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Category: Music Review

  • Review: The Civil Wars at The Sugar Club

    Review: The Civil Wars at The Sugar Club

    Review: The Civil Wars at The Sugar Club

    The Civil Wars in The Sugar Club, Dublin on September 1st 2011.

    Originally published on Goldenplec.

    The Sugar Club played host to the first Irish gig for folk duo The Civil Wars. The two first came into my consciousness a few months ago when James Vincent McMorrow joined them on tour and it seemed I wasn’t the only one who had got to know them. Even before opening act Liz Lawrence had taken to the stage, floor space was at a premium so I found myself sitting on the step on the first row of seats.

    This was the second time to see Liz Lawrence, she previously opened for Brooke Fraser in the same venue. Tonight, she was in flying form backed on harmonies, cajon and percussion by Harry. Liz Lawrence is a confident performer and again tonight gets the crowd clapping along. Highlight of her set had to be the instantly memorable ‘Monday Morning’ during which she dances with her guitar packing the energy in. Expect this song to take over your radio soon.

    Reinforcements in the form of three extra rows of chairs were drafted into the venue before The Civil Wars came to the stage. From the opening notes of ‘Tip of My Tongue’, it’s easy to see why Joy Williams and John Paul White are converting audiences the world over. They exude a playful chemistry, which is really infectious. So much so, you never know quite what is going to happen next. Joy dances on stage and uses her hands and arms freely for expressing the lyrics and John Paul comes across as a cool Johnny Depp/Jack White character.

    The duo have a definite deep south country feel and this is egged on through their harmonies. The playfulness is kept going throughout the night, with Joy knocking on John Paul’s guitar during ‘Forget Me Not’ and seemingly trying to have a ‘who can keep the note longest’ competition during ‘In The Valley’.

    As the first notes of ’20 Years’ cascades through the auditorium someone behind shows their approval with an ‘Aw yeah’. I doubt they were disappointed. The tenderness of the song shines through and the two show great technique with subtle ‘ooh’ refrains off mic.

    The Civil Wars are no fools, they know that no matter how people may be into your music, it’s always good to lighten the mood with cover. If lighten is the right word. The two explain how great pop songs have major keys and happy vibes, they couldn’t do that, Their version of ‘You Are My Sunshine’ goes down a treat. Later in the set we a treated to a sublime cover of The Smashing Pumpkins’ Disarm and Jackson 5′s I Want You Back. If only because of the popularity and quality of their covers, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear an album of them at some stage.

    John Paul swaps his acoustic guitar for a resonator which gives a more country blues feel. If you could bottle up the essence of the deep south and put it in a song, the title track of their current album ‘Barton Hollow’ would seem to sum it up. Great melody and guitar lines, harmonies and lyrics that bounce of each other. This track is amazing on record but completely comes to life in The Sugar Club. ‘Falling’, ‘C’est La Mort’, and ‘Poison and Wine ‘are songs of such calibre that they ensure The Civil Wars will be around for a long time to come.

    It is their stage performance that totally sets them apart though, the playfulness, the combination of harmonies backed by only guitar (and keys on one song) it seems like a simplistic set up but it’s the one that is totally right for The Civil Wars.

    The two are about to leave but going by the rapturous response from the audience, have the sense not to leave but to do another couple of songs. As the shouts for ‘more’ are thrown in their direction Joy asks ‘What about your last train?, Oh I’ll leave you to worry about that.’ First time I’ve heard an artist wonder if the audience can get home.

    The final tracks of the night are two cover versions, the first Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean, with which Joy has fun with charades to parts of the song and John Paul decides to change the lyrics in the last line to ‘James Vincent McMorrow is not my lover’ to acknowledge the great man is in the venue. The duo finished with Leonard Cohen’s ‘Dance Me to The End of Love’.

    The Civil Wars acknowledged the audience and thanked them for selling out their very first gig in Ireland, going by the crowds that were in The Sugar Club and going on the performance, next time round they will need a venue that has a lot bigger capacity.

  • Jason Derulo at The Academy, Dublin // Review

    Jason Derulo at The Academy, Dublin // Review

    Jason Derulo at The Academy, Dublin // Review

    Originally published by Goldenplec on 29 August 2010

    The last all ages event I was at was my secondary school disco and I only got to go because my Mum was taking the money at the door. Thankfully, all ages events have moved on from that.

    I entered the venue to deafening screams, no not for me, for the support act, BeatBullyz. The teenage hordes, arms waving in the air, obeying their every command. The audience was about 95% young females, a few boyfriends, some older ladies and a few Mums chilling at the no alcohol bar.

    BeatBullyz are a Uk based Hiphop group with pop sensibilities and are in fact really really good. Live, the group had drums, bass, a scratch DJ and two frontmen. Bully, who also doubles up on keys and the unfortunately named, but insanely popular Bozo. A Minotaur, yes, a male dancer with a bull mask, also appears on stage.

