I went to the Chieftains concert at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ last night. This was the only metro NY stop on the Chieftains 2009 tour.View Larger Map
The venue was very impressive and had plenty of space and the sound was great, though, I could have used a little more volume, which was low probably because there were so many old people (j/k). Paddy Moloney (bandleader) and the rest of the Chieftains played some traditional Irish music as well as other Celtic music from around the globe, including French Canadian and Scottish. There were plenty of songs about sorrow as well as joyful romps with Irish dancing, tap and pipe bands.
Paddy Moloney also performed some songs from the forthcoming 2009 Chieftains album that has references to Saint Patrick's Battalion; a group of Irish and non-Irish American soldiers, most of which were not American citizens though some were, who during the Mexican-American war switched sides to sympathsize with the Mexican's, who were also Catholics and suffered similar plights to those of the Irish.
Batallón de San Patricio flag
