is an astoundingly diverse collection, the unifying thread being what Canada calls the “truth factor.”
“We just try to associate ourselves with good music,” he says. “We are just as big a fan of Todd Snider as we are of Pantera, and we live near Asleep at the Wheel but we do stuff with Buckcherry. It’s not necessarily a certain type of music we like, just stuff we feel is true.”
And Cross Canadian Ragweed has become a grassroots success story by applying that same truth factor to its own business.
“We’ve had specific opportunities to do things that might have been more commercially successful,” Canada says. “But we’re not going to change who we are just to make a hit song.” — K. Oliver
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| Edwin McCain |
Edwin McCain — 4:45 p.m.
“I’ll Be,” Edwin McCain’s No. 1 hit from 1997’s Misguided Roses, has continued to bring the South Carolina singer-songwriter recognition, with the audience from Dr. Phil voting it as their favorite wedding song last year.
“I figured if I ever got on that show it wouldn’t be good,” McCain says. “I’m happy to have been on when it wasn’t about something weird.”
The extended life of that song in particular has been a major factor in his continuing career.
“The gift of having a song like that, which keeps on going and going, is that it affords me the ability to keep doing what I do,” McCain says. “I can go back to the world of independent music and not focus on the sales charts any more while that song just stays out there and does the work for me.”
McCain’s love of classic soul has led to a new project coming out this June, an album where he’ll be covering a batch of soul hits from the ‘60s and ‘70s. The album will feature songs from Al Green, Sam and Dave, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and more, McCain says.
“We cut the whole record in 10 days with a band that included people like Ivan Neville,” he says. “It has a real live feel to it. There are special guests like Joan Osborne, who sang on ‘Dreams to Remember’ with me, and it was just a really unique experience.” — K. Oliver
Free Times/Time Warner Cable Stage
12:00-12:30 Battle of the Bands Winner - The Fossil Record
12:55-1:25 The Sammies
1:50-2:20 American Gun
2:45-3:15 Justin Smith & the Folk Hop Band
3:40-4:10 Josh Roberts & The Hinges
4:40-6:00 The Avett Brothers
The Fossil Record — Noon
It isn’t hard to see why The Fossil Record was named the winner of the Free Times/Time Warner Cable battle of the bands, which landed them this primo gig — the band’s melodic modern rock, which owes much to early ‘90s alternative, is peppered with flashes of folk, bits of blues and a smidgen of jazz for good measure. Hey, don’t just take our word for it; Relix described the songs of The Fossil Record as “rich lyrical excursions with a slight alternative twist.” A fine way to kick off your day of drunken revelry. — P. Wall
The Sammies — 12:55 p.m.
MoRisen recording artists The Sammies sound a bit like David Bowie circa Young Americans fronting The Smiths or Psychedelic Furs. But to prove I’m not losing my mind, here’s Harp magazine’s John Schact calling them “a quartet of self-proclaimed country boys whose idea of roots music is more Echo and Iggy than Johnny and Willie” in a January 2007 piece. It was at a Kings of Leon show in 2006 that the group decided to adopt aliases such as Frank Backgammon, Donnie Yale, Gymmy Thunderbird and Bobby Freedom. Backgammon told Harp it was inspired in part by Ziggy Stardust. (See, I told you so.) Thunderbird has since been replaced by Conrad Vacation. — K. Foster
American Gun — 1:50 p.m.
In the way it’s said The Velvet Underground’s 1967 debut The Velvet Underground & Nico inspired a legion of budding musicians to start bands, so too did Uncle Tupelo’s 1990 release No Depression, not to mention a magazine of the same name. Although, I’d place American Gun’s alt-country (or y’allternative, as it was affectionately called once upon a time) closer to the sound found on Uncle Tupelo’s second long-player, Still Feel Gone, which was a bit more spit-polished yet still frayed around the edges. — K. Foster
Justin Smith & the Folk-Hop Band — 2:45 p.m.
