Opening for the night at this Brooklyn show was DUG, an Americana-Folk duo based in Dublin, featuring musicians Conor (Lorkin) O’Reilly and Jonny Pickett. The group blends Irish and American music tradition to create their unique sound.
Peter McPoland in Brooklyn
Peter McPoland in Brooklyn
Halfway through his US Big Lucky Tour, Peter McPoland makes a stop in NYC at Brooklyn Steel.
DUG
The duo introduced themselves as DUG “like the hole, not the man” and talked about their visit to New York all the way from Ireland. Pickett mentioned asking a local friend what to do while in town and explained that they ended up at the theater seeing Wicked on Broadway the night before the show. Pickett told the audience that he cried during “Defying Gravity” and that if he lived in NY, he’d have no money because of all the theater tickets he’d be buying.
The group shared that the last time they played in NY it was in a bar, so they are grateful to be on this tour, playing venues like Brooklyn Steel. DUG mentioned how the Brooklyn Steel staff had been nothing but kind to them during their entire experience, but that oftentimes, promoters can be and have been awful to work with. O’Reilly expressed that he believes diss tracks can be written in any genre, just as their next song “Promoter Man” is a diss track towards people who abuse their power.
During a track about a dancer, DUG called up a 9 year old fan to dance on stage. Later, Pickett jumped down into the audience to teach the crowd a dance that led to a beautiful scene during “Cumberland Gap”. The whole room was full of friends and strangers doing this newly learned dance together, swinging around and following the steps. The song ended in roaring cheers as a thank you to DUG for such a joyful few minutes.
Peter McPoland
McPoland entered the stage joined by his supporting band, but as opposed to taking a stance by their instruments, the group joined McPoland in front of the microphone in a four-part harmony to perform the first song of the night, “Dead Air”. For the next song “Good Day”, the band assumed their respective instruments and McPoland donned a harmonica neck holder while also playing the acoustic guitar.
McPoland talked a lot about how he loves New York and how special it is for him to specifically be playing this show at Brooklyn Steel. The singer reminisced about times he’d attend Brooklyn Steel events and how, because the subway is a ways away from the venue, “everyone leaves together in a single file line and… chit chats on the way out and it’s the best… when you’re walking home tonight, just know I wish I was walking with you.” The singer apparently moved to NYC when he was 18, sleeping on his great uncle’s couch while auditioning for musical theatre roles. “I fuck with musical theater.. I’m gonna go see Les Mis.”
McPoland told the crowd how he used to take the subway downtown and would stop every morning at deli stations and eat breakfast on a bench in the financial district. The artist recollects ‘losing his mind on the 1 train’ which segued into McPoland’s song “Shit Show” that features the lyric “I dropped my mind somewhere on the one line.”
The New York talk didn’t stop there. The singer then introduced his band and asked each member what their favorite thing about the city is. McPoland told the crowd that his guitarist had never been to New York before this tour stop, but the musician didn’t hesitate with his answer of the classic “Bakineggncheese”. When the band wrapped up their answers, the crowd yelled in unison asking McPoland what his favorite piece of NY was. “THE STATEN ISLAND FERRY!” was met with laughter and cheering.
Nearing the end of his set, McPoland spotted a fan holding something out to him in the crowd. He pleaded “don’t tempt me, we’re in a time crunch!”, but took the item anyway. It turns out the fan had brought her childhood Bop It toy. The artist swore he would give it one go and if he lost, he’d have to continue the show because there wasn’t much time left of the set. McPoland ‘twisted, pulled and bopped it’ for over three and a half minutes in silence. He apologized to the crowd, told fans to go buy merch, and questioned how long the toy would continue spitting out instructions, before finally beating the game and screaming in victory. The crowd went nuts and the singer celebrated onstage before moving on to his last few songs.
Closing
Peter McPoland is quite the character and experiencing him live on tour gives a lot of context to the music fans know so well from their speakers. This night in Brooklyn was full of silly moments, wholesome connection, and some great music.
