Fred
The Half Moon, London
Friday 18th May

Tonight we find ourselves in the plush-surroundings of ‘The Half Moon’ in Putney, just a stone’s throw from the great and dirty River Thames, eagerly anticipating the moment when Ireland’s most innocuously named band - Fred - will take the stage.

With critically-acclaimed fourth album Leaving My Empire having received its Canadian release in March via label ‘Sparks Music’ - home to a rather eclectic roster of acts - and with a string of Canadian radio and TV performances now firmly under their belt, it would appear that Cork’s favourite purveyors of guitar-laden power pop might finally be receiving the attention their music deserves.

The story goes that in their endeavours to get to The Big Smoke today, the band had to catch a ferry at 5am, a rather ungodly hour to be expected to go anywhere. But as the boys open their set under the bright lights there are certainly no signs of fatigue to be seen. They start with two tracks from the last album, ‘The Life Behind’ and following this, album-opener ‘If Not Now When’. The sound that characterizes the newer material is darker, more expansive, and certainly that bit more adventurous than what we might have heard on earlier albums such as ‘Go God Go’ or ‘Making Music So You Don’t Have To’, but that knack for writing infectious melodies that get lodged firmly in your head remains as strong as ever.

Keian Roohipour

 

David C Clements, Neil Mullan
Common Grounds, Belfast
Saturday 19th May

Common Grounds Cafe situated in City Church started their monthly Arts Nights in April. The second installment is tonight with David C Clements and Neil Mullan.

First up is Neil Mullan who is more commonly seen playing as part of the Lowly Knights. He has two fellow Knights playing double bass and guitar/keyboard for some songs. Opening with 'You Can Tell A Man By How He Lifts His Hands', Neil gets off to a good start.

As the set continues it becomes clear that Neil is more comfortable playing with fellow musicians, taking a laid back approach singing with his hands in his pockets. Then he covers 'Galileo' by Declan O'Rourke with the lyrics up on his phone. But solo, Neil admits he's far more nervous than with his band in tow and as he takes to the keyboard to play by himself it shows.

'Hurricane' is six and a half minutes of pure bliss, and even more perfect live than on record. He tries to persuade a friend to come up and sing 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight' but alas, the friend declines. But the relaxed atmosphere continues when he asks if anyone has any requests from his back catalogue. Neil Mullan shouts out 'In December' and it turns out to be the stand out point of the set. Beautiful set from start to finish.

Neil joins David to cover Johnny Cash's 'Jackson' to end the evening. Combining coffee, great music and an intimate setting Common Grounds proves to be the perfect setting for a chilled out Saturday night. 

Carys McMorran

 

'My Love For You Is in Tents'
Katie & The Carnival, Sons of Caliber, VerseChorusVerse
Oh Yeah Centre,
Sunday the 20th of May

We’re hitting the OhYeah Centre this evening for a gig with a difference tonight: part of the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, the gig is entitled ‘My Love for you is in Tents’, an audio/visual feast arranged by Katie & The Carnival in collaboration with Bandwidth Films. The Oh Yeah building has been lovingly decorated for today’s event, with four tents in different areas of the venue, all of which are contain a screen playing videos of Katie & The Carnival shot by Bandwidth at various locations out and around the city.

Bandwidth is the brainchild of Will McConnell, and over the past few years he has nabbed some great sessions from local and international bands. Shooting with 1 camera and a relaxed feel, it’s not unlike the now infamous work of La Blogoteque, he manages to make you feel part of the performance, and his footage of Katie & The Carnival is splendid.

Eamonn Murray

 

Alright The Captain, You Slut, Kasper Rosa
Speakeasy, Belfast
10th May 2012

It’s a longstanding cliché that the members of bands have certain types. Drummers are traditionally heavy drinkers and party animals, guitarists are self-indulgent, bassists are quiet, dependable types who never speak, and front-men are supposed to be arrogant divas. Tonight, however we don’t have to worry about stroppy singers as we’re presented with a triple bill of instrumentalism.

Well, nearly all music and no words, for Kasper Rosa have sneakily included a few vocals recently. They’ve not gone overboard with them however, but the contrast it brings to ‘First Breath, First Blood’ is a change and a hint that they may have decided what their direction should be – in a word, powerful, not rushed or frantic, but with a steady, constant energy throughout. They’ve always had musical ability, but now have a focus that was missing in their earlier days.

