7 Reasons to be at An Beal Bocht this Sunday

I’m playing at An Beal Bocht this Sunday, and here is a list of reasons you should go:

1. The ambience: Beal Bocht is beautiful, with an atmosphere that evokes every living room you wish you had, while holding that Irish pub charm. The tables are scattered and unmatched, lending a feeling of informality that also makes the experience feel a little different every time you go.

2. The respect: Hulking behind the counter is a gentle giant named Keith, who ends each set by passing the basket, making a speech before each round about how this money is the only pay the artists get, so to please be generous. He then stands at each table, making sure everyone has a chance to pitch in, or at the very least, to think about pitching in. Having played a lot of shows where I see people reaching into their purses as the basket passes, then dropping their wallets back in in resignation when it floats past without pause, I applaud this aspect of care that they take.

3. The exercise: While it’s easy to get to An Beal Bocht, train-wise (take the 1 to 238th), you will be asked to climb a healthy staircase to get there. It’s a pain that is ultimately worth it, jump-starting your system before the beer hits it. Being out of breath can be an advantage when you reach the door, because just the smell of An Beal Bocht is enough to make you nostalgic for some ineffable thing or time.

4. The food: They are incapable of making a bad thing. They run out of their house stew even on school nights, and everything they serve is fresh and perfectly suited to the pub atmosphere — even the stuff that isn’t fried.

5. The travel: If you think of the Bronx as a troubled area where you get mugged stepping off the train, you haven’t been to the sweet pocket community that is Riverdale, and you should. I would love to try out living in Riverdale for a week, because I bet it’s great, just from all of the people I’ve met that live there. Most nights the place has a decent crowd of regulars, because this is their local, and the nightly music is part of their culture. Seriously, this place.

6. The support: This folds in with the respect thing, but An Beal Bocht has been super-supportive to me, particularly over the last few months. My early gigs at this place helped me pay my rent before I had any steady work in NYC, and my gig there opening for Michelle Malone a month or so back really helped tighten a few things around the house. Their open mic on Tuesdays is a weekly point of inspiration, where the younger writers that re-engage me with methods that I haven’t used in a while also welcome advice from those of us with a little more seasoning.

7. Me! I’ll be there, playing from 8:00 (SHARP) to 8:50, and my sets have been better than ever lately. I feel better about more of my songs than I ever have, and playing in a room I love with a sound system that I know and enjoy playing through is a welcome thing. If it’s been a while since you’ve seen me, this is one of those sets you’ll be glad you made the trek for.

See you there!

Paul