"Great" is in the eye of the beholder. Never push musically taste aside. People like different things. The only thing I was trying to challenge is the "lesser known" comment. I love Flogging Molly. You might not. You buy what you like, I'll buy what I like, and let's enjoy life. However, when people say that a band is lesser know, the only thing I ask is that you realize that there is a great musically world outside of what you hear on your local pop radio station. Sorry to sound like an ass (cause in reading this back it seems like I do), but there you go...For the record, I love James Galway and Drop Kick Murphies as well .... variety...I'm told it's the spice of life...

You do kind of sound like an ass, but that's okay...this is VFTW.

And don't patronize me about accepting people's musical taste. I've been teased and tortured for years because of the bands I like, and it's usually by fuckheads who only listen to Snow Patrol and Connor Fucking Oberst.

Thank you. I was almost worried that nobody would mention Van the Man.

Van Dergraff -- Wow!!! Someone else who knows about Rory! The BEST THE BEST THE BEST! Irish Tour (both the CD and the DVD) just kills -- it doesn't get any better than this!

By the way, if you're not listening to Warren Haynes and Gov't Mule, give them a try...not the same vibe musically as Rory, but definitely the same vibe in terms of totally into the music and Warren is an INCREDIBLE guitarist. (Not Irish, but hey.)

(Don't mean by this to ignore Van Morrison, whom I also worship.)

God, it feels good to write about real musicians instead of AI garbage performers. I actually had to sort out my brain yesterday after watching AI tapes by listening to about two hours of real music -- Percy Sledge (his version of Dark End of the Street is the definition of soul singing in my book), Rory, Mule, some Who. I can only hope that among the millions of people who watch AI and somehow think that the contestants are actually singers instead of a joke there's someone who will by chance get turned on to REAL MUSIC.

Showing my age here, too...and as usual posting way after everyone else so most likely no one will ever even read this...but I feel better now.