Kick stout the jams

This evening marks the culmination of the Murphy’s Live music competition. Having progressed through a series of heats and a semi-final, The Chapters and Ilya K are set to compete for the ultimate prize.

The Automatic (who are not contesting, of course) will deliver their set in the gap, during which the judges conclude their deliberations. Simon Eustace of The Chapters will later refer to tonight as being “like the Champions’ League final,” before admitting that he had no idea whether his band represented Milan or Liverpool.
The answer to that conundrum will come later in the evening (seeing as we’re all happy to take it as a certainty that Milan will win the Champions League, right?). But first, to the judges. The panel consists of five people from different areas of the music industry.
Neil Hannon, of Divine Comedy fame, is the most obvious “celebrity judge”, and cheerily announces himself as the Simon Cowell of the group.
“I never thought I would be nasty,” he laughs, “but recently I was judging a Belfast TV show’s school band competition, and I did end up being quite hard on the poor young people!” Hannon is the only first-time judge,
Ashley Keating, of The Frank And Walters fame, is the panel’s other musician, though he admits to taking a different approach to Hannon.
“Judging music is a very hard thing to do,” he explains. “I know what goes into putting a song together, how much sweat is shed in a song. If someone came up with what was potentially the worst song in history, I would still give him credit for actually taking the time to write it!”
Margaret Barron from Murphy’s, the organisers of the event is next up. The rewards for the victor (recording time and a national distribution deal, among other things) are substantial, but she’s happy to play down the competition element, pointing out that all entrants have something to gain from the event.
“It’s less about the competition, and more about showcasing really great Irish music,” she explains. “I hope all the bands that have been involved have yielded a benefit from, for one, press coverage and advertisements – and also just getting to a new audience. That's the objective.”
The other judges are similarly upbeat. hotpress’ Shilpa Ganatra says that the competition has been “a complete blast” so far, and feels it has confirmed what a vibrant music scene Ireland possesses right now. Angela Dorgan, from First Music Contact, has been involved with the event for the last three years, and feels it has been steadily improving.
“It’s really gone up a notch, and the bands are more into it,” she enthuses. “The prizes are well thought-out, and Murphy’s are really in it for the long haul.”
To the important business of the music itself. The two competing bands are markedly different, but similarly impressive. The Chapters, have a home advantage on the evening (they are Dublin lads, while Ilya K hail from Waterford) and they use the extra support to their advantage, delivering a blistering, impassioned set, which calls to mind the rousing country-rock anthemics of old-school Wilco. The group had been described to me beforehand as laid-back alt. country – but whoever said that got it wrong! They're anything but relaxed. I later ask the group if the competition element added greater intensity to their performance, but they refute this suggestion.
“We play like that every night!” laughs lead singer Ross McNally.
Like the organisers, the Chapters are eager to downplay the event’s competition element, instead insisting that they’ve already gained something special.
“It doesn’t feel like a competition, ‘cause you’re just meeting really lovely people,” explains Turlough Gunawardhana, the group’s multi-instrumentalist. “We met Ilya K for the first time today, and they’re lovely guys!”
Which brings us to The Chapters’ opponents. Ilya K are a very different beast altogether. Aesthetically, the band and their followers resemble The Levellers, but their sound – thankfully – does not. They have a more electronic slant to their music, which can also explode into a fierce, metallic thrash. It'll be very interesting to see how they fare in the studio.
Mick O’Reilly, Ilya K’s frontman, is also highly complimentary about his opponents, but emphasises how important it would be for his group to win First Prize.
“We started recording an album two weeks ago, so we’ve something to push now,” he explains. “If we did win, it would be fantastic, ‘cause we’ve no money behind us. Otherwise, we’ll just have to beg, borrow or steal to do it ourselves!”
That may not be necessary after tonight – but before the verdict is announced, Glamorgan rockers The Automatic deliver a sweat-drenched set. Their music occasionally indulges in one of the common failings of Welsh indie – a tendency towards meaty pomp-rock, to be specific, which isn't my cup of tea – but this is atoned for by their boundless energy, and of course, that terrific ‘Monster’ song.
Then, the moment of truth. The tension is eased a little when pint-sized, clearly-inebriated Neil Hannon struggles, tip-toed, to bring his mouth to the microphone, following an introduction by the evening’s somewhat-taller MC, hotpress’ Stuart Clark.
Once the mike is lowered, the verdict is announced. The Chapters have competed manfully, but it is Ilya K who will walk off with the spoils. Without a doubt, many of tonight’s audience will eagerly await the first fruits of their foray into the studio. Let it roll