So, yeah…check it out and let me know what you think.

In other news, I have a huge list of bands that I’m slowly checking out. I started with an old band that’s new to me, The Tragically Hip. I vaguely knew they were Canadian and folk-rock esque, but that was about it. I mentioned to my husband that I’d heard a Hip song that I liked and his answer was to produce everything the band had done up to the year 2000 from his CD collection! He was a big fan growing up, apparently. The things you learn about your spouse… So I’ve been working my way through their older catalog and have plans to get the seven (!) CDs we need to complete our collection.

One thing I love about the Haggis Head community is the widely varying musical tastes of the folks who hang out there. Here’s my list so far of bands to check out: Tegan and Sara, Metric, Eisley, Missy Higgins, Jump Little Children, Dar Williams, the Abrams Brothers, the Decemberists and I have a whole other list somewhere that I can’t lay my hands on at the moment. I’m going to be a busy girl…

So what’s in your MP3 player today?

The Dublin Pub…nice venue. The owner was awesome. A true publican who made sure everyone was comfortable and having a good time. It was already packed when I got there around 7:30 and I ended up in the back by the bar among the people who preferred to talk rather than listen.  Most of the crowd seemed to be people who came to their favorite bar and, ooh, look, a band!

I would like to say for the record that I was not the only crazy person there. I met a guy, Dan, who had flown in from Alexandria, LA! We debated who was nuttier. He’d come farther, but I had driven the whole 10 hours. I think it was a tie.

OK, the show. The first of the two sets was…interesting. The first two songs were great (The Litter and the Leaves, Lancaster Gate). Then it got sort of uneven. Not bad, just not as tight as I’ve come to expect. The guys seemed to be having trouble finding and holding a consistent groove. I’m not sure if it was something technical going on, or the odd crowd, or what. Or maybe it was just me in my vantage point among the talkers.

However, things changed in the second of the two sets. Not only did the guys find the groove, they caught it, wrestled it to the ground, kicked its ass and showed it who was boss. It was the best single set of Enter the Haggis I’ve heard in the ten years I’ve been seeing them.

A thunderous version of Murphy’s Ashes opened the set followed by Ghosts of Calico which is catchy and haunting all at the same time. Apothecary with a gorgeous new intro…I love it played this way! Couple more solid tunes then Craig played “Amazing Grace” as the intro to “Long Way Home.” Apparently, a Dayton police officer had fallen the day before and this was a tribute. That few minutes alone would have been worth driving 10 hours to hear. It was moving and technically spot-on. Some more really solid stuff, then Broken Line. It is not hyperbole to say this song is a masterpiece, both live and on the CD. Lanigan’s closed the set and Brian had fun playing with his new toys (violin effect pedals), much to the delight of the crowd, who finally seemed to get into things. Particularly, when Trevor decided to be a rock star and jumped up on one of the tables to close out the tune!

The encore was Lights and Cars which never fails to move me, Congress and Gasoline. Trevor had to get a bit acrobatic for the drum-guitar bit during Congress because the stage was so small. All in all? Completely worth the 20 hours in the car. Completely. Bravo, guys!

Fitzgerald’s is a quality venue with a comfortable ambiance and a good selection of imported and domestic beer on tap. By the time the show started (delayed to 9:30 so that the club could observe Earth Hour by dimming the lights) there was a full house of long-time fans, newcomers and club regulars unfamiliar with Enter the Haggis’ particular mixture of rock, pop, funk, jazz overlain by a strong Celtic influence.

The band opened with the high-energy The Litter and the Leaves, an Irish punk-sounding call-to-arms against the status quo. The sound quality was excellent, with guitarist Trevor Lewington and piper Craig Downie blending perfectly. Brian Buchanan, normally on keyboard or fiddle, looked perfectly comfortable wielding a beer bottle instead as he riled up the crowd with strong vocals.

Enter the Haggis followed up that rousing opener with Lancaster Gate, an instrumental from their third studio album, “Soapbox Heroes.” Bassist Mark Abraham really shone with his melodic style of playing. Smoking hot versions of Another Round and the new pop-rock tune DNA followed, inspiring some enthusiastic dancing.

Buchanan picked up his fiddle for “Fiddle Set,” a lively compilation of several traditional Canadian tunes. A competent keyboard player, Buchanan really shines on the fiddle with his high level of technical talent combined with true musical artistry. Downie’s antics during this tune drew the crowd further into the groove.

The rest of the set was a mixture of older tunes interspersed with new songs from “Gutter Anthems.” The only slight hitch occurred at the end of the set when Buchanan’s battery died during “Down with the Ship” forcing him to forgo the soaring fiddle solo that usually closes out the tune. However, drummer James Campbell more than made up the difference with his heart-shaking drumming.

The second set opened with a new instrumental from “Gutter Anthems,” Murphy’s Ashes. Downie proved on this and several other tunes that he’s far more than a traditional Highland piper, pushing the boundaries of his instrument to its limit and beyond. Enter the Haggis followed that up with the haunting, country-influenced Ghosts of Calico and then a mix of new tunes and crowd-pleasing favorites.

The most powerful moments of the night came from two of the band’s older tracks, One Last Drink and Congress which showed two distinct sides of the band. One Last Drink allowed the band to show off their vocal prowess with perfectly blended harmonies. The instrumental Congress showed off the high level of technical ability that each member of Enter the Haggis brings to the table along with pure, joyful showmanship.

Always friendly and accessible to their fans, the band stayed after the show to mingle and sign CDs. Enter the Haggis continues the tour next weekend with shows in Ohio and West Virginia, followed later in April by a string of East Coast dates. Tour information can be found at http://www.enterthehaggis.com along with audio streams of the band’s last four CDs.