Saturday Night

Last night I joined the real world and went out on a Saturday night! My friend Ann offered to put me on a guest list for a gig in Dolans, so how could I refuse?? I donned a frock, put on a bit of warpaint,and I followed a hair how-to for the first time in my life (thanks Sunday Times, I got lots of compliments!).The gig was the IMRO Showcase Tour 2010, so I got to see four acts for nothing, how recession busting is that??
First off was Nick Carswell and the Elective Orchestra, which were fantastic. I was really impressed by their orginality, and muscality. The four pieces are made up of a drummer, cellist/vocalist, double bassist, lead vocalist/keyboard player/guitarist, so quite an impressive selection for a wee group of people.There had moments that they reminded me of The Frames on a good day, and Sigur Ros from their energetic days. Rarely do I go to a gig and decide to buy an album from people I've never soon before, but I'll definitely be looking to get something from these guys, and will certainly be heading to their gigs in the future. Handy for me as they hail from Limerick!
After that we had Steve from Windings playing solo, some of you remember him from his previous incarnation from Giveamanakick. I've seen Windings a good few times over the years, and to be brutally honest I was pretty disappointed with his performance last night. I suppose people have bad days, but it was a shame. Priosly I have seen him doing stunning work on guitar, with intricate loop pedals mixed with charming quirky lyrics.
Supermodel Twins, the third band caused a not so serious fight between myself and John, we both disliked them but John claimed that they were crap. Which they really weren't, they are excellent at what they do, I'm just really not a fan of chirpy poppy rock music. They were tight and snappy, with catchy riffs, which is exactly what you need from a band like that. I can see them becoming really popular, like weezer in plaid shirts and Limerick accents. Whereas because they weren't doing anything innovative or new/cutting edge John thought they were tripe. ...silly stubborn boys!

Lastly closing the night were my good friends The Brad Pitt Light Orchestra, and I have to say it was one of their best gigs I've seen in a long time. They somehow squeezed their 8 piece band onto the tiny stage, and they looked like they had a blast for the whole time they were up there. They have a great mix up theatrical dark caberet mixed with delicate harmonies and strings. They've been gigging in various incarnations for 10 years, but are now releasing their debut album later this year (designed and illustrated by yours truely!). It was lovely to finish the night with couples waltzing on the dancefloor!