February 03, 2008
Sunday Music: The Wild Rover
Back in the 1980s, when Peggy O'Neill's was the best Irish pub in Brooklyn, this was one of the two songs that would bring down the house. The other one was "Black Velvet Band", which we played last week.
Here's what Quincy Massachussetts based The Dropkick Murphys did with it.
Its still a mystery to me as to why Peggy O'Neill's decided to stop change the formula. When it was an authentic Irish pub with live music most nights, the place was jammed. Since they mucked around with it, its been empty. You'd think a lesson might have been learned. Especially now with Henry Gratton's gone, there is a screaming opportunity to make money for somebody who wants to open an authentic Irish pub with live music in Bay Ridge. There are still enough Irish / Scandinavians / everyone else who loves this stuff in Bay Ridge / nearby to make such a business an absolute license to print money. Do exactly what Peggy's used to do in the 1980s and you will be the most successful bar in the neighborhood--take it to the bank.
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2 comments:
There still are venues for live Irish music in Bay Ridge.
The Bally Bunion often has live Irish music, including the Canny Brothers, the Cray and Dempsey Experience, and of course Shilelagh Law. And there is currently a poster for a group called the Young Wolfe Tones that will play there soon.
The Canny Brothers sometimes play at Three Jolly Pigeons.
Right in Bay Ridge has been trying cover the local Irish music scene as possible since launching last year. Please check out these posts:
Shilelagh Law Plays Bally Bunion
Could the Great Irish Fair Be Possible Without Bay Ridge?
Canny Brothers' CD Gets Airtime in NY
It would indeed be great to see more live Irish music in Bay Ridge. But the neighborhood is faced with changing demographics, so expect even less unless we start making more babies, teach our children about their heritage, and encourage them not to move to SI or NJ after college.
Ballybunion is a fine place, but the bar area is small. But yes your comment about it is noted.
Yes, I will check for your references on the music scene. That is important.
Your other comments are not wrong.
But I still think that there are way more than needed to support a music scene--its not just the Bay Ridge people that kept Peggy O'Neills crowded. They attracted loads of people from elsewhere in Brooklyn and from Staten Island.
Some of those who moved to terra incognita would be replaced by the many who have moved into Brooklyn --its a short ride from Park Slope or Cobble Hill to Bay Ridge. While those areas have good music of their own, they do not have anything like what Peggy's was. And with a finger lifted to publicize it, a lot of them could have traveled here for a good session and some Guinness.
Will never ever understand why they Peggy's threw away the franchise that they had. One of the dumbest business decisions I have ever seen.
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