Hands Like Houses live at The Academy 2, Dublin, 2nd of May 2014
As the Academy 2 starts to fill up tonight’s atmosphere is already electric. The intimate setting of the venue is perfect for the show ahead. Kildare foursome Tonight We Live start out the night to a decent sized crowd, one that seems pretty excited to see them. Their set includes newest single We Called This Home which gets a good reaction, and the band do well to get the crowd involved- teaching them a chorus of a song, which is brave considering the venue isn’t packed, but it works because the crowd are so willing. Their set is very enjoyable, filled with catchy, bouncy songs with a bit of a harder edge, and shows real promise for the band. Vocalist Stephen Youster’s vocals are particularly impressive, and their little bits of chats in between songs let their personalities shine through, which is always engaging.
Tonight’s opening act did very well to warm up the crowd and by time Hands Like Houses are about to take to stage, the venue is buzzing. The whole band (all six of them) are super smiley and seem really happy, which just translates into the crowd and makes the atmosphere of the night all that much better. Between songs there is a little bit of time for them to say a few words, and it’s clear how important music is to these guys and they seem truly grateful for their fans, with vocalist Trenton Woodley even taking a moment to nicely tell the crowd to put away their cameras/phones for a bit and just enjoy the concert, reminding them to watch the actual concert and not their screens. A nice touch from a band whose scene is so largely plagued by the sea of cameras above people’s heads.
Songs from their first album like Lion Skin don’t seem to get the reaction they deserve whereas the crowd go mad for songs such as Introduce Species and No Parallels; proving the popularity of their most recent album.
The only problem with tonight’s set is that it’s slightly short. Hands Like Houses don’t play that much longer than the support, which is a little bit of a let down on an otherwise amazing performance. However if the only complaint after a concert is that it could have gone on longer, then the band aren’t doing too bad. The night was filled with huge energy and if the crowd are leaving tonight with one feeling, it’s that this might be (and should be) the last time they all get to see this band in such a small venue.