A Champion Of The Daily Grind

St. Patrick’s Day is on Monday. Honestly, it’s an amateur night if you ask me. People who don’t usually go out end up at random bars, not knowing what they’re doing and drinking a wee bit too much. For someone who goes out night after night, nights like St. Patrick’s Day are the ones that I take advantage of a night off. Sure, a ton of music is happening, but honestly, it’s not worth it. That being said, I wouldn’t let this St. Patrick’s Day slip by without celebrating, so I went out on Saturday night to celebrate the typically drunken holiday with some amazing Celtic punk music.

Getting things started at The Hook & Ladder on Saturday night were local legends Virgin Whores. Although this was my first time seeing this band, they have been around for over twenty years and have the sound to prove it. It was dirty punk music in all the right ways, but it was also crystal clear. I don’t know how they did it, but their raw and angsty sound felt polished. That sounds like it shouldn’t work, but Virgin Whores nailed it and left the quickly growing audience with a heck of an opening set. Most of their songs came complete with a chorus worthy of pumping your fist and singing along, even if you had never heard their songs before. It was a robust set with clear DIY vibes running through everything the band did. Virgin Whores have been doing their thing for over twenty years, and their set on Saturday night proved that they aren’t going anywhere. I can’t wait for another chance to catch them in the near future.

Loss Leader was the second band to take the stage, and saying I was excited to see this group would be an understatement. I fell in love with their sound the first time I reviewed one of their albums. They are kings of the local scene and play out a lot, but Saturday was only my second chance to see them live. They didn’t disappoint. I was instantly enamored by the band’s gritty sound and vocalist Tim Schumann’s voice. It sounds like cigarettes and whiskey in the way that my favorite vocalist of all time, Ben Nichols of Lucero, does, but the sound is a bit more punk than Lucero’s slow and sad whiskey-drinking songs. A band full of working-class dudes with a working-class mentality, every song seemed to hit me like a ton of bricks while also breathing a sense of energy into me that I didn’t know I had after a super, insanely busy Saturday. If you’re not following Loss Leader, you are doing it wrong.

I was so excited to cross Virgin Whores off my list, see Loss Leader again, and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the headliner that I almost missed Something To Do’s name on the flyer. My introduction to Something To Do was back in March of 2023 when I saw them at this same venue with Space Monkey Mafia and Lost Island Society. They fit that horn-based bill so perfectly, which is why I thought they were an odd choice for Saturday’s more punk-leaning line-up, but they pulled it off and then some. Sure, they stayed true to the ska brand, but they added more chutzpah into their set than the previous time I had seen them. I wouldn’t say that they made it heavier because that’s not quite what it was, but more that they just added a sense of punchiness to their set compared to the more jazzy vibes I had gotten in 2023. I loved seeing this band’s versatility while also seeing just how secure they are in their own sound. They had the entire audience smiling and dancing until it was time for them to leave the stage and make way for the night’s headlining act.

When most people hear the term Celtic punk, their mind goes to bands like Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys. That’s all fine and well, but there’s a whole underground version of that scene, and the kings of it are undoubtedly Chicago-based Flatfoot 56. Flatfoot 56 has been doing their thing since 2000. I don’t remember the first time I saw this band, but I know it was in high school. I was enamored with them because, being a typical scene queen, I was always looking for the next up and coming band because I wanted to be the person with that story about seeing that one band before they were famous. I fear that Flatfoot 56 never got to the level that I thought they would or that they deserve, but that hasn’t stopped them from touring around the country and spreading the good word of the Celtic punk sound.

Although Celtic punk very much in the vein of those larger bands like Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly, Flatfoot 56 has their own unique spice that they add to the iconic sound. It’s up for debate what that spice is, but in my mind, it’s a subtle hardcore influence. Their songs hit you with a bit more rage than other Celtic punk bands, but, at the same time, their use of traditional instrumentation (specifically the mandolin and bagpipes) leaves no question about the background of this band. Add the sheer larger-than-life size of vocalist Tobin Bawinkel (this guy is super, super tall), and you are left with the kind of set you can’t take your eyes off.

I’ve been following and seeing Flatfoot 56 for over twenty years at this point, and they never change. That sounds like a bad thing, I know, but in the case of this band, it is not. They are the kind of band that, although they have had some changes over the years and their sound has definitely gone through a few different evolutions, when you hear one of their songs, you know it’s them. It’s in the vocals, it’s in the bagpipes, it’s in the drum patterns, but, most importantly, it’s in the energy. Words can not describe the amount of energy that Flatfoot 56 brings to a recording, let alone a live show, but being able to see it all unfold on Saturday night at The Hook & Ladder in Minneapolis was a beyond-perfect way to celebrate the upcoming holiday.