Tag Archives: Sub Motion

Live Music, Live Music Review

Crazy Town at The Bowery With Support From Sub Motion, Accidents In The Workplace and MUNKY

We sat down to watch the sound check of the Crazy Town Gang while waiting to interview them last Saturday night before their show at the Bowery Rathmines Dublin. The screaming one two’s between some slick bass, steaming guitar licks thumping drums and just sublime noise pounding through my ears was enough to tell me the crowd was in for one hell of a night. Seth Binzer affectionately known by his stage name Shifty Shellshock has one heck of a band behind him.

The support acts on the night Sub Motion, Accidents In The Workplace and MUNKY are all regular offenders on Indie Buddie as they seem to be tearing up the live circuit lately appearing everywhere I turn, much to my delight as I know these are all great bands and have come to enjoy seeing their live shows and their growth with each live show. There is a theme of missing band members tonight, Accidents In The Workplace have no saxophonist (Sean Kenny) on stage and Munky have replaced guitarist Conor Lawlor with Tom McGlynn formerly of the optimists for the night.

Sub Motion kicks things off in their pure raucous manner. A set list brimming with energy and sass, it’s another slick well oiled performance from these guys. For me Sub Motion sound their best live -the rawness of the guitars the gritty rumbling bass lines and fired up drums is a dynamite combination that materialises beautifully and dynamically live. Front woman Rebecca Geary is a force to be reckoned with- i’ve never seen her have an off performance, every show is full throttle.She hops, sways,swishes her hair, sits on the drums and dances with immense energy and spirit, it’s mesmerising.

Accidents In The Workplace follow. All of them squeezed on stage like sardines in a tin can.I love watching these guys live, it is always such fun “You’re looking well  its very warm, but sure look, did you see the football?  It’s good isn’t it ,its mad the way they run after each other and do all the football-y things but I enjoyed it all the same… lets play they are gonna get aggressive now we are Accidents In The Workplace!” the always charismatic Sean McMahon introduces the band. The banter is in full swing as they belt out their vibrant tunes. Lauren Murphy always knocks me for six with her outstanding vocals and dramatic dance moves she is always wearing magnificent colourful outfits her spritz of colour was cleverly placed on her shoulder on Saturday night – a rainbow of beautiful pink, purple, blue and yellow hues. As ever their tunes just make everyday better and their smiling faces are a joy to see. The band make the most of the space they are given and put on a wonderful show. After banter about putting a hole in the wall to see if the Bowery will sink along with immaculate performances of ‘Wake Up’ and How? They give us an extra little treat,  McMahon takes to the center of the stage to whack out a rendition of  The Fugees ‘Ready or Not’ with a trumpet added in. This rendition is pretty amazing, proving these guys aren’t just funky, groovy and melodious as hell they have some cool swagger, rap ability and attitude too.

MUNKY follow and erupt on stage in true MUNKY manner. Tom McGlynn does a fine job slashing out those hefty riffs and a slick little intro leaving all the hair flailing to Zachary Stephenson. Another immensely entertaining act live. Bassist Niall Donnelly shouts at the crowd to move closer as they belt out the funky grooves and evaporating guitar lines. The stage antics were turned down a little compared to other times I have seen them but they still exuded a huge amount of swagger and poured everything into their set keeping the dancing crowd engaged. These guys are extremely talented and every guitar stride, mosh infested instrumental and drum battering confirms this. Sub Motion’s Rebecca Geary tackles backing vocals adding a dash of chicness to the stage layout. Their manic sound is chilled by some bluesy elements making for a wholly enthralling and diverse listen.  ‘7am’ is a prime example of the finesse of this four piece as they juggle the emotional intense verses and brooding backdrop with the gritty heaviness masterfully and this translates to a sing along riff and mosh intensity that is difficult to match. Of course ‘Hunter Gatherer Blues’ and ‘Ms. Communication’ end their set giving Donnelly a chance to playfully interact as he dramatically stomps and jumps to his knees and nearly falls off the stage.