“I love my music like I love my drinks; if it gets watered down, go ahead and pour it in the sink” Justin Smith raps on “Watered Down,” which appears on his Sinner’s Prayer record. Indeed, Smith’s two most prominent musical loves — down-home folk-rock and hip-hop — are blended seamlessly, with programmed beats backing rootsy chord progressions. Sinner’s Prayer — and, by virtue, Smith and his all-star seven-piece Folk-Hop Band’s St. Pat’s performance — is chock full of home-spun tales about life, loss and redemption; should you have ever wondered what a collaboration between Goodie Mob and James Taylor would sound like, now’s your chance to find out. — P. Wall
Josh Roberts & the Hinges — 3:40 p.m.
I can’t think of too many local bands more perfect to listen to while imbibing large amounts of beer on a sunny day than Josh Roberts & the Hinges; their blend of rock and Americana is just the thing to help us Southern boys to get our Irish on. On the band’s latest release, My War Cry is Amor, Roberts’ high twang cuts through mounds of dirty rock and blues riffs to share stories that are at once familiar and fresh. Roberts is no stranger to the festival, having played in some fashion or another since his old band Captain Easy debuted there in ’99. “It’s hard not to look fondly on the first time you ever played for a crowd that numbered not in the dozens, but in the thousands,” says Roberts. “Plus, I always seem to run into friends I haven’t seen in a long time. The festival just brings up good feelings to me.” — T. Baker
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| The Avett Brothers |
The Avett Brothers — 4:40 p.m.
When it comes to making music, it’s a family affair for the Avett Brothers even if you’re not actually blood kin, says bassist Bob Crawford.
“It has been six-and-a-half years now that we’ve been playing together, and I couldn’t feel more related,” Crawford says. “From their parents down to the whole Avett family, it always has been a very tightly knit family.”
Over those six-plus years, The Avett Brothers have produced a string of recordings that combine old-time music, bluegrass, country and folk in ways only a group that started out as a high school rock band could imagine. The Avetts’ raucous live shows have attracted a rabid fan base, and 2007’s Emotionalism garnered enough positive press to land on a number of critic’s year-end Top 10 lists.
Just like any band that stays together for more than a few years, The Avett Brothers sound has evolved, from a rangy, raw punk-grass to a more refined yet still sometimes wildly energetic melodicism.
“I think we have been changing gradually all along,” Crawford says. “As you learn, you use the studio better, play your instrument better, write better songs. Whatever it is that we do, there are points in it where we touch certain things. We played the Americana Music Awards last year at the Ryman Auditorium, and to be on that stage where the Opry began, that’s the real deal.” — K. Oliver
Oldies 103/Heritage Stage
12:00-12:30 Woodwork Roadshow
12:55-1:25 TJ Lanaghan
1:45-2:15 Mulligan’s Banned
2:40-3:20 Dennis Spring & the Son’s of the Moon
3:30-4:30 J Edwards
5:00-6:00 Loch Ness Johnny
Woodwork Roadshow — Noon
Like its close musical cousins The Blue Dogs and The Avett Brothers — before both of those groups added drums and other instrumentation — Wilmington’s Woodwork Roadshow attacks its songs with a fervor that seems at odds with an all-acoustic lineup of upright bass, guitar and mandolin. Like Sam Bush, Woodwork Roadshow is as comfortable playing jazz- and reggae-tinged tunes as it is on more traditional bluegrass sounds, and it all comes out in a style that has made the band a favorite on the increasingly wide-open jam rock scene. — K. Oliver
T.J. Lanaghan— 12:55 p.m.
Lanaghan? Now there’s a good Irish name, and a great one for a singer-songwriter with a penchant for Irish folk. And, indeed, the Camden-based songwriter has been peddling his craft in Irish pubs for over a decade, and he most recently played the Southeast Scots & Irish Festival in Anderson. He also plays the bodhran (a traditional Irish percussion instrument) and can sing in a very convincing Irish brogue! How much more Irish do you want? — P. Wall
Mulligan’s Banned — 1:45 p.m.
