The Stonewalls: Dad's Band

Katie D.

December 18, 2010 - 2:44 PM

Last night, my dad's Irish band played at Scruffy Murphy's an Irish Pub in downtown Denver. Between pub classics, folk fiddle music, and some rocking Irish rock, the Stonewalls brought down the house.

I grew up with music in my home and on my mind. As I've written before, I thought my dad was a rockstar all through my early years. Classic Rock cover band gigs have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. In the years since I've left for school, I've really missed being a part of his music, and being home to see his bands play. So I've stayed involved by helping him write song lyrics and giving feedback on his sound recordings.

But I've missed being here, and the chance to watch him perform. It's been a true loss since I've moved to Oregon.

To make matters worse, he's taken up Irish music as the primary new sound. And I love Irish music. Everything from the old-time music to Flogging Molly just speaks to my soul. Maybe it's my Irish heritage coming through, or the combination instrumentation and fun factor of most Irish music. Whatever it is, I am a huge Irish music fan.

So I spent last night in Scruff Murphy's in LoDo (Lower Downtown, for you non-Coloradans), watching the Stonewalls rocking out.

I took some really good video of the evening, which I'll post soon to share with you all. For now, let me just say that the evening totally rocked. I had an amazing night, particularly after 11:00, when a crowd of Santas hit the bar during their annual pub crawl. Thirty dancing Santas will really lift the energy, even if a bar is already crowded and animated. So I took video of some selected songs, then danced my heart out. I learned to dance at my Dad's gigs as a little kid. Now I was combination of roady, film crew, drink runner, and fan.

Being a fan is the best part. No doubt about it, being able to watch my dad perform with a killer group of talented musicians is one of my absolute favorite things. My dad is such a performer--he jokes, dances around, leads the "audience participation" songs, and generally works the crowd with an amazing degree of confidence and joy. This is Dad at his best, singing his heart out with guitar in hand.

So from drinking songs to folk songs, I'll raise a whiskey and celebrate the band, the music, and my father.

Keep on rockin' on, and I'll keep on dancing.