Updated: Jul 9, 2019
If Beer is the blood of McF, Music is the pulse. The late Tom Petty said: “Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There’s not some trick involved with it. It’s pure and it’s real.” We like to think that the music played at McFleshman’s is as real and raw as it comes. To the point that the instruments hanging on the wall are to entice the loyal Pub goer to grab them and start to sing. “If you can tune it you can play it” is the rule.
So why is music so essential for our pub and beer garden? I have a crazy theory: Consider the age of the ‘local pub’. Some argue that the pub is as old as civilization itself—and their argument is rather sound. When Agriculture began, we could stay in one place—no longer needing to hunt and gather. Having more people in close proximity had its upside, but also brought frustrations of daily living that are best calmed with a pint of liquid that both hydrated and relaxed. Before modern filtration, Beer was one of the safest potable water sources! In fact, the majority of beer was brewed by the lady of the house (known as a Brewster).
So you’re working all day and need to relax and hang out with friends, so off to the pub you go! But given there was no WiFi for the majority of human existence it was up to those creative musical souls to entertain the common folk of the city. The more they played, the more relaxed and happy the citizens became! (Beer probably helped!) and after a great night out with friends, you return to work refreshed and ready to tackle the day, and the cycle continues. Imagine how awful it would have been in an Irish pub to have no fiddler? Or a beer garden in Bavaria with no accordion. The language of culture is held within It’s music.
So throughout the year we bring you live local music both in the beer garden and in our tap room. (Tip o’ the hat to Taylor Greenwood for organizing it all!) Yes, we do sell a few more pints those nights, but what we’re truly after is to enrich our local culture and create a space that you can disconnect from your stresses and be with the community-all enjoying the same beautiful sounds as one collective soul. When you think of it that way, live music is the seed for an inclusive and connected community.
This Saturday the Plott Hounds are playing and pictured above is the Honeygoats who rocked it this past weekend.
So the next time you’re in the beer garden listening to some great music, I ask you take your beer and toast to our ancestors who brought us this tradition of a night out with friends, listening to the local minstrel, and enjoying that well earned pint.
Cheers!
Thanks to Jennifer Arndt for the photo!
