Time: Doors 6 p.m.

Tickets:$25

PRE-ST. PATTYS PARTY

The Real McKenzies http://www.realmckenzies.com/ are The original Celtic punk band!
It I can be said, without any exaggeration, that The Real McKenzies are a national treasure.

Paul McKenzie: Vocals

Jono Jak: Guitar, Vocals

Dan Garrison: Guitar, Vocals

Troy Zak: Bass, Vocals

Dan Stenning: Drums

Aspy Luison: Bagpipes, Vocals

Matt McNasty : Bagpipes, Vocals
Gord Taylor : Bagpipes, Vocals

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE REAL MCKENZIES
Paul McKenzie claims he had a epiphany when he was subjected to an Andy Stewart record which was playing in one room, and intertwining with the vulgarity of a Sex Pistols album emerging from another. That year was somewhere around 1992, the setting was Vancouver Canada,and McKenzie was looking for something new, since his band TT Racer had recently disbanded. Who would have thought that a great deal of fun could be had pilfering your parents closet of old kilts and high socks to wear on a stage on which you would perform cover songs of various bands, altered slightly, to fit a scottish theme. Example: I Wanna Be Your Scot as opposed to I Wanna Be Your Dog. You get the point. Someone probably joked, If were gonna wear kilts, we might as well have a piper too.

While certainly not a new angle in rock music, the bagpipes were only ever used in a couple of songs at most by various bands, never a mainstay of an entire set. Soon though, it was apparent that this was a distinctive sound that could be finely tuned, with the soaring pipes complimenting the ferocious electric guitars and vise-versa. Of course the first thing that springs to mind is the word gimmick. Sure, I guess thats applicable here. But before you go taking things way to seriously, lets also not forget the concept of show buisness. People annually spend a shitload of money for the sole purpose of being entertained. So why not go out of your way to be entertainment? That was all a moot point with the McKenzies anyway. Because they just wanted to have fun, and you are more than welcome to have fun with them, as hundereds of thousands have. Sure some will read too much meaning into the whole idea, and take it out of its realm of fun, and those people should just shut the fuck up and drink their beer.

14 years later, the Real McKenzies have achieved lengendary status. Their live shows are highly regarded and they have been known to leave large audiences choking on their own dry mouths. They've been influence to more than a few bands, and ironically have been accused of ripping those same bands off, usually by journalistic hacks on the internet. They've toured the world endlessly, and frightened more than a few people at times, but its a small percentage to the numbers of people who leave their shows with ear to ear grins and think about the great time they had for weeks to come. I can imagine it will take death to stop these guys from doing what they do best, and that's kicking your ass in the face at each and every show they play.
Founded in 1992 by the larger than life, punkrock poet laureate, Mr Paul McKenzie, this merry band of miscreants has spent a quarter century circumnavigating the globe to bring the McKenzies gospel to an ever-adoring throng of rebels, scallywags and ne’er do wells. There are not many bands that can boast of a twenty five year career as staggeringly adventurous, wildly tempestuous and utterly death-defying as The Real McKenzies. It would be a serious mistake to write them off as just another Celtic punk band. They are an unstoppable juggernaut of touring mayhem. A ferocious troupe of insanely talented minstrels, storytellers and entertainers melding traditional acoustic and electric to create a sound like no other. Their list of accolades is long. From sharing the stage with the likes of NOFX, Rancid, Flogging Molly, Metallica and Shane McGowan to appearing in film, books and video games to signing with the legendary Fat Wreck Chords, their story continues to astound.

And now, to celebrate their landmark twenty-fifth anniversary, The Real McKenzies return with their 10th and very best long-player to date. And that’s not hyperbole. This is an absolutely monumental giant of an album. "Two Devils Will Talk" is fourteen tracks of pure, unbridled audio bliss. The songs are rebellious, poignant and achingly heartfelt with an extra helpings of Scottish charm and wit to boot. The recurring and very timely themes of Two Devils Will Talk are hope, perseverance and living your life to it’s fullest. Opening track “Due West” is an anthemic epic about moving forward and never looking back, while “Seafarers” is a rollicking tale that deals with accepting the fact that you can’t change how the waves roll, only how you roll through them. There’s even a glorious cover of Stan Rogers’ “Northwest Passage” and a spectacular reworking of “Scots Wha Ha'e” (one of the first ever Real McKenzies recordings). “Two Devils Will Talk” sees a resilient, triumphant and defiantly hopeful band at the very top of their game.

So raise a glass, raise a fist, or better yet, raise a little hell for twenty-five years of The Real McKenzies, and yet another one for many more happy years to come!
 

Raygun Cowboys http://www.rayguncowboys.com

RAYGUN COWBOYS
Psychobilly from Edmonton.

www.facebook.com/rayguncowboys13
www.instagram.com/raygun_cowboys
rayguncowboys.bandcamp.com