Tune-Yards at Vicar Street, Dublin, 3rd February 2015

Is it too early to begin nominations for Gig Of The Year? No? Well then Ladies and Gentlemen, I respectfully submit for your consideration Tune-Yards’ joyful, rambunctious extravaganza at Vicar Street on Tuesday night. Hearing snippets of conversation from the smiling punters after the gig the consensus was clear: this was a genuinely great gig. Adding to the overall fuzzy feeling were Meltybrains?, who more than held their own as the support act with their inventive songs which steam ahead, pull U-turns and head off down dirt roads. There was even some quite hilarious amateur choreography. One of our Plec Picks for 2015, clearly the buzz around this band is not abating as they played to a very large crowd (by support act standards), who were clearly there to see them.

The sombre black backdrop behind the Vicar Street stage belies the riot of colourful sound which takes over when Merrill Garbus and her merry cohort bounce into view and kick things off with Sink-O from last year’s excellent ‘Nikki Nack’. Wearing brightly coloured floral prints, the five band members exude good vibes.

The song performances are anchored on incredibly tight, polyrhythmic beats and awesome vocal interplay between the four females on stage. These beats are either created by Garbus making loops on her own or by herself and her percussionist rattling out beats in chaotic synchronicity.

When songs from the back catalogue, namely 2011’s ‘Whokill’ (2009’s ‘Bird-Brains’ didn’t feature), the three touring members leave the stage and it is original members Garbus and Nate Brenner who loop, whirl, growl and screech their way through songs like Es-so and Powa (during which Garbus hits notes that Mariah Carey would be proud of).

After Step Back Up the crowd erupt into an impromptu Happy Birthday for Garbus, who looks both moved and embarrassed by the gesture. With calls of “Speech!” ringing around the venue, Garbus quips, “haven’t you had enough of me yet?”. She tells the crowd that she “can’t think of a better place to spend my birthday – I even brought my parents”. And sure enough there they are, up on the balcony, looking proud as punch.

Then, back to the business at hand, single Water Fountain is remarkable to behold. You realise that the only non-percussive instrument playing is the bass – all other sounds are being made by voice. Similarly on Bizness, sounds that seem synthetic on record are reproduced acoustically, with no trickery, simply by cascading live vocals. As Merrill waves goodbye to a starry-eyed audience, Meltybrains? arrive on stage with a birthday cake, and another chorus of Happy Birthday follows. Garbus returns the favour by wearing a Meltybrains? mask when she emerges for the encore. A real love-in.

Some much energy, so much precision, so much originality. Do yourself a favour and don’t miss them next time they come to Dublin. It’s the most fun we’ve had on a Tuesday night for quite some time.