Enter The Haggis at The Dublin Pub April 3, 2009

As some of you may know, I do a lot of photography for the Dublin Pub in Dayton, Ohio. Steve Tieber has done a fantastic job bringing in Celtic oriented bands and their show on St. Patrick's Day is one of the biggest events in the area. This past Friday, he had Enter The Haggis and I took the opportunity to shoot the band in close quarters and to get to know them a little better.

They just released a new album, Gutter Anthems, and they're on tour promoting it. Catch their show if you get the opportunity! You can check their current schedule here. It's an excellent album that has a great variety of sounds. I was surprised by Sea of Crutches that has Miranda Mulholland, another Toronto based artist, singing with the guys. I love Miranda from her days with the Glengarry Bhoys and she's got a new CD out with her new band, The Roaring Girl Cabaret. The song has a certain folk vibe and is one of my favorites on the CD. The Litter And The Leaves is fast based and starts the CD off right with bag pipes, a fast drum beat and strong guitar and bass. The Ghosts of Calico almost has a Texas rock band feel to me and it's a song I stop and catch myself nodding to Jame's drum beat. Craig's harmonica rounds out the sound of the song with a little synth added in for effect.


I was surprised to hear from Trevor, the lead singer, that some of the Celtic festivals consider the guys too Rock because they have a little synth with electric guitar and bass. I say it's their loss! These guys put on a great show and have a great mix of Rock with excellent mixes of Fiddle, Bag Pipes, Harmonica and Irish Whistle.

You can follow the guys on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Their CDs are available on iTunes and other locations.


You can see more photos from the show on my website here.

Dublin Pub on St. Patrick's Day 2009

Well, St. Patrick's Day started at 4:40 a.m. for me at the Dublin Pub.

By 5 a.m., there were sizable crowds at both doors waiting to start the day of celebration. The Mix 107 and the Celtic Dance Academy were there to start the day with packed house as everyone was ordering Guinness and breakfast.

Bob Ford and the Ragamuffins started off the musical day in the big tent at 7am. The McGovern Ceili Dancers went on at 10:30 and performed again with Father Son and Friends later in the day.

It was surprising how full the tent was from very early in the day throughout the end when it was absolutely packed.

The Miami Valley Pipes and Drum Corp performed for the crowd and got them ready for a fun set with Father Son and Friends. Dulahan had the stage at 3pm and they were promoting their new album release while Jericho and Kramer from 103.9 the X were on hand to broadcast and drink shots of Jameson. Blind Karma was jamming in the VIP tent and had a nice crowd the entire day. The Celtic Dance Academy had one last big performance that had everyone clapping.


The day ended in a Celtic Rock fashion with 9 Castle Close at 6 and Homeland at 9 with Larry the Piper playing for both bands. This was the first time I had gotten to see Homeland play with their new fiddler, Tyler, and I thought he fit in great.


When everything was said and done, I was exhausted. I had spend the entire time at the pub except for 30 min. when I drove home and picked up my wife to join me for the fun.

I have uploaded a ton of pictures on my website and on my MySpace site for everyone to enjoy.

I've created a special Favorites album on MySpace as well where I uploaded a few of the band shots that were my favorite. If you have a favorite photo you want added to the folder, send me an email and I'll copy it over.

You can access more photos on my website at http://www.craftonphoto.com/dubpub to check out all the bands, patrons and staff. You can order prints or downloads directly from the site.

Feel free to send me any comments about the photos. If you were there, I hope you had a great time!

The Kreellers at The Dublin Pub 02/20/09

The Kreellers stormed into the Dublin Pub last Friday, Feb 20th, and gave a great show for the gathered crowd. I got to the pub at 7:30 and it was already standing room only! Thankfully, I had the guys reserve a table for me since I was shooting their performance. Plus I had to save the show since TK forgot his kilt and had to borrow one of my Utilikilts. You can't have bad kharma for a show because TK isn't wearing a kilt!!! The picture above is during The Parting Glass and had the crowd on their feet with Guinness in hand!

Did I mention Guinness??? A few days after the show, the band announced that they are now sponsored by Guinness. Let's see if they like any of my photos (Guinness) for their promotions!

This was the first show I had seen with Chris Wall playing bass. He did a great job and added a little funk during his solo. He impressed the guys with his audition tape and has fit in well.


Earlier in the day, I met up with the guys at WDPS for Hippie and Jay's Celtic Show that airs every Friday from 3-5pm. The guys did an interview and played Sixth and Porter and Tell Me Ma live for the show and had people coming up to the studio glass to check it out!

You can find more photos from the show on my MySpace page or here on my website.

Mother Grove at The Dublin Pub 2/13/09

I finally got to see Mother Grove, out of Indianapolis, play at The Dublin Pub in Dayton on Wayne Ave and 5th St, recently and had a great time. Their logo is Kilt Rock and since I always shoot bands in my kilts, I was set for a good show.

I met Brad a few months ago at the Seven Nations show and talked about shooting them when they were in town. I'm glad I was finally able to catch the show! I don't think I've ever heard a combination of traditional Irish songs mixed with Johnny Cash and the English Beat, with bag pipes! It was a great mix of bag pipes, fiddle and acoustic guitar and I look forward to seeing them play again. I also loved the Superwoman doll attached to Ron's drums.

If you want to see more shots from the show, click here.

I made the cover of the Irish American News Ohio...

Well, for the February cover of the Irish American News of Ohio, the used a photo I took of the Kreellers in Michigan. The shot was taken from Belle Isle and it was FREEZING with over 1 foot of snow on the ground.

John O'Brian, managing editor, contacted me in January as he was working on an article for the publication and wanted to know if I had any photos he could use. John wrote a very nice article on the guys and it was placed in the national Irish American News as well.

The Irish American News of Ohio is a free publication that you can find at various outlets or download off the web here. Check it out if you get a chance as it has excellent articles and updates on activities relating to the Irish American community. It's how I found out about the Chieftains show here in Dayton in March!

The Kreellers on Belle Isle

Back on December 19th, I got the chance to see the Kreellers with their new bag piper, Larry Fortsen, at O'Callaghan's in Milford, Michigan. O'Callaghan's is one of the main places the Kreellers play and where they always have great turnouts.


On this evening, there was over 1 foot of snow and the roads were crap but a great crowd still showed up.

It was cold with a nice wind that made it fun for the guys as they brought up their equipment.

The Pub doesn't have a stage so the band setup in one of the rooms and prepared for the show!

The crowd was great and the floor was shaking numerous times. I brought my latest camera, a Panasonic DSC-LX3 Point and Shoot, to shoot a few high definition videos and it's easy to see the place shaking from crowd jumping on the floor and the strong base beat.

Larry is a great piper and really added to the band. Derek's Harmonica and Larry's Whistles went great together and everyone loved the bag pipes.

The show completed around 1 a.m. and it was time to pack up and crash for the night.

The following morning, we met at Belle Isle to get new band shots with Detroit as the background. First, it was FRIGGIN COLD!!!! There was over 1 foot of snow and a negative wind chill. Of course, I made the guys take off their jackets for the shots. The shot above shows the general feelings of the guys as everyone froze. I couldn't feel my fingers at the end of the shoot and strained my right calf jumping through the deep snow banks.

The guys were great for the shoot and even tried a few jump shots for fun. I look forward to seeing the guys in February when they play at the Dublin Pub in Dayton.