Search - Colcannon :: Athens Hotel

Cries of the heart

Mark S. Murphy | Maryland | 06/15/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In the summer of 1991 I was a captain in the US Marine Corps, freshly back from the Gulf War and assigned to a job in Boulder, Colorado. On my first day in town I was driving around a crowded downtown, trying to find a parking spot without paying too much attention to anything but the street. A car pulled out of a spot in front of me and I slipped in, getting out to find myself in front of The James Irish Pub. A few beers into the evening the local entertainment began, a band called Colcannon. As I listened to the stories of Mick Bolger, set to music, my heart was pulled to my sleeve. When he introduced a brand new song, Athens Hotel, as a paen to the down-and-out I didn't give it much thought. But as he sang, of the prayers for those who are out in the cold, "pissing in their shoes" I was swept back to the desert of Kuwait, cold in February with rain beating down for days on end. How could he know? How could a street runner in Denver know? Leave a light on for those out in the cold."

Not just Irish blarney

Mark S. Murphy | 10/25/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Athens Hotel continues Colcannon's tradition of fine musicianship. I have followed this band since seeing them at a bluegrass festival in Fort Collins, Colorado and they never fail to entertain. Their music will make you both laugh and cry with their lyrics and their music. They are a delight to see live, but this is a good alternative."