Bagpipes and Punk?

The only time I usually hear bagpipes is at funerals or on St. Patrick's Day, hearing one in the background at the Sokol Underground on Saturday night was a new experience.

Flatfoot 56, a Celtic punk band from Chicago, showed Omaha how to mix punk and Irish. The lead singer, Tobin, and other American Celtic punk bands sing with a fake Irish accent.



Celtic punk has become a popular form of punk since it's beginning in the 1980's. Bands like the Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly have contributed to the Celtic following.

Flatfoot 56 seems to have their own style. The show started with the song "loaded gun" and afterward Tobin told the crowd to split in half and face each other like in the movie "Braveheart." He counted down from three and the crowd collided. The song started and people were scattered about the dance floor. No one was hurt.

The violence and aggression of punk is sometimes confusing to people that don't follow the scene. The first time I went to a punk show I liked it and I jumped in the "circle pit." No one gets hurt usually, people just get pushed and maybe sometimes knocked down.

I didn't get in the pit as much as I did the last time I went to a punk show. I'm getting a Little to old for it now. I just needed to get some pictures, so I went in a couple times.
I must admit that the songs sound a lot alike, but, their version of "Amazing Grace" was fun to hear.

Hed P.E sells out the Waiting Room

There's really nothing like seeing the band you want to see without waiting for their turn.

Hed P.E headlined at the Waiting room on Oct. 4th without any openners. The show was sold out. Luckily my friend, Kahm had some free tickets. The show was entertaining, but some of the comments made by the lead singer had me questioning. Overall it was a good show.

Brother Ali at the Waiting Room

On Saturday, September 26th I saw Brother Ali and his touring partners, Evidence and Toki Wright from Rhymesayers Entertainment. Ali has been performing since 1999 and is promoting his new album, "Us."

I'm not in to underground hip-hop or rap in general, but I thought I'd go see a new genre of music for once.

This was my first time ever seeing these solo artists. I never knew how much fun a hip-hop show could be. Ali used his energy and original flow to set the mood for the crowd.

Evidence showed some skills with a mic as he freestyled a compilation of motivational lyrics before introduicing Brother Ali to the stage.
The three artists flowed together during the end of the show and a fight in the crowd broke out. Ali is a man for peace and didn't appreciate the unexpected rage. Some locals wern't aloud in to see the show because of previous bad behavior.

One kid was banned and wanted to go inside so bad that he would wait until the out-door would open and would go inside until he was spotted by a security guard. The kid just waited in the street for the show to be over. That was entertaining during my smoke breaks.
Overall I liked the message that Brother Ali presented with his music, the human condition is really a sick thing sometimes and his new songs try to express truth.