Like any good trip to a pub, when there's a guy on stage, you can usually expect a good tune, and at least one or two good laughs. Well, Seamus Kennedy is no exception to this.

Recorded at Ireland's Own, a pub in Alexandria, Va., Seamus, with his guitar, shares his own brand of traditional drinking and good-time songs, such as "The Thing" ("So get out of here with that {boom boom boom} and don't come back no more") and "Sarah, Sarah" ("All day long she sits and shines, all day long shines and sits" -- and if that doesn't sound funny, just wait 'til the audience tries to sing it back), and "McDonald's Kitchen," a tune about fast-food establishments that had me rolling in laughter even as I swore off fast food forever.

Between songs, Seamus tells little jokes and stories that keeps the chuckles going until the next song rolls along.

After hearing the second volume, I'm driven to go out to buy the first. If it's even half the fun of the second, then it's bound to be a great CD.

[ by Charlie Gebetsberger ]