You Slut, in contrast, stick purely to music, to the extent that there are no vocal mics on stage at all, which makes communication with the audience a touch difficult. In an attempt to overcome this, they’re more aggressive and in-your-face than their predecessors on stage. They don’t have the epic-ness of Kasper Rosa, but make up for this with their math-rock touches and more populist riffs which provide more obvious excitement and moments for the crowd.

Rather than soaring sound-scapes, it’s a bit kitchen-sink with rock, math-rock, jazzy drums, punk, and metal all thrown into a relentless onslaught which leaves us a bit dazed, although the variety in the material means our interest is kept. If Kasper Rosa aim to soar through the stars, then these guys are very happy to scrabble in the mud for diamonds.

Alright The Captain adopt a bit of a middle ground – they do have a microphone, but use it only to chat to the crowd and for the occasional scream. ‘Soundtrack Your Death’ is very Adebisi Shank, in a good way, with mathy bass, frantic rhythms but with a melody to carry us along. The set has a few new songs in it; ‘Hurt Burger’ is dark and unsettling, lashed out like a wounded animal, with an industrial clang of splintering, breaking metal with its angry, indignant vibe. They’ve borrowed a drummer for this tour, which may explain their on-stage persona this evening, a physically tight three-piece, all close to the kit, but this just adds to the impression of tightness, an ‘us-against-the-world’ mentality and focus on each other.

William Johnston

 

Vyvienne Long, Our Krypton Son
McHugh's, Belfast
Thursday, May 10th, 2012

Tonight as part of the thirteenth Cathedral Quarter Arts festival we are in for a treat with Vyvienne Long making a long awaited return to Belfast in a busy basement in McHughes ably supported by Our Krypton Son. We begin with Our krypton son who are missing a few members and as such we are presented with an intimate, acoustic set. Chris McConaghy has a quiet and unassuming quality. ‘Sunlight in the ashes’ is deep and sorrowful with his understated voice highlighting the melancholy nature of the song.

‘Season in Hell’ brings the tempo right back up with a jaunty beat and witty lyrics. Chris switches to the piano for his final few tracks. Their latest offering ‘Plutonium’, is filled with quiet piano and heartfelt lyrics. He finishes on ‘Catalonian Love Song’, which has a meandering timeless quality to it. It would have been great to hear him with the fuller sound of a band, however, a minor gripe as his talent shines through regardless.

‘Never Leave You’ is a dark, sexy, classy song that has a rap-like quality segued with a graceful chorus. The song possesses incredibly witty lyrics and it receives a great reception from the audience. The noise from the neighbouring St. Etienne show does provide a distraction but the band doesn't let the overabundance of bass phase them, opting to fight fire with fire and play one louder themselves. Tactless questions is a real toe tapper and continues the theme of razor sharp lyrics. ‘Treacherous’ is melodious and delicate, with all three band members harmonising perfectly. With ‘Random man’, ‘Happy Thoughts’ and ‘Inheritance’ ,we have a trio of darkly humorous tracks that provide plenty of laughs throughout. We hear the more traditional ‘They’re Not Waving’ before being treated to a brand new track.

‘Sailing Out To Sea’ is a lovely, sweet affair that draws the evening to a close. Though Vyvienne does return to do her uniquely marvelous renditions of ‘Yoshimi’ by The Flaming Lips and The White Stripes ‘Seven Nation Army’. As I mentioned earlier the only real drawback to the evening was the noise from the festival marquee. It’s a minor complaint as the talent and ability on display in the basement far outweighed any possible negatives. If only all evenings were as beautiful as this one.

David Smith

 

CQAF: Field Music, The Dudley Corporation
Black Box, Belfast
Monday 7th May 2012

Slap bang in the middle of the ten-day long festivities, Belfast is treated to one of more highly anticipated shows of this year’s Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival. After a whirlwind six months that’s seen a much deserved upsurge of recognition, both critically and commercially, of their many talents, Sunderland prog-pop band Field Music bring their clever yet whimsical brand of carefully-considered pop to the intimate surroundings of the Black Box.

