Eclectic Parent

[This video is pretty slow to go until about 4 minutes in. Also if you object to swearing, and understand mumble, you may want to skip this]

This is our, the parents, third year to go see the band Flogging Molly on St Patrick’s Day. They are what could best be described as Celtic punk. Using the usual rock instruments along with traditional Irish instruments (tin whistle, fiddle) their music blends traditional sound with fast, hard sound. Sort of a Clancy Brothers or Chieftains on meth.

For the last two years we skipped the opening bands and just showed up in time for Flogging Molly. Based on this year’s openers, that may have been a huge mistake. We came a few hours after the doors opened and hoped we wouldn’t miss any of the group we’d come to see. As the restlessness grew amongst the crowd, we were suprised when a band we didn’t recognize came out. Tin whistle and bodhran (Celtic hand held drum) as classic Irish instruments, mandolin and banjo were unusual strings, and the more usual guitar, bass, saxaphone and drums finished the group. Fantastic, wailing Celtic punk but I couldn’t understand a word they were screaming. I’m used to not being able to see much at concerts so it was a while before I caught site of more than one band member. At two I was still dancing along, but as I saw the third musician I had the epiphany that they were Japanese. The Cherry Cokes are fantastic. Straight from Tokyo, they may not speak English but they have a fantastic grasp on the blend of traditional Celtic sound and throbbing punk. Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band was the next group. I have no idea how they classify themselves, but I’d call them crazy hillbilly punk. A three piece band consisting of a guitar, drums and a washboard . . . yup, a washboard. Fun, loud, fabulous, wild. Musically I didn’t like it as much as The Cherry Cokes, but it was foot stomping fun.

So beyond the listing of things we do as members of the family, how does this apply to to a homeschooling website? The amazing fusion of cultures, instruments and styles was inspiring. The cultural exploration of a bunch of Japanese punks learning to play the tin whistle, for instance, is fantastic. It was a great mix of instruments; an accordion, a washboard and a saxophone? We looked the bands up the next day and played some of the tunes for the kids. Told them about the different instrument and showed them some. It was a mad explosion of creativity and energy to share with the kids.

This was all taken a shaky little point n shoot that happens to catch a few seconds of video. The first few seconds is Reverend Peyton; then personally, I’d fast foward to about 1:10 to see the whole crew come out together. Good stuff.

(more music yesterday: Bopping Along To A Different Drummer)