There's a purple haze of fog and stage lights circulating around the room before the first opening act of the Dry Cleaning show takes the stage at Vicar Street. People trickle through the doors in dribs and drabs after 7pm, as increasingly hypnotic rock music began to pump through the speakers.

Amidst the equipment decorated with smiley faces in reflective green tape and waiting instruments, a single neon green guitar draws the eye to the right corner of the stage.

It marked Dry Cleaning's first show of their new tour, following the release of their seminal second album Stumpwork and the release of two additional singles, 'Swampy' and 'Sombre Two,' from their upcoming EP this week.

Dry Cleaning at Vicar Street, Dublin February 14th, 2023 - Copyright Colm Kelly

First to take the stage was the Vermont band Thus Love, not long after the doors opened. From the balcony, I could see the pit beginning to fill. As it did, the trio did a fine job pumping up the room.

Between the head-banging energy fostered on-stage, lead vocalist Echo Marshall jumping off the drum set, calling out to the audience to get their hands up. "I see some fucking slackers!" she roared. It set the tone for the night by the end of their set, all riotous energy and ferocity.

Chicago rock trio Dehd were no different - their thumping presence silencing the chattering of the growing crowd. Vicar Street was now packed, although what little wiggle room remained was sure to be gone soon. The neon green guitar from earlier was claimed by guitarist and co-singer Jason Balla as Kempf began to sing and Eric McGrady started drumming.

It wasn't until 9:30pm that Dry Cleaning came on, and you could tell the audience was eager to see them take the stage. The fog had cleared and when the lights briefly went up you could see the dedicated crowd packed like sardines.

Suddenly, the stars of the night arrive - backlit by a line of golden lights as Florence Shaw started the night off with 'Kwenchy Cups'. At the end, lights flashed before she declared: "I'm a bit more awake. Hello, it's nice to be back."

Dry Cleaning at Vicar Street, Dublin February 14th, 2023 - Copyright Colm Kelly

'Gary Ashby' was the next song prepared by the South London quartet. The crowd screeched (a reoccurring phenomenon with this show), getting steadily louder as the setlist continued.

It wasn't until 'Scratchboard Lanyard', a song from their debut album New Long Leg, that hands in the air joined the head bobbing, phones coming out of pockets to record the show. The music was so loud that Florence's voice replaced your inner thoughts but you could still faintly hear the crowd singing along.

'Viking Hair' was up next, followed by 'Her Hippo,' and then 'Hot Penny Day,' which saw a keyboardist join the beloved quartet. After 'Leafy,' Florence addressed the audience, and the romantic elephant in the room.

"Happy Valentine's Day. Happy Valentine's Day," Shaw began. "A lot of our songs are actually very romantic, people would never seem to pick up on that," she says, amused. It drew out a few chuckles from the crowd before Florence lead the band into the new album's title song, 'Stumpwork.'

Dry Cleaning went on to play 'No Decent Shoes,' 'Don't Press Me,' which saw resounding cheers as fan favourites 'Conservative Hell,' 'Driver's Story,' 'Strong Feelings,' and 'Unsmart Lady.' They flowed one into the next expertly in a captivating enchantment of indie-rock.

The opening of 'Magic of Meghan,' one of the final songs of the show, saw the Dowse and Maynard teasing the beginning of the song on their guitars until the audience screamed. The energy could not be contained, the crowd a singular wave of motion side-to-side as the night hit a high.

Throughout it the whole performance, Florence didn't dance across the stage like guitarist Tom Dowse or bassist Lewis Maynard. She didn't even bob her head like Nick Buxton, the drummer, or the crowd. Nonetheless, she commanded the room with her voice as it melded with the instruments. The contrast of the frontwoman's sharp, tense hand movements around the mic and occasional flicks of her hair drew the attention from her wild band mates back to her.

When the show finished, the crowd chanted "One more tune!" to bring Dry Cleaning back at for an encore. 'Liberty Log' and 'Anna Calls' concluded their brilliant set, cementing their hardcore fanbase in Dublin one year on from their acclaimed Button Factory show.

Check out the rest of Dry Cleaning's tour dates below.

15 February – BELFAST, UK, Mandela Hall
17 February – GLASGOW, UK, Barrowlands
18 February – LEEDS, UK, Stylus
20 February – LIVERPOOL, UK, Invisible Wind Factory
21 February – NOTTINGHAM, UK, Rock City
22 February – SHEFFIELD, UK, The Foundry
24 February – MANCHESTER, UK, Albert Hall
25 February – BIRMINGHAM, UK, O2 Institute
26 February – BRISTOL, UK, O2 Academy
28 February – CARDIFF, UK, Tramshed

1 March – BRIGHTON, UK, Chalk **SOLD OUT**
3 March – LONDON, UK, Roundhouse
13 March – COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, VEGA
15 March – STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, Debaser Strand
16 March – OSLO, NORWAY, Parkteatret
18 March – HAMBURG, GERMANY, Knust
19 March – GRONINGEN, NETHERLANDS, Vera **SOLD OUT**
20 March – AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, Paradiso
22 March – OFFENBACH, GERMANY, Hafen2
23 March – MUNICH, GERMANY, Strom
24 March – VIENNA, AUSTRIA, Flex
25 March – PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC, Futurum
27 March – WARSAW, POLAND, Hybrydy
28 March – LEIPZIG, GERMANY, UT Connewitz
29 March – BERLIN, GERMANY, Festsaal Kreuzberg
31 March – ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, Maassilo

1 April – ANTWERP, BELGIUM, Trix
26 August – DOMAINE NATIONAL DE SAINT-CLOUD, FRANCE, Rock En Seine