Who is Mulligan, where was he banned from and why? Who knows. What we do know, though, is that Mulligan’s Banned is the pub-rockin’ brainchild of Winston-Salem residents Billy Mulligan and Fred Lail — the former’s collaborated with noted Celtic performers such as Andy McGann, Danny Doyle and The Dubliners, and the latter was taught by none other than Clay Buckner of the Red Clay Ramblers. — P. Wall
Dennis Spring & the Sons of the Moon — 2:40 p.m.
If you’re looking for some authentic Irish music at this St. Patrick’s Day event, this is it. A regular at concerts and contra dances in North and South Carolina, Dennis Spring says he was exposed to Irish culture, including music, dance and poetry, at an early age via his Irish grandmother. He has put that influence to good use as an instructor of Irish fiddling for over 20 years, and he’s a first-place winner in the fiddle category at the Atlanta Feis. — K. Oliver
J Edwards — 3:50 p.m.
Should you be a regular reader of our Where It’s At club calendar, you’ll recognize J Edwards’ name — Edwards regularly traipses his bluesy rock to clubs all around the Midlands. Whether plugging in or going acoustic, Edwards’ greatest asset is his gritty voice, which possesses the magnificently smoky character of the archetypal blues singer. Remember: The J Edwards Band was voted Best Blues Band in our Best of Columbia poll for two years running in 2005 and 2006. — P. Wall
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| Loch Ness Johnny |
Loch Ness Johnny — 5 p.m.
Never let it be said that Loch Ness Johnny is gifted with one of those impeccable band names, but that hasn’t slowed them down since coming together in 1997. A handful of independently released records speaks to the success and longevity of this group, but it’s the quintet’s live show that has landed it countless appearances at festivals, clubs and all sorts of holes-in-the-wall throughout the region. It would be absurd to fathom a St. Patrick’s Day festival in Five Points without Loch Ness Johnny, whose blend of Celtic, Appalachian, Americana and punk brings to mind acts the likes of Seven Nations, The Pogues, Big Country, Flogging Molly, The Waterboys and, to a lesser extent, The Clash. Some have fashioned it “Appalachian stomp rock.” Either way, it’s damn fun stuff. Especially with a pint or six already in you. — K. Foster
S.C. Education Lottery Stage
12:30-1:00 Neverbetter
1:00-1:30 Kenny Floyd
2:00-2:45 Passafire
3:15-4:00 Almost Jason
4:30-6:00 King Hippo
Neverbetter — 12:30 p.m.
If you were looking for a reason to get to St. Pat’s early — aside from getting a jump on the drinkingest day in Columbia — then look no further than Neverbetter’s kickoff of the musical festivities at the fountain. Vocalist Aaron Fisher leads Neverbetter right down the middle of the road that separates hard rock and alternative, reaching out along the way to grab the best bits from both genres. Crunching guitars, soaring melodies and rhythms that put a hearty boot in your backside will have you holding a green beer and one hand and pumping the other in the air. Rock on, dudes. Rock on. — J. Cataldo
Kenny Floyd — 1 p.m.
To most Columbians, Kenny Floyd will never be able to separate himself from his tenure fronting the briefly popular post-Hootie pop-rockers Shades of Grey. Too bad, really: Working out of Charlotte these days, Floyd currently performs as a guitar-and-drum duo with his brother Greg, rocking out tunes that recall late-‘90s rockers such as Lenny Kravitz and Kid Rock. Irish it ain’t, but a good time nonetheless. — P. Wall
Passafire — 2 p.m.
If you’re a fan of our local reggae and hip-hop heroes The Movement and haven’t heard of one of their favorite touring mates, you need to check out this Savannah act. Like 311, Passafire takes the framework of dub and reggae and builds a rock-steady musical façade upon it, as on its 2007 release, Submersible. Besides, anyone from Savannah who’d rather spend St. Pat’s with us here in the Capital City instead of at that other big fest in their own town is cool with me. — K. Oliver
Almost Jason — 3:15 p.m.
