Foxface, Bats and Others at HWCH (Saturday)

Review Snapshot: Saturday nights in Temple Bar? Difficult to navigate for small-shouldered girls. Last night’s tough weave through the drunken masses proved a task in getting to gigs on time, but the quality of the acts more than made up for logistical difficulties.

The Cluas Verdict? 6.5 out of 10

Full Review:
There’s nothing more enjoyable than watching grown men scream their heads off. That’s just one of the reasons why Bats were one of the most entertaining acts so far at HWCH. Meeting House Square wasn’t as packed as it ought to have been, but faithful Bats fans headbanging at the front more than made up for a relatively empty gig. Lead singer Rupert looks cuddly but sings like an angry grizzly, with every outburst last night echoed with epileptic lighting. Savage screeching, heavy distortion, post-rock guitar riffs and uber energy: Bats have all the elements of a modern, albeit unique, rock band. How could you not like a band who finish the night with a track called ‘Bats Spelled Backwards is Stab’?

Elbowing our way to Andrew’s Lane Theatre, we arrived late and only caught about four tracks by Glasgow folksters Foxface.  Foxface masked individuals were scattered around the venue, as well as a couple of band members donning fox masks. Being an unabashed fan of cutesy novelty, that was enough to impress me for starters. The band’s tinkering blend of Celtic melodies with twee anti-folk lyrics really impressed the audience, a very responsive one at that. Reminiscent of Decemberists, Foxface manage to combine old folk tunes with a new sound and sweet likeable vocals.

After the final lilt of Foxface, there was no point in trying to make The Academy or MHS, judging by the amount of time it took us to scurry through the crowds earlier. We prepared ourselves for a bit of a dance when Crayonsmith took to the stage. It never happened though. Having listened to the band on MySpace for a few weeks, and having heard the hype, I expected excess energy, jumping around and fiery charisma. The music was solid, but the performance was lacklustre. Some of the tracks were a little repetitive and the lead vocalist’s voice just sounded monotone. The audience loved it though and the band got a huge response.

Frightened Rabbit wrapped up the gigs at ALT – an enjoyable enough set, but the band sounded far too much like a Biffy Clyro/Death Cab for Cutie lovechild. Being a fan of both bands, you’d imagine I’d be fully supportive of such a love child, but it didn’t do any more than mildly entertain me. If the festival had been more packed this evening, there might have been more of an atmosphere – which was lacking at times. However the bands were of very high quality this evening, and it was even difficult to choose who to see because of bands clashing with each other. 

Niamh Madden

In addition to Steven O'Rourke's Festival Diary for Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 of HWCH 2008, check the following CLUAS reviews of bands who played:

• One Day International, Mackerel the Cat and Others at HWCH (Sunday)So Cow, New Amusement and more at HWCH (night 3) Autamata, Sounds Of System Breakdown and Robotnik live at HWCH Day 3 Frightened Rabbit, The Vinny Club and Bats at HWCH (night 2) Crayonsmith, The Parks and A Lazarus Soul at HWCH Chequerboard, Alphamono and Fiach live at HWCH Nakatomi Plaza, Half Cousin and Lines Drawing Circles live at HWCH Super Extra Bonus Party, Groom and The Dublin Duck Dispensery live at HWCH
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Frightened Rabbit, The Vinny Club and Bats at HWCH (night 2) Review Snapshot: Night 2 of 2008's HWCH saw the cream of the festival's lineup all crowbarred into a single night. A nice compl...

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Crayonsmith, The Parks and A Lazarus Soul at HWCH Day 2

Review Snapshot: After a little timetable confusion, Day 2 of HWCH '08 proved a slight disappointment after yesterday, but with a few outstanding performances

The Cluas Verdict? 6 out of 10

Full Review:

Strange things have been happening at this festival: between some serious organisational miscommunications, poor sound and last night’s timetable mix-up. Having turned up at the supposed starting time of Hybrasil’s set in the Button Factory (7.45 according the HWCH schedule booklet) and waiting a twenty minutes before heading, a little let-down and confused, toward Andrew’s Lane and Grand Pocket Orchestra, I was more than a little annoyed this morning to double check the online schedule and discover that Hybrasil’s set was in fact timetabled to start at 8.15.

