Here are photos taken during the recent Dauber’s 13th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Party, which took place at the Gallitzin American Legion’s Oriental Ballroom on March 18.
This event – a fundraiser for Gallitzin Fire Company No. 1 – was renamed in honor of its founder, Christopher “Dauber” Cox, a longtime fireman, paramedic and fire chief for the Gallitzin Fire Company. Dauber passed away in August, 2022 following a valiant battle against cancer, and his memory and legacy live on through this event.
Many green-clad celebrants filled the ballroom once the doors opened, and a huge sea of green greeted openers Full Kilt as they took the stage. Fiddler Mandy Passmore-Ott took the spotlight early with the fiddle-driven instrumental opener, “Jameson Set” – kicking off Full Kilt’s two sets of Irish rock favorites, pub and folk songs. Mandy, singer and guitarist Mike Zerbee, bassist and singer Chris Myers and drummer Jake Yarnish did fun Irish pub and folk classics such as “Johnny Jump Up,” the accelerating “Mary Mack,” the clap-along favorite “Whiskey in the Jar” and more. They also did rocking Irish-flavored favorites such as Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Wild Night,” and their “Irished-up” versions of Lynyrd (Mc)Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” and Charlie (Mc)Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down to Dublin, plus the ever-popular sing-along version of Smokie’s “Living Next Door to Alice.” And on a more serious note, Full Kilt devoted Flogging Molly’s ballad “If I Ever Leave This World Alive” in Dauber’s memory.
The Giants Of Science then fired up the dance party, quickly packing the dance floor with their happy-go-lucky mixture of 1980s and other favorites. The Giants welcomed some audience members up to the stage to sing on a few numbers, plus a djembe-wielding “Professor” (Q94’s Jim Price) to tap out a few beats on the Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women.” And as the merriment continued, Mick and the Giants Of Science acknowledged and remembered Dauber several times during their performance, and also frequently thanked the Cambria County community for all the love and support constantly shown to the group over the years.
Dauber’s 13th annual St. Patrick’s Day Party was again a huge success, and the outpouring of love and support in his memory provided a heart-warming experience.
The pictures below show both bands and the merriment of this fun night. (Thanks to Denise Musser for taking the pictures of “The Professor” banging away on the djembe during Giants Of Science’s set!)
