Photos: Owen Humphreys
Review: Nicola Byrne
It’s Tuesday night, Dublin’s streets are quieter than usual. But somewhere along the quays, a birthday is being celebrated in proper style. The Workman’s Club turns 1 year old, and given their amazing parties all year round, it was expected that their birthday would have to top even the most memorable of Workman’s club nights.
Musicians love the Workman’s, the Workman’s loves musicians. So instead of facing the agonizing decision of choosing just one to toast their birthday, a mix and match/collaboration/super group took to the stage in front of a candle-lit audience, mostly silent in awe.
The musical motley crew consist of Cathy Davey, David Geraghty, Vyvienne Long and Tiger Cooke. Solo, they are great. Together, they are fantastic. The quartet arrive to a limp applause, a bashful crowd perhaps. “I think they’ve left,” whispers Davey, in her trademark syrupy-sweet speaking voice.
The stage looks like a orchestra thrown together at the last minute, using instruments found in alleyways. “I feel like a classically trained musician,” explains Geraghty, whereas he explains that he’s just a “fucking chancer”. If he’s chancing, we wouldn’t have known any better. He is the true stand-out of the night, entrancing the audience from the beginning with his kick-starting melodic country-influenced ‘Wear Out Your Name’.
Now it’s Tiger’s chance to shine. He kicks off with ‘Rid Of Her’. Think Mike Posner, crossed with Benjamin Gibbard, in a flat cap. He’s impressive, and is only complimented by the harmonies of his adopted band for the night.
Cathy Davey is throwing out the covers tonight, and the crowd are lapping it up. She makes every song her own, not once sounding like karaoke singer. Among the covers were The Zombie’s classic, ‘She’s Not There’, which at this moment, seems to have been written for a voice like Davey’s.
Tiger Cooke hops on the bandwagon with his rendition of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Heard It Through The Grapevine’. Davey is having fun, playing with every instrument she can get her hands on, whether it be bongo drums, a tambourine or the xylophone. The whole harmony is extremely digestible, with each musician making their own of the classics.
Our next cover comes from Davey, who explains it as one of her favourite songs, but “sometimes I murder it”. I can’t see Smokey Robinson and The Miracles hating her interpretation of ‘You Really Got a Hold on Me’ that much, especially seeing how much the audience appreciated it.
When Vyvienne steps into the candlelight, everyone sits back in silent anticipation. Vyvienne Long is no doubt a talented woman, with much experience under her belt. Her flaming red hair and elegant cello enrapture the audience, for reasons many can’t quite put their finger on. A dreamy sequence, it often feels as if Long is the ‘new girl’ amongst the musicians, as they rarely participate in her harrowing tunes, but become mere observers. ‘Late, Always’ is so delicate you hardly want to listen in case you break it. Her angelic aura is injected with strong keyboard melodies, causing her to almost break-off from her other three stage-mates.
‘Never Leave You’ is described by Davey as her “favourite song of the set”. It’s a strange transition for Long, breaking into a rap-type rant about a guy she puts up with regardless of the fact that he flirts with her grandmother. However, it’s clever, it works, and the crowd love it. It’s a break from her angelic image, otherwise.
Davey says she’s read a review. My attention spikes. A girl was compared to her, and she was pissed. “What would you call that?” she asks. “Narcissism?” shouts a smart-ass audience member. Davey explains that after a quick listen, she discovered the reviewer’s point. What way to acknowledge this resemblance than to sing the song? Sea of Bees – Skinnybone proved to be one of the better covers of the night, with Davey firmly identifying her ground. You might be like me, but I can still outdo you.
Perfect harmonies and collaborations are the theme of the night. Each compliment each other, each stand out in their own right. Although the set sometimes begins to drift, it’s always caught, efficiently and promptly.
Geraghty is clearly delighted to be there, but admits that putting “four musicians in a room when they should be at the electric picnic getting pissed,” isn’t an ideal situation, but it worked out to be something wonderful.
‘Nixer’, in Dublin, is defined as a job-on-the-side, one you do if you’re desperate for the cash. But if talent was currency, these guys would never have to work another day in their lives.