Although I missed out catching one excellent band, I was lucky to catch another. Earlier this year, GPO released their debut EP this year – an interesting but apparently misleading work, giving the impression of a quirky, poppy, jittery and melodic group having fun. Grand Pocket Orchestra live is a totally different beast: though still undeniably jittery and quirky, it is wild, aggressive, and loud. At its heart is a girl, obviously starved for attention but with an interesting collection of instruments, and a guy, a singer who throws shapes a little like Ian Curtis, or a little like a mime artist with a geometry obsession. Although the sound was at first muddy and indistinct, making it impossible to distinguish one instrument from another, a blinding set of songs emerged from the confusion and swept the crowd along with it.

Then the frenzied rush over to A Lazarus Soul in the Button Factory. And after the band started, an equally frenzied desire to rush back out again. Not familiar with the band before last night, I have been assured by Key Notes that when not bereft of their keyboard player as they were last night, A Lazarus Soul are quite a band to behold; yet I remain unconvinced. In a world where story-telling and sentimentality in lyrics are out of fashion and obscurity and allusion are in, A Lazarus Soul write impassioned songs that read sometimes like a Roddy Doyle novel with the humour stripped away, accompanied by dull crunching rock and some very 80s synth. With that deep and arresting voice their only redeeming feature, this was performance that was more dull than you can believe.

And so I was ready to be impressed by the Parks, Ireland’s favourite new wünderkinder. Having just finished their Leaving Cert, they are unseasoned and nervous, but all the more likeable for it. The Parks are a power trio with potential, but they have yet to shake the sound of a teenage garage band. Although still a little loose around the edges, each member of the band is an excellent musician with the air of a teenage heartthrob, while singer Ciaran has a voice that is as yet young but can easily become one of the most distinctive in the Irish circuit. The Parks are good at what they do, they’re just not quite there yet.

Crayonsmith proved to be the last gig I could make: the last 66 bus of the night leaves at 11.30, leaving me with less than five minutes of Le Galaxie. Much saddened by this state of affairs, I believe Crayonsmith must have been aware of my predicament, and gave one of the best shows of HWCH 08 so far to make me feel better. Songs from this year’s excellent White Wonder album were given a new injection of life and dirtied; far from the clean sounds of the album, a greater concentration on guitars and bass gave the band crunch and power, with no sacrifice in melody or sound. Not just that, but the Crayonsmith gig proved to be the busiest and most fun gig so far, with close to a full house of obvious fans.

Anna Murray

In addition to Steven O'Rourke's Festival Diary for Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 of HWCH 2008, check out the following CLUAS reviews of bands who played the festival:

• One Day International, Mackerel the Cat and Others at HWCH (Sunday)So Cow, New Amusement and more at HWCH (night 3) Autamata, Sounds Of System Breakdown and Robotnik live at HWCH Day 3 Foxface, Bats and others at HWCH (Saturday) Frightened Rabbit, The Vinny Club and Bats at HWCH (night 2) Chequerboard, Alphamono and Fiach live at HWCH Nakatomi Plaza, Half Cousin and Lines Drawing Circles live at HWCH Super Extra Bonus Party, Groom and The Dublin Duck Dispensery live at HWCH
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Day two of HWCH 2008 started badly for Key Notes as his beloved Man United’s loss to Liverpool was swiftly followed by news of Emmanuel Adebayor’s hat-trick for Arsenal. Key Notes, in a decision up there with ‘I don’t think it’s an iceberg Captain’, opted to drop Adebayor from his fantasy football this week, a decision that will, even at this early stage, end his quest to win the CLUAS fantasy football league.

This blog’s general mood improved following coffee and a discussion of all things musical with fellow CLUAS writer Niamh Madden. Dinner with friends, almost all of whom were HWCH virgins, also helped to soften the slings and arrows of Saturday morning’s outrageous fortune. Therefore, it was with a happy heart and satisfied stomach that Key Notes and his band of merry men and women made their way to Academy 2 for Pilotlight.

