Hozz Egy Firkin Sört

Pipes & Pints: Syco Mike

 Bands: Pipes & Pints, Firkin

Venue: Barba Negra Music Club, Prielle Kornélia 4, 1117 Budapest

Time: March 9, 2012 - 8.00 pm
Entrance fee: 2400 / 3000 HUF

First of all, I would like to thank my friends for convincing me to go to this concert, since I was a little bit reluctant of going because the tickets weren't as cheap as I had previously expected. Honestly, I didn't think the bands would be worth the money. But, boy, was I wrong. The first surprise for me was the venue itself. Barba Negra is situated on the Buda side of the city, in an actually very accessible part, and a nice neighbourhood. You would never guess that there was an Irish punk evening going on around there. The club is a huge venue, with walls beautifully painted in a pirate style. They even serve different types of rum, such as Captain Morgan. The stage did justice to the bands - I believe it's one of the bigger ones in the city, so it could easily hold a bunch of band members with their instruments, even giving them space to jump around.

Pipes & Pints: Vojta Kalina

There were only two bands on the stage that evening, first of them being a group of American and Czech musicians, Pipes and Pints. Oh, did I mention that the club was quite accessible? Yes, I did. Well, we kind of went into a wrong street, and, unfortunately, ended up missing half of the first band's gig. From what I did manage to see, though, the band ended their performance in such an enthusiastic way. One would believe it was only the beginning of the show. They put a lot of effort into their music, which is a type of folk punk with Celtic influences and highland bagpipes. Unfortunately, I do not have the whole setlist this time, but some of the songs that they played were City by the Sea and Heaven and Hell, which they played as the closing song. There are also some free tracks on their website, where you can check out what they sound like, and perhaps still catch them on their tour.

Firkin is more or less already well-known in Hungary. Their style includes the traditional bagpipe tunes, while they also play some typical pirate and celtic songs such as Drunken Sailor. Their show started with a violin intro, conducted by the amazing Lili. Although she was the only woman on the stage, she charmed most of the audience with both her skills and charismatic performance. Talking about charisma, I have to mention the flute player, PJ, who was absolutely astonishing. His facial expressions were priceless, and I was actually happy that I wasn't standing in front of him because otherwise I'm not sure I would have been able to concentrate on anything else than his performance on the stage.

Firkin: PJ (flute, whistle) and Pali (vocals, ac. guitar, whistle)

To keep the fans staring with their mouths wide open, the band had several guest musicians on the stage. Csongi joined for a few songs with his banjo, Jamie Winchester with an acoustic guitar and his vocals, and there was also an extra violin, played by Pál István. Even the drummer tried singing twice, and quite successfully at that. This is, of course, another example of the versatility of the band. I don't even have to mention the 27-songs long setlist, do I?

The sound during the concert was almost immaculate, with only one smaller technical setback during one song, but compared to the rest of the show, it was negligible. I should also comment on the light system 'cause I found it very photography friendly. There were almost no red lights, which are usually the most annoying part of a concert. As I tried the black and white photography this time, too, I decided to upload some of those photos.

Firkin: Barni (lead vocals)

The show also included a prize winning competition. If you registered for the Firkin newsletter before the concert date, you could have received a free CD at the venue, since it was a Firkin CD release show. Amazing, isn't it?

Firkin: PJ (flute, whistle)

Setlist: Intro, Borfohász, Reggel Van!, Seven Deadly Sins, Rocky Road the Dublin, Vezet majd a szél, Galway Races, Rebels of the Sacred Heart, A jó ég magáld, Crazy Man Michael, Rettenthetetlen, The Irish Rover, Whup Jamboree, Kék volt az égbolt, Over Here, Beggarman, Jó, Hetedhét székely, Felföldi Románc, Donnegal Danny, Lord of the Dance, Tobacco Island, Drunken Lullabies, Hozz egy firkin sört // Igyunk Pálinkát, Devils Dance Floor, Búcsúpohár.

I would also like to apologize to the violinist for taking her setlist. It was a spur of the moment kind of situation, when the paper flew into our direction. :)

Firkin: Jamie Winchester (ac. guitar) and Lili (violin)

Check out the concert gallery.

p.s. St. Patrick's Day is getting closer, so search your wardrobes for some green clothes.