I kicked off my Hard Working Class Heroes weekend with Meath band Nanobot in Twisted Pepper. It seems to have been a plan that not many others had as, when they started, the audience totalled about five people. Unperturbed, they put on a cracking set; their music falling somewhere between electro-pop and math-rock. If this was how the festival was to go, I would have been delighted.
I was brought down to earth however, by an average set by Dublin three-piece Sound of System Breakdown in the Button Factory. While there was nothing wrong with their Rapture-like music (and a song in the middle that seemed to have it basis in hair metal), they failed to engage the crowd sufficiently until the final song of their set.
Tired of keyboards, for now, I headed off to the Grand Social to catch that which Ireland seems to produce like no other: the female singer-songwriter. This time it was in the guise of Cat Dowling. Where the likes of Lisa Hannigan and Cathy Davey take a rather soft approach, Ms Dowling comes with a much tougher edge and a voice that sounds like Regina Spektor.
Back across to the Button Factory I went to see the lowest-fi band of the night: We Cut Corners – showing up as they did with just a drum kit, guitar and two mics. It was all they need though, putting on a great show for the crowd. With a voice that sounds like Cold War Kids, and lyrics as witty as the Decemberists, they are surely set for great things. Ask any member of the audience who looked on, rapt, as they played ‘Dumb Blonde’.
Next up (following Feeder who always seems to be playing between acts in the Button Factory) were Funeral Suits. Channelling The Cure into a different style of music, these guys are experts in song composition. The audience didn’t get too involved with the performance, but that was probably down to the fact that they didn’t know the songs. The quality was there for all to see though.
I cross the Liffey yet again, back to the Grand Social for my last performance of the night. This time it was to see Galwegian Daithi. He plays and unusually, yet intriguing brand of music: fiddle-led electro. With a keyboard and loop station, he sounds like an Irish answer to Dan Deacon. A recent addition to his show is vocals of Elaine May who sings on two of his tracks, doing them the world of good.
Photos: David Dooley & Alan Moore