Oh Sees at Button Factory, Dublin – May 21st 2019

Oh Sees finally returned to Ireland touring their new album ‘Smote Reverser’. The crowd stares towards the empty stage as the infamous double drum-kit set-up appears beside each other, front and center. The band arrive on stage and quickly are greeted by roars of appreciation. From the very first song the band dig in hard and the eager crowd match their energy from the offset. No build up, just straight in to it as the Californians aim straight for the jugular. It’s clear from the off, rock ain’t dead.

Even the mere sight of the huge amplifiers on stage would make you want to protect your eardrums as everything is turned up to eleven. The room begins to get sweaty and immediately multiple people start to leap from the stage to surf the sea of upturned hands. The band waste no time between songs, leaving no time to relax in between.

An unrecognisable feedback squeal soon becomes apparent on the very recognisable song The Dream, the crowd react instantly to what is one of their most-loved songs. Frontman John O’Dwyer can be seen to almost swallow the microphone whole on more than one occasion. This it turns out, actually makes a very unique sound – a new mic technique perhaps?

The first instance of respite was halfway through the gig when the band played the first song off the most recent record ‘Sentient Oona’. The double drums really come into their own on this track. The two drummers share killer drum-rolls in unison like synchronized swimmers, back and forth, perfectly in time. As the band make their way through the final few songs the crowd is now fifty percent shirtless. Musk and sweat fill the air but no one seems to care.

The Oh Sees have a massive back catalogue and seem to churn out records as easy as taking a breath. No surprise then when they play a new song and tell the Dublin people that they’re the first to hear it. “We’ll get back to the oldies after” John mumbles.

John then acknowledges the fact that it’s been a while since they have been to Ireland and said that they will be back again soon. With such an epic response from the die-hard Irish fans, it’s certain that we’ll be seeing the Oh Sees back very soon. Shirts = optional.

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