Tag Archives: The Bowery Dublin

Kyle Falconer At The Bowery, Dublin With Support From TADGH and Cult Called Man

The Views frontman Kyle Falconer attracted a friendly charming crowd into the Bowery last night the kind of audience who care for the person behind them, making sure they were not restricting anyone’s view. It’s a refreshing and welcome attitude if only all audiences were as caring for each others enjoyment. With some Scottish accents gracing our ears it’s apparent Falconers fans are willing to travel a bit to enjoy his performance.

TADGH the “all-round decent young fella” from Dublin kicked the night off. After ensuring we know exactly how to spell his name correctly he begins his set flooding our ears with glorious grooves swirled blissfully between luscious soul and funky flecks. ‘Danger’ and ‘Live Like You’ give an uncanny Justin Timberlake vibe with a subtle nod to Jamiroquai. His vocals are impressive as he slides effortlessly into his falsetto with such graceful ease. His stance is simple as he allows his soulful vocals exude funky swagger. ‘Same To You’ a sweet little ditty about the relationship you have with your dog displays his quirky songwriting while instrumentally his faultless sophisticated approach keeps things classy. It’s a set brimming with buoyant guitar licks, groove infested bass lines and lush synths. Each track glows with a feel good sheen, full bodied funk and hip hop edge that keeps it refreshing and ensures there is something for everyone within each tune.

The wonderfully eccentric Cult Called Man follow. The colourful attire is on display as they stroll in with a sound and persona that is so cool and sweet it’s like a sliding glacier of Mr Freeze pops. These guys are pretty adept at commanding attention. With luscious guitar melodies weaving their golden psychedelic fuzz through the mind melting backdrop and quirky powerful vocals, there is something mesmerising about this band. Not even an electrical problem keeps them from doing their thing. Three songs in their sound goes and  after a brief waiting period (as some audience members encourage them on) finally with the words  “and god said let there be sound”  the band were off again belting out their strutting glossy tunes. ‘Welcome To The Island’ was my favourite of their tracks last night. With its rooted elastic bass line driving through slick guitar licks, its a flamboyant track saturated in 80’s – esque bliss steeped in a somewhat creepy vibe. It was this track that won me over once and for all. Blending a razor sharp alternative edge with a glam rock persona these guys have something unique. The slippery melodies slide into your ears with effortless charm leaving us captivated and consumed in their sleazy gritty mayhem.

Kyle Falconer takes to the stage to massive applause and cheers whipping straight into the infectious ‘Poor Me’. The crowd bellow back the lyrics, dancing and jumping joyously- they really get involved with each and every track as if Falconer is singing to them personally or narrating details of their own lives.They point to him and sing the lines they relate to the most – as loud and as proudly as they can. ‘Family Tree’ and ‘The Therapist’ go down particularly well with this cheerful crowd- they sway and hold each other looking at strangers like old chums as Falconer coos and floods the air with sweet uplifting bliss. The jubilant atmosphere increases with each song leaving everyone smiling, basking in the radiance that Falconer produced. Every song was bellowed back to him with utter passion and heartfelt emotion- it was amazing to watch. Falconer takes to the keys for a tender delicate rendition of ‘Tacky Tattoo’ as the crowd swayed and some even attempted to harmonise along. ‘Avalanche’ was stomped to while ‘Face For The Radio’ sparked a mass sing along and final track ‘Grace’ created a sort of wiggle mosh frenzy. The crowd lapped up the old tunes and new with great enthusiasm and energy. They tried calling for  “one more tune” as the last song came to its final note but Falconer shook hands with the audience at the stage, handed out set lists and left, grateful for their calls and appreciation for his tunes.

Leaving the venue I saw fans clutching merchandise they had just bought, hugging t-shirts, absolutely devoted to this Scottish lad and why not he put on a crisp show oozing as much love for his fans as they had for him. It was quite a special heartwarming show.

