Evan's above

Evan Dando is on stage. Evan Dando – Lemonhead, friend of Thurston Moore, former paramour of Courtney Love, fan of Charles Manson’s song-writing and all round six-foot, lank-haired, grunge melodicist – is on stage, with nothing but an acoustic guitar and sparkling back catalogue to keep him company. He seems happy, just downing shots of tequila and covering tunes by Mike Nesmith and Gram Parsons.

Why then does he remind me of Stephen Gately?

Rewind back a month and a half and Ronan Keating is preparing to make his entrance at the Odyssey Arena. Just before he does, though, and in an obvious ploy to bring to the boil the already simmering pre-teen pop ayatollahs in the audience, the big screens at the side of the stage run a montage of many of today’s best-known poster boys.

When the show-reel concentrates on those currently considered to be toppermost of the poppermost things go barmy. With Five there’s a roof-shaking consensus. Ditto (luckily enough) Ronan himself, Cian from Westlife, Noel from Hear’say, and (bizarrely) Eminem. It’s also safe to say that if Robbie Williams were to fall into this mob’s clutches, he’d soon find himself re-running the ‘Rock DJ’ video, only this time without the special effects.

However, mistake this for passive Pavlovian approval at your peril. Indie snobs, drum and bass aficionados, and old skool hip-hop buffs may well like to kid themselves that they own the patent on critical drubbings, but really, compared to the Smash Hits constituency’s belief in brutal disposability, they are almost paragons of open-minded devotion. The kids are fierce.

One after another, various identikit boy banalities – A1, Point Break – are dismissed without even a thank you. Even more terrifying is the response (or lack of) reserved for those former favourites who now find their careers stuck for the very first time in limbo. When any of their number appears on screen, the crowd quickly turns into eight thousand Gap-clad Neros, all eager to tilt their thumbs to the floor.

So, bye bye Steps and Ricky Martin – it’s been nice knowing you. And – most surprising of all – bye bye Stephen. Maybe they’ve eventually taken the hint, maybe they preferred you skinny, maybe they’d just like some decent tunes. Whatever – the Boyzoner now appears to be at the wrong end of showbiz’s greasy pole.

Fast forward again, then, to Evan.

Just before In Utero he looked set to develop into some kind of slacker superstar – capable of lording over a rainbow coalition that ran from Zen Arcade to Automatic For The People. Post Kurt, though, it seemed he’d been written-out of the Grunge story. The scene that hated itself and wanted to die didn’t really have much room for someone not afraid to ask: “If I was a booger/would you blow your nose?”.

Britain, meanwhile, had fast turned into a Noel and Damon-sponsored Kagool wonderland obsessed with real ale and Lahndan footie crews. A slope-shouldered Yank hippie who sang about big gay hearts was never going to cadge an invite to that party.

The kind of grim irrelevance now faced by Mr Gately loomed – a depressing future of failed singles, empty gigs and torn-up contracts. He found himself sidelined, ignored, out of time.

Faced with this, Evan’s next move verged on the inspired – he did nothing. Rather than slog away and pick up a reputation as damaged goods, he took to the road, playing shows for beer money and gently reminding people just how good the songs he crafted were. And now? Well, now folk seem more inclined to give the benefit of the doubt to American blokes with guitars and tar voices and, judging by the new songs that he quietly introduces throughout the set, all of a sudden Evan Dando could be releasing great records again.

Radiohead and Spiritualized – two acts on the absolute cusp of a critical wave – are coming to visit next month. It’s a fair bet that many a local guitar band will be watching – maybe making a few mental post-its along the way. It’ll certainly be an education.

But maybe, in the long run, an evening with Evan would be better for their health.

Radiohead play Belfast’s Odyssey Arena on September 14th. Spiritualized play The Nerve Centre in Derry on September 27th and Belfast’s Mandela Hall on September 28th.