Live Review: Girl Band At Vicar Street

As yet another body floated over the possessed, moshing crowd, a diminutive Vicar St bouncer stretched his arm out as far as he could, managing to get his fingertips on the black shoe of one of the young crowd surfers. However, this tug of war was only ever going to have one winner. The security man's grip was no match for the Girl Band revellers and the young man was pulled back towards the epicentre of chaos five feet from the stage barriers.

The group's rescheduled gig was the first time Girl Band have played in Dublin since September 2014. In the intervening year and a half, the band released their relentless, nine track, post-punk debut, entitled Holding Hands With Jamie, in September 2015.

The stage was bathed in darkness as the Dublin four-piece descended the side stairs. Thumping, industrial, surging drum beats pounded, as the group commenced with 'Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage?'. 'Pears For Lunch' resonated massively with fans as they belted back the revealing lyrics, "I Look Crap With My Top Off'. 'Fucking Butter' also went down a storm, as the comical repetition of the word 'Nutella' brought a smile to every punter's face.

In the pit, it was absolute bedlam. Multiple bodies sailed over the crowd at the same time, mini circles of death formed with people running and crashing into each other and a constant wave of people got heaved from side to side as a surge of bodies smashed back and forth.

Edgy, distorted guitars wailed, as the audience was assaulted by drums. Adam Faulkner did his best to demolish his drum kit, routinely having to vigorously shake his hands due to cramp. Vocally frontman Dara Kiely's gotten stronger since their last performance at the Button Factory. He retains his guttural, at times screaming style, yet isn't drowned out by the rest of the band when he's not howling.

Apart from a few pleasantries, Girl Band do not interact with the audience. Though, they did seem genuinely surprised and pleased with the crowd antics and adoration. It's hard to tell whether Kiely actually enjoys performing in front of an audience. Incessant hair tugging, anxious arm scratching and skittish t-shirt wrenching could just be how he acts on stage or could be interrupted as an uncomfortable artist trying to overcome performance insecurities.

"Thank you for coming, this is really nice," Kiely sheepishly tells the crowd. Girl Band announce their last song will be 'The Witch Dr.'. The fans summone the energy for five more minutes of madness. After sixty minutes, there was no encore, and the group quickly exit the stage. As people trudged towards the exits, with their ears ringing, their bodies soaking and people visibly limping, fans couldn't wipe the smirks of their faces.