Last night Kelly and I ventured to McMenamins White Eagle Saloon. It's a nice spot, very much a McMenamins, but more relaxed and pleasant than say, Kennedy School, and certainly more enjoyable than Ringlers or the like. One key difference between this and other McMenamins establishments is that The White Eagle has live music (looking at their schedule, it seems every night of the week) and what brought us there last night was some live Irish folk music.
We arrived at about 7:30, walked in through the long building towards the stage and then out to the patio since the weather was so nice. We took a table just next to the door, so we could see and hear the music, and was promptly served by a very friendly and attentive server. We were happy to discover they served Nebraska Bitter, the best McMenamins beer in my opinion, even though it wasn't on their menu. Hooray! We had a very nice dinner (I had one of the specials, the 'Sgt. Pepper Salad'; sliced breaded chicken, pepperjack cheese, peppercorn ranch, and totally delicious), and reminisced about our honeymoon in Ireland while the music started.
The music, by Hanz Araki and band (sometimes known as "An Tua") was fantastic. It was lead by Hanz Araki (flutes, pennywhistles, low-whistles, shakuhachi, and vocals) who was joined by four other musicians; a guitarist, violinist, pianist, and percussionist. ist. ist. 🙂 There were songs I recognized from other traditional Irish folk albums Kelly and I own (bought while on our honeymoon) and it was a treat to hear while we chatted about where we were two years ago. Between sets Kelly purchased the An Tua album 6 of One, Five of the Other, which is also great. Very fun night out. Very groggy today. 🙂
4 replies on “Live Irish folk at the White Eagle”
Awesome. Sounds like a neat place, fun time. Except for the groggy part. Though Beck and I were such slugs today it wouldn’t have mattered. 🙂
Definately had a good time there. The Irish folk music helped a lot though (I know it’s not for everybody, but it seems to have that uplifting effect on Kelly and I), who knows what the atmosphere would be like on another night, though it is still a cool spot.
We ended up buying the band a round late in the night after they finished, spoke with various band members. They all seemed to appreciate it too, since by the end it was pretty much just Kelly and I hanging out. 🙂
Nice! Irish Folk music is pretty cool.
I’ve actually been there a few times when they’ve had music including Dave Allen, formally of Gang of Four, DJ’ing. I liked the group we saw at Moon and Sixpence.
Miranda