Review By: Craig McDonnell

Photos By: Christine Smart (Smart Photography)

Friday 16th of April saw Swords band Blue Syndrome play in the brand new Ulysses Venue in James Joyce bar on Abbey Street. Completing a hat-trick of venues on the one street, the Ulysses Venue is located just beside Twisted Pepper (which of course is beside The Academy). This venue is a lot more intimate than the other 2, with the stage located in front of a picturesque stained glass window.

Unfortunately missing the opening acoustic act, Sarah Gleeson, the first band of the night for me was new band Bring Him Home. This band contained a lot of familiar faces for people used to the local scene, with singer Christine being the ex-singer of Emily and the guitarist and bassist using to ply their trade for Little Nightmare. It’s always quite hard to judge a band from their first ever gig but the songs were definitely catchy. Highlight of the set was the cover of Starting Line’s ‘The Best of Me’.

Starters were up next, another relatively new band comprised of members from different bands.  This being the first time I had heard any of their songs, I was very impressed.  The 2 guitarists and bassists all take turns singing as well as harmonising with each other brilliantly. Another band definitely worth checking out.

Machine Gun Baby played before the headliners to a slightly decreased crowd (one negative of this venue was the bar being located downstairs). They didn’t seem to mind and played an incredibly tight set with visible confidence. Machine Gun Baby appear to be one of those bands who have the same performance whether playing in front of 20 or 2000 people.

Then it was time for the headliners. Blue Syndrome appeared on stage to a replenished crowd. Starting off with a new song which hinted at the band taking a slightly heavier turn, the quartet then played through all the well known tracks off their debut album ‘Over and Out’ as well as “new” song  ‘This Is It’ and a cover of U2’s Sunday Bloody Sunday. Every song was played to perfection with lead singer Colm’s amazing voice not disappointing, hitting every note to perfection. With the powerful ‘To Be God’, Blue Syndrome’s set finishes as strong as it started.

I have been saying this for quite some time now, but this band is definitely one to look out for in the future, they could and indeed should be playing in front of much larger crowds. In my opinion, it is only a matter of time.