IN biblical terms, the snake is a metaphor for the slithery temptations of Lucifer himself, but fans of Irish music along the Jersey Shore equate the snakes for barn burning Irish rock! If you ever wondered how one would/should/could build a bridge between the Pogues' "Dirty Old Town" and Neil Diamond's "Cracklin' Rosie," you will need to see the Snakes to believe that it can be done. Their set list is a dizzying ride through folk, rock, and traditional Irish classics, all delivered with all the sudsy glory you'd expect from a great bar band.

As a nod to the sand and ocean a few blocks away in Asbury Park, they treated the crowd in St. Stephen's Publick House in Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey to "Pay Me My Money Down," the bluegrass ditty that Bruce Springsteen resurrected on his Seeger Sessions CD before launching into a rousing cover of Jimmy Buffet's "A Pirate Looks at 40."

Along the way, they hopscotched between the Irish ("Wild Colonial Boy," "I'll Tell Me Ma" and "Rainy Night in Soho"), soul (Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" and Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally") and folk rock (Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" and Traveling Wilburys' "Handle Me With Care"). If they didn't play something in their set list that tickled your fancy, chances are you do not like music very much.

If you're like me, you are spending these next few weeks mourning the vacation season, and nothing will cure those blues quite like the white hot music of the Snakes.

The will return to St. Stephen's on September 13 and have landed some other regular gigs down at the shore in places like Klee's in Seaside (September 6) and the Trinity Irish Pub in Atlantic City (September 19 and October 31).

As you say goodbye to the shore, pack a change of clothes and hit the bar to slither with these talented Snakes! For more information on the band's schedules or to download some of their spirited covers, log onto myspace.com/thesnakesnj.