Saw Doctors - Chicago, IL

It's not often that I go to a show without ever hearing any of the band's music I'm there to see. No, I'm not counting the nine hours of goth hardcore I witnessed while waiting for Ozzy at Ozzfest. When I went to see the Saw Doctors on the day after St. Patrick's Day at the Vic Theatre, however, I had a good feeling about the show before I got there.

"They're from Ireland? I'm down," I told my friend in February when he advised me to buy tickets. An Irish band to cap off Chicago's two-week St. Patrick's Day marathon sounded grand.

Fast forward to the night of the show. Leisurely, I lounged at my friend's place drinking Guinness, eating cheesy noodles and playing Fifa before the show began (note: don't mix cheesy noodles and Guinness). Still, I had yet to really hear the Saw Doctors. My friend was about to put on some of their songs to listen to before the show, but I quickly stifled him.

"Don't be that guy," I said, vaguely referencing the film "PCU." "Why listen to something that we are about to hear live?"

"You're right," he said, agreeing as he scored a goal. "I always hated waiting in line in my car to get out of the parking after Dave Matthews concerts, and hearing nothing but Dave Matthews playing loudly from super-huge SUV's."

Too right. So I went to the show, not knowing what to expect, and I must say that the Irish rockers were brilliant and things were PACKED inside the sold-out venue. Yes, most their songs had similar chords, and yes, I was surrounded by gigantic, borderline-violent and visibly hammered Southsiders...but the quintet put on quite a show indeed. The songs weren't self indulgent or long, and with a $5 beer in my hand and a careful game of "dodge-the-giant-drunk-people" in full effect, their style hit the spot.

They played some new songs off their latest album Cure, as well as a good selection of what I later learned to be their hits. My favorite jam of the night was called "N17," a song about an Irish highway equivalent to America's Route 66. I said that I learned about these songs later for a reason. I couldn't understand a damn word the bastards said all night.

Let me do my best to replicate the banter between songs from frontmen and guitarist Davy Carton and Leo Moran.

Leo: "Allrate?? Ah shar dee soahten, finnigan bayerd? Allrate!!!"

Davy: "Allrate then! Wahn tyoo tree fyor!" and on went the music.

Seeing the Saw Doctors live was definitely a perfect end to Chicago's 192 hour St. Patrick's Day party.