From trad-rap to trad-house, a popular trend amongst Irish artists today seems to be embracing our unique sonic culture and melding it with more modern, popular sounds (some combinations yielding better results than others).

One such act credited with blending Irish traditional music with outside influences is The Scratch. However, labelling the Dublin noisemakers as simply ‘trad mixed with metal’ would be the grossest of oversimplifications.

Their latest album Mind Yourself saw them reach new heights with their sound – the haunting, prog-laced epic a strong contender for album of the year. It must be said though, there’s only so much a turntable can tell you about The Scratch.

They're in their own league in the live arena – made evident by their charismatic and utterly massive performance at Dublin’s Vicar St last night - right from the aptly named Really Good Time’s support set, it was pure delirium.

The four primary members of the main act came out to a riotous reception. No overly dramatic intro or fancy stage-outfits - they went straight over to their stations and got things going with a slow-building jam, which reached boiling point as they cut into ‘Cheeky Bastard’- sending limbs and pint glasses flying.

The Scratch at Vicar Street by Piper Sewell.

A unique Dublinese-tinged dark humour is partly what the band have built their reputation upon – point and case being the ever-popular ‘Pull Your Jocks Up’.

The Scratch’s philosophy, while comedic, is reaffirming and uplifting. Assuring the audience that there’s no use in “crying over spilled bap juice” or “complaining about the skid marks in your mate's jocks, when you can’t even wipe your own fucking arse” brought an air of positivity to the atmosphere.

They’re not just there for the stand-up though. As a unit and as individuals, The Scratch are immensely well-trained, forming one of the tightest witnessable collectives on the circuit today.

Cathal McKenna’s gritty bass playing creates the nastiest of rhythmic drives when combined with Daniel Lang’s innovatively relentless percussive work, while axemen Conor Dockery, and Jordan O’Leary were flawless and strong-wristed throughout, with the latter in particular mesmerising the audience with his shredding, Thin Lizzy-tinged fills and solos.

The Scratch at Vicar Street by Piper Sewell.

All four musicians are also amazing singers. The set was rife with lush harmonies, while they also effortlessly swapped lead vocal duties from song to song.

Their trademark locomotive wall of sound was on full display with bangers like ‘Latchico’ and ‘Blaggard’, but the group also proved they could tone things down, with the addition of a string trio, and special guest James Vincent McMorrow on keys for some slower, emotive numbers such as ‘Trom II’.

The Scratch lived up to their well-earned reputation as one of the county’s hottest live acts – and much of that is owed to the crowd.

Frankly, the fans in attendance deserve a live report of their own. Field marshals organising mosh pits on a whim, there were walls of death - and a circular running mosh, which from the balcony at least, resembled one of those graceful ungulate herds you’d see on a David Attenborough feature.

At one stage, there were about 6 or 7 people crowd surfing simultaneously. If someone fell they’d instantly reemerge on a cloud of sweaty metalhead hands. It was Semper Fi - a prime example of attendees having a rowdy time while still prioritising the safety of fellow concert goers.

A security guard, with his air-traffic headset and fancy bicycle torch, tried his best to discourage the cowabunga-ing attendees, but his passive-aggressive flashes did little to deter.

Summing up the audience was one woman who stood completely upright on a friend’s (or quite possibly a stranger’s) shoulders and saluted the band, who duly acknowledged her display of liberation.

Climax was reached in the encore - as the band invited the string trio, a superbly energetic tap-dancing pal, and surprise guests Ispíní na hÉiereann to join them in a cacophonous, trad-filled goodbye.

Live music in its most enjoyable, purest form, The Scratch exhibited incredible musicianship and created an unrivalled atmosphere with their sold-out Vicar Street show. A high-energy affair, those in attendance on Thursday evening will have a lot to live up to.

The Scratch at Vicar Street by Piper Sewell.