Yes, there have already been parades and pub crawls, but the actual St. Patrick's Day is this Saturday and, with the holiday falling on a weekend, there is no shortage of things to do. Here's a sample of ideas to celebrate (or fake) the Irish in you:

J. Patrick's Irish Pub, 1371 Andre Street, 410-244-8613: Long-time house band Rigadoo will start playing authentic Irish tunes at 4 p.m., as they do every year. This will be a no-frills celebration with the usual suspects on tap: Guinness, Harp, Smithwick's, and Magners. Early risers will appreciate that the staff is getting to the bar around 7 a.m. and owners anticipate a crowd will be waiting when J. Patrick's opens.

Sláinte Irish Pub and Restaurant, 1700 Thames Street, 410-563-6600: If you thought 7 was early, Sláinte is pushing it all the way to the legal limit and opening at 6 a.m. on Saturday. They will have live, acoustic music in the morning, as well as Irish dancers three times throughout the day. The highlight, however, will be at 1 p.m. when England plays Ireland in the Six Nations Rugby Championship. The bar may or may not explode. 

An Poitin Stil, 2323 York Road, Timonium, 410-560-7900: For those after the mega-celebration, The Stil is right up your alley. Though they've been celebrating since the 11th, Saturday will feature a live broadcast from 100.7 The Bay, as well as a tent with various live bands throughout the day, ending with the Kelly Bell Band at 9 p.m. If you get there early enough (10-11 a.m.) Guinness, Harp, and Smithwick's will be $3.17 each. But, don't worry—Jameson drinks are $5 all day.

Liam Flynn's Ale House, 22 W. North Avenue, 443-956-1702: This relatively new Station North bar is celebrating pretty big on Saturday. They'll open at 11 a.m. (instead of the normal 4 p.m.) and will feature all the matches on TV (including England vs. Ireland rugby). At 2 p.m., they'll serve complimentary food like bangers and beans, corned beef and cabbage, and soda bread. Drink specials include $5 20-oz. Guinness pints, $3 Bloody Marys and mimosas, and $6 Irish coffees.

Victoria Gastro Pub, 8201 Snowden River Parkway, Columbia, 410-750-1880: If you're a beer lover, this Columbia gastro pub is ideal. They'll feature live music and food specials, like Irish breakfast, smoked salmon, corned beef and cabbage, and Guinness pie. But the kicker is the draft beer on tap: Kilkenny Irish Cream, Brooklyn Irish Stout, Porterhouse Red, DuClaw Celtic Fury Irish Stout, Flying Dog Lucky SOB, Ohara's Irish Red, and more. 

Mick O'Shea's, 328 N. Charles Street, 410-539-7504: The Mt. Vernon bar is kicking it off at 10 a.m. with kegs and eggs. They'll also be doing beat-the-clock specials on 16-oz. Guinness pints (from 10-11 a.m., $2; from 11 a.m.-noon, $3; from noon-1 p.m., $4). That's all leading up to the England vs. Ireland rugby game and then traditional Irish band Spalpeens will perform from 4 p.m. on.

The Life of Reilly, 2031 E. Fairmount Avenue, 410-327-6425: Starting at 8 a.m., this quaint Butchers Hill bar will be packed with revelers. This is a place to go for the food: All of their delicious Guinness entrees will be $9.99 and they'll feature a stew-and-brew deal—half-order of Guinness stew and pint of Guinness is $9.99. Also, a trio of Irish whiskey flights is $15.99.

Claddagh Pub, 2918 O’Donnell Street, 410-522-4220: In true Canton style, Claddagh's is hosting the 17th annual "Meet in the Street" where revelers party in O'Donnell Square. This year, expect a live 98 Rock broadcast, green beer, heated tents, and live music from Mr. Greengenes. 

Dougherty’s Pub, 223 W. Chase Street, 410-752-4059: This mid-town dive is taking a low-key approach to the holiday. They'll be opening up at 11:30 a.m. instead of the usual 5 p.m. and they'll be serving entrees like corned beef and cabbage, lamb stew, and Irish cream cheesecake. But, other than that, it's business as usual: they won't have any live entertainment and they'll have the typical Guinness, Harp, Smithwick's, and Magners on tap.

Cat's Eye Pub, 1730 Thames Street, 410-276-9866: As it is wont to do, Cat's Eye will have live music all day and night. Irish folk band Dogs Among the Bushes will be perofrming their tunes from 2 p.m.- 2 a.m. There will be drink specials on Murphys and Jameson, as well as giveaways.

Ryan's Daughter, 600 E. Belvedere Avenue, 410-464-1000: The Belvedere Square spot will feature live music from noon until midnight, including a local balladeer, a bagpiper, and Irish soloist Brendan Pelan. The bar will be serving a limited menu with all of the typical Irish favorites. 

