Who could turn down the chance of catching three of the hottest acts in Ireland on one bill?
Following shows in Galway and Cork Jape, And So I Watch You From Afar & Fionn Regan rolled into Limerick on Saturday night. An eclectic mix such as this can raise many challenges but the running order on the night was probably the most suitable.
Their was a really big crowd in Dolan’s as Jape took to the stage. He was his usual energetic and animated self, running through crowd pleasing favorites like ‘Graveyard’ and ‘Strike Me Down’ and some solid new material but it was ‘Floating’ and ‘I Was A Man’ which sent punters into vocal overdrive. An excellent performance which seemed to be over as quick as it began, time flies and all that, looking forward to the next album.
Having seen Fionn Regan nail it at Castlepalooza I was very excited to catch him again but it became obvious my optimism wasn’t going to be met. Regan was without his backing band, swapping the rockier edge for what should have been a warm, intimate acoustic affair. It was not to be. Sections of the crowd were chattering throughout the gig even when the rest made their feelings known. Regan to his credit battled on, understandably disgruntled (as was I), with ample room in the bar and smoking area there’s plenty of places for people to have a ‘chat’. The show was aptly brought to a close with ‘Be Good Or Be Gone’, just hope he gets shown more courtesy elsewhere, this was a real missed opportunity
From the sombre to the raucous, And So I Watch You From Afar must surely be the loudest band in Christendom. Their live show is a something to behold, its explosive and incendiary stuff as the crowd senses are relentlessly battered by a mixture of unbridled energy, volume and riffage of their massive post-rock sound. They’re probably not going to suit everyone’s pallet but you’d be hard pushed to find bands to rival their live show.
On the whole it was a great night, pity about the ‘chattering classes’ and at €15 it’s certainly value for money. There’s three more nights to go in Dundalk, Kildare & Dublin this week so try not and miss out.
Vids after the jump.