John McGillian and Dave Cohen in a small but warm St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Given the lion-or-lamb nature of March weather in Philadelphia—mostly lion—St. Patrick’s Day wasn’t bad: mostly sunny, with a 68.
But you can bet it was a lot better in the laid-back paradise village of Cabarete along the northern beaches of the Dominican Republic: sunny, with a high of 90.
It might not be traditional Irish weather, but Philadelphia accordion player John McGillian. In fact, he’s been heading to Cabarete to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, with his guitar-playing partner Dave Cohen, for the past eight years. Recruited by Philly-area Irish music legend Cletus McBride, McGillian and Cohen—performing as Two Quid—perform most of the day at Jose O’Shay’s, an Irish pub owned by Frank Brittingham. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he once owned the restaurant that still bears his last name in Lafayette Hill.
“I just got back,” McGillian said in an interview this week. “I was there from the 14th to the 21st. I was hired to play one day, but we give Frank a couple of nights acoustically as people walk by.”
Brittingham promises the tourists an authentic full day of Irish music and dance, and that’s what they get: McGillian and Cohen, McBride, Irish Thunder piper Cullen Kirkpatrick, and three dancers from the Henry School—Caitlin, Bridget and Molly Mahon. There’s even a parade on the beach.
As for the tourists, McGillian says, “most of them come from from Canada or Europe. It’s not a resort. You’re on your own. It is a zoo. But it’s beautiful—a tropical island. It’s a little piece of Spain because everyone is speaking Spanish.”
He confesses, “The only words I’ve learned so far are “Cerveza (beer), per favor” and “muchas gracias.”
McGillian and his partner landed the Celtic Caribbean gig when Brittingham asked McBride—who was then performing at Brittingham’s St. Thomas pub—who he’d recommend to play on St. Patrick’s Day at Jose O’Shay’s. “I used to play the odd gig here and there with Cletus,” McGillian recalls, “and Cletus said John McGillian because I was his fave.”
McBride called McGillian out of the blue. “It was a surprise. I had no idea. I went down the first time, and then Frank kept getting me back.” His partner from Five Quid went along as part of the deal. “Dave is one of the best musicians I’ve met. I’ve been playing with Dave. I’ve been playing with Dave the last 20 years all over Philadelphia, New Jersey, and through the Tristate area. No one touches us for a two-piece.”
Regardless of the locale, the music is pretty much the same as what you might hear in a local pub on St. Patrick’s Day, and they also play for the dancers. “We’ll do a couple of songs, and then the girls will come out with the hard shoes on and dance away.”
There’s also a dance floor so the tourists can step out. That’s when they’re not wind surfing or kite surfing—two activities for which Cabarete is well known.
As for McGillian, he’ll be happy to throw on the loud shirt and shorts and play “Whiskey in the Jar” at beachside pretty much forever.
“It’s a gift,” he says. “It’s gonna end one day, so I’m gonna accept as long as its being offered. It’s the best gig out of town.”
And when he returns to Philadelphia, he’s happy to share his stories with his fellow musicians—the ones who suffered through three or four gigs on St. Patrick’s Day, just possibly on a day when the Delaware Valley was blanketed in snow.
“I’ll rub it in whenever I can.”
