The Killigans’ St. Patrick’s Day 10th Anniversary Show | Video Feature

 

   

words and video by Cameron Bruegger

Brad Hoffman knocked on wood in an interview before The Killigans’ St. Patrick’s Day set last month.

“Hopefully tonight people will come out who haven’t been to a Killigans show and we want to make it an event worth coming to.”

The echo from that knock joins ten others which now look more like notches in the belt of one of Lincoln’s premier St. Patrick’s Day traditions. Last month, the Lincoln-based folk-punk band celebrated its decade-long tradition of playing a March 17 show at Knickerbockers, this time with their fellow Lincoln natives, The Mezcal Brothers and Halfwit.

A bagpipe solo set the mood for The Killigans with the aid of their leprechaun mascot bouncing around stage, fueling the crowd’s anticipation. Even before the first note was played, the audience began splitting apart as the mosh pits broke out. The Killigans performed with the same energy on stage as if it had been their first performance. Each member was shouting, singing and grinning while the attendees toasted their sloshing, half-spilled beers to the local music veterans.

The Killigans don’t necessarily refer to themselves as celtic punk, but the mandolin solos and sing-along style vocals gave that impression. The music came out of the gates fast and loud, overshadowing resemblances to folk, and on this night declaring itself incredibly Irish. The fact that Hoffman began the set wearing a green clerical collar reinforced that assumption.

Watch video coverage of the night here:

Cameron Bruegger is a Hear Nebraska multimedia intern. Reach him at cameronb@hearnebraska.org.