Live Report: The Saw Doctors land hit after hit at the Electric Arena

Based on the steady stream of people heading towards the Electric Arena, The Saw Doctors don’t have to do much to grab the audience’s attention.

Despite this, they don’t waste the chance to show their flair- of all tunes to walk onstage to, Davy, Leo and company strut out to John William’s 1978 superman theme.

While guitarist Leo Moran’s glasses do give him a bit of a Clark Kent look, the scream that answers his question of “How’s the form?” indicates he has no struggles with popularity.

The Saw Doctors' Leo Moran in the Electric Arena 2025. Credit: Liam Murphy

Despite the size of the venue and its production quality, the Tuam rockers have such a control over the crowd that it could just as easily be a gig in a local pub.

Tunes like ‘I Useta Love Her’ see the band lending the chorus to their fans, who eagerly jump at thee opportunity to get involved.

Thanks to this inclusion, the audience end up giving almost as much as they get- something that contributes to a proper session atmosphere in the arena.

While Galwegians have claimed ‘N17’, credit to county Mayo is due for the impact they have had on the band’s discography- ‘Clare Island’, ‘Joyce Country’ and ‘To Win Only Once’ are guaranteed crowd pleasers. Never has a football team’s inability to win an all-Ireland been so beneficial.

Bitterness aside and regardless of your own county loyalties, when Carton requests the lighting to be changed, the entire arena erupts into ‘The Green and Red of Mayo’.

Credit: Liam Murphy

The stage is a busy one- a great mixture of saxophone, guitars, accordions and backing vocalists creates a fantastic carnival of sound, one that has become synonymous with the band.

In their own words, it’s ‘rock and roll Lisdoonvarna style’.

The gig has a special guest appearance in the crowd, in the form of a cutout of Michael D. Higgins- something that leads to the band altering their setlist to include 2002’s ‘Michael D. Rockin’ in the Dáil.’

While he’s no longer in the Dáil, they’ve gotten more use out of the song than they could have expected.

By the end of the show the crowd’s energy hasn’t lessened in the slightest. A last burst of energy reverberates around the room when Carton shouts a “here we go”- everyone knows what’s next.

Nobody right in the head could wish they were on the N17 at the expense of missing this gig, but even then you could be convinced otherwise based on the crowd’s contribution.

As they kick their legs in a retro showbiz style, the gig ends with as much of bang as it started with.