Smalltown America/ +4 Presents
A fantastic three-way for a Friday night – Crawdaddy and labels +4 of Cork and Smalltown America of Derry huddled together pre-Christmas and set about kicking off 2012 in the best possible taste.
Craig Fitzpatrick, 27 Jan 2012
A fantastic three-way for a Friday night – Crawdaddy and labels +4 of Cork and Smalltown America of Derry huddled together pre-Christmas and set about kicking off 2012 in the best possible taste. Tonight’s bill of six (three Ulster acts, three from below the border, coming together in perfect harmony) also kickstarts Independence Month at the Dublin venue. The idea? Gather up some of the little labels-that-could flying under the radar and showcase their fine stables for a cheap-as-chips price. And what a way to start, allowing, as it does, several of Northern Ireland’s most promising acts to have their day in the Southern sun.
Belfast’s LaFaro were set to journey down, but they’ve hopped on a place to Groningen to impress at Eurosonic instead. Ho hum. In their stead, Wiltz welcome us in. Taking their name from a Benelux city, perhaps it’s this indie four-piece that should be rocking the Netherlands. Still, we’re glad they’re here, showing off their instrumental wares. True, it’s a sound we’ve heard time and again around this little green isle – Enemies comparisons are evident, they’re likely making eyes at the Richter lot and maybe the whole post-rock genre will be post-itself before too long. No matter, tonight they keep things in the moment. And they have chops, as pinpoint, yearning guitar picks jolt forward ever faster, generally ending in a tsunami of sound. This Wicklow lot have talked about struggling to find Dublin dates. Bookers should get them on the blower.
We shift towards the relatively poppier end of the scale as Cork’s Agitate The Gravel let their shoegaze take a walk around this dark room. Apparently they were a late addition to the bill and, in keeping with tonight’s spirit of goodwill to all rockers, Former Monarchs lend them some gear. They make good use of it, and that year spent honing their onstage craft seems well spent. Dipping Albarn sensibilities in a bucket of fuzz, while also professing to be “Kevin Shields’ wet dream”, their sound generally approximates the mid-point of Weezer’s ‘Only In Dreams’. No bad place to be. Next up, Our Krypton Son, or Chris McConaghy by any other name. Resembling a more down-to-earth Serge Pizzorno, he does the singer-songwriter thing in an intelligent way that sidesteps the usual clichés. His voice sounds lived in and true, and the likes of ‘Catalonian Love Story’ suggests he’ll be here for the long haul. Former Monarchs reclaim their kit and then claim the sizable crowd with a set that co-opts math rock rhythms and welds them onto singable melodies. The rhythm section deserve plaudits, as do their attempts to capture the nation’s low pulse. Despite some clunky couplets, it’s commendable. More Than Conquerors are all screwy dynamics and angelic harmonies. With a name plucked straight out of Romans Ch. 8, v. 37 (and amen to that), tonight they’re preaching to the choir and make a clear connection. This reviewer didn’t go in for the skateboarding thing as a teen, but anyone excited by an At The Drive-In reunion would relish this. And then the main event – the jewel in Smalltown America’s crown, capturing Ulster hearts for years, Fighting With Wire. Though a more compact unit than the previous acts, they prove that strange old theory about a power trio always being louder. Close the eyes and you could be stage left at some Foos stadium gig. Cahir O’Doherty remains the main draw and is typically affable throughout, coming across like some hardcore Pied Piper with Simon Neil sympathies. On tonight’s showing, the kids should be happy to follow the lot. Till the next set of indie label haircuts come along, at least.
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