Music Blog #3- The Humble Hooligans

Date Seen: March 18
Location: Killarney’s Restaurant, Temecula
Band Website: http://www.myspace.com/thehumblehooligans

I returned to Killarney’s last night with my husband to check out another band. Since it was the day after St. Patrick’s Day, the pub was a lot less crowded due to most regulars being at home nursing a hangover. The night’s featured band was The Humble Hooligans, a five man band from Huntington Beach.  The band consists of Troy and Freddie on vocals and guitar (also mandolin and other instruments), Rupert on violin, Evan on bass guitar and Helmut on drums.  They looked pretty awesome with their matching kilts (apparently provided by a sponsor), and played a variety of instruments including guitars, violin, mandolin and harmonica. Their style was mostly traditional Irish folk, with a bit of classic rock mixed in.

The band’s melodies were very fluid, with the violin and mandolin providing a folk/bluegrass tinge to their songs. The drum’s beat was the same for most of the songs, the alternating bass and snare drums creating a steady “oom-pah” rhythm that could be easily followed. The audience added to this with toe tapping, knee slapping and dancing around. The band’s set consisted of original tunes, Irish classics, and a few covers like “Brown Eyed Girl” and Flogging Molly’s “Worst Day Since Yesterday.” Overall I think the performance was pretty good, although the energy of both the band and audience seemed a bit subdued- perhaps because of the previously mentioned hangovers?