    These guys were exactly what the teenage audience wanted and when Bozo took off his shirt, I wouldn’t be surprised if the local hospitals were put on stand by. The band worked their way through the dancey ‘Skillz’, ‘Bounce’, (guess how the audience reacted) before finishing with ‘Human Nature’ an upbeat anthem with very U2 sounding drums and bass. Knowing how to work a crowd is one thing, having them in the palm of your hand, hanging on every syllable is another. Beatbullyz write catchy hiphop/pop songs that transfer really well and have a full live sound. Very impressive, I’d go see them again.

    The screams for Bozo’s ripped chest were just dying down as the ‘Jason’ chants start. Derülo enters the stage accompanied by some futuristic sounding effects and flashing lights. Saying the sound was poor during the first track ‘the Sky’s the limit’ would be an understatement. Derülo’s ear worn microphone was sounded tinny and way too low but the packed to the rafters crowd were too busy screaming their little heads off.

    Thankfully over the next couple of songs the sound improved. A number of scantily clad (always wanted to use that) dancers managed to dance their way across the stage during ‘Whatcha Say’. By the time the first notes of ‘Love Hangover’ were heard, proper sound had been restored.

    Derülo can dance, the Academy though doesn’t have the biggest stage for dancers. He made the most of it though also using the safety barriers to his advantage.

    At the moment though, Jason Derülo is suffering greatly from only having one album of material. He leaves the stage on a few occasions and the audience are treated to covers of the Black Eyed Peas and those dancers are at it again. The young audience seem to be confused at points throughout the show because of this. While Derülo did a decent acoustic version of ‘Ridin Solo’ and a rocked up ‘In My head’, the audience singalongs were at the original pacing.

    Before ‘What If’, the crowd are teased and asked who would like to come on stage with the great man. Mid way though, a shell shocked teenage girl is plucked from the crowd and serenaded to by Derülo.

    Derülo returns to the stage in a Irish jersey, while the old cynical me can see the marketing, his adoring fans scream approval. This lends itself to the obligatory Olé Olé Olé. A cover of Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry’ with Derülo playing drums at the front of the stage goes down well before another costume chang.

    A large mirror on stage is used to great visual effect. Lit like a dressing room mirror with lights all around, Derülo sings into it for parts of the song ‘Encore’. The audience finally get what they are looking for when a familiar ‘Ridin’ Solo’ starts, getting the best reaction of the night. Choruses of ‘Jaaaassooon Derulo’ (did I mention he even said it himself) echo around the venue before an encore of ‘In My Head’. Great song to choose to end the night on.

    After a rocky start, it was a solid performance, a few more hits in the bag and a little work on making his live vocals a bit stronger and Jason Derülo will be a force to be reckoned with. An enjoyable night out.

    Setlist:

    1. The Sky’s The Limit
    2. Whatcha Say
    3. Love Hangover
    4. Got a Feeling (Band)
    5. Ridin’ Solo (acoustic)
    6. In My Head (rock version)
    7. Fallen
    8. Blind
    9. What If
    10. Dancers mix
    11. When Doves Cry
    12. Encore
    13. Ridin’ Solo 14.
    In My Head

    Check out all my music reviews here

  • Cars Love Girls: Lose Your Mind Review

    Cars-like-GirlsCars Love Girls release their debut single ‘Lose Your Mind’ on October 14th. The brother/sister band features Bres, of Republic of Loose and female vocalist Orla who joined the Loose in 2006.

    We’re in for a good dose of funky R ‘n’ B, with some serious Prince influences, which is never a bad thing. This is probably also helped on by the fact that mastering was done by Bernie Grundman, who lended his ears to Purple Rain. Lyrically, the track is very ROL, not surprising as Bres wrote some to their biggest tracks. Orla’s vocals are made for this type track, and the vocal layers and slight reverb lead this track beautifully through its rise and falls.

    Really good debut and introduction for the album ‘Skip School’ which is due out in early 2012. Life after the Loose is looking good. Really like this track.

    Watch out for Cars Love Girls on tour with Bressie, and on the IMRO Showcase tour on September 29th in Crawdaddy and Hard Working Class Heroes in October.

    Lose Your Mind by cars love girls

  • The Alice Kona Band: Jay Adams Review

    The Alice Kona BandThe Alice Kona Band are a breath of fresh air. Once upon a previous lifetime I used to listen to quite a lot of garage punk but I could never understand why a lot of the instrumentation and vocals had to be distorted beyond recognition.

    With AKB’s Jay Adams all the instrumentation is clear, lyrics are audible and the vocals are well produced. Yet, the frantic nature and garage punk ethos are never compromised. Punky yet melodic, the Belfast band will leave you with the ‘Oh oh Oh’ refrain knocking round your head for the rest of the day. Legend.