Friday, August 24, 2007
The band is described as an Irish version of Springsteen and the E Street Band.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Over the past decade, West Ireland-based folk-rock super group the Saw Doctors has enjoyed pockets of American success.
Though Cleveland has become one of the act’s biggest stateside markets, rivaling that of Los Angeles, New York City, Boston and Philadelphia, it didn’t start out that way.
“The first two shows we played in Cleveland were disasters,” said guitarist Leo Moran, calling from New York City. “I don’t know why, but we eventually made a few friends there, picked up a great following, and it’s just built and built. We’re delighted with the young crowds we got at the House of Blues earlier this year.
“That’s great for us. There’s a great energy in the room and good for our future.”
Great energy and young crowds is why the Galway band — Moran, Davy Carton (vocals), Anthony Thistlethwaite (bass and saxophone), Kevin Duffy (keyboards and vocals) and Eimhin Cradock (drums and vocals) — is returning to Northeast Ohio for a Saturday show at the House of Blues.
Currently the band is touring its sixth studio effort, 2006’s “The Cure,” which has taken the Saw Doctors into more of a reflective and introspective direction. Moran admits he’s not quite sure why the rock act — described as an Irish version of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for its everyman tales — ventured down the mature highway.
Style for success
Perhaps it was a subconscious decision to stylistically mirror the current influx of less raucous, more singer-songwriter-based Celtic acts (Damien Rice and The Frames come to mind) that have enjoyed critical attention in the states.
“Yeah, the latest album was quite serious,” Moran said, “and maybe the next one will be more immature and a reaction to that.”
In many ways, the Saw Doctors is living a double life. In their Gaelic homeland, the group is a bona fide commercial success, including three Irish No. 1 singles “N17,” “Hay Wrap” and “I Useta Lover.” In fact, the latter track is the biggest-selling single in Ireland, ahead of such Irish icons as U2, Sinead O’Connor and Van Morrison.
However, in America, the Saw Doctors exist mainly on word-of-mouth, with their fan base being slowly built up since the late ’90s.
“We’re quite happy to do it,” Moran said. “There are very few bands coming from our position who were able to come over here and tour in the states and play to as many people as we play to, so it was quite a privilege. We’re delighted with that.
“Obviously we’d love to have an album with a hit [American] single on it, because then we’d sell 10 times as many albums, but we’re quite happy. We’ll do whatever. We sell enough albums and tickets to keep us going, we have great audiences and we get to play in interesting places. That’s what’s great about America, there’s a great audience out there for huge diversity of music.”
Something that doesn’t keep the members of the Saw Doctors going when they’re on tour is its homeland’s Guinness stout. Such news feels heretical.
“No, we don’t drink it once we leave the country,” Moran said. “It’s just not up to the standards as it is at home. So instead, Japanese beers are good. We like them.”
For some reason that seems kind of odd, right?
“I don’t know,” Moran laughed, “but it works for us though.”