- Music
- 05 Aug 13
Roe McDermott on the last day of the Cork festival...
The final day of Indiependence began with sunshine and high hopes for a rousing ending to a great weekend. And while the sunshine may have soon disappeared, Indie’s featured musicians seemed determined to compensate for the weather with their killer performances.
Northern Irish band Silhouette took to the main stage in the early afternoon; an inspired choice for the festival’s Sunday afternoon wake-up call. Songstress Shauna Tohill’s soaring voice and the band’s high energy alternative pop laced flavours of euphoria proved an irresistibly rousing force. The band’s most famous track ‘Can’t Keep Up’ began ironically, with the tired crowd failing to match to unfailingly enthusiastic performance of the band, but Tohill’s powerful voice and that instantly recognizable chorus proved a power-kick, so by the final guitar strains Indiependence was shouting for more. The band also played ‘Toss It Up’ from their new EP Can’t Keep Up, Tohil’s voice shining during the gently crescendoing verses. Her charm and unaffected stage presence that had won over its gently building verses, so by the time the racing chorus kicked in, the crowd was singing in unison, Silhouette managing to unite the hungover, the hanging, the still-drunk and the fresh-as-a-daisy-because-I-booked-a B&B.
As the sky grew dark with clouds, it was time to retreat under the star-studded nightscape canopy of the Maxol Tent, where Solar Taxi were giving a typically eclectic set, their atmospheric soulful tracks proving a Siren-like force, seducing passers-by in. Thought their set was energetic, diverse and rammed with catchy hooks, with leadwoman Aisling Browne’s sass and gusto shining during their electro-pop tracks, it was the slower, more soulful tunes that proves mesmerizing. Their orchestral opus ‘Parcels’ was a particular highlight, its atmospheric opening and moody strings highlighting the soulfulness of Browne’s powerful voice.
Solar Taxi proves a worthy predecessor of Soak who was fresh from an appearance at the Hot Press Hot Spot. The pint-sized Derry-based songwriter instantly gripped the crowd with her beautiful melodies and absorbing voice, with her song’s cracks of emotional vulnerability creating a delicate awe-inspiring atmosphere. Despite competing with run-off noise from the other stages and a sudden violent downpour that threatened to drown out the sound, Soak merely invited the crowd to huddle closer and sing along, hoping that their combined efforts might act as a “non-rain dance.” Her “cover of a cover” – a version of Bon Iver’s interpretation of Bonnie Raitt’s ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ - demonstrated Soak’s ability to evoke an emotional wisdom beyond her years, and to put her own stunning and unique stamp on any song. Having admitted to Hot Press earlier that she felt she had outgrown her famous song ‘Sea Creatures’, she performed a slightly quicker version to end her set on, but the striking melody and thought-provoking lyrics left the crowd mesmerised. We might not as ready to let that song go.
With the rain bucketing down, it was time to retreat to the Bier Hall stage, where Wexford folk guitarist Corner Boy was playing with his. Inspired by his travels around Canada, Michael D’arcy’s songs combine energetic floor stompers with delicate melodies. The mix of strings, banjo and repeated choruses proved a little derivative of Mumford and Sons when coupled with the band’s folksy fedora-and-braces uniform. However nice touches like bodhran beats lend a unique Irish flavour to a somewhat saturated genre. EP track ‘Morning Morning’ provided a folk frenzy that suitably inspired some barn dancing, while the gentle strains of ‘True North’ evoked a sense of comfort and safety – highly appropriate as the driving rain was forcing more of the Indie crowd to seek shelter.
In the comedy tent, Gearoid Farrelly, Alison Spittle, George Fox and Damo Blake were keeping the huddled masses entertained as the anticipation began to rise for the evening’s big acts.
And the acts had their work cut out for them. Limerick band Windings competed with not only a torrential downpour outside but some necessary maintenance of the now waterlogged Maxol tent during their performance. However, it didn’t stop them from giving a full-throttle performance of the airy and shimmering ‘This is a Conversation’ and some new songs including the dark and moody ‘Blade Rubber, with lead man Steven Ryan using a drum stick on his guitar to provide a throbbing, edgy atmosphere. The band also played some brand new songs that were instant hits, before finishing the set on the brilliantly dense, noisy and percussion-driven ‘I Am Not the Crow.’
It was at this stage of the evening that the rain started to badly affect the bands, with technical problems delaying the Original Rudeboys from taking to the main stage for over forty minutes. However, the wait only seemed to build the anticipation of the crowd and the lads’ eagerness to put on one hell of a show. Bouncing on stage with a crash of drums and an enthusiasm undampened by the rain, the inner city threesome’s infectious energy immediately had the crowd on side, and the Indie audience jumped and sang in unison. But as the band later remarked to the crowd, “The weather was atrocious but yous showed up and wrecked the place!”
It was a busker’s folk-fuelled evening as Ryan Sheridan took to the main stage while brothers Hudson Taylor brought their raw, folk-infused melodic pop to the Maxol tent. Hudson Taylor’s blend of emotional, stripped back performances and catchy contemporary tracks brings a lovely diversity to their performances. However it was Sheridan who won the night with sheer showmanship, his boundless enthusiasm and fantastic new band improvised brilliant solos and involving performances of crowd-pleasers ‘Jigsaw’, ‘The Dreamer’ and ‘The Day You Live Forever.’ Guitarist Nicky Brennan and drummer Jimmy Rainsford deserve serious credit for filling out Sheridan’s side and adding an extra sense of depth and fun to his performances.
Bastille had the honour of filling Indiependence’s final main stage slot, and proved they weren’t resting on their laurels, adding some nicely unique touches to their performance. Opening their set with soundbytes and the theme from Twin Peaks before launching inot a rousing performance of ‘Laura Palmer’ and giving a brilliant performance of ‘Rhythm is a Dancer’, the London band proved they’re willing to look for musical references both obscure and old-school to put on damn good show.