 


A Chat With : Crazy Town

We sat down with Hasma Angeleno, Shifty Shellshock, Filippo Dallinferno Giomo and Luca Pretorius from Crazy Town before their show at the Bowery Dublin. We chatted about the music industry, their experiences so far and got some advice for those heading into the recording studio for the first time …. “tune your guitar guys”

Watch the interview below


The Strypes At The Bowery Rathmines With Support From Sub Motion and Accidents In The Workplace

There is no shortage of talented bands here in Ireland and they all raise the bar on performance with each show. The Bowery has a knack for picking out some really musically enriched bands and artists and placing them together to make a wholly satisfying night. Last Thursday night they had Cavan boys The Strypes with support from Sub Motion and Accidents In The Workplace. If you know anything about The Strypes they pride themselves on putting on a good show and Thursday night was going to uphold this.

Sub Motion kicked things off with a ruckus set of rock. Rebecca Geary is a charismatic front woman – bold brassy and exuding swagger from every movement with powerful exquisite vocals to match her magnetic persona. ‘ Headchecked’ introduces us to their full vigorous rock. Shredding guitars, gritty bass lines and mighty drums are important components to the construction of their explosive sound. They blast into track after track with relentless stamina from  ‘Mr President’ to ‘Headlights‘, each track expelling more fiery angst attitude than the last. Geary dances, swishes her hair and jumps about in an engrossed frenzy caused by the instrumentation. Her banter is minimal but she encourages the crowd to join in with the sing along friendly  “na na na” of ‘Soccer Mom‘. Their tracks are catchy. ‘Gun In your Pocket’ in particular is hypnotically infectious and has a hefty running bass line that is superb live. They drew the crowd closer and have them whooping and bopping along in no time. They belt out a smashing cover of Yeah Yeah Yeahs ‘Heads Will Roll’ which gets the crowd lively and singing along. I always have respect for the band who has to warm up the crowd it can be a trying task but Sub Motion did a proficient job with a set that was filled with scorching energy and hyperactive adrenaline.

Accidents In The Workplace follow. This band always make me smile. Lauren Murphy is such an entertaining performer and she seems to radiate a bubbly bright persona all the time. This time she is placed beside saxophonist Sean Kenny and trumpeter Aaron Cooney, making the usually cool composed chaps laugh wiggle and dance along with her. She dances and grooves with humorous facial expression in between and with a vocal power that could wrestle you to the ground she is fast becoming my favourite female vocalist. With so many people on stage you would think their set might sound too much or a little chaotic however these guys are in synch. They play flawlessly through each track even with a broken guitar string. The broken string Is blundered over with alien- esque sounds. Murphy comments “I feel like we are waiting on a UFO”. ‘All I Wanted’ and ‘Wake Up’ flood the room with luscious joyous sounds that make you want to shuffle and dance. It’s feel-good music at its best and their beaming perky faces are such a welcoming sight that makes their set a delight to watch. This is the second time we have seen Accidents In The Workplace this year and it was just as refreshing as the first time and perhaps more animated. “Happy International Women’s day …. This song goes out to all the women” guitarist Sean McMahon says before their final track ‘How?‘.

A Black curtain closes over the stage as the crowd stand in anticipation for The Strypes. The curtains are pulled back in a dramatic manner and Evan Walsh’s mighty drum thumping intro of ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’ begins. The quartet perform all dressed in their dapper attire, sunglasses in place they bring a rowdy set of slick guitars crashing against pummelling drums with some sweet toned harmonica twangs sprinkled on top. They set the crowd alight with the opening riff of ‘Eighty- Four’. Sing-alongs are plenty and moshing is a certainty. Pete O’Hanlon is as always, the perfect master showman- he would and will do anything and everything that comes into his head as he jumps hops spins with a relentless stamina. The synchronized head movement between O’Hanlon and Ross Farrelly add a nice bit of humour and fun to what is a slick proficient set. Their stage personas are becoming larger than life and they seem at their best live, smiling and bantering with the crowd. They create a modest effect of frenzy among the crowd who are a wee bit tamer than the last show I saw the Strypes at. The girl frenzy is turned down a touch at the start but they scream when Farrelly slides down his glasses to look over them and they lose their sh*t when he strolls down to the front holding the mic out for them to sing along. Josh McClorey shows off his nimble steamy guitar skills and rock and roll guitar facial expressions as he adds some ornamentation throughout their set which is particularly impressive during ‘Angel Eyes’. They balance their set between a perfect mix of the beloved tracks from all albums ‘Black Shades Over Red Eyes ‘provoking a massive clap along while ’Get Into It‘  and ‘Freckle And Burn‘ cause a shimmy dance and mosh frenzy. All tracks go down well with the crowd. It’s a room full of youthful exuberance and good tunes. They are a charismatic, mesmerising quartet on stage, each member managing to hold your attention and leave you gob smacked at the swagger and finesse this young band possess.