 

Death In Vegas, Birdhead
Cathedral Quarter Marquee, Custom House Square
Saturday 5th May 2012

“They sure do seem to be very angry and noisy, for there only being two of them” is the thought that comes to mind about Edinburgh's Birdhead. Sometimes, the fewer the members, the more concentrated the vitriol and so on. After all there seems to be 3 million members of the Polyphonic Spree and they all appear to be nice and friendly. Back to Birdhead, this two piece begin with a mix of sweet pop with a dance-rock edge, something in the vein of the late Oppenheimer or Cutaways, but move into murkier waters of dirty-electro and punk-techno, more like F*** Buttons at their spikiest. ‘She Was So Rowdy’ is malevolent, and their later formula of Stooges-esque guitar over a relentless beat with repetitive, spat out vocals comes across as a gloriously nightmarish situation of LaFaro covering Spacemen 3 while being remixed by Not Squares.

William Johnston

The Cast of Cheers, Blood Red Shoes
Heaven, London
May 3rd, 2012

Just off Trafalgar Square, tucked away amid the arches beneath Charing Cross Station is ‘Heaven’ - a club better known for its gay nights than its great gigs. However, tonight might prove to be an intriguing exception as Blood Red Shoes and The Cast of Cheers take to the stage for a sold-out show.

The Cast of Cheers open the night to a room that is only beginning to fill. Anyone lucky enough to download the band’s free-album ‘Chariots’ before its unfortunate disappearance will know them as a hot prospect. Since then these Dublin boys have been blazing a trail with their quirky, catchy sound that nods in the direction of Les Savy Fav, Adebisi Shank, and Enemies. Their performance is intense and appealing from the off, with a driving rhythm section providing the perfect backdrop for such angular and frenetic guitar parts to descend upon the audience.

In a set that consists of mostly new material, the highlight is older tune ‘Auricom’ - the band let loose, tearing through an extended and emphatic version of the track. By the time it’s over all eyes are fixed firmly on the stage, and they remain there until the boys finish and saunter off. It’s easy to see why there is such buzz about this band. 

The venue is now packed with an audience eagerly awaiting headliners Blood Red Shoes. It’s interesting to note that although the gig has been marketed as a ‘14+ show’ there don’t look to be many in attendance who are younger than twenty, with many others looking noticeably older than that. Regardless, the stage is set with two old televisions and a charming red table-lamp before our Brighton based boy-girl duo take their places.

Looking very much the part amongst their props, they waste no time unleashing their high octane indie-punk sound. Songs from the new album such as ‘Cold’ and ‘Je Me Perds’ certainly get the crowd moving, but the biggest response is reserved for fan favourite ‘Say Something, Say Anything’. Ansell banters with the crowd incessantly, while Carter appears somewhat aloof on stage for much of the performance. The only time her cool is threatened is when a jumper thrown from an over-eager audience member hits her head - her face momentarily contorting with annoyance - but she handles it well, laughing it off after the song. All in all, it’s a solid crowd-pleasing set, that perhaps tended to flatten out somewhat towards the end. A little more nuance would go a long way to remedying this.

Keian Roohipour

 

Oh Yeah Centre 5th Birthday Bash
VerseChorusVerse, Conor Mason R.G Shiels, Our Krypton Son, Bronagh Gallagher, The Wonder Villains
Saturday 5th May 2012

Tonight draws out local-music enthusiasts for more than just a gig, as this event celebrates five years of what many regard as a linchpin of Northern Irish music scene, the Oh Yeah Music Centre.

With a brief introduction, the birthday bash is on its way as four familiar faces take to the stage in an unfamiliar set up. The collaboration is made up of Tony Wright, the face behind VerseChorusVerse; Robyn G Shiels, well known for his own form of tortured Country music; Derry born singer-songwriter Conor Mason; and lastly Chris McConaghy, normally going by the guise of Our Krypton Son. With each artist hailing from closely related acoustic-y sub genres, the match fits well. Chris kicks the sequence off with his own ‘Sun Light in the Ashes,’ delivered with strong vocals and gentle guitar.