Crazy Town swarm on stage fierce and feisty as bassist Hasma Angeleno guitarist Filippo Dallinferno Giomo and drummer Luca Pretorius play a mighty intro as Shifty strides coolly onstage and moves as close to the crowd as he can. Baffled and mesmerised by his larger than life persona the crowd grab for his hand and stroke his shoes. Straight away the crowd are jumping and moshing- it’s a relentless onslaught from Crazy Town. Hasma screams into the mic while executing the most unique guitar poses- the yoga Tree Pose becoming the standard … and why not? ‘Come Inside’ sets the crowd alight, beer is spilling everywhere, fights are breaking out as two individuals are staring each other off before calling it quits after a good 2-minutes threatening each other, and girls are falling flat on their faces from the moshing- it’s pretty special. It’s a no nonsense set, there’s no time wasted with banter, these guys are here to deliver and that’s what they do. “Dublin what’s up!” Hasma shouts before  the crowd erupt for ‘A Little More Time’ . The atmosphere is electronic and fiery. Filippo is one slick guitarist who is pretty light on his feet gliding and jumping behind with graceful ferocity while Luca pulverises the drums with bloodthirsty stamina. Shifty, as expected plays the front-man role well, he engages with the crowd and swings the suspended monitors as he stands and squats- rarely moving from the front of the stage. A hopeful member of the audience buys Shifty a pint and presents it to him holding it like a golden prize-  so dramatic I almost expected a golden light to form around it while a sudden sweet sound of angels sing “ahhhhh” the beautiful moment is broken by Shifty’s apologetic refusal as he explains the band don’t drink and they offer it back to the audience member, who gladly takes one for the team telling them “its lovely”. The singing along among the crowd is captivating as each track fills them with a confidence and attitude while the lyrics roll off their tongue as they gaze at Shifty in awe almost proud to have him witness their in-depth knowledge of the lyrics. “let me see your middle fingers” Shifty introduces the blustery ‘Born To Raise Hell’. The crowd once again below back the lyrics while waving their middle fingers in the air. ‘Decorated’ is announced to massive screams and whoops and ’Butterfly’ is considerably more fun than it ever was, Crazy Town don’t even have to sing once the chorus kicks in the crowd take over.

It was a pretty special show Crazy Town swarmed in and boy did they take over and hey its nice to know they “fu*king love Dublin” and its “one of their favourite places ever”, we’ll take that.


Alt Rock, indie rock, New Music

Sub Motion ‘Gun in Your Pocket’

Dublin’s Sub Motion have released their latest single ‘Gun in Your Pocket’. The band broke through with tracks ‘Soccer Mom’ and ‘Headlights’ which led them to a sold out Whelans show as well as festival slots at Electric Picnic, Vantastival and Indiependence. They received radio play in Ireland, the UK and the US. By the end of 2017 they were snapped up by publishing label, Tremelo Music Publishing. They have also secured support slots with The Strypes, Fangclub, The Hot Sprockets in the past year following a series of successful releases.  

Sub Motion whack out another infectious belter with ‘Gun in Your Pocket’. Jagged sharp riffs shred through the track from the get go with the most thrilling, briery, raw assault while a sublime rumbling bass sets a blood curdling fluctuant foundation for their explosive sound to ricochet off. The punchy drums relentlessly pound throughout while the catchy melody secures itself firmly in your brain. It’s an adrenaline pumped, seductive number that leaves you bracing for the mighty chorus. This exhilarating rush of spiky, invigorating rock is mosh ready, spine chilling and harsh. The distorted guitar shrills add an electrifying intensity while Rebecca Geary’s sultry dynamic vocals entice and compel throughout. Sub Motion showcase their proficient fire-starting sound with a slick swagger and razor sharp edge. ‘Gun in Your Pocket’ is just the tip of the iceberg for this band.

Whilst recording another track in Herbert Place Studios with producer James Darkin, ‘Gun in Your Pocket’ was born out of a spontaneous studio jam between takes. Speaking about the track, lead singer Rebecca Geary says, “the song came completely out of nowhere, just when we needed a badass, balls to the wall rock song to channel our energy into”.

You can catch Sub Motion live at:

RiverFest 2018, Offaly – 16th/17th June

The Bowery, Dublin (Supporting Crazy Town) – 23rd June

More TBA soon.

 

Stream ‘Gun in Your Pocket’ below

 


Uncategorized

New Valley Wolves ‘GOSPEL’ EP Launch in The Workman’s Club Dublin With Support From Sub Motion and Scally

If you have a hankering for meaty, lusty rock dripping in more swagger than any one person can handle than, the Workman’s Club Dublin was the place to be last Saturday night. Dublin duo New Valley Wolves were launching their new EP ‘GOSPEL’ with support from Sub Motion and Scally.