The blistering ‘Scumbag City’ brings about the “last song” of their set. The crowd bellow back the words before beginning a sweat flicking manic moshing display. They clap and sing along to the final verse as the band look upon them fondly. The band leave the stage but the crowd weren’t having any of it, they stomped and shouted, “one more tune!” until the band obliged returning with ‘Heart Of The City’. This is where the band go crazy this encore sees McClorey play his guitar behind his back while O’Hanlon attempts to play his bass with his arse. ‘Blue Collar Jane’ creates a frenzy among the crowd and the band alike.  O’Hanlon makes the brave and insane decision to jump up onto the rafters and plunge into the adoring crowd and crowd surf back to the stage like a hero. These guys know how to do an encore.


Leftover Crack and All Torn Up with support from The Dubtones, DEATHBUS and The Divils At The Bowery Dublin

Last  Saturday night I headed down to The Bowery Dublin to what I can honestly say was the most brutal savage show I have been to so far. U.S.A Punk giants Leftover Crack were headlining along with All Torn Up with support from The Dubtones, DEATHBUS and The Divils. I knew it was going to be crazy but this was insane. Firstly, a venue that looks like the inside of a ship…. epic idea, the stage was the bow, canons around the walls lanterns above your head and wood décor you couldn’t ask for a better venue. Feeling like a shifty pirate from Pirates Of The Caribbean I settled in nicely.

Dubliners The Divils warmed up the crowd with a reggae hint to their punk rock. Light and bouncy they have the crowd bopping to their tropical toned guitar riffs and moshing to the punkier tunes. They brought a danceable fun atmosphere with humorous banter and solid energetic catchy tracks. Each track takes a heavy aggressive turn adding a bit of grit to the set and giving the crowd something to mosh to. Acting as the calm before the storm they deceive us with sunny holiday vibes. That is until DEATHBUS swarm in playing “some really stupid music really f***ing fast”. It’s a fierce growling set of heavy ear bleeding metal. What the lyrics are I couldn’t tell you, but it set the crowd alight in an insane fury of headbanging. There was hair swishing everywhere one guy was so entranced and heavily moshing I thought he was going to bash his head off the stage. Shrilling guitars with a neck snapping speed their set was brutal, blood thirsty and adrenaline pumping lunacy. The Dubtones follow with an equally energetic but less slaughterous set. With rock and roll hints and groovy rhythm they bring back a taste of the boppy bubbly vibes causing a wiggle-like mosh dance among the crowd.Cracking pirate ship jokes and all “cos we arrr!” it’s an entertaining set. Brassy NYC punk band All Torn Up follow. Interacting directly with the crowd frontman Joey Steel jumps into the audience to mosh along with them before preaching about the wretched world and “backward pieces of sh*t”. His sweat flicking everywhere as the crowd laps up his enthusiasm. These guys have a demanding stage presence and relentless stamina as they jump shout and swear with compelling endurance. It’s a slick brisk set bursting with fiery attitude. The audience erupt into spasms of madness. Jumping pushing headbanging and just plain going crazy. Each track is a battering assault to the senses but an invigorating experience for sure. Punk mammoths Leftover Crack take over the stage like a kraken. With literally a bruising set, crowd members are bashing into each other throwing one another to the floor. There is a strange sense of  comradery amongst these heavy moshers once they fall down they get picked up to be bashed to the floor again. Their rapturous set drives the crowd wild. These guys provide one of the most involving satisfying raw live sets I’ve experienced. They are musically airtight and enraged with brutally efficient riffs, pummeling drums and dynamic vocals that alternate between raspy roars and croons. Unfortunately much to my frustration my battery died before their set so I couldn’t take any pictures, but these guys are larger than life and put on a fantastic show.

It was a night of beards,badges and denim with pulverizing music to batter your eardrums and slick grooves. Don’t you just love it when a bunch of fierce throttling mighty bands get together and put on a thrilling show- vocal growls, head-splitting tunes, sweat and all. Unforgettable.