 

A Northern Light, Go Wolf, Charles Hurts
Speakeasy, Belfast
Thurs 3rd May 2012

Opening in a sparsely populated room are Charles Hurts, reportedly named as a parody of a local business. Unfortunately, their music occasionally verges upon parody, so heavily influenced to the point of pastiche by artists such as The Smiths and Richard Hawley, who themselves tread in footsteps of 1950s and 60s pop such as Buddy Holly and The Shadows. One song with disaffected, detached vocals over layered dirty, distorted, effected guitar is great, two is fine, but three is starting to push it unless you’re pairing up Marr and Morrissey in their prime. When it’s practically the whole set, boredom inevitably sets in. Add in a lack of flexibility from working with a laptop, as well as a lack of on-stage charisma, and it merges into a forgettable blur. Comparisons have been made with Joy Division, but that group have always been described as having a compelling urgency and desperation which is entirely absent here. I suppose we should applaud their bravery in going against the local indie grain, but when it’s done with so little apparent self-belief, it’s hard to get behind it.

 

The Subways, The Funeral Suits, Empty Lungs
The Limelight, Belfast
Friday 27th April

In the grungy setting of The Limelight, Empty Lungs take to the stage promptly after doors opening, making for an early set and resulting in a rather lacking audience. That being said, it didn’t stop the lads from giving it their all. They dive straight into their punk-rock set with the thick basss lines of ‘Running in Circles’ which is delivered with sincerity. While these guys can easily be described as American-post-hardcore, the thick Belfast-punk vocals allow us not to forget where this trio were born and bred. The set is full of punk-tastic riffs and heavy drum beats, with clear enthusiasm throughout.

As the float-y and familiar melody from Willy Wonka fills the now packed out venue, an intense build up introduces our main act of the night, The Subways. As the English indie rockers storm the stage, the eruption around the room makes it apparent this is what we have all been waiting for. From the get go the contagious energy coming off the stage is unreal. They kick start their lively set with one of their hits ‘Oh Yeah’, which prompts an over whelming sing back.

These guys completely own the room and it is easy to see why they have formed such a cult following over the years. Belting out track after track, their sound has a feel of Damon Albarn meets No Doubt, like Brit- Pop gone underground. Clear hits of the night can be heard in ‘You Don’t Need Money to Have a Good Time’ and the obvious ‘Rock and Roll Queen’ sends the crowd in to a frenzy. The trio give us what they are known for, fire-y riffs, hard bass lines and thrashing drums, with the acoustic guitar making a guest appearance to show a softer side to their capabilities.

It is fair to say that tonight’s line up gave us our money’s worth.

Sara Larkham

 

Russian Circles,  Deafheaven
Speakeasy, Belfast
Thurs 26th April

First up are San Francisco band Deafheaven who open the night with 'Violet', the twelve minute masterpiece off their newly released album 'Roads To Judah'. With the volume up full and their shoegaze-y style of black metal, it isn't long before every head in the Speakeasy is swaying along to their atmospheric sounds.

Breaking into the tragically bleak opening sequence of their most recognizable song 'Unrequited', a big slab of pure intensity is dropped making it obvious that these guys have the agility, touch and range of post rockers alike. With the quality of their music, anyone here tonight now knows that black metal doesn't need to be performed by long haired Norwegians covered in corpse paint.

Since their first album 'Enter', Russian Circles have always been incredibly adept at creating swathes of atmosphere, and emerging with the beautiful 'Carpe' , it evokes a tremendous reaction from the anticipating crowd. Seamlessly flowing through complex guitar-scapes that stem from only two instruments, 'Geneva' rolls out of the soundfuzz and immediately launches mortars of bass.

Tonight's gig is one enjoyed by all in attendance, and it's only a pity that Russian Circles haven't pulled in a larger crowd.

Lucy Rehill

 

Volume Control: Fighting with Wire, Abandcalledboy, 20 Second Century,
Oh yeah, Belfast
Friday 27th May

“Take some earplugs, apparently it’s gonna get loud!” What a way to welcome someone to a gig! Tonight’s triple bill of rock, roll and everything in between takes place in Belfast’s Oh Yeah centre, as part of their all-ages gig night Volume Control.

20 Second Century are very tight from the get go. Everything from the vocals to the guitar solos are clear as day, with perhaps the backing vocals the only area needing a serious lift. “The Art of Growing Up” resonates well with the predominantly teenage audience, and perhaps a few of the older generation harking back to those carefree days when Jimmy Eat World and Green Day were part of their staple music diet.

