Live Report: The Byrne Brothers have Whelan's hooting and hollering to sped-up trad

Midway through the Byrne Brothers' lively, pulsing set of sped-up folk and trad songs, Finn snaps a string on his guitar.

"Anyone brought a spare guitar?" jokes his younger brother Dempsey, the band's bodhrán player and vocalist.

Tommy, their father and the band's violinist, guitarist, and tin whistle player, makes a game out of the accident. "I'll play a tune, and if I finish before he can put the new string on the guitar he'll buy everyone a round!"

This elicits cheering, but Finn has the new string on and tuned within two minutes.

The family band is completed by Luca, the oldest and quietest brother. He plays accordion, standing at stage left, out of the spotlight.

It is their first Whelan's gig, which they call a welcome change from playing to audiences of thousands at festivals in the US. Here, they can see every face in the room.

Tommy is a multi-instrumentalist from Dublin who has been described as a "founding father of the Temple Bar music scene" and has performed with Michael Flatley and The Chieftains.

His sons were born in Donegal, but have been performing in the United States from childhood, with Dempsey, the youngest, reportedly on stages from the age of 2 and performing at Disney World with his brothers at age 8. All three brothers are also Ulster Champion Irish dancers.

Once they've instructed the crowd on when to whoop, they jump into their set with 'Star of the County Down'.

The brothers' signature is speeding up traditional melodies, with the urgent, pounding beat added by Dempsey's bodhrán lending their sound an almost techno flavour. After a song's verses, they often riff on its melody, intensifying the beat and speed.

They also play pop songs, but with their own spin, following with Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars'. From there, they segue into 'Whiskey in the Jar'. It is somewhere in this feverish jamming that Finn's guitar string breaks. Once it's fixed, they snap back with 'Pound a Week Rise'.

The first few rows of the crowd are jumping, hooting and singing along at top volume; the floor bounces with the tapping and thudding of about 200 feet.

Tommy announces the next song is an original written by the brothers, marking "a new chapter for the boys".

'Stay a While' is the title of the brand-new lovesong. When it takes a second to set up, the brothers admit it's their second time ever performing their song live, "the first being last night". The tune is a ballad, with a folkier pace, and Dempsey singing tenderly instead of beating the drum.

From that gentler vibe, they return to energy-infused classic folk tunes, with 'Dirty Old Town' and 'Raggle Taggle Gypsy', plus a trad spin on MGMT's 'Kids'.

After a banging bodhrán solo, the crowd chants for one more tune, so Tommy whips out a Kerry polka. Several women in the audience clear themselves a space to dance a jig. Finn sees the opportunity to prove he deserved his Champion title, hops off the stage and joins them, casually throwing in a high kick.

Once Finn has reclaimed his guitar, the Byrne Brothers finish off the night with The Killers' Mr. Brightside. The crowd belts along to the pop-rock song, performed in the brothers' sped-up, bodhrán-driven style. The energy and enthusiam of the crowd makes it clear what the band brings to festivals like EP and Milwaukee Irish Fest: they electrify old favourites with fresh rhythm.