Bats, Jogging and Croupier at Whelan’s | Review

Bats, Jogging and Croupier at Whelan’s, Friday 28^th June 2013

The prospect of three of the most exciting live Irish acts in one venue was always going to be a beastly one. Bats had previously been on Richter Collective with Jogging. They also had taken Croupier as support before so having all three bands together for a kind of reunion seemed like the natural thing to do.

First up was Croupier. Oisin Murphy just doesn’t resemble the frontman of a rock band but on stage he is a study of intensity. An audience member joked whether Rob Reid had rubbed baby oil on himself when he took his t-shirt off; while Charlie Mooney was dressed like he was on a beach holiday. This is part of the appeal of Croupier; they don’t look like they are going to generate the unruly racket they are about to unleash. They opened with a rowdy Pax Bisonica and kept the momentum up with highlights in the form of Power Up, The Crooper and crowd favourite Creo Beast.

Jogging threw down the gauntlet with a raucous performance. A technical problem during Horse Sense was laughed off as being an extended intro. One had to feel sorry for the almighty punishment dished out to the drum kit by Peter Lee. Silvio Berlusconi probably wasn’t slapping arses as hard at bunga bunga parties. Darren Craig and Ronan Jackson never let the intensity levels drop through a set pockmarked by the standout songs from the ‘Take Courage’ album including Stand Still, Every Bristle A Bayonet and Skeletons Inc.

Bats brought their ‘A’ game to their show. Not that they have any other game. Whether it was packed or almost empty, Bats would have played with the same gusto. The opening salvo of Shadow-Fucking and Stem Cells, had the opening wooosh of being hit with the force of a jet engine. With a sizeable heaving and sweaty crowd, the windows had to be opened to let in some air. It was badly needed as the chugging intro of Wolfwrangler generated a small mosh pit in front of the stage.

What Bats do better than the majority of their peers is the shifts in pace and power, going from fast multi layered guitar lines, straight into death mode like on Heat Death and Thomas Midgley Jr. The crowd and the band were in unison as the thunderous Luminiferous Aether had the band and crowd in equal states of frenzy. With the temperature rising, bass player Timmy Moran needed a change of scene so took a trip, mid The Sleep of Reason Brings Forth Monsters to the smoking area to cool down. Not that the song took a pause for breath. This was a triumphant return back to the capital for Bats. In the upstairs venue of Whelan’s, with a packed appreciative crowd, this was Bats in their natural habitat.