Thursday, April 6, 2000
Irish invasion for Punters
Emerald Isle for band after cross-Canada tour
By Sandy MacDonald
The Daily News

Larry Foley was in Ireland last week, laying the groundwork for a Newfoundland invasion of the Emerald Isle. In a month or two, a flock of young Newfoundlanders is expected to cross the sea to work for the summer. Foley, who studied in Cork a few years ago, was visiting friends and lining up some gigs for his St. John's-based band The Punters.

Foley is frontman of the group, one of the region's emerging folk/pop bands. Its new album, Will You Wait, is an interesting package that moves the quartet away from the traditional Celtic colouring of their '97 release, Said Said She Couldn't Dance. The band is moving closer to the folk/pop of the Barenaked Ladies and Blue Rodeo, though without the writing skills of those bands.

Foley is an engaging singer and the musical engine that drives the band.

Bandmate Patrick Moran brought his fiddle and electric guitar to the sessions to add some spice.

The Punters headline at The Velvet Olive tonight, a record release blowout. The quartet is in the midst of a tour that started in St. John's on St. Paddy's Day and wraps up in Victoria on May 6.