IMG_9420-2-2-bannerLe Galaxie at the Olympia Theatre, 13th of December 2013

Web Awards “music site of the year” maestro Nialler9 celebrated eight years in the business with a midnight spectacular of Irish music in the Olympia Theatre last Friday night. It’s a testament to Le Galaxie’s popularity that they managed to draw a near sell-out crowd to the Olympia on a night in Dublin where the majority of the major venues in the city had not one but two concerts occurring, with the likes of Haim, ASIWYFA and The Blades taking to stages around the city.

Cork electro duo Young Wonder finished off a memorable year with an impressive set of songs from their critically acclaimed EP ‘Show Your Teeth’. Singer Rachel Koeman didn’t disappoint thanks to her Björk-via-Cork vocal stylings and quirky headdress.

A brief flourish of the theme from Jurassic Park signalled that it was time for Le Galaxie to take the stage eventually emerging from the shadows of an especially dark Olympia just after 2am. Anybody who was thinking about their bed was instantly given a second wind as Le Galaxie laid down a marker with an impressive rendition of Lucy Is Here. Frontman Michael Le Galaxie – head shorn with grizzly beard freshly grown – played the part of pied piper leading the crowd to partyland via vigorous dance moves as he crossed every inch of the stage. Fan favourites Midnight Midnight and Nightcrawler followed completing a thoroughly engaging opening volley from Le Galaxie.

A troupe of dancers made the first of three appearances occupying a channel between the drummer and the rest of the band during CNNXN. At times they seemed to get in the way of the band while their appearance during Le Club added greatly to the overall performance of the track. However the dancers weren’t the only visual aid successfully employed by the band as a series of impressive lighting arrangements way above those you would normally expect to find in The Olympia bathed the band in Gary Numan-esque rays.

May Kay of Fight Like Apes made a typically startling guest appearance on Carmen with her trademark gritty vocals combining perfectly with those of Michael Le Galaxie as the pair met on the edge of the stage for a spikey duet. Beyond Transworld and Put The Chain On completed the set in a vibrant fashion with the other members of the group making the most of their chances to stride to the extremities of the stage.

Love System was the highlight of the encore and the performance as a whole with the dancers delivering their finest moment and the crowd screaming back the words at the band. As ever the last hurrah of Jurassic Park filled the venue with hands in the air as the crowd hummed along in unison.  And it was no more than Le Galaxie deserved, for this (The Olympia) is their level now, they’ve earned it.  No doubt if their popularity continues to rise we’ll lose them to the UK and Europe in time.  So our advice to you is catch them while you can.

Le Galaxie Photo Gallery

Photos: Kieran Frost