If there ever was a band that has endured hardships on the road, then that band has to be The Young Dubliners. Gracing Ames with their presence tonight, the youngsters are coming off of five tire blowouts in one week, a new exhaust manifold and a tune-up.

They even got ripped off by a service station in Montana after a trailer tire blew.

“We spent $340 on a tire for our trailer,” said Keith Roberts, vocalist and guitarist for the band. ” A dollar a mile to be towed from Billington for 110 miles, plus another $60 for the tow and $50 an hour for the service. $340 for a piece-of-crap tire.

“We were going to beat the crap out of that guy, but we decided not to because it was too cold.”

Well, The Young Dubliners won’t escape that cold coming to Iowa, but they won’t mind. The last time they were in town the band “had a blast” opening up for Zero at People’s.

“The funny thing was people were like, ‘Who’s this? We came to see the Deadhead band.’ At the end of our set, the crowd wouldn’t stop clapping and we had to do an encore.

“It was one of those nights where we partied hard, so if we offended anybody, we apologize,” Roberts added.

The hardest thing for the band, besides finding decent transportation, is getting gigs. “We’re misinterpreted as ‘adult alternative,'” Roberts said. “The only way to get the message out was to do impromptu free gigs.”

Well, unfortunately this gig isn’t free, it’ll cost ya $3, but Roberts feels that their live show is where it’s at. “We’re sort of known for our show; we sometimes have to throw in new things because we’re getting pretty tight.”

With the release of Breathe, the band’s first full length CD, on Backyard/Scottie Bros. Records, The Young Dubliners have become a more focused band.

“We’re getting a lot of good response and critical acclaim,” Roberts said. “The EP was five years of writing and the album was five weeks; a very concise year of our lives.”

The EP that Roberts speaks of is Rocky Road, released in 1994. “You can pick six songs and they’re all different; it’s a little less focused.”

Well, now that the band is focused, they’re aiming straight for the top, and they don’t foresee fading away. “If we do manage to get to the top we’ll call it quits,” Roberts chuckled.

Catch this American and Irish band, not an “Irish and American band,” at People’s tonight at 9 p.m. All ya’ need is $3 and an ID.