This blog has a great deal of time for Pilotlight but was worried about the venue; previous experiments in the Academy (or Spirit as it was then) had shown that dance venues can’t provide the type of sound systems required for playing anything other than dance music (very important) and that the bouncers in said clubs weren’t sure how to deal with boys and girls with big hair and skinny jeans (not so important). As an aside, Key Notes would like to nominate skinny jeans as this decades shoulder pads; something lots of people are going to look back on in a few years and shudder.

However, this blog’s fears were unfounded as the sound in Academy 2 (the Academy’s underground venue) was excellent. Every note was crystal clear and Pilotlight’s mix of melancholy and the infinite madness (their on stage banter was almost as entertaining as their music) delighted a small but supportive audience. The same could not be said for Distractors unfortunately, despite their lead singers’ best attempts to channel the ghost of Michael Hutchence.

Unimpressed, our group left Academy 2 four songs in to make our way over the Ha’penny Bridge to the Music Centre (Button Factory) to catch the ever entertaining A Lazarus Soul. Shorn of their keyboard player Bryan McMahon, ALS delivered a completely different set from the one Key Notes was expecting. Much of last years excellent Graveyard of Burnt Out Cars was lost and with it the magic of A Lazarus Soul. Not bad; just not as towering a performance as this blog knows the band can give.  During this set Key Notes bumped into another fellow CLUAS writer, Anna Murray, who suggested Hybrasil's show earlier in the evening hadn't started on time, if at all.  Further details were unavailable at time of posting.

Next on the bill was Deaf Animal Orchestra whose moniker promises little but whose music certainly delivers. There were times when it strayed a little too close to wearing plaid shirts, trucker hats and drinking whiskey from a bottle on your front porch for this blogs liking but, that being said, it certainly got people dancing, this blog included, and it was for this reason that it didn’t notice it’s coat had been stolen. If anyone sees someone wearing a grey/black G-Star jacket in the Temple Bar area over the next few days, they are advised to contact the police and/or punch them in the face.

A joke of course, but this blog was just glad it wasn’t raining as flying visits were made to Andrews Lane (Crayonsmith: musically it was fine, but that voice gets dull after more than 3 songs) and 4 Dame Lane (Ollie Cole: complete with the worlds smallest set list on what looked to be a small post-it, the man has a voice this blog could listen to all night) before Key Notes’ shivering arms made their way to Meeting House Square for Fight Like Apes.

Given the terrible weather and sound problems of the previous evening, Key Notes wasn’t sure what to expect from the band. As previously stated, this blog hasn’t always had time for what must be the most hyped Irish band of the decade but, once more, their incendiary live performance combined with songs that sound catchier with each rendition showed that they are a band that are more than capable of living up to their hype.

As with day one, Key Notes is sure his fellow writers will cover Saturday’s performances in greater detail but it is worth remarking that, despite the excellent line up of bands on day two, not a single venue was full. Even Meeting House Square, which in previous years has had to refuse people entry for even the most mediocre of bands (take a bow The Things), was relatively empty for Fight Like Apes. There are many factors that could account for this; all of them worrying for the festivals organisers.

That being said, the quality of music on offer on day two was highlighted by the bands this blog failed to see; Le Galaxie and Frightened Rabbit to name but two. Sunday will offer similar dilemmas with performances from the likes of Autamata and Robotnik as well as Sons and Daughters, curators of this year’s Scottish Invasion. Thankfully, having too much choice is a great problem for a festival to have.

FLA Photo: Toniireton

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A review of the debut album by The Gorgeous Colours

Review Snapshot: The debut from the Dublin-based four-piece is a solid, likeable indie-rock artifact. There’s nothing that’ll frighten the horses and it’ll sound satisfactory from a summer stage.

