And So I Watch You From Afar in Whelan’s | Review

And So I Watch You From Afar in Whelan’s, Dublin on Wednesday 15 May 2013.

To celebrate the launch of their third studio album “All Hail Bright Futures”, Belfast noise merchants And So I Watch You From Afar descended on Whelan’s last night for the first of two Dublin shows. With the new album taking the band in several different musical directions, it was always going to come down to how the material sounded live. Sure enough the band did not disappoint, bringing their trademark ferocious intensity to both old songs and new.

With ASIWYFA curating the support lineup on the night, the diverse opening acts reflected the multitude of influences held by the band.

Opening the show was Charmers, making their live debut. The side project of Cast of Cheers lead singer Conor Adams had the appearance of a band still finding their feet, but the sheer energy with which the two piece band performed was enough to make it work. Their heavy set built from the slow introductory songs to a final angry, grungy release, with Adams screaming out the vocals and shredding on his bass faster than should have even been possible.

This was followed by something completely different, in the form of ambient electronic duo Forrests. With a stage setup that included a myriad of instruments and electronics, this kit was pushed to its limits in an unbroken thirty minute set that was drenched in feedback and reverberating beats. It was an eerie effect, and worked well as the calm before the storm of the headline act.

ASIWYFA’s entrance was heralded by the opening tack of “All Hail Bright Futures”. Starting with a tropical calypso sound, Eunoia increased in intensity as the band emerged and took their places, launching into Big Thinks Do Remarkable with sheer unbridled vigour. This was followed by the even more energetic and chaotic Like A Mouse. This opening salvo of new tracks proved just how well the new material works on a live stage, with the new addition of group vocals giving the crowd a chance to chant along in unison. The tracks may have been new, but it was clear that the audience were already familiar with them.

From there, ASIWYFA moved back to more familiar territory, with a heady rendition of BEAUTIFULUNIVERSEMASTERCHAMPION. The band barely even paused between songs, launching breathlessly from the closing moments of one track straight into the opening of the next with the surety of a group of musicians who are absolutely at home on the stage. In such a small space, the noise of the show was colossal, smashing over the milling crowd like waves with an incredible erosive power.

The final new track of the night was The Stay Golden, which proved as rousing an anthemic as anything from the first two albums. When the song hit its repeated chorus of “We know, we know,” it seemed that the entire venue was shouting it back at the band as one. The stage flashed with strobe lighting, the crowd swirled in circles, a lone fan mounted the stage only to be tossed off again where he was caught by the raised arms of the audience and crowdsurfed his way back to his feet.

And still the show got heavier and faster, with ASIWYFA moving back to their first album with A Little Bit of Solidarity Goes a Long Way and finally the titanic wall of sound that is Set Your Guitars to Kill. A wail of feedback from the band’s orange amps permeated the venue as the band vacated the stage. Mere seconds later (or so it felt) the Belfast boys returned to the stage with Search:Party:Animal. Despite all that had come before the encore seemed even louder and more intense, as the sweat drenched band threw everything they had into the wailing guitar solos and machine gun drum rolls.

For The Voiceless guitarists Rory Friers and Niall Kennedy emerged into the centre of the crowd. As the song built up to its final release the guitarists knelt down in the middle of a circle of fans, who likewise knelt alongside them. When the release came the venue exploded into chaos, with the guitarists borne aloft by a sea of hands and carried back to the stage.

When the song ended a breathless Friers could scarcely express his feeling for the moment he’d just experienced. “Thanks to whoever tied my shoelace in the middle of that song just then,” was all he could manage. Dublin may not even be the band’s home town, but a bond between a band and its fans could hardly be much stronger.