It’s almost unfair to refer to Almost Jason “just a jam band.” After all, the quartet tempers jam rock’s reefer madness with crunchy guitar riffs from all over the musical map — dueling axemen Drew Medlin and Jim Foreman are just as likely to break out into intricate art-metal finger-tapping solos as they are to ride a wah-wah pedal to a tasty groove. Sure, there’s a great deal of Phishiness to Almost Jason’s sound, but the band’s loose, funky dynamics will please even the most ichthyophobic listener. — P. Wall
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| King Hippo |
King Hippo — 4:30 p.m.
King Hippo was an imposing presence in the 1987 Nintendo Entertainment System game Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!!. A native of Hippo Island in the South Pacific, his age and weight were unknown, and his jabs could put you on your ass right quick. However, once you mastered the technique to dispatch of this fatso, he became a one-dimensional opponent. As a band, King Hippo is anything but one-dimensional: The Columbia quartet wears influences like Phish, Widespread Panic, Pink Floyd and The Grateful Dead on its tie-dyed sleeves and does those acts great justice in its ability to craft adventurous studies in rock, jazz, funk and psychedelia. One of King Hippo’s local claims to fame is a continuous six-hour set that won a 2001 battle of the bands contest, and the band’s been a fixture in the regional festival circuit since about 1999. Fans of King Hippo might want to search the live music archives at archive.org for a selection of bootlegs. — K. Foster
Unofficial Stages
Delaney’s
741 Saluda Ave.
J.J. Smith/Palmetto Pipes & Drums — Noon-6 p.m.
Singer-songwriter Smith has to know at least a few Irish ditties; the Palmetto Pipes and Drums ensemble plays between sets. — P. Wall
Salt Creek — 7 p.m.-until
What better way to close out a day of Irish revelry than with some good ol’ kickass American bluegrass? — P. Wall
Five Points Pub
2020 Devine St.
Spencer Rush — 1 p.m.
Playing 250 shows a year, as Rush boasts on his web site, can be super-tough if no one likes you. Thankfully for Rush, that’s not the case: His intelligent acoustic pop songs have won him legions of fans from here to infinity (well, Georgia, at least), all of whom flock to his shows to hear his utterly unique, yet ubiquitously universal, sound. — P. Wall
Woodwork Roadshow — 4:45 p.m.
Like its close musical cousins The Blue Dogs and The Avett Brothers — before both of those groups added drums and other instrumentation — Wilmington’s Woodwork Roadshow attacks its songs with a fervor that seems at odds with an all-acoustic lineup of upright bass, guitar and mandolin. Like Sam Bush, Woodwork Roadshow is as comfortable playing jazz- and reggae-tinged tunes as it is on more traditional bluegrass sounds, and it all comes out in a style that has made the band a favorite on the increasingly wide-open jam rock scene. — K. Oliver
Red Emotion Riot — 8 p.m.
Though Red Emotion Riot didn’t win the Free Times/Time Warner Cable battle of the band for an official St. Pat’s timeslot, the folks at the Five Points Pub sure saw something they liked in the Lowcountry trio. And what’s not to like? The trio’s hooky, poppy funk-rock instantly recalls partytime favorites such as The Allman Brothers, Incubus and John Mayer. — P. Wall
Brent McDonald Band — 11 p.m.
Be honest: After a long day of boozing and band perusing, you just want to kick band and hear a band play some of your favorite songs. Which is precisely what Brent McDonald and his able band of merry-makers will be doing — catering to the pre-hangover crowd with an eclectic selection of popular cover tunes. — P. Wall
Jake’s
2112 Devine St.
AKRONIM — Noon
Hey, you gotta start somewhere: This St. Pat’s gig marks the first appearance of AKRONIM. Talk about your trials by fire. Among the youngsters’ influences (according to the band’s MySpace site): Queens of the Stone Age, The White Stripes, The Pixies, The Ramones and, uh, boobs. — P. Wall
This Machine is Me — 1 p.m.
