Philadelphia is a drinking town

I'm sure the same can be said for any town, from the largest metropolis to the one horse town you pass on a secluded Pocono road where if you blink you'll miss it.  But here's what sets Philly apart.

The Irish.  With St. Patrick's Day coming up, the Irish side of the city comes out from their normal Friday night hole in the wall and congregates at the Irish parties that the big pubs throw.  Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day so it doesn't even matter if you are obviously not Irish.  For instance, I already consider Donovan McNabb Irish, because with a name like that, you're definitely not German.  But everyone becomes Irish because goddamn we can throw a party.

Two notable events coming up that I will be attending.  The first is the Erin Express, as far as I know a Philly exclusive.  It has to be on a Saturday because it's an all day thing.  Buses drive people around to different bars, and the buses are paid for by the bars.  There's an Erin Express in Center City Philadelphia that runs on three weekends, but due to the huge Irish population of my area (Drexel Hill, Upper Darby, and Havertown), they have one out here too!  Ours only runs on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, so.... today!  Woohoo.  I have to wrap this up :)  It's 9:47am and the buses start running at noon.

The next event is held on St. Patrick's Day.  There's this band, and they're pretty good.  Really, to be successful around here, you have to write good beats, lyrics that you can sing along to, and apparently have one guy in your band that the ladies go nuts over.  It just so happens that one of those particular bands is an Irish band.  Blackthorn.  Last year, they held a show ($15 to get in, tickets still available!!) at the Springfield Country Club and are doing it again this year.  I talked about whatever I could muster up from the shallow pits of foggy memory of last year's event on my website here.  The thing that makes them great, and successful, is that their music appeals to all ages.  At other shows they've held, like at Rose Tree Park in Media, it's truly a family / fun for everyone event.  This one is for the 21+ group, but we still get people like my best friend's grandfather, who I had a random encounter with at the last St. Patty's show (my best friend was stationed in Japan at the time, so he wasn't there, which made it more random), and lots of older (50+) people just enjoying the atmosphere.  The music is timeless.  I go crazy when they play Black and Tans.

I describe last year's Blackthorn concert as the drunkest I've ever been :)  Because you don't want to be the dickhead that goes and gets beer and doesn't bring one back for everyone.  So, if you're not quick, you could be holding three beers at one time.

Honestly, I have an Irish name but Irish just makes up 25% of my ancestry.  But, the other 75%, German (50%) and French, are famous for drinking.  Again, though, the same can be said for any town, city, country, ancestor.  It all just depends how you party, and Philadelphia, and it's Irish suburbs, can throw one hell of a party!