Whelan’s was buzzing Sunday night as it was the triumphant return of Dublin Garage/Rock trio Fangclub. The last show of the tour they were determined to make it one to remember slotting in an impressive two shows – a matinee for their under 18’s fans and the main show later that night. The stage was dressed with wreathes and green foliage around the drums and mic stands, their logo in place and a sublime piece of artwork for the backdrop, they have upped their game.

Derry’s The Wood Burning Savages kick started the antics. These guys emit an explosive energy with their punk driven rock and roll. With a set brimming with explosive tracks like the swagger driven ‘We Love You’ and the sharp slick ‘Rat Race’ they have the crowd bopping and dancing in no time. Frontman Paul Connolly is an intense performer he hops and jumps rigidly. With guitar kicks and poses he is insanely charismatic and energetic. He whelps and howls with striking fiery attitude while smiley guitarist Michael Woods blasts out some shredding riffs. Their infectious rhythm and slick display for ‘I Don’t Know Why I Do It’ has the crowd fluctuating between grooving and moshing. The tracks are anthemic the guitars frantic and blistering and that rhythm – nimble gritty and snappy. They are compelling to watch delivering a full bodied dynamic set that leaves you craving more. They close their set with the fantastic ‘Thoughts Of You’, now this track was my favourite its intense dark and explosive all at once. It’s one to just go mad to and a fantastic mouth-watering way to end their set.

Noise-pop quartet Thumper followed with a killer live set. Their proficient use of distortion, scalding guitars and punchy drums was mesmerising not to mention the running elastic bassline driving the tracks it was a fierce no nonsense set. It was loud ear bleedingly thrilling. Oisin’s vocals are subtle under the mammoth wall of crashing guitars and pummeling drums. There are plenty of vocal screams and jumping about from both the crowd and the band. Guitarist Alan is a force to be reckoned with he manically wanders about the stage while blasting out piercing guitar lines. Their set is an assault of frenzied punk slapped against bubble-gum pop melodies its quite the deadly cocktail. The crowd loved it heavily moshing and just plain going crazy to every track. The last track sees Oisin jump into the crowd while bassist Joey (who is preforming his last show with the band) smashes his bass off the stage. The crowd swarmed on the stage to gather the remaining pieces of his guitar until nothing was left even a small splinter that was overlooked was swiftly snapped up by an audience member. They removed every trace of his guitar. Thumper’s set ignited the crowd turning the mosh pit into a blur of flailing limbs and tumbling bodies with their speed-riffing tunes.

Blur ‘Song 2’ gets the crowd riled up and ready for Fangclub as they belt out the “Woo-hoo” lyrics. Once Fangclub hit the stage its total anarchy. Kevin Keane throws a mask into the crowd and they blast into ‘Better To Forget’ and the crowd erupt. ‘Dreamcatcher’, ‘Psycho’ only three songs in, and the trio have the crowd eating out of their oh-so-talented hands. It’s all high energy and vigorous sound blasting turmoil as the crowd mosh jump and push. Frontman Steven King, barely looks up when performing, his face hidden behind his hair but when he does he takes on his frontman role zealously. He wastes no time in jumping into the crowd singing and playing in the middle of them. Appearing more comfortable on stage and learning a few new tricks they are adding swagger to their list of qualities. Their set is as fierce and dynamic as ever but there is a change from the first time we saw them a new confidence and slick panache with some stage help at the ready to keep things running smoothly. Kevin Keane and Dara Coleman control the audience like puppeteers by keeping a steady pounding skull bashing flexible rhythm which pummels through the audience making them head bang frantically. With his boyish smile lurking amidst the shadows King takes a sip of water from a cup with flashing lights on it saying “this is what all the strobe warnings were for” before an electric rendition of  ‘Bad Words’. The crowd bellow back the lyrics to each track fist pumping the air and soaking up the trio’s dense brand of garage rock. They dedicate ‘Lightning’ to Kings younger brother who is in hospital, live this track displays the bands firm grip on hooks and melody. They slice through with sharp guitars and strangle you with a melodic ecstasy that hooks you in with its sugar-coated buzz. ’Loner’ is announced to cheers and whoops, it’s raw unadulterated and unfiltered bliss. Naturally crowd surfing happened as King was lifted above the heads of their adoring fans while confetti fell at the end of ‘Bullet Head’. The band returned for an encore with a shredding dark eerie cover of ‘Suspicious Mind’.

These guys are learning new tricks of the trade all the time and each show is gaining momentum and building as they grow. This time around they know how to work a crowd, and the crowd loved it all. People were screaming, beer was spilt, hair was everywhere (I got whipped by someone with dreadlocks) but smiles were aplenty and once again Fangclub kicked ass.