Scally & The Dirty Rats set the night in motion with a little less on-stage antics compared to when we saw them last year. Scally is still suave on stage- jumping about as we watch him explode with an insane amount of energy while belting out tracks brimming with sock-it-to-me passion. They whack out ballsy, raw rock and roll with a relentless stamina that is one to be admired. Scally’s band – The Dirty Rats bring something magnificent to the table. Ben Mulligan on guitar continually hits the mark with slithery licks, thrilling spine-chilling shrills and such finesse that allows the nimble Eddie Reynolds on bass to bounce and rebound some funky groove filled rhythms off. “This next song is about laying around on a f**king Sunday morning and you f**king don’t know whether to ring a f**king takeaway or pull the f**king balls off yourself” Scally colourfully introduces the infectious, snappy ‘Filthy Animal’. With an attitude that screams egoistic rock and roll swagger Scally definitely grabs attention for sure, and the tunes back his persona up. They are catchy as hell and capture the beauty, brawn and panache that is punk rock in all its glory. The as of yet not quite named ‘Help’ “Well it was called help last night I can’t decide on the name” and new single ‘Get Ready For War’ demonstrate this perfectly with intricate licks, flicks and sing along ready chorus’. Scally raps and belts with enough chest-thumping pride and fiery attitude to keep you pumped and ready to join him in his Kiedis- esque dancing and limb flailing. They deal with technical difficulties like pros, and in true Kiedis manner the shirt comes off for the brazen ‘Lets Fuck’. It’s a fiery kinetic set with the blistering lead guitar leaving scorching burn marks through infectious bass grooves while Colin O’Brien literally breaks the drums with his pounding elastic beats, and to bring it all together is a charismatic, fearless frontman. The definition of swagger.

Sub Motion follow with an empowering set of catchy tunes and a sublime boisterous wall of sound. The punchy rhythm creates an easy foundation to get those body’s dancing and grooving while scuzzy guitars resonate through Rebecca Geary’s powerful vocals.  Geary is larger that life and takes on her front-woman role with a fierceness that is masterful. In fact, it was a stage brimming with charm and charisma as each member exuded their own brand of swagger. Though each track is riotous there is no shortage of fun on stage. These guys enjoy what they are doing, and boy does it show. The band are on top form all smiles and cheery. Banter is at a minimal as they waste no time whacking out their infectious tunes ‘Gun In Your Pocket’ in particular is one catchy song- you will have to prise that one out of your brain. It’s rumbling strident bassline runs along building in intensity before the track explodes with shrilling crashing guitars and mighty drums. When these guys are sleek and sultry it’s sublime ‘Headlights’ in particular comes across magnificently live. There is not doubt these guys are ones not to be missed live.

    

New Valley Wolves walk onstage and launch into a killer introduction to ‘Eyes on Me’. There is an air of professionalism with this duo that leaves you in awe. Singer/ guitarist Jonny Lucey’s gut-level riffs, and drummer Baz Joyce’s thunder-struck beats are incredible. Their bluesy tinged tunes are ball crushing and powerful and have the crowd moshing and dancing in no time. ‘Shake your bones’, ‘Silver Tongue’ and ‘Fire In The Blood’ are all well received as they keep the energy travelling at neck snapping speeds blasting out the monstrous tracks in their repertoire. There is no messing around, the tunes are heavy, crisp and robust. The lights go out between tracks – at times dimmed leaving just the duo’s silhouettes visible creating suspense for what’s to come. Their rip-roaring new single ‘Cut-Throat’ keeps up the constant barrage of top-quality riffs and with that sing along chorus has the crowd chanting along mindlessly. Lucy is fierce. He fist pumps the air with a stare that would curdle milk while savagely shredding through his gritty guitar riffs. Joyce pummels and batters the drums with bloodthirsty stamina which pounds through your entire body. Each track layers on another thick dollop of cool gritty intensity building the rooms energy to frenzied levels. The two spend most of their set going hell for leather and the rugged steamroller ‘Animal’ follows this vigorous trend, as members of the crowd howl and whoop. The never played live before  ‘Aloe Vera’ avalanches through with a shivering chorus while Joyce pelts out a mesmerising display of pulverizing perfection before the lean mean roar of ‘Trouble’ closes their set.

On Saturday night New Valley Wolves sounded brawny, focused and all powerful. Their raw grandeur filled with death ray fuzz and might leaves you reeling and craving for more. There is no stopping these guys. There are only two of them, but boy they sound like an army.

 


Live Music, Live Music Review, New Music

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.