The Sea Sessions
Bell X1 show why they're still one of the best live bands around
Gillian Verrecchia, 01 Jul 2011
The ever-vengeful weather Gods were not kind to the Bundoran set on Friday night, sending down bucket after bucket of rain as homegrown heroes O Emperor and The Minutes took to the stage. The skies cleared up somewhat when the sun went down, which was very lucky for the dozens of Ham Sandwich fans watching the show from outside the packed-out North Shore tent. The feisty foursome treated the crowd to a rousing version of ‘Heartbeats’ by The Knife, as well as hits from their two LPS White Fox and Carry The Meek, including ‘The Naturist’, ‘Click Click Boom’ and radio favourite ‘Ants’.
Back on the main stage, Villagers plucked at heart strings with sublime renditions of ‘Ship Of Promises’, ‘The Meaning Of The Ritual’ and the glorious ‘Pieces’, before testing out a couple of new numbers on an elated audience. Next up, Japanese Popstars played an absolute stormer, bringing the night to a frenzied close with a set that more than a few revellers dubbed the best of the weekend. Energetic ain’t the word...
Saturday saw the return of the sun, with many festival-goers chilling out on the grass, soaking up the (almost) rays. The first stop for team Hot Press was Gemma Hayes, who was happy to return to her debut album Night On My Side for tunes like ‘Hanging Around’, ‘Back Of My Hand’ and ‘Let A Good Thing Go’. Accompanied by Ann Scott on synth, guitar and backing vocals, Gemma also knocked out a stellar version of punk classic ‘Ever Fallen In Love?’ by Buzzcocks.
There was just enough time to stop off at the Ramprage BMX area and marvel at some truly head-spinning stunts before The Skatalites took to the stage. Hero of the weekend award went straight to front woman Doreen Shaffer... we’re not ones to reveal a lady’s age, but for a woman of her vintage, she had some serious moves!
Over on the main stage, The Go! Team struggled with sound problems, but front woman Ninja kept us entertained with her Mr Motivator-esque style and swagger. Meanwhile on the North Shore stage, Bitches With Wolves drew a massive crowd, partially due to frontman James O’Neill’s colourful surf-inspired get-up. Some rather fabulous backing singers held their own in the style stakes, with ‘80s-tastic shoulder pads and sequins galore. O’Neill’s voice shone, and the Dublin lad proved himself to be a top notch entertainer – but there’s only so much sparkling electro-pop a girl can take.
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