Jack Rua at The Workman’s Club on Monday April 22th 2019

On Easter Monday a different kind of congregation gathered at the Workman’s Club, ready to bear witness to the rise of Jack Rua. After support from Aaron Comiskey and Elkin, the pop newcomer emerges on stage draped in black and silver. The word ‘glam’ comes to mind, but then again so does ‘gaudy’.

Opening with Anubis, Jack Rua has arrived, unapologetically queer and dance floor ready, if you couldn’t tell by his rig-out. The Dublin native throws his whole body into every song, bringing an infectious energy and somersaulting vocals to synth-drenched numbers like Enigma and Reckless Abandon. The feel-good factor is a prevalent aspect of many a pop song however Jack Rua likes to take it further than this. A quick listen to his back catalogue tells you that hedonism takes front and centre.

For this particular set, he’s flanked on either side by Chris Cahill (aka Porridge) on electric guitar and Sam Herbert (aka Loguos) on keys. Of the tracks performed tonight, five were produced by Porridge.  As a brief introduction to Curious, we hear those long awaited words. “This one goes out to all the heterosexuals!”. It’s apparent they’re thin on the ground for this particular night but cue raucous cheers regardless.

He briefly exits the stage before re-emerging with a black trench coat. He eventually sheds it to reveal a blood splattered shirt and even more theatrics for the delivery of his latest single Scarlet A. Spoiler alert: This is unadulterated pop that’s all about adultery.

After gauging the mood of the crowd gathered before him, he opts out of doing an acoustic number, instead bringing the all-too-brief set to an end with the pulsing Loguos-produced Ego. Self-indulgent as hell, but still a crowd-pleaser at its core, and boy does it please.