The Frames

Review of their gig in Vicar Street, Dublin, 30th March 2001

Mic Christopher folk-disco turn on Teena Marie's 'Feels Like I'm In Love' crowd singing the synthesizer 'pow pow' and his own 'Kid's Song' really sweet Damien Rice French cabaret for f*cked up lovers shade of Tim Buckley vocal and Mundy big slow-burning pop

tasty starters all the same waiting for the main dish pie

five skewed slide projectors clicking on to show five crows and then all five saunter Colm Dave and Dave Glen Joe all dressed cavalier easy but for drummer Dave's Miami white cool

'Lay Me Down' muscular full ON

skitting 'Mustang Sally' satire on THAT film

'Fighting On The Stairs' live debut fresh and clear so much a BAND segueing into spunked-up 'Rent Day Blues'

mid-set Q & A to much messing down the crowd and some bloke yelling Glen 'how do you know when you really love a girl?' who replies mid-song 'when she makes you want to sing'

NOW 'Evergreen' blistering union of rock this band more than a band (transcendent) the crowd now in flames and in their pockets

steam rising off the fiddle

to the live debut of breezy sad and gorgeous 'Santa Maria' about Egon Schiele we are told

flying up to heaven at the end the hand of Dave on tom the hand of Glen on strings beating in time a warm circle on that stage with the venue quite electric

softly to 'Your Face' DIRECTLY 'Revelate'

invitation to stand thanks Glen standing now

fan on stage sings the closing verses Glen's arm thrown about his neck another then for 'Star Star' making each a little piece of idol history

'Suspicious Minds' Mic Christopher and crowd improvise 'ooh ooh' funny on the verses

then 'Headlong' Glen swinging there happy as a rabbit

off and on again an encore Mundy nowThe Waterboys' 'For Your Head'

a final encore 'If You Have Something To Say?'

throws them out into the world where they belong and with such love too maybe few GREAT bands left in the world and here's certainly one

Carol Keogh

Check out the review of the new Frames album 'For the Birds'