This Machine is Me is the type of band that just exudes fun — there’s little pretense to the band’s Killers-cum-Blink-182 electro-pop-punk. Ah, but the band’s secret weapon hides in plain sight: Singer Jayna Doyle’s prodigious pipes ferociously lead the band from electro-pop to whirling dervish rock and back again. — P. Wall
Drop D — 2 p.m.
Whenever I stumble across a band with a MySpace url ending in “rocks” (as in myspace.com/dropdrocks), my immediate question is always the same: Do they? Worry not about this Queen City ensemble, the cover-song repertoire of which includes Guns ‘n’ Roses, Black Crowes, Alice in Chains and Three Days Grace. — P. Wall
New York Disco Villains — 3 p.m.
Sometimes New York Disco Villains frontman Clark Watson appears on stage in a leisure suit and pencil mustache. Sometimes he’s dressed as Beethoven. In any case, you can expect him to be self-deprecatingly funny and to consume plenty of alcohol. The band makes music that evokes Frank Zappa, The Dresden Dolls, Ween and Richard Cheese: Appealingly quirky songs with plunky keyboards, effects-laden guitar and fun vocal harmonies. — E. Moore
Mommy’s Little Monsters — 4 p.m.
Should you know your history of ‘80s SoCal hardcore, you won’t be surprised to learn that Mommy’s Little Monsters derive their name from punk-rock pioneers Social Distortion. It’s fitting, then, that these Monsters play nothing but classic cuts from Social D; scream loud enough and maybe they’ll play “Moral Threat.” — P. Wall
Due East — 5 p.m.
Making its St. Patty’s debut is Columbia’s own Due East, the rockin’ country of which is some of the best in town, if not the Southeast. If that’s not enough to get you out of the line for corn dogs and into the front row, the band’ll be joined by keyboardist Zack Brown from Raleigh’s American Aquarium, who jammed with Due East on some songs during their last show together and tore the damn roof off. Seriously, don’t miss it. — T. Baker
Weekend Bender — 6 p.m.
John Cusatis — 7 p.m.
People call him Bubba — Reggae Bubba: This Charleston entertainer is a crowd favorite for his audience participation segments, and it doesn’t hurt that he knows just about every party song ever written. Be sure and request “Reggae Bubba” several times over. — P. Wall
Harper’s
700 Harden St.
Foxes That Fight — 1-5 p.m.
Hope these local ska-punk upstarts ate their Wheaties — Foxes that Fight will be administering doses of their horn-laden, darkly attractive emo-space-skank for most of the festival. Hey, it’s not like they don’t have the tunes to do it — the band just released its debut long-player. — P. Wall
Pavlov’s
2000-B Greene St.
Overstock — 2 p.m.
Overstock’s take on freewheeling Southern rock is teeming with touchstones to jam and classic rock. — P. Wall
Ed Lemon & the Get Rights — 4 p.m.
Formerly known as Blue Cloud Ruffians, Ed Lemon and the Get Rights play a boozy, dirty brand of Southern rock perfect for St. Pat’s festivities. — P. Wall
The Progression — 6:30 p.m.
Though its MySpace page lists The Progression’s genre as “Crunk/Psychobilly/Soul,” the quintet’s languid, free-flowing, mostly improvised music falls squarely in the jam-rock category. — P. Wall
The Breakfast Club — 9 p.m.
With a name like The Breakfast Club, it should come as no surprise that this group’s repertoire draws solely from the era in which its John-Hughes-movie namesake was popular. — P. Wall
The New South Players — 11 p.m.
A professional show band that plays everything from weddings to corporate events, The New South Players’ song list includes everything from Motown classics to alt-rock hits. — P. Wall
Salty Nut Café
2000-A Greene St.
The Joe Green Band — 10 p.m.
Just because the festival’s over doesn’t mean you have to go home, let alone stop partying. To that end, Joe Green and crew will be rocking you way into that post-St. Patty’s hangover. — P. Wall | |
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