The Cluas Verdict? 6.5 out of 10

Full Review:
Many Irish indie fans first came across The Gorgeous Colours as the support act at shows by The Immediate, now-defunct next-big-things of season 2006-07. The two Dublin bands shared an alt-rock sound that will be classic for some, unoriginal for others. One can imagine how inconsolable Immediate fans, clutching their tear-stained ‘In Towers And Clouds’, will find much solace in The Gorgeous Colours’ debut.

In general, this record is a throwback to two familiar indie strands. You have the jaunty jangling of ‘Holey Moley’ and weak opening track ‘Means To An End’, where the band don’t quite pull off the breezy, cheeky-chappy attitude they seem to be aiming for.

By contrast, there’s a serious, emotive alt-rock side that’s emphasized by the mid-Atlantic twang to Geoffrey McArdle’s singing voice. The Gorgeous Colours sound surer of themselves on this ground – which is not to say that they’re always convincing; ‘I Don’t Know What To Do’ may mean well but it comes across as a exercise in writing something poignant (“All I know about hope/It don’t hang from no rope”) in minor chords.

Still, it’s no great leap of the imagination to figure that The Gorgeous Colours could build a strong live following on the back of this material. Neil Smyth’s guitar hooks on the likes of ‘Miss You’ and ‘Hunting Something’ have the ring of what would sound good at a summer festival or outdoor show. And the rhythm section – Tim Groenland on bass and Glenn L’Heveder on drums – is as sound as you’d demand from a decent live band.

However, this album’s recurrent dad-indie-rockness makes it sound a bit jaded in parts. The rolling country-rock of ‘The Rails’, for instance, will please fortysomething punters who reminisce about seeing The Fat Lady Sings in The Baggot Inn back in the day. Like a lot of this record, it’s pleasant and well-made but never catches fire. (This reviewer has the quaint notion that records should have catchy bits you sing in the shower and whistle on the way to work. We found none of that here.)

Ultimately, this is a solid debut but we reckon it may be a better experience live than on record. The Gorgeous Colours: the new Something Happens?

Aidan Curran

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Chequerboard, Alphamono and Fiach live at HWCH

Review Snapshot: The Becks Vier flowed, hairy check-shirted types floated around the side-streets of Temple Bar and the type of music was as varied as a pick'n'mix bag. Though an enjoyable evening, there was something a little disjointed about HWCH 2008.

The Cluas Verdict? 6 out of 10

Full Review:
This year's Hard Working Class Heroes was my first. With no previous experiences to compare it to (the disenchanted "last-year's-Picnic-was-so-much-better" syndrome), my untainted, innocent eyes were ready to be initiated into the world of the Irish up-and-coming. The first act on my list was Alphamono, who played in the cosy wooden attic of 4 Dame Lane. Alphamono's biog reveals that he hails 'from a small mining village on Neptune' and is currently embarking on an intergalactic journey through the universe. If a biog could ever perfectly encapsulate a sound, Alphamono's would be it. 'Laynod' began with a brief piano intro giving way to full wavy kaleidoscopic sounds, industrial space tones and vocoder vocals. Shadowy silhouettes on the curtains behind the stage looked almost alien-like, shrouded by the green lights that bathed the stage. The most well-developed and polished track was 'Arise,' something that sounded like an alternative soundtrack to Twin Peaks.
 
After the unique Alphamono set, I was left puzzled at the choice to put 26-year-old singer-songwriter Fiach onstage next. The one-man-and-his-guitar genre has been so saturated over the years that I found it difficult to give Fiach a chance. Trying to open my mind a little, I listened, but felt nothing – regardless of how passionately he played and the energy he put into singing, it just didn't stir me. It's clear that Fiach's voice has taken on the tones of Paddy Casey, perhaps without him realizing it. The Damien Dempsey brigade is exhausted. Instead of being upset and singing about said depression, I'd recommend a trip to the south of France for any aspiring singer-songwriter.

The highlight of the evening was certainly one man with a guitar, but what he did with it was astounding. Visual artist and guitarist Chequerboard shone under a single light at the corner of an empty stage in Andrew's Lane Theatre. An odd location for such a gig (Dame Lane may have better echoed the atmosphere of the tracks), the audience clearly understood that standing and nodding heads wasn't the way to go. Everyone sat down on the floor at ALT and listened. Though the bar remained noisy, the intricate harmonics, complex loops and almost effortless playing hushed most of us up.

