Pat McGee at the Canal Room in NYC

Stand Pat
By Mike Johnson

When I first heard about the opportunity to go check out a Pat McGee show at the Canal Room I was psyched to catch a live version of that “Yooouurrrrrrr so beautiful” song, but it turns out that dive bar classic is performed by Pat McGuire. Then I was reminded of a rude, Scottish, sexually charged character I created as a 12 year old on a long car ride to a soccer tournament in Michigan named Pat McGroin, but that’s neither here nor there. The important fact to take home here is that I couldn’t even call myself a casual Pat McGee fan before the show, not because I didn’t like him, but because I didn’t know who he was. That statement doesn’t put me in the majority. Several people were excited on my behalf that I was going to a McGee show last Tuesday and I was adequately convinced that I would enjoy it.

For starters, the people ratio was 99 percent cute Pat McGee groupies and one percent Mike Johnson from thecheappop.com, so that was nice. The room is filled with comfy leather chairs and sofas and the acoustics are perfect for the kind of guitar and soft drum show that McGee puts on. I wish I could find the name of the Welsh dude who opened up for him on the May 6 show because he was fantastic and set the stage perfectly for the main event. Not knowing much about McGee before the show, while watching the opening act I actually had the thought, “Wow, Pat McGee is kinda funny. He’s pretending to be an opening act from Wales and putting on the whole accent and everything.” I’m glad I didn’t turn to the guy to my right to share those thoughts because the guy to my right turned out to be Pat McGee. Anyway, I’m an idiot, and Pat went on for real around 9 p.m. and played a good long set with a mix of requests and new tunes.

The room holds around 200 people and most people in there were hanging on every note and lyric. I can see it being a great experience for a die hard fan, and between the bar and all the young people it still serves as a fun night out for somebody just trying to take in some good acoustic tunes on a Tuesday night. The Pat McGee Band will be playing the Canal Room for the next five Tuesdays before retreating to the studio to work on a new album.