Don’t you just love music? Don’t you just love music at the Barrowland Ballroom? Don’t you just love the Wolfe Tones playing their music at the Barrowland Ballroom? I most certainly do!
On 20th of September, the legendary Wolfe Tones played their sold-out night at the Barrowlands and they definitely didn’t disappoint. When we get inside, the atmosphere is just amazing and you can see that the crowd cannot wait for a night of history and good tunes, the venue just has that magic about it. Around about quarter to 9, the lights started to dim and a burst of green and white lights filled the room. Instrumental music filled the air and the crowd filled that same air with lyrics. I remember looking around the venue and seeing a sea of green and white hoops with fists raised to the ceiling whilst chanting along to ‘Celtic Symphony’. This crowd was passionate, they were ready.
The 3-piece Irish giants walk on the historical stage to rapturous applause for a good couple of minutes. They had waltzed out with Celtic tops with fists pumping to the ceiling. I had never seen them live before and completely zoned out to what they said at the start as I was in awe of seeing these three men on stage. The three men I was looking at, with such history behind them and what they stood for I couldn’t help being in awe, especially in such a historical venue such as the Barrowland Ballroom. The Wolfe Tones let the crowd know they have been together for 60 years this year again to cheering and applause, 60 years, that’s some shift. Inbetween their songs, Brian Warfield would go on to give us a history lesson of the Irish history of the meaning behind the song, or how he came to write certain songs. The only thing with the crowd being so enthusiastic to be there, is that in between these songs, a lot of the crowd were talking and shouting so was quite difficult to hear Warfield’s descriptions. Once the songs started, I soon forgot about it and sang along with family and even strangers partaking in a drink (or nine). The band seemed to gather a community of all ages, from young folk that are just seeing them for the first time, to the older folk that have been following the lads for as long as they’ve been together (60 years, unbelievable). You can tell they enjoy being onstage with each other and are grateful for the crowd they have pulled over the years (60 by the way).
They played tearjerking songs such as ‘Joe McDonnell’, a song about a young man born in Belfast who had struggled against a bigoted system, to fan favorites such as ‘Celtic Symphony’ to the amazing ‘Grace’. The lighting in the place fit the night perfectly, the tricolour of green, white and orange bouncing off the plastic of pints being chucked. The night finished off with a song Warfield had penned called ‘Goodbye to all Our Friends’. These songs weren’t just performed by the Wolfe Tones, they were shared by the audience making them part of the band. If you get the chance to see the Wolfe Tones, jump at it. One of the best. You’ll never beat the Irish!