What do you think of when you think of St. Patrick’s Day? Shamrocks? Leprechauns? Green beers? Bushmills Irish whiskey disagrees. Loudly.
The distillery brand hosted a night of live music at Greenpoint’s Saint Vitus bar this past Friday to promote Red Bush, the latest addition to its line of blended whiskeys. The venue, full of red lights, smoke, and greased back hair, transformed the Irish holiday from drunken green fun to something reminiscent of 70s punk rock.
Courtesy of Spirit Music Group
Hard rock quartet Big Eyes took the stage first. Bandleader and songwriter Kate Eldridge raised her glass to the crowd.
“Cheers.”
The bass drum buzzed in my chest, as if the kick pedal was located behind my rib cage. It was going to be a loud night. Eldridge held her Gibson low and traded distorted riffs with fellow guitarist and backing vocalist Paul Ridenour. No stranger to hardcore sensibilities, the band banged their heads, whipped guitars across their chests, and scowled through every solo without skipping a beat. They closed out the set with a number that epitomized the band’s distinctive sound – out of control frenzy tucked into refined song structures.
The next band, a rock trio from Dublin called Kid Karate, stepped on stage to greet a considerably drunker audience. Guitarist and bandleader Kevin Breen mirrored the crowd and took a hefty swig of Red Bush before delving into an even louder set.
Courtesy of Spirit Music Group
Breen howled into the microphone, ripping sliding solos and threatening to trip over his guitar’s vintage coiled cable. Bassist Ian McFarlane jumped across the stage pumping up the audience and brandishing whiskey bottles between songs. All while drummer Oisin Trench undergirded the band’s intense sound with a steady rhythm and a heavy foot on the bass pedal.
An early highlight of the set was “Louder,” featured in Bushmill’s commercial for Red Bush. It’s a pounding, frenetic number conceived at Ireland’s Pickering Forest House, a creative space for artists of lesser means. The band never expected the song to gain traction, but it ended up spawning several publishing deals.
“It was a throwaway,” Breen mused. “Some songs, you don’t know if it’s good. It just comes out of you and then you record and other people tell you ‘Hey, this is great.’ You really don’t know. You’re too deep in the juju.”
A delighted audience heaved and head-banged to the song, matching the band’s energy. Towards the set’s close, the bandleader hurtled offstage into the crowd and collapsed, spread-eagle, ending the set with a flourish.
The event invite referenced St. Patrick’s Day, but did away with the stereotypes we might be used to in the US.
“It’s not about that,” said Trench when I asked about the “classic” tradition of drinking green food-colored alcohol, “You don’t get the leprechaun hats out and the red beards and green wigs.”
I asked how the band recommend we celebrate on Sunday. Breen chimed in. “Just go out in Williamsburg or something and get a drink. Come to Saint Vitus bar and see a metal show. Just have fun.”
Sounds like good advice to me.
Big Eyes kicks off their southern US tour at Union Hall in Brooklyn on March 30th. Check out their latest single “Lucky You” here.
Kid Karate’s partnership with Bushmills will bring them back to the US this summer for a nationwide tour so stay tuned. You can listen to their hit song “Louder,” here.
