The Riptide Movement Live At The Olympia Theatre Dublin With Support From Adam Weafer ,Midnight Wayne and ELLYD

The Riptide Movement headlined The Olympia Dublin last night. Promising us a set brimming with tracks from their rich and exhilarating repertoire the band created a show that was buzzing with adrenaline and vigor without fail.

Dublin’s Adam Weafer kicks off the night with his rich and warm tunes accompanied on keys by the beautiful and strikingly powerful vocals of Amy Penston. Their vocals blend perfectly – sweetly cooing the glorious catchy melodies with passion and gusto. Weafer has an extremely expressive tone and velvety texture to his voice. His tracks charm and coax the crowd to the front as they sway along while the pair banter and laugh between songs. Weafer is an enthralling performer and he brings a lighthearted and charismatic approach to his riveting tracks. Charming on stage they both settle the crowd in nicely.

Midnight Wayne, the solo project of Wayne Soper the front-man of Dublin rockers The Hot Sprockets follows. His style is perhaps a little different to what you might expect. After time travelling from the 70’s he brings a brown flared trousers suit and some sweet luscious melodies to the stage. His falsetto coo’s through each track with a candied delicacy. With acoustic guitar and loops he creates the perfect, simple yet lush soundscape for his retro rose-tinted tunes. He proves himself quite the proficient musician creating wonderful psychedelic hues and rich sounds with a simple yet effective set up. A must see.

ELLYD (Elaine Doyle) is the next act to grace the stage. With rich depth in her voice she is mesmerising to hear through the wonderful acoustics of The Olympia. With real heartbreaking emotion conveyed beautifully through her voice there is no denying the power behind every track she performs. The mighty and expressive choruses could break or heal your heart while her more tender tones create a warmth within you. With simple acoustic accompaniment its the outstanding vocals and wonderful melodies that hit you in the chest and confirms Doyle’s firm grip on your ears… potentially forever.

The Riptide Movement take the stage while the crowd cheer and scream. As the harmonica whines the band leap into ‘What About The Tip Jars’. The crowd are set alight. There is not a word, guitar riff or bass rumble that this crowd doesn’t know and the band pack in as much as they can of their exciting five album long back catalog. There are members of this crowd that adore and worship this band. They are on their knees in adoration, head banging to the more animated ‘Reno’ while holding each other and swaying for the slower Americana swing of ‘Skin and Bones’ and jumping, clapping and stomping for all the tracks between. Malachy Tuohy gives shout outs to the many familiar faces they have seen throughout their 13 years as a band.

The lighting was a dazzling display with strip lighting and a disco ball. The band flash lights on the crowd to see them singing along to beloved tracks like ‘Keep On Keepin’ On’. Each song the band plays empowers the audience more, causing mass jumping and singing. Tracks from the new EP ‘Something Special’ are greeted with as much enthusiasm as ‘Changeling’ from the 2016 album ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Getting Through’ from the 2013 album of the same name. The band have oodles of tracks ready for mass sing-along’s – the audience is hooked on their infectious sound. One guy from the crowd on the balcony rushes to the front – dancing and wiggling uncontrollably to ‘Getting Through’ as he shouts the lyrics and points to the band before thumping his chest while others in the balcony and the pit are standing flailing their limbs and dancing. Its manic but good humored fun that only a band as beloved in Dublin as The Riptide Movement could bring.

Guitarist John Dalton appears to go into his own world on stage – his hair streaming over his face while he blazes through shredding guitar lines with finesse and a majestic quality that is to be admired while Gerry McGarry prances about springing from the raised drummers platform where Aaron O’Grady stands in for Gar Byrne. The crowd love and cherish every member of the band as if they are their own kin and that creates such a wonderful and vibrant atmosphere for a live show. The band play ‘Fall A Little More In Love’ taken from the vinyl version of the new EP ‘Something Special’ and boy is it a spectacular reason to buy the vinyl! That sweet melody is a dairy milk chocolate box on Valentines Day and a lot more. A real treat, the track jangles on warm acoustic guitar and a radiant Americana-hued indie backdrop with a touch of Roy Orbison flickering through the melody.

This audience will not leave without an encore from The Riptide Movement, they shout for the band singing the lyrics to ‘Elephant In The Room’ until they return to play a few more tracks. Tuohy sits by the keyboard under an immaculate spotlight for the Christmas- y ‘All I Ever Wanted’ and they finish the night with a standing ovation as the crowd sing, jump and dance to ‘All Works Out’ as Gar Byrne triumphantly takes to the drum kit. What a spectacle.

The Riptide Movement have been around for 13 years and their show in The Olympia last night was a blistering first rate experience. They are a fantastic, primed band that are thrillingly raw and vital with their finger on the pulse of musical melody brilliance .