Snow Biz

It's snowing again here in Kansas City. The falling snow and the fact that I woke up this morning with Eddie Delahunt's masterpiece "The Auld Irish Fest" stuck in my head (I know. Pathetic.) remind me of a great night a long time ago. Since I'm feeling a little nostalgic and there's no pressing Irish Fest business to attend to, I'll bore you with it. Forgive me if you've heard it before.

When Eddie first came to America, he played a regular Wednesday and Thursday night gig at a bar called Harling's Upstairs. His brother Colm tended bar there, as did Kansas City Irish Fest director Ronan Collins. I was a Thursday man. I can't speak with any authority as to what went on there on a Wednesday, but the Thursdays were grand. You could always count on great craic and a familiar face or two, and Eddie banging away on the guitar. I remember one Thursday I didn't go and Ronan, the barman on duty that night, called me at home to see if I was okay before he started calling hospitals looking for me. If you've heard John Spillane's great song "Magic Nights At The Lobby Bar" you'll get a feel for what those Thursdays were like.

Anyway, one Thursday night it was snowing. Snowing hard. Not one to be deterred by a little precip, I went to Harling's through the snow because...well, because it was Thursday. And I didn't want anybody to worry. Colm was behind the bar. Doug Sparling was there, I think. Maybe 2 or three other people, Eddie included. We all sat at the bar, watching the snow come down hard and pile up high. Eddie sat too, his guitar neglected in the corner. After awhile I told him that I didn't come 6 whole blocks through a blizzard just listen to him talk. I wanted some music, damn it. So Eddie went to his guitar and sang. To the tune of Christy Moore's "Lisdoonvarna" (which Eddie used to change on those Thursdays to "Come To Harling's") he sang: "Oh, it's f**king snowing. F**king f**king f**king snowin'." If you know the tune, sing it in your head.

Then he put down his guitar and went back his stool at the bar, ending with those nine words, the shortest performance of his storied career. We all sat and chatted and watched it snow until Colm threw us all out long after closing time. It was one of my favorite Eddie shows ever.

Tonight, at O'Dowd's on the Plaza when Eddie takes the stage, might be another favorite. You never know. And what if it was, and you missed it? You can't buy memories. Plus O'Dowd's smells better than Harling's ever did, I'll tell you that.

Eddie takes the stage at 8:00, give or take.