FORMER WOLF TONES GIVE INSPIRED PERFORMANCE AT ROSIE'S

By George O'Brien - Arizona Correspondent

Derek Warfield ( www.derekwarfield.com) and the Sons of Erin gave an impressive performance at Rosie McCaffrey's last Monday. Derek Warfield, an original member of the famed Wolftones, was joined by Noel Guthrie who was the music director of Wolf Tones for 25 years. For many of us, the main reason to see them play was to have a chance to see a legend. The origins of the modern Irish vocal style were set in the early 1960's with the work of groups such as the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, the Dubliners, and the Wolftones. The Wolftones were by far the most political of all the great early Irish folk groups and introduced innumerable "rebel songs" into the standard repertoire. The Phoenix based band, the McMorrows, were influenced more by the Wolf Tones than any other group. The question was, "Would they live up to the legend?" In my opinion they did. The original Wolftones broke up a couple of years ago. Three of the members, Noel Nagle, Tommy Byrne, and Brian Warfield perform as "Formerly of the Wolf Tones," while Derek Warfield (vocals and mandolin), Noel Guthrie (vocals, guitar, and banjo), and Joe Finn (uileann pipes and whistles) formed the Sons of Erin. While touring in the U.S., they are joined by Derrick Keane (vocals and guitar) and Larry Flint (vocals and bass) out of Boston. Derek Warfield is colorful character whose stories and political speeches are as much a part of the show as the music. It was impressive how much energy and enthusiasm he brought to a Monday night performance after a long trip. Derek is not only a fine performer, it is obvious that he absolutely loves performing. His mood was infectious and the crowd just ate it up. Noel Guthrie was primarily used for backup vocals and instrument accompaniment on banjo and guitar. His one solo was the song written about the Antrim Gaelic football team that won All Ireland. Joe Finn on pipes and whistles is a very fine player and tours with Derek Noel in Europe as well as the U.S. and was on Derek's recent CD's. The two U.S. based performers, Larry Flint and Derrick Keane have their own band called Inchicore (www.inchicore.net), but tour with Sons of Erin in the U.S. Larry is a first rate bass guitar player and is a fine vocalist, but Derrick Keane was the biggest surprise of the evening. Several people in the audience said that he sounds like a younger version of Tommy Byrne. He is an absolutely fantastic vocalist. Monday's performance by the Sons of Erin followed a performance in Ohio the previous night (2000 miles away), yet they had great energy and gave a wonderful show. There is already efforts being made to bring them back in the fall.