REVIEW : Harmonique – Live at the Marquee

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Review by : Aisling O’Brien
Photo’s by : Donal O Caoimh

As I frantically made my way to the bus station to make the journey from Dublin to Cork, I bumped into a friend who was also heading to Harmonic. She mentioned she thought the line up would suit an outdoor setting, especially with this spell of sunshine we’re getting. This sentiment stuck with me. As we were arriving in to Cork we passed the Marquee which was nestled between the trees. After our journey we had a well earned drink before we made our way down the docklands.

Unfortunately we were ill informed of how long it took to get the Marquee, as we strolled down what seemed to be a never ending road, there were just signs for the car park for Live at The Marquee. We then heard the faint sound of a lady’s voice, we turned a corner and there was the Marquee. Relieved to have finally made it but devastated to have missed Villagers, especially since anyone I spoke to in the crowd were raving about the bands performance and thatConor seemed to be on top form and has clearly gained confidence.

As we arrived, Camera Obscura began to belt out ‘Honey in the Sun’, a total feel good track which seemed to mirror the delightful sunshine outside which made me think how nice it would be if this were to be an outdoor venue, looking around the darkness of the tent with a hint of sun shining through. The backdrop was the cover of their latest album ‘My Maudlin Career’. They went straight in to ‘James’, I have never seen Camera Obscura before so I was delighted they were pitch perfect, it was just like listening to the album, flawless. The boom boom of ‘French Navy’ seemed to wake up the crowd, and picked up the atmosphere. Lead singer Traceyanne seemed slightly shy which was enlightening. As she began one of the bands best known tunes ‘Lloyd I’m Ready to be Heartbroken’ the crowd showed their appreciation for the Scottish band. The band seemed to pick up on the atmosphere and throughout the song were giving it socks. ‘If Looks Could Kill’ was next on the playlist, which received a big applause from the crowd, this was met with a simple thanks from the band. Traceyanne then announced that this would be the bands last show for a long time, as she was talking about this the sound was slightly bad so I didn’t catch the full spiel. ‘Lets Get Out of This Country’ was played next which fitted quite well with the sentiment of what the band had just announced. The crowd were going slightly wild for them, Traceyanne told the crowd to ‘Please enjoy this, its the last song’ another feel good tune, which was heavy on the sax. I’m a big fan of Camera Obscura and after seeing them perform they have become somewhat more intriguing for me, I feel that they may have been drowned by the size of the venue and may have been appreciated more in a smaller quirkier venue.

We went to explore the Marquee, it felt like a mini Electric Picnic with the different coloured light bulbs lining the walkways. We got chatting to various people in the crowd, the majority seemed to have descended on Cork from Dublin, who all had made it to Villagers and couldn’t help but gush over their performance.

Just before 9 o’clock the crowd flocked back into the Marquee for Midlake. There was a slight problem with the sound but the band were greeted with a rapturous applause, after the first song, the crowd were greeted with Evenin’ from the Texan band. As the band made their way through hits like ‘Roscoe’, you could tell the crowd were in awe of the band. As they began to sing ‘Young Bride’ they really got the crowd going. The whole band began to talk to the crowd, ‘Howaya doin’?', lapping this up, you couldn’t help but be charmed. Followed by ‘Fortune’, there was some sound interference but the lads were great at keeping the crowd involved, yet I couldn’t help think of the brightness outside. The crowd were singing along with all the hits such as ‘Children of the Grounds’ and ‘Acts of Man’. The crowd were really appreciative of the band, which I think the band could feel as they were constantly interacting with the crowd. At times it felt as if it was just you and the band. With the crowd singing along until the band left the stage, it was an enchanting and chilled out set. However I felt that the sound didn’t travel very well throughout the Marquee.

Grizzly Bear arrived on stage punctually at 22:45, the band began with ‘Southern Point’ the stage was lit up with lovely candle like bulbs which were set to light up to the rhythm of the music. Throughout the various songs, they made good use of the light show and colours. To reflect the delicateness of ‘Lullabye’ only the light bulbs lit the stage, periodically changing, at the end of the song there was a burst of colour as the big lights came back on. As they made their way through some album tracks such as ‘Little Brother’, when the opening chords of ‘Knife’ began, you could tell it was going to be lapped up by the crowd. The light show behind was absolutely spectacular. Just before they launched in to ‘Two Weeks’, the Brooklyn based band dedicated the song to everyone, which was delivered perfectly. Playing another song ‘I Live With You’ of their latest album ‘Veckatimest’, before launching into a personal favorite ‘While You Wait For The Others’, with dramatic red lights behind, the performance was seamless. The penultimate song was their 2006 debut single ‘On A Neck, On A Spit’. Prior to the last song the band said their thank yous. The show finished at midnight on the button, leaving no time for an encore which seemed to be a trend of the evening. Harmonic was the most perfectly timed gig I have ever attended.

I really enjoyed the acts but felt that the Marquee may have let them down slightly, whether it was the tarmac ground where grass should have been or been so aware that the sun was shining for the majority of the gig. In my opinion it would have been suited to a picturesque location such as the Iveagh Gardens, where the surroundings and the music could fuse and the audience maybe chill out on the grass. Saying that it was possibly one of the best value gigs Ireland has seen, €35 for four top quality bands. I would highly recommend trying to see any of them next time they drop by.