Black 47, for a long time considered the house band of NYC, was an
Irish-American rockband that understood to marry punk rock to traditional
Irish music (and instruments), and the longer they were together (for a
quarter of a century in all), the more accomplished and eclectic their
music would become, later also incorporating elements of jazz, folk,
reggae and even hip hop, among other styles. Black 47 was formed in the
late 1980s by Larry Kirwan, who immigrated to the US from Ireland
(illegally) in his teens, and Chris Byrne, a Brooklyn cop with Irish
roots, and after failing their footing in the Irish pub scene initially,
they eventually found success (and additional bandmembers) at Paddy
Reilly's bar on Manhattan's East Side, then a booming place, where they
soon became regulars. Around 1993, Black 47 had their
"breakthrough" with the single Funky Ceili, which played
on MTV and
garnered them spots on late night talkshows. However, Black 47 always saw
themselves as a political band, which was probably their biggest roadblock
to international fame. Chris Byrne left the band in 2000 (amically, as
can be witnessed in the interviews he gives in this movie) but the rest of
the band chimed on - and hit another major roadblock with Iraq,
their album opposing the Iraq War, which cost them many of their fans
believing the album to be unpatriotic - but still the band wasn't one to
waver, and while they might never again have reached the heights of former
successes, commercially, they stayed true to themselves, and as can be
witnessed in excerpts from their very recent shows, they haven't only lost
nothing of their power live, they have also grown, musically - and at what
was probably the height of their artistic success, Larry Kirwan decided to
call it quits after 25 years, to finish on top rather than fade out ... Now
I have to admit, I knew very little about Black 47 before seeing this
film, nor did I bother to, but the movie really gets one fired up about
the band, as the filmmakers really seem to get them, putting their
emphasis not so much on telling a chronological history of Black 47
(actually much less than I have done) or letting diverse talking heads
talk this to death with pointless anecdotes only fans will enjoy in the
first place, but letting the band speak through what they do best, make
music, and thus making their love for music palpable to the audience. And
even if I didn't by far like all of their songs, somehow now I'm a fan ...
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