Making the fair assumption that much of the audience is new to their music, they throw in a few covers. Fallout Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” is a carbon copy of the original, so it would have been interesting to see the guys make it their own. Later in the set comes their ‘funny’ song, which turns out to be loser anthem “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus. The band share the singing duties, and guitarist Philip McKinney bravely takes on the feminine vocal section which not only raises a few laughs, but is enough to get the audience front and centre, joining in on the fun.

Banbridge based Abandcalledboy quickly gain some new fans by dishing out free stickers before diving head first into their set, accompanied by their electric stage presence and cheeky banter. Bassist Sean Donnelly steals the show as he stomps and slides around the stage, eventually joking that these moves will someday make it onto a Yoga DVD.

 

The Filthy Six, The Jepettos, Kris Platt, Andy Briggs, Rams Pocket Radio
Hudson Bar, Belfast
Friday 27th May

Communion continues to enjoy a fine run in Belfast and has so far graced venues like the Black Box and The Stiff Kitten, but tonight’s event sees the turn of The Hudson Bar to host the international club night. Headliners are Londoners The Filthy Six with support from The Jepettos and an unadvertised set from Rams’ Pocket Radio.

Sets by Kris Platt (More Than Conquerors) and Andy Briggs, both on a singer-songwriter tip, appear plagued by sound issues on the night, making it difficult to give a decent account.

Let’s get straight to The Jepettos then. Fronted by husband and wife duo Mike and Ruth Aicken The Jepettos have a treat in store for us with half an hour of wistful, folky pop played by a band of multi-instrumentalists undoubtedly enjoying themselves. Standout tracks include numbers from the band’s EP ‘Start A New People’ including 'Goldrush' and 'Good Times'. One of the night’s highlights came when Nick from The Filthy Six and LJ from the The Lambing Season joined The Jepettos on to play horns on the heart-warming 'Should’ve Kissed You More'.

Next up was the special guest set from Rams’ Pocket Radio. He complains that he 's been stuck in the studio breathing bad air and shut off from human contact, so he's just glad to be out. And it shows.

He's in exuberant form with a mix of his established material including 'Dieter Rams Has Got The Pocket Radio' and '1+2' with some new numbers. One of which, 'Aria' enjoyed its first outing tonight. The crowd love it and it will help warm him up for the UK tour next month.

The headliners are up next. All the way from foggy ol’ London Town, The Filthy Six introduce themselves with the immortal line from Monty Python; ‘And now for something completely different’ before getting stuck into a set of jazz, soul and boogaloo taken from 2010’s debut album The Filthy Six and their newest one The Fox. Led by the trumpet of songwriter Nick Etwell and driven by the funky organ of Pete Whittaker, The Hudson does indeed get something completely different.

They aren’t given the same audience attention that Rams’... gets, but that's more to do with Rams' local hero status than the quality of music or musicianship because The Filthy Six must be the best bunch of musicians Belfast has seen for a while. It's dazzling as they trade solos and riffs with virtuosity.

Dancing shoes are well worn through by the end of the gig thanks to tracks like 'Get Carte'r, 'Fingerbite', the title track from the new album and a jazzy instrumental of Amy Winehouse’s 'Rehab'.

It was a bit of a departure for Communion Belfast but the mix of styles on the night worked well.

Owen McNulty

 

Polar Beyond, Blue Whale and Distracter
White’s Tavern, Belfast
Thurs 26th April

It’s not often you go to a gig and are greeted at the door with a plate of tray bakes, but we think it’s something that more bands should do! With our brownies in hand, White’s Tavern doubles up as a substitute for our granny’s house.

First band up this evening are Distracter. A relatively new act, they don’t talk much during the set and come across as endearingly shy onstage. Opening with a song called ‘Blip’, they tell us that it’s the first time their bassist has added his parts to the song outside of practice, but it all comes together well. Their sound is a strange cocktail of electronica, grungy guitars, and mellow vocals, an unusual mix by any means, but when it works, it works really well. Unfortunately it doesn’t always work - timings tend to fluctuate during the set, and on occasion it feels more like three separate musicians onstage than a band. There’s definitely talent there and it’s the beginnings of something really unique, but they need to overcome those nerves and really let themselves go onstage.