‘Electric Six’ once more journey to Northern Ireland to ignite fire in the disco into Belfast’s Limelight and, as expected, deliver a quirky and powerful performance with their own brand of electronic funk rock which enslaves their audience in a frenzy of singing and dancing.
Clearly excited (cough) to be here tonight, Olli Herman is a ball of energy from the get go. As the band kick off the opening intro to ‘Night on Fire’, Olli bounds on with a smile as wide as the stage he will inhabit for the next 90 minutes.
While tracks from The Satanist unsurprisingly feature prominently in the setlist, accompanied mostly by others from the last decade, they do make time for older tracks including their debut album opener, ‘Chant of the Eastern Lands’ before posing for a group photo and exiting the stage. Encouraging chants of “Be-he-moth” summon the foursome back to their ranks for a finale of ‘O Father O Satan O Sun!’, dressed in the eerie hooded robes and horns seen in the graphic ‘Blow Your Trumpets’ video. Thus ended a show that is surely the favourite for the title of “Best Irish Metal Event of 2014”, and massive appreciation is due to all who made it happen.
I’m sure Fish must have had moments when he wished he’d called this tour something other than “The Moveable Feast Tour”, as that seems to have been an invitation for the God of Gigs to mess with him. Originally scheduled for May this year, the tour had to be postponed due to guitarist Robin Boult contracting and suffering badly from chicken pox. The re-scheduled dates were going well in mainland Europe until Fish developed laryngitis and had to postpone 17 dates until early next year
By the time The Pineapple Thief take to the stage, the venue had filled to near capacity and so there was a healthy roar from the crowd to greet their arrival. After playing part of “What Have We Sown” as an intro, they launched straight into “Wake Up The Dead” and the music combined with the lights and smoke effects created quite a subtle and immersive atmosphere
Saxon gave this Dublin crowd everything they had, the enthralling power of their music has stood the test of time. They may be one of the most unfashionable bands of all time, but fashion has no loyalty, Saxon and their fans bleed it.
Black Friday offers Dubliners not one, but two metal events to choose from; the Redemption Fest headlined by local heroes Primordial in the Academy, and Protest the Hero headlining a show in the Voodoo lounge.
Having seen Ace numerous times before, this is one of the best bands he’s had backing him up in my opinion. Coogan and Wyse are a powerful rhythm section and are both excellent vocalist. Richie Scarlet is a dynamo on stage, kind of a cross between Keith Richards, Johnny Thunders, with a little Angus Young sprinkled on top. His presence brings a great energy and takes some of the “front man” weight off of Ace.
Electric Mary’s gig that night definitely brought back something that reminded of the 70s. Musicians enjoying their music, emerging in their instruments during long solos and being laid back with the crowd, resulting in a mutual enjoyment of their music.
I admit I had pre-conceived ideas about The Pretty Reckless which mostly centered on the ability or perhaps lack of, of the ex-actress centre-piece Taylor Momsen. I am always suspicious (or cynical maybe) about bands that have massive hype attached to them – are you listening Royal Blood – and sometimes wonder if it doesn’t do the band in question more harm than good by raising expectation to unachievable levels. Having been pleasantly surprised by their latest album I was interested to see exactly what this gig would bring.