Bringing the tempo back up again at Meeting House Square was Super Extra Bonus Party, superlative by name and by nature. It's great to see bands performing with high energy, sweating it out, throwing themselves down on the floor to really entertain. Super Extra and Fighting With Wire gave the audience loads to work with, but sadly the sound in the square was not up to scratch. Despite a thin crowd, the festival atmosphere was the best in the square– weeing in a dark portaloo, the smell of dodgy kebab-in-a-baguette combos, and tap after tap of Becks Vier. Friday night's line-up was a promising, if disconnected, beginning to the weekend.

Niamh Madden

In addition to Steven O'Rourke's Festival Diary for Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 of HWCH 2008, check out the following CLUAS reviews of bands who played the festival:

• One Day International, Mackerel the Cat and Others at HWCH (Sunday)So Cow, New Amusement and more at HWCH (night 3) Autamata, Sounds Of System Breakdown and Robotnik live at HWCH Day 3 Foxface, Bats and others at HWCH (Saturday) Frightened Rabbit, The Vinny Club and Bats at HWCH (night 2) Crayonsmith, The Parks and A Lazarus Soul at HWCH Nakatomi Plaza, Half Cousin and Lines Drawing Circles live at HWCH Super Extra Bonus Party, Groom and The Dublin Duck Dispensery live at HWCH
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Nakatomi Plaza, Half Cousin, Lines Drawing Circles (live at HWCH Day 1)

Review Snapshot:

The first night of Hard Working Class Heroes 2008 seemed a little quiet, whether because of the poor timing of the festival the increased price of tickets, or just because of the intermittent rain. Reports so far have been mixed, but this reviewer found Day 1 to be a brilliant night.

The Cluas Verdict? 7 out of 10

Full Review:

Most of the talk surrounding this year’s HWCH event has centred on the change of venues after last year’s concentration around the POD complex. While this brought its fair share of difficulties for the festival, I did not encounter quite so many organisational problems as another Cluas reviewer; in fact, Day 1 proved to be a great night out, where running from venue to venue added to a (probably misplaced) sense of adventure and discovery and where Meeting House Square hosted one of the most entertaining, if not necessarily best, acts of the night.

Running a little late and not wanting to face the epic journey across the river to the Academy, I opted to catch a disappointing Heartbreak Cartel at Andrew’s Lane Theatre. Playing to a mere thirty-odd people, their almost-famed stage antics – replete with in-jokes, wigs and cheap costumes – seemed nothing more than a cover-up for an as-yet underdeveloped live performance. While respect for their attempts to provide that extra entertainment factor must be given, it is obvious that it may be a while yet before their show will really involve their audience, until that germ of an idea will develop into something worth catching. Unfortunately, peel away the showmanship and you’re left with nothing memorable: each song washes past you leaving you with no definite recollections of it, only a sense of something rhythmic and bouncy and vaguely Modest Mouse-ish.

Next to Meeting House Square and Fred: a Cork quintet who had never before played in Dublin and who proved to be the biggest surprise of the night. After a few minutes of slightly awkward chatter with that slightly quirky Cork humour the band launched headlong into a set that rocked and bounced and jerked its way along, with a sound that was so remarkably tight and together it came as a shock. Suffering from few of the sound problems which apparently afflicted other acts at the Square (and having unfortunately to contend with an alarm going off throughout their set) Fred were entertaining, funny, extroverted and talented and are without a doubt a band to watch for the future. If nothing else they prove that the Irish Times occasionally get things wrong: “like Sly & The Family Stone in a swordfight with the Flaming Lips, refereed by Brian Wilson” is in fact almost entirely inaccurate, and any review which fails to mention the influence U2 have had over singer Joseph is an inaccurate one.

