As much fun as it is to write about music performed in Dublin’s bigger venues like The O2 and The Olympia Theatre it’s no harm to break it up every once in a while with gigs in more intimate surroundings. With this in mind I set off to review a gig in Industry, Temple Bar. For those unaware of where Industry is (I myself didn’t know until I arrived at the gig) it resides in what used to be The Hub, underneath the Mezz.

First up tonight are Dublin based Tremoya who are making their debut as a quartet after a brief stint as a trio. To say that their influences are worn on their sleeves would be somewhat of an understatement. The go-to reference point for describing Tremoya would be Belfast natives And So I Watch You From Afar. Then again any band playing math-rock with sparse moments of heavy rock would lend comparisons to the Belfast boys. Tremoya’s songs play out in a similar manner that makes the music as interesting as it is technically proficient. Their set is like a car that has four drivers, all travelling in the same direction but taking turns steering. This is not a bad thing by any means. Having moments in the set which are led by the drums or the bass and then merge into guitar led passages makes for some very interesting interplay between Tremoya’s four members.

Up next are Dirty Jezabel. The saying “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” comes to mind but it would do nobody any favours so I’ll press on. Opening to a lacklustre take on MC5’s ‘Kick Out the Jams’ that shifts into an indecipherable ska number they play with far more confidence than their talents should allow them. Of course there’s nothing inherently wrong with a few scattered covers throughout a set but when they’re as sloppy as they are tonight it can be hard to accept. From the sloppy ska meets blues butchering of Gorillaz ‘19-2000’ that gets stripped of all its pop sensibilities to the lets replace singing with shouting take on ‘Can’t Stop’ by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Whilst energy in a frontman is certainly a good thing but when it comes across as forced as it does for Dirty Jezabel’s it becomes tedious. Like a child at a party who’s had about a thousand smarties too many. Hopefully if I catch these lads again their clear enthusiasm and passion can be channelled better and tighter and perhaps we might have something. We are nothing if not optimistic even when we find fault.

Final band of the night in what continues to be an unusual gathering of three very different acts are The Bambir. To describe them in a sentence would be: The Mars Volta with a lead flute player. Their set is full of eastern sounds that jump up and down with precise shifts in pace. The melting pot of influences reaches a peak when metal guitar riffs start playing off the light, airy flute and it’s all backed by hip hop drum beats. Chanting even makes an appearance near the end of the set making the show feel more like a ritual than a normal Temple Bar gig but then again, with a group of bands so diverse nothing about this gig was going to be normal.