Audience members sang, yelled, danced and rode the donkey during the Gaelic Storm concert Sunday.

Gaelic Storm had a crowd-interactive performance where they invited members onto the stage, encouraged them to participate in the music and even had half the audience members pull out their cell phones for part of a song.

Steve Twigger, the guitarist for Gaelic Storm, put on a contest during their song “Whiskey and Light,” where they had half the audience yell “I’ll bring the whiskey” and “I’ll bring the light.”

The audience that yelled “I’ll bring the light” brought out anything that made light and held them up during their portion of the song.

The other members of Gaelic Storm are Patrick Murphy, lead vocals; Ryan Lacey, drums; Pete Purvis, pipes; and Jeesie Burns, violin.

Twigger said it is important for audience members to be involved in the show.

“I think it is unique and makes every night different,” Twigger said. “I think it does involve people more and people feel a more personal connection.”

Another of Gaelic Storm’s songs, “Darcy’s Donkey,” had audience members mimicking riding a donkey.

During this song, Murphy brought up audience member, Andrew Methven, a history professor, who was particularly enthusiastic during the song.

Methven said he never expected to be brought up on stage.

“I didn’t really think he was pointing at me,” Methven said. “He told me to do it and then he asked me what I was doing.”

Methven said his stage appearance probably would not go over well with his daughter.

“My daughter is going to be mortified,” Methven said. “She always tells me ‘don’t embarrass me’ and what do you think I did tonight?”

Gaelic Storm introduced most of their songs with a comic story behind their songs.

Most of their songs are based on real experiences from their tours.

“Back when we used to be a pub band, we would play the same songs every weekend,” Twigger said.

“The only thing that really changed was what happened that week so we would tell funny stories about what was going on,” Twigger said.

They also brought up 7-year-old Jake Reeley during their encore song, “What’s the Rumpus?” to hit the cymbal.

Murphy queued Reeley to hit the cymbal and helped him run and hit it.

“I was really nervous,” Reeley said. “It was really, really, really fun.”

Twigger said they would involve the audience to make the show different.

“Having them be a part of the show came from our old pub days,” Twigger said.

Clare Smith, a senior history major, said she enjoyed their show as usual.

“I’ve seen them every year since I was 5,” Smith said.

Smith said she is a fan because of their energy.

“Even on the big stage, you feel like it’s a small stage,” Smith said. “It seems like they connect with the audience on a one-on-one basis.”

Twigger said they have had to find a balance for audiences who will get up and dance and those who just want to sit and watch the show.

“It sometimes can be a little difficult for sit-down theater shows, and you don’t quite know if people are going to get up and sing and clap along, or if they want to sit quietly,” said Gabrielle Lohr, a junior communication studies major.

She said she liked that Gaelic Storm brought the audience into the concert.

“It’s so much more fun when they bring the audience into it,” Lohr said. “I was never bored.”

After the concert, Gaelic Storm signed posters, programs and stress donkeys, donkeys made similar to stress balls. They also took pictures with audience members.

“People have gone out of their way to buy tickets so I think it is important to acknowledge our audience,” Twigger said. “You get a sense of the crowd, almost one-on-one.”

For more information about Gaelic Storm, people can visit their webpage or Facebook page.

Twigger said he was happy with the crowd participation and how the show went.

“The crowd was really lively for a Sunday night sit-down crowd; it was great,” Twigger said.

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-2812 or slmcdaniel@eiu.edu.