The Irish word “craic” refers to fun, music, and enjoyment. It is always great “craic” for all when Enter the Haggis plays the Westcott Theater, as they did this past weekend.
Two Hour Delay opened to a near empty venue prior to the main act, Enter the Haggis. As the audience began arriving, those present were unfortunately not truly engaged in the original music of this band. One song with its Jerry Garcia folksy feel, although really good, wasn’t enough to demand the full attention of the crowd. As the night progressed, and the crowd filled, it was the last song with Brian Buchanan, that definitely roused the attention of the otherwise distracted audience. It was a shame, but this band’s musical style was clearly not matched with the proper audience and unfortunately was lost in translation. Seeing this often, it reaffirms the importance of venues when booking acts to pair opening acts to the main act. This not only readies the crowd for the headliner, but also introduces them to another band in the same genre.
The Westcott is the perfect venue to showcase the relationship of Enter The Haggis shares with their fans. Concert goers get the sense that they are family and friends as band members Brian Buchanan, Craig Downie, Trevor Lewington, Mark Abraham and Bruce McCarthy take to the stage to play for their loyal following. Changing their name from Enter The Haggis to Jubilee Riots, back to Enter The Haggis, their fans didn’t skip a beat but instead skipped all the way to the next venue they were playing. Their fans truly have a love affair with them and honestly could care less of their name. Well, except for those die hard fans that already had the Enter The Haggis tattoos.
The band opened with the lyrical and soulful “Aerials” which incorporated the vocals, guitars, bagpipes and fiddle of this cohesive group of entertainers. They continued with fan favorites including “Lanigans Ball”. At this point, everyone in the theatre was dancing. “Gasoline” was also a crowd favorite featuring Brian Buchanan on the fiddle and vocals. The audience joined him in an enthusiastic sing along. “C Section” featured multi-talented Craig Downie on the bagpipes. “One Last Drink” featured Trevor Lewington on the guitar and vocals. A concert attendee yelled “We love you, Trevor!” and he responded “I love you too, man!”
Because the band is just a whole bunch of great guys, the entire audience was invited to the Enter the Haggis concert on Saint Patrick’s Day in Portland, Maine, and they would be remiss to not take a selfie of the evening for of those nearest and dearest to them to commemorate the evening, telling them “We are going to tag everyone in this room!”
The show was a continuous hour of strong vocals and an entertaining performance that incorporated many different instruments. The band returned for an encore of three more songs including one of their new songs, “Rose of Tyrone”. Enter the Haggis tells us they have written seven new songs, they will be recording and making the videos for in the weeks to come.
All in all, good times “craic” was had by the audience which was a mix of devoted fans and those that were experiencing the band for the first time. This renowned Celtic rock band does not disappoint, and anyone who has the opportunity to experience their unique style of music should definitely attend a concert.
On March 3rd, the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio fell under siege to the trio of metal bands. A long line of 
It’s always refreshing to see women, dominating the stage in the metal world and that’s just what the Butcher Babies did. With their their aggressive stage attire and vocals, the band’s frontwomen Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey kept the crowd screaming. Backed by Henry Flury on guitar, Jason Klein on Bass and Chrissy Warner on drums, the band played songs from their 2015 album, “Take It Like A Man.”
We kicked off Thursday with a passionate set from Florida’s own Greenhouse Lounge at the Amphitheater Stage. The electronic trio gave it their all for their last performance as a band, while welcoming their former drummers Jason Hunnicut who now runs the 1904 Music Hall in Jacksonville and Scotty Zwang, now of Dopapod who came to Aura as an “artist at large” (AAL).
The night’s lineup consisted of two other bands, Voice Of Valor and Slikk Wikked. The opening support surely got the crowd ready for Testament. Slikk Wikked, who took the stage prior to Testament set the bar high. This young metal band had the crowd going wild with circle pits and moshing right off the start. The entire band had a great stage presence that lead them to get a lot of attention from the crowd. Their set was highlighted by their vocalist who joined the crowd and moshed while the band played an Anthrax cover of “Caught In A Mosh.”
Coming to Anthology for an “off-date” from their tour with Slayer, Testament was ready to rip through a full setlist and give fans a kick-ass show. The night started with “D.N.R”‘ off of their album The Gathering. From that first song, the floor was a whirlpool of fans for the rest of the evening. The band didn’t waste too much time between songs which was good because it didn’t let the energy escape the room. Lead singer Chuck Billy did take the time to express his gratitude for the Rochester support and talked about all of the times they’ve played in the city. One of the best things to watch at a Testament show is the shredding guitar action by guitarists Alex Skolnick and Eric Peterson. Together, these guys create something not many other bands can produce. Rounding off the band’s lineup are Gene Hoglan on drums and Steve DiGiorgio on bass. These guys combined really create something special when it comes to their live shows.
The night wasn’t all business for Testament, as they took the opportunity to sing happy birthday with the crowd for their tour manager. After this quick little break of metal, Chuck and the guys finished the night off with the song “The Formation Of Damnation”, which is the title track off their 2008 release. Testament fans can look forward to their upcoming release The Brotherhood Of The Snake, which is due out sometime this year. The first single from the album should be hitting airways sometime in the next few weeks. The direction of the album is said to be heavier and faster than their last album, Dark Roots Of Earth. If Chuck Billy’s words hold true, it will be another masterpiece from Testament who just seem to keep getting better with age. If any Testament fans missed out on Monday’s show at Anthology, look forward to them being on the road in support of their upcoming album later this year.
During band introductions, Oliver referred to Chris Wood as his “little dancing brother” followed by Chris playfully firing back, calling Oliver his “older, but not more mature brother, and he meant that in a good way.” Over the years, we have seen the brothers create a signature sound while simultaneously forming a stronger bond with each other. The on-stage family banter always adds a bit of comic relief before returning to their deep and thought-provoking lyrics. 
With no opening performers scheduled, 
The sold out 
