LIVE: LITTLE GEM FIRST BIRTHDAY

It’s said daily that making it in this business is tough. Whether for the musicians who have to battle with non-existent record sales, constant touring and little financial clarity at the end of it all, for the labels who have to find new and more interesting business models in order to encourage a new generation raised with music piracy as a given to part with their sparse sheckles. Then also for the journos competing in a market saturated with free information. The internet has really f**cked s**t up big time.

So for starting a new label in such an uncertain climate is not just a brave move, it can seem downright stupid. It has to offer something more (and maybe free spinning cake is a good start). Last night Little Gem celebrated the bravery of that decision in style bringing Twinkranes, Patrick Kelleher, Fierce Mild, ¡NO! and Cal Folger Day to the Grand Social for a night of the best in the Irish underground.

The label which opened up last year in the Grand Social has strived to bring the music patrons of Dublin something more. From releasing albums on a variety of mediums from vinyl to cassette and often putting much of it on limited release, the label is eking out a path of survival by giving music as an object value once again. And in putting on such rave energetic shows as the show last night, the ethos of the DIY label spills out from the store and unto the stage.

Patrick Kelleher was an almost transcendental spectacle on stage. With every slice of his dark synths that beat, his whole body pulsated in robotic rhythm and his eyes looked dark and absent completely possessed by the music. Kelleher is one of those rare acts that exists on the vanguards of even the underground musical scene and is evidence of the exuberance of talent that exists just away from the surface.

Another band occupying that space is Twinkranes who have been plugging away for the best part of ten years and could easily qualify as one of the most energetic bands that Ireland has ever produced. An octopus with all its eight arms couldn’t keep the rhythm of Anto’s drumming which is frantic, mesmeric and along with Chris’s repetitive synths drives the crowd from sluggish headshakes into full blown involuntary body spasms. Twinkranes never fail to disappoint.

If Little Gem continues to both harvest and sow the exuberant energy of the Irish underground and exposing more to the talent that exists there with nights like the celebratory atmosphere at the Grand Social last night, they may have just proved that the best business model of all is unflinching passion.