HamsandwicH, R.S.A.G. and Amaron storm Bow St. Sessions

We’d been promised something special, and boy did they deliver. Two of Ireland’s finest rock acts – with assistance from the country’s best beatboxer – made the second instalment of Bow St. Sessions, brought to you by Hot Press and Jameson, a night to remember – and celebrate.

The ’house full’ signs had gone up long before Amaron kicked things off – and the man crowned the nation’s beatbox champion earlier this year was a revelation. Combining epic freestyles with tastes of ‘Satisfaction’ and ‘Seven Nation Army’, his high-octane offerings were the ideal opening salvo. Indeed, so convincing was his mouth music that it prompted members of the audience – convinced that the vocal prodigy must have been concealing all manner of auxiliary equipment to produce such a mesmeric sound – to follow his set with a thorough pat down.

One man determined to make an impression on the night was R.S.A.G., the multi-instrumentalist and live sensation that is Jeremy Hickey. His set opened with some superb video footage of the rhythm maestro using Jameson’s stills and stations as makeshift percussion. It worked a treat.

Shot by maestro filmmaker Paul Mahon, the audio-visual accompaniment provided a fascinating backdrop to the R.S.A.G. live show. Combined with his superb use of loops, it made for a multi-sensory extravaganza that shattered expectations of what a one-man-band can do. It was a virtuoso performance that set the scene perfectly for what was to come.

HamsandwicH have had an immense 2015. They’ve released a chart-topping album Stories From The Surface, played a mega Electric Picnic main stage set, and scored the cover of the 900th issue of Hot Press. Little surprise, then, that they brought serious amounts of festive spirit and party vibes to the room, rattling off cuts from Stories From The Surface as well as familiar HS classics like ‘Ants’ and ‘Models' in superb style. A whole other dimension was yet to unveiled, however, with all three acts collaborating on a coruscating closing mini-set.

And what a collaboration. There were blistering performances of R.S.A.G.’s own ‘Stick To Your Line’, as well as a thrilling rendition of the Dusty Springfield classic ‘Spooky’ and a stunning version of New Order’s incomparable ‘Blue Monday’. At times, it seemed as though you might just be watching the world’s greatest jam band, as they instinctively went with the flow to create something that was more than just a little bit special.

Indeed, more than a little bit special is the perfect summation of the evening as a whole. Bow St. Sessions will return in 2016 – and from the evidence of this night, the next chapter can’t come quickly enough…