Live At The Half Moon Theatre Cork

If it’s in Cork this year than it’s automatically a cultural event. So in honour of Cork’s designation as European Capital of Culture, Heineken joined in the celebrations by giving the people of Cork not one but two Green Room Sessions events. It puts one in mind of the slogan that’s doing the rounds here among the local wags: Enjoy culture responsibly.

Equally tongue in cheek is Skye native Mylo MacInnes. Calling his album Destroy Rock & Roll might have him hailed in some quarters as the saviour of dance music but Mylo’s music is clearly indebted to the kind of rock that’s peddled on mainstream American radio. ‘In My Arms’ collision of ‘Waiting For a Star To Fall’ and ‘Bette Davis Eyes’ betray the heart of an ‘80s soft rock band hung up on ‘70s soul and disco.

When he opens his set with the album’s title track he does so flanked by two guitarists and in many ways it’s like any conventional gig. While it’s an album brimful of great tunes, the live show lacks its playful spirit. The track that follows ‘Destroy Rock & Roll’ opens with a cheeky rendition of the riff from Van Halen’s ‘Jump’ but this isn’t a precursor to the sort of tangents Orbital took with their incorporation of Bon Jovi and Belinda Carlisle.

Some tracks like the ethereal ‘Valley of The Dolls’ are delivered in an almost perfunctory manner. However when they encore with ‘Drop The Pressure’ it’s like a fuse has been lit, and even Mylo himself looks astounded as the whole crowd engage in mass pogoing more frenzied than you’d get at any rock gig.