A trio of top Dublin bands – Delorentos, The Minutes and We Cut Corners – are onstage, re-interpreting Liffeyside rock and pop classics. What’s not to like? It’s all part of the JD Set, which this year focuses on hometown musical heroes.
All three outfits arrive together for a blazing, guitars-at-dawn version of My Bloody Valentine’s ‘When You Sleep’. Then Delorentos bravely tackle an early U2 classic, ‘Out of Control’, capturing that rush of youthful exuberance brilliantly; The Minutes impress with a fine version of Thin Lizzy’s ‘The Rocker’, not an easy song to do; and We Cut Corners lead the way on a blistering version of one of Sinéad O’Connor’s best songs, ‘Mandinka’, which they claim as their own. Delorentos then cleverly transform The Boomtown Rats’ ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ into a spiky, angular pop song. Well, even more of a spiky, angular pop song.
Special guest, Paul Noonan of Bell X1 sits in with We Cut Corners on drums and vocals for a poignant version of U2’s ‘Stay (Faraway So Close)’. Other notable moments include the obligatory version of Philo’s ‘Old Town’, a nice reading of Whipping Boy’s ‘When We Were Young’, and a poignant, if little shaky, ‘Raglan Road’ in which everyone takes a turn at the mic. The evening climaxes with an incendiary performance of The Frames’ ‘Revelate’ with a guest appearance from the band’s violinist Colm Mac Con Iomaire.
The show had a slightly unstructured feel and it would have been nice to hear something a little less obvious like a Blades tune perhaps, or something from the Stars Of Heaven. Maybe next time!