Lines Drawing Circles, also in Meeting House Square, proved to be one of the biggest disappointments. Every track appeared to have a similar structure and sound, as if they had one idea and stuck to it, but were unable to develop it properly. But what was most disappointing was that on listening to the tracks of the debut EP release in March this year, Lines Drawing Circles songs are in fact really, really good. Unfortunately their multi-layered sound seems only to suit records and possibly smaller, louder and more intimate venues.

Half Cousin, in Dame Lane, came as another surprise. Part of the Scottish invasion, Kevin Cormack has two albums and a number of EPs/singles to his name: releases which this reviewer has already ordered since seeing his awkward fumbling set. After a long soundcheck, Half Cousin began as if he didn’t want anybody to notice, and looked throughout as if he was frustrated and confused that he was unable to control his drum machine and synth, play guitar and sing at the same time. While most songs appeared to have little or no structure apart from the underlying glitchy homemade beats so that it was sometimes difficult to tell when one track ended and another began, each contained enough ingenuity and originality for an album by a lesser artist. A set in the Sugar Club can only be hoped for.

Last was Nakatomi Plaza at the Button Factory. Anthony, an ex-66e, who together with Le Galaxie (playing the same venue on Day 2) is looking to get over the giant name of that lost band…although this doesn’t stop them mentioning 66e in all their descriptions and press releases. The force behind 66e’s characteristic guitar/electronic sound, Nakatomi Plaza has turned to the heavy beats of house, but with all the dense layerings expected of an ex-66e: this set had the feel of a club, but one where you stand still and try to sift through the ear-bleedingly loud and crowded sounds. Manning a single synth and laptop, and with Predator projected onto the back of the stage behind him, Anthony’s constant smile made Nakatomi Plaza a slightly off-kilter show.

Anna Murray

In addition to Steven O'Rourke's Festival Diary for Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 of HWCH 2008, check out the following CLUAS reviews of bands who played the festival:

• One Day International, Mackerel the Cat and Others at HWCH (Sunday)So Cow, New Amusement and more at HWCH (night 3) Autamata, Sounds Of System Breakdown and Robotnik live at HWCH Day 3 Foxface, Bats and others at HWCH (Saturday) Frightened Rabbit, The Vinny Club and Bats at HWCH (night 2) Crayonsmith, The Parks and A Lazarus Soul at HWCH Chequerboard, Alphamono and Fiach live at HWCH Super Extra Bonus Party, Groom and The Dublin Duck Dispensery live at HWCH
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Super Extra Bonus Party, Groom and The Dublin Duck Dispensery live at HWCH Review Snapshot: The opening night of 2008’s HWCH festival saw bands faced with joke shop organistional problems an...

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As you'll see over the next few days, CLUAS is well represented at this year's Hard Working Class Heroes and our team of writers; Niamh Madden, Anna Murray and Ian Wright, will bring you extensive coverage of Ireland's only music festival dedicated to Irish bands. As such, Key Notes will aim to give you a slightly alternative view of HWCH.

Yesterday evening began with a quick writers meet up to talk football, travelling but more importantly HWCH and who we were going to see. Colour printers and highlighters were well represented and decisions such as going to see Dublin Duck Dispensary or Chequerboard were mulled over. Eventually, we went our separate ways and the hard work of enjoying the music began.

The first thing to note about HWCH 2008 is how surprisingly empty the majority of venues were. In previous years venues such as the Music Centre (Button Factory) have been so packed that a trip to the bar could result in missing an entire set. Last night, however, there seemed to be more bands and gentlemen (and women) of the press than paying punters. Is this recession 2.0 with HWCH's target market (college students and twenty-somethings like most CLUAS readers) baulking at the increased cost of attending the festival?

Musically, Niamh, Anna & Ian will provide you with greater details but, with a couple of exceptions, Key Notes found last night boring. Not bad, just a lot of bands who sounded like a lot of other bands. Chequerboard was excellent, as were Lines Drawing Circles (despite the atrocious weather for their set). However, it was the Fighting With Wire set that left Key Notes most disappointed. The sound in Meeting House Square was so bad that it was very difficult to distinguish one instrument from another and impossible to understand Chair O'Doherty's fearsome lyrics.

