SWEET MARY JANE

SWEET MARY JANE (Transport Club, Dublin)

SWEET MARY Jane get pissed off because they keep being mixed up with The Mary Janes. Where the latter are slow and folksy, Sweet Mary Jane are a hell of a lot louder and noisier.

This was a fundraising night for the Irish Wheelchair Association, and, like most fundraisers, attracted a crowd not normally associated with rock concerts. Most of the audience could have been parents of the band, some could have been their grandparents. That said, Sweet Mary Jane still mustered up the energy to put on a good show, and even managed to get a few people dancing.

A four-piece from Belfast, their big guitar sound was sometimes reminiscent of a younger Something Happens, but more often carried over into the territory charted by the likes of Bon Jovi, Thunder and Little Angels. Maybe they can even take up the baton where No Sweat left off a few years back. With their brand of polished, catchy, pop hidden behind a monster guitar riff, the crown could be theirs, though it’s arguable that the market for hard rock has dried up somewhat in recent years.

They certainly know what direction they’re heading in. Songs like ‘Something’s Missing’ had a nice tuneful feel to them, while with the stomping beat of ‘Rollercoaster’, Sweet Mary Jane proved that they can let their down (literally) and rock. All the while, they never lost their fresh, bright, radio-friendliness.

Rick Monro’s vocal prowess was evident on ballads like the wonderful ‘Rosetti’s Favourite Girl’, a delightful piece of escapist nonsense. A warped version of Sly Fox’s only hit, ‘Let’s Go All The Way’ went down well, before the band finished with The Who’s ‘My Generation’. This was an ironic choice, as the most obvious thing about this gig was that band and audience came from distinctly different generations, as the bemused glances and shouted requests for ‘Sweet Caroline’ proved.

For a band who regularly play to packed houses of young hairy individuals, Sweet Mary Jane toned down their set and made sure that a lot of people went home happy. Thankfully, no Neil Diamond covers were in evidence.

• John Walshe