Excellent
rock band from
New York City although composed primarily of
Irish expatriots. Current lineup is
Larry Kirwan on lead vocals, guitar, and most of the songwriting and lyrics,
Chris Byrne on
uilleann pipes,
Fred Parcells on
trombone,
Geoffrey Blythe (from
Dexy's Midnight Runners) on
saxophone,
Thomas Hamlin on drums, and
Andrew Goodsight on
bass. Black 47's music is rock with heavy Irish
folk influences, but also has elements of
punk,
reggae,
rap and whatever else they feel like. The music really paints a picture of
immigrant New York.
Black 47 is probably best known for the early 1993 hit "Funky Ceili" which got a lot of MTV airplay (and their major-label debut was produced by Ric Ocasek as well). Their next few albums were fairly decent as well, but where this band is the most amazing is live. They are one of the best live acts I have ever seen. There's just this incredible energy, and a vibe, and they all play their instruments incredibly well. Lots of jams and man, are they loud. They are relentless live performers-doing shows all over the East Coast but mostly at Connelly's in NYC most Saturday nights.
They're in many ways the quintessential bar band, but if you ever have a chance to see them, do it.