All that being said; HWCH is very much about catching up with old friends and making new ones and last night was no exception. Hopefully tonight, featuring performances from the likes of Pilotlight, Ollie Cole, A Lazarus Soul (artists Key Notes is a big fan of) and Fight Like Apes (a band Key Notes is willing to give another chance to after their explosive Oxegen performance), will see more paying punters around Temple Bar. There's also the first of numerous seminars this afternoon, focusing on changes in the record industry and growing your fan base outside of Ireland.

Here's Fighting With Wire as they can sound:

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That Petrol Emotion (live in Spirit Store, Dundalk)

Review Snapshot:  After a fourteen year break, the temporarily reformed That Petrol Emotion, in front of a capacity audience of one hundred and ten, show that they can still suck diesel.

The Cluas Verdict? 8 out of 10

Full Review:
I've been feeling old and I don't really like it. First off, about a month ago, the nice man on Phantom FM played The Smiths' "William It Was Really Nothing" and then, in a cheery voice that lacked even the merest hint of the necessary gravitas, announced that it first saw the light of day twenty four years ago that very week. I nearly crashed the blummin' car into the wife's planters. Twenty four years!? Are you sure it wasn't only yesterday? And Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now.

Then came the news that, after a fourteen year break, the marvellous That Petrol Emotion were to reform. I remember them first time round too. Those sweaty nights in The New Inn and The Tivoli and The Olympic Ballroom, jumping around like a loon, a selection of my mammy's jumpers tied around my waist, sweating buckets and not a care in the world. Despite the fact that my jumping around like a loon days ended on or about the day that I realised that I could no longer touch my knees, this was one reunion that was not to be missed.

As soon as the band emerge from the Spirit Store's broom cupboard of a dressing room, it's immediately clear that singer Steve Mack has entered into some kind of Faustian pact which promises old Lucifer god knows what, blowjobs and scratchcards probably, if my crumbling body can be persuaded to do all the aging on his behalf. Not for him the middle aged frustrations of finding clothes that look great on the hanger but won't go over your stomach - Mack is as lean as he appears in the images I can just about dredge up from my sepia tinged memory banks. He needs to be, given the ferocity of what follows.

A frequently cited reason for The Petrols' failure to achieve a chart position higher than about a hundred and twelve is that old chestnut – "They were ahead of their time". I never paid much heed to that one back in the day but listening to them now, as the drums shake the room and guitars shred wallpaper and worry the rogue Christmas decorations that still hang from the ceiling in August, I have to concede that there may be something in that. These songs sound as fresh and as vital as they did on the day they were conceived.

And so, with former member and current Undertone John O'Neill looking proudly on, little brother Damien and Co hit the stage running, with a blistering, excoriating version of Chemicrazy's "Blue 2 Black". Ciaran McLaughlin's drums are almost loud enough to signal the start of the one hundred metres Olympic final on the other side of the world, while the guitars square up to one another in a rowdy embrace, like they've been placed in a barrel and pushed off a cliff. Then it's "Gnaw Mark", from the same album, which chugs along on a riffboat of guitars, with an insistent and urgent groove that injects dance potion into the asses of all present.

An early highlight is Manic Pop Thrills' "It's A Good Thing" and indeed it is, while "Big Decision", immediately afterward, has the older and wiser me, who now knows what Health and Safety means, worrying that the bouncing crowd are all going to end up in the laps of the drinkers in the pub downstairs. A few songs later, "Sensitize" reminds me of just how old I am when I turn to my mobile to play it to my wife, whose favourite Petrols' song it is, and discover, with a mixture of amusement and despair, that apart from "Home", the only other entries in my phonebook for that letter are "Health Board" and "Hernia Doc". I nearly give myself another rupture dancing to it. The tiny venue is now a sauna, especially when the closing trio of "Hey Venus", "Abandon" and "Scumsurfin'" have scorched the room, and there are more mile wide smiles than at The Rose of Tralee.

A triumph, then. And you can put in your own references to setting fire to things, flammability and how bright their flame burns here.

Michael O'Hara

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