Power Plant Live!, 34 Market Place, 410-752-5444: This Saturday, Power Plant is hosting "Shamrocks & Shenanigans," an all-day music festival, culminating with a performance by mash-up DJ Girl Talk at 9 p.m. For $20, you get a pass that gives you access to the concerts and no cover at the various bars. Also, for $30, Leinenkugel's Beer Garden and Luckie's Tavern are having open bar and food 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

[Image: courtesy of ajax15 via flickr]

Last night I finally got around to seeing The Descendants, (hint: bring tissues) at Landmark Theater in Harbor East. I love the modern theater for many reasons, one of which, of course, is the fact that they have a bar and you can bring your cocktails into the theater, something we've written about extensively in the past.

But, another cool thing I noticed about the bar is they have movie-inspired cocktails on their drink list. Last night, the cocktails were based upon some of the Best Picture nominees. At first I thought I should get the Descendants drink, inspired by its Hawaiian setting, but wasn't really in the mood for a rum punch. So, instead, I got the The Iron Lady, a refreshingly tart mix of VeeV Açaí berry liquor with ginger ale, a splash of lime juice, and a float of pear juice.

Bartender Ginny Lawhorn told us that she rotates the cocktail list to whatever is popular at the movies. She's done Harry Potter drinks before and will soon do cocktails based on Project X, the newly released film about the ultimate high school party. (We joked about including light beer and cheap vodka).

[Image: courtesy of me]

Spike TV's Bar Rescue—think Kitchen Nightmares, but with bars—is in town and is looking to help out J.A. Murphy's. I stopped by the taping last night and got a chance to talk with the host, Jon Taffer, who has run bars and restaurants for nearly 30 years.

Taffer himself looked straight out of a mafia movie and had a similar tough-love mentality when he talked about the origin of the bar. "These were two kids who started a bar in a drunken stupor right after college," he said of owners Keith Murphy and Joel Gallant. "They had no idea about the business side of things."

Taffer and the crew of Bar Rescue have been at the Fells Point spot since Wednesday observing the bar and, ultimately, overhauling the space. Taffer cited severe sanitation problems in the kitchen, a former bartender leaving to start a new business, and a tendency for the bar to encourage binge drinking.

"There is a drink called an Inception Bomb, which, just one of them, puts you over the legal limit," Taffer said. "We want to keep the fun here, but take out the irresponsibility."

When I talked to co-owner Keith Murphy, he said that they were excited about the changes to come—things that could include flair bartenders, a new concept, and a name change. "I mean, to be honest, we should be doing better than we are," he said. "They want to keep it fun and energetic without making it a drunk fest." 

I also asked Murphy about the hypothetical name change of J.A. Murphy's. "We can always change it back," he said with a laugh. "But I am willing to get kicked in the balls a bit if it's good for business."

The big reveal is tomorrow and open to the public, so I'm sure it will get crowded quickly. Spike TV said that the second season of Bar Rescue is going to start in July, and the episode's airdate will be soon after.

[Image: courtesy of J.A. Murphy's]

For whatever reason, I've been on a '90s kick lately. It started when I got Pearl Jam Twenty on Netflix (which was awesome, by the way), continued when HBO kept showing Titanic last week, and came to a head last night when I saw Third Eye Blind at Rams Head Live.

This was the first time I had seen the band in more than a decade and, besides newer songs on the setlist and shaggier hair on frontman Stephan Jenkins, not much has changed. Jenkins and company ripped through an hour-and-a-half long show, which started with "Thanks A Lot," off the band's self-titled, and most successful album, which the set heavily relied on (with tracks like "Losing A Whole Year," "Jumper," "Graduate," and "Motorcycle Drive-By"). Other highlights included the poppy "Crystal Baller" and new favorite "Bonfire."

One big difference was Brad Hargreaves's extended drum solo during "Jumper" that ended up turning into a mini-electronic dance party. That, paired with Jenkins throwing out glow sticks to the crowd during the set, made it seem like Third Eye Blind is trying to appeal to the next generation. Seeing as a majority of the sold-out crowd was in their late 20's to early 40's, that is probably a good idea. Jenkins also announced that the band is about to go back to San Francisco to work on its fifth studio album.

After a brief pause, the band came back out to predictably play "Semi-Charmed Life," an obvious crowd favorite. The set ended with "God of Wine," the final track on their self-titled album. The entire show was a fun experience—albeit mostly for nostalgic reasons (I may or may not have listened to "Motorcycle Drive-By" on the way to work this morning). But, if Third Eye Blind wants to appeal to an entirely new generation, it might need more than drum solos and glow sticks.

[Image: courtesy of Third Eye Blind]