On arrival at the venue, it’s immediately apparent from the queue running the length of New Mart Road that a lot of people have waited a long time to see the spikey Dublin quintet in the flesh.
They’re not the only ones that have been kept waiting. It’s the first chance the band have had to air 2020’s Grammy nominated ‘A Hero’s Death’ live. The sense of anticipation is palpable.
The lights drop and the crowd goes to ballistic. First onto stage are the musical backbone of the band, guitarists Carlos O’Connell, Conor Curley, bassist Conor Deegan III and drummer Tom Coll, all stylishly turned out in vintage oufits that wouldn’t look out of place in a 50s gangster flick. In contrast vocalist and poetically driven livewire Grian Chatten bounces on stage sporting an Outkast t-shirt and pair of regulation chav trackies.
The band go for the jugular straight away with incendiary renditions of ‘A Hero’s Death’ and ‘A Lucid Dream’. It’s soon evident the time away has only honed the onstage dynamic that makes the band such an exciting live spectacle. Chatten twists, jerks and contorts around the stage, barking out poetic tales of working class angst and injustice, all the while the band go about their business with menacing efficiency, glowering out into the front rows. It’s a formula that worked for The Fall for the best part of 4 decades – so why not!
The musical arrangements are the perfect foil to Chatten’s blunt vocal delivery. Beautifully layered guitars carving out soundscapes around the driving rhythm section to give the music the depth the lyrics demand.
Interaction with the audience is kept to a minimum. It’s unlikely they’d notice anyway. The Tricolour waving hoard sing back every word in a release of energy built from 18 months of enforced frustration and boredom. It’s clear everyone is on the same page here, for ‘all boys and girls in a better land’ – it’s been worth the wait!
Words and pictures: Calum Mackintosh