Bacardi Plugged Band Of The Year

BACARDI PLUGGED BAND OF THE YEAR

Dolan’s Warehouse Limerick. Katie Gallagher’s Gray, Co. Wicklow.

The Limerick heat of Bacardi Plugged not only turned up one of the most interesting battles for a coveted place in the final but one of the best venues on the circuit. Dolan’s Warehouse is an impressive, punter-friendly facility and one that Limerick should be proud of.

First to tread the boards were eventual winners Woodstar a five-piece with a frontman who bore a remarkable resemblance to hotpress’ Olaf Tyaransen. With mainly American influences in the Mercury Rev, Grandaddy and Television department it was clear from the start that these guys were serious musicians. Fully formed songs like ‘Can’t Let Go’ and ‘Suicide Way’ quietly impressed.

The imaginatively monikered Catcher & The Rye, a sprawling 5-piece complete with bodhran and bongos kicked off with a rousing number, ‘A Hand’, which strongly recalled Annie Lennox’s ‘Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves’. Their second number ‘Fuel’, a ‘Deeply Dippy’ style ditty, was marred by some clumsy drumming but they picked it up again on their closing song, ‘Paranoia Stare’.

Fronted by a punk/goth female singer, Streetcrab wore their Cult /Sisters of Mercy influences heavily on their collective sleeves. A brilliant song, ‘Something’s Coming Thru’, recalled The Cure’s ‘Forest Fire’ and the undoubted highlight of their set was a fine version of The Bangles’ ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’.

Limerick singer songwriter Siobhán O’Brien has been knocking on doors for quite a while now and her experience stood to her tonight. She has developed into a fine country singer in the Lucinda Williams vein and with songs like ‘Everything Doesn’t Have To Be Ugly’ it’s a direction she could explore even further. The only downside to her set was her backing band who didn’t seem to be all that sympathetic to her approach.

For a mere three piece, Novocain made quite a sound. Their funky, jazzy approach recalled 1980’s outfits like Hue and Cry and Curiosity Killed The Cat. Helped by a confidant, talented frontman and a nifty guitarist they certainly entertained the throngs though a lack of originality could be a problem.

The battle for the sixth and last place in the hotpress Bacardi Plugged Grand Final took place in Bray, Co Wicklow at a packed Katie Gallagher’s on the town’s seafront.

First up were Leixlip four-piece Sevens a solid if unspectacular outfit who traded in Counting Crows style melodic rock.

They were followed by Euphony who kicked off with an Oasis style anthemic number but then proceeded to change direction completely even featuring a Horslips-style instrumental and closing with a number reminiscent of the Manics at their best.

Roxy Music and Japan were just some of the influences informing Alister’s multi-faceted sound with their woolly-hatted frontman exuded confidence on well-rounded pop songs like ‘Future Fantastic’ and ‘Departures’. Winners alright.

Even before they’d played a note Brinskill Bomb Beat looked spectacular if a little menacing. The mohican-ed frontman was a walking advert for body piercing and things got pretty manic during their performance when they produced an industrial grinder causing real sparks to fly. And then to top all that that the frontman proceeded to demonstrate his fire-eating abilities!

After all that excitement the final act of the evening, Dalliance, had their work cut out for them and they acquitted themselves admirably. Recalling late seventies outfit, The Only Ones they kicked off with the spiky ‘Girls Night Out’ and immediately impressed. Other highlights of their set included similarly inclined numbers like ‘As Good As It Gets’ and their incendiary closing