Sunday Concert/Picnic Blogging

Sorry for the extended absence, but I'm back, and will try to resume posting on a mroe regular basis again, as well as clear through a growing backlog of unreviewed books (yes, I know that this is my own personal obsession, but so be it).

Friday night's regularly scheduled post was interrupted by an actual event here in Champaign, a concert at one of the local bars featuring a band from out of town. It marked the second time that we've seen The Tossers, an Irish/Punk band from Chicago. I've linked to one of their videos previously, and would basically describe their music as somewhat punk-influenced Irish. If the Dropkick Murphys are about 60/40 or so Punk/Irish, and Flogging Molly about 35/65, then The Tossers are about 25/75. More than anything else, they sound a great deal like the Pogues, and like the Pogues, tend to perform frequently, and likely best, a few sheets to the wind.

Onstage drunkenness, or at least drinkingness, can have a few interesting effects. Last time we saw them, it was a Sunday night (as quiet in Champaign as just about anywhere), and they were on the last night of a reasonably long tour through the Midwest. The band, who were pretty good and hammered, proceded to play just about every Irish song I know and more (Camptown Races even), and not a single one of their own creations. Not a one, in an hour and a half of continuous music. Last night, we were treated to a mix of the new (their album Agony just came out a few weeks ago), the old (The Valley of the Shadow of Death--cheerful album titles all around), and the older (Several of the Rover songs, and a number of Pogues covers). What can I say, the show rocked. For some examples of what we heard, check out this video or perhaps this one. Drunken Irish music is best played loud (there is a reason I lean toward Irish Punk, and away from the "Celtic Ladies" movement that certain of our readership prefers), and inside a bar, it is extremely loud. Even better, Champaign has a smoking ban, so the air inside was pretty clear (only the band gets to smoke), while all the smokers had to stay outside.

Making the show even better, the opening act was actually pretty good too. I am not sure if JigGsaw is a local college band, but they do pretty good pop/progressive punk for a local band. Thanks to the wonder of the internets, you don't have to take my word for it, and can check out their music on their Myspace page. Perhaps I am kidding myself, but I thought their rhythm section actually did a surprisingly good job of mixing things up, dropping into all sorts of ska-based beats and other things to keep things interesting.

Saturday was a bit calmer, as we went for a picnic at Lake of the Woods park in Mahomet, IL. BTW, let me highly recommend a good picnic basket for anyone who lives anwhere near the outdoors, which I assume is most of you. Very little in life is as relaxing as a nice picnic.

The park is home to the Early American Museum, which is just shockingly well done for a small museum. Rarely have I seen a small museum that manages to combine as thorough a collection of artifacts (in this case 19th century housewares, photographs, and other antique items) with a reasonably good overview of the time period for the area. I particularly liked the exhibit on baseball in Illinois over the past century, something that has sadly disappeared from the area over the past couple decades.