Sally's Gap invades a new venue.

His shaved head glistening with sweat, an intense scowl on his face, Greg McElroy, lead singer for Sally''s Gap, drove into the front row of dancers like a warrior poet leading his troops into battle. The young audience responded with enthusiasm to this performance at Britannia Arms a couple months ago.

It wasn''t a pretty sight. Bodies bounced and arms flailed in some weird Yank interpretation of Celtic dance, obscuring a woman who apparently had taken step-dance lessons at one time. No, it wasn''t pretty at all--but the energy was infectious, the dancing intense, and the room was bursting.

This weekend Sally''s Gap makes its debut at Ocean Thunder. It should go over well. The band fires traditional Celtic melodics with blue-collar soul. There''s a "work hard/play harder" sensibility that should endear Sally''s Gap''s music to the OT crowd.

Some of Sally''s Gap''s hard-party ethos probably derives from McElroy''s early musical experiences. Born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, he led pop/rock bands there during his teenage years. After coming to Tampa, Fla., courtesy of a soccer scholarship, McElroy fell in love with blues music and formed a band that opened for Muddy Waters and the Allman Brothers, among others.

Now based in the Los Angeles area, McElroy and band released their first CD, Drink the Whiskey, last year. The title does a pretty good job of identifying the album''s content.

Friday, 9pm. Ocean Thunder, 214 Lighthouse, Monterey. 643-9169.