Review By : Craig McDonnell
Photo’s By : Alessio Michelini
Delorentos returned to their home town once more to play to a packed Academy crowd. The reason? The launch of their second single from the album ‘You Can Make Sound’, entitled ‘You Say You’ll Never Love Her’.
The night kicked off with the super talented Joe Echo. Despite only hearing 2 songs from him, it was clear Joe Echo is definitely going places. With just himself, a bass player and a looping station on stage, he still had the voice,talent and presence to keep the crowd entertained. Personal highlight was the beat-boxing being looped throughout both songs along with the multiple layers of guitar riffs. Joe Echo returns to Dublin on the 9th of April to play an FM104 charity gig with the likes of The Coronas and Republic of Loose in The Olympia.
Next up was the excellent Planet Parade. I have been told to check out this band on several occasions and they didn’t disappoint. They played an extremely tight set which was worthy of being the headline act. Every song seemed to have a Vampire Weekend feel for me which certainly isn’t a bad thing! The drumming in particular stood out as well as the quirky nature of the front man. Do not be surprised if Planet Parade are headlining The Academy themselves soon.
It was time for the headliners. Delorentos took to the stage and kicked things off with the powerful ‘Hallucinations’. New single ‘You Say You’ll Never Love Her’ was played 4 songs in with no great fanfare. Perhaps this night wasn’t a single launch after all and just another hometown gig to keep the fans happy. All the favourites from both albums were played
for the remainder of the set, including a new song. Obviously keen to prove that the brief split almost a year ago is behind them, the new song keeps to the same Delorentos sound. After playing the new song, frontman Ró promises something different later on in the show.
The something different comes during the encore. Ró sits behind a keyboard, Kier picks up an acoustic guitar and for the first time live play a song entitled ‘I Remember’ which we are told was written while the band had broken up. Unfortunately, as is so often the case at these gigs, the slow acoustic song was met with loud talking from people unable to appreciate what was happening on stage. As a part of a 5-song encore, including hits SECRET and Stop, Delorentos showed us that there are not 2, but 3 talented singers in this band, as bass player Niall sings ‘Let the Light Go Out’ to a huge response from the crowd. This is a rare occurance and the rest of the band seems to enjoy it too. The song finishes with the band joining in with the applause and chants of “Niall, Niall” ring around The Academy.
Finishing with Idle Conversation, the crowd goes home happy after a great night of Irish music.
Photo’s By Alessio Michelini (Check out some more by him on his Flickr)
