Never Mind The Bullocks

“We’re going to B.U.M. in a bullring.”

It’s a puerile joke, but one that keeps on giving as ace HP snapper Graham Keogh and myself prepare to accompany Delorentos on their visit to Bienvenida Universidad de Murcia, a very fancy freshers’ gig taking place in the municipal Plaza de Toros.
One of the few parts of southern Spain yet to succumb to all-day English breakfasts and Irish drug barons on the run from the Guards, Murcia is also home every May to SOS, a two-day festival which Delorentos played a blinder at this year.
“Pulp headlined the first night, and we were on between Mogwai and Flaming Lips on the Saturday,” enthuses tousle-haired singer and guitarist Ronan Yourell as we wait for take-off at Dublin Airport. “It was in a park, the weather was great and there were about 20,000 people singing our songs back to us. Gigs normally blur into one, but I remember all of SOS. Everybody was going ‘ólé ólé olé’ at the end, so for the first time ever we did a little bow. There’s some connection between it and B.U.M. – I know, brilliant name! – so we’ve been asked back.”
Delorentos’ killing of SOS wasn’t an isolated incident, with the Dubliners getting the “olé olé olé” treatment again at Beniccasim, the Spanish Reading/Leeds where in July they graced the Main Stage.
“Is it a euro for every name drop?” enquires the band’s other singing guitarist, and owner of a slightly more hipster haircut, Kieran McGuinnes.
Yep, them’s are the rules.
“Shit, this is going to clean me out!” he grimaces. “Benicassim is really great for socialising with other bands. Our first time there we shared a bus with Julian Casablancas. Ronan, the mental Strokes fan he is, was straight in: ‘Hi, Julian, can I sit beside you?’ They had this mad conversation about Wolfe Tones drinking songs, Thin Lizzy and The Pogues, all of whom yer’ man’s really into.”
Hang on, Julian Casablancas not only knows who the Wolfe Tones are but has been known when gickered to burst into a rousing chorus of ‘The Men Behind The Wire’?
“I’m not sure which songs but, yeah, Julian is au fait with The Wolfe Tones,” his bezzie Irish mate confirms. “There’s a lot of romance in his writing – I can’t remember the title, but one of the songs on The First Impressions Of Earth sounds like Shane MacGowan wrote it. They’re both coming from the same place.”
A reasonable name-drop, but we want more.
“This year, we ran into one of the guys from Vampire Weekend who I’d met before at Oxegen,” Ronan resumes. “We had a beer and talked about writing songs and playing the piano. Later I was having another beer with Maverick Sabre – there’s a theme developing here! – when Ian Brown, John Squire and Noel Gallagher wandered into the bar area. At the some festivals you have VIP and VVIP Areas, but at Benicassim everyone mucks in together.”
Which brings the name-drop bill to €6. Messrs. Yourell and McGuinness have just stopped talking about their showbiz pals – they’re meeting up next week with Bruce, Tarby and Kenny Lynch for a round of golf – when the “Welcome, you have arrived on yet another on time Ryanair flight” bugle sounds and Murcia’s tiny airport building comes into view.
The normal etiquette when arriving in a foreign country at 10pm and the gig’s not till tomorrow is to ensconce one’s self in the nearest bar. B.U.M. headliners Wilco being renowned for their epic soundchecks, Delorentos have decided to get their “one-two, one-two”-ing done tonight, which means it’s straight to the Plaza del Toros. While none of us are happy about its primary use, the bullring, which has the same vertiginous seating as the Nou Camp, is an impressive site when floodlit. A local crew member who is into the ritual torturing of animals tells me that bullfighting in Spain is considered an art form rather than sport, hence it rubbing columns with ballet, classical music and art exhibitions in the country’s newspapers.
By the time Delorentos have got everything sounding perfect it’s midnight. This is usually when Spanish cities come alive, but not Murcia. The only place we can find that’s still open is a retail park Burger King, which at least has the good grace to sell beer and have tables outside where we resume our chat.
“Over the last 18 months we’ve played at least 30 gigs here – not just in the usual places like Madrid and Barcelona, but all over the country,” Ronan says inbetween chomps of a Whopper. “People see you’re putting in the effort and want to support you. We’ve a great guy looking after us in Spain, Sebastian, who’s over in Mexico at the moment following up some gig offers because Spain feeds into Mexico and South America. The plan if it all comes together is to visit there, Colombia and Argentina in May.”
The number of Delorentos Facebook friends and Twitter followers doubled overnight when Mexico’s pre-eminent entertainment blogger Ben Shorts – think Perez Hilton with a twist of Harry Knowles – hailed them as his new favourite band.
“It’s one of those random things,” Kieran explains. “He came to Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day, saw us at a gig and said, ‘Holy God, these guys are great!’ He started using our songs on his YouTube channel, and suddenly we’re having to stick half the messages we get through Google Translator! It’s been one opportunity leading to another.”
Kieran and Ronan being down for a live radio session tomorrow morning means that we do the (reasonably) sensible thing and bid our new Burger King friends a fond farewell at 4am. On our way back to the hotel we happen upon an industrial unit that’s been remodelled into a Notre Dame-themed disco – no, really! Any temptation to pop in for a nightcap is quelled by the brick shithouse doormen fiercely protecting the faux cathedral entrance.
Six hours kip later, we’re sitting in the Cadena Ser Radio Murcia reception area talking to local John Peel-type Rafael José López Girón who’s been championing Delorentos since seeing them at SOS. The lads are appearing with him and local Miriam O’Callaghan-type Lucía Hernández on the station’s lunchtime Hoy per Hoy chat show.
After some polite bilingual small talk, Kieran and Ronan perform an acoustic version of new single ‘Bullet In A Gun’, which elicits a rapturous round of applause from presenters and technical staff alike.
Back at the bullring, it’s a fiver in for students and €18 for people who actively contribute to society (I jest!) Along with Wilco, the B.U.M. line-up features local heroes The Hazey Janes, Lori Meyers and The Leadings, a sort of Murcian Le Galaxie whose big beat re-working of ‘S.E.C.R.E.T.’ has made Delorentos a very hip name to drop in Spanish dance circles.
Despite heavy rain, the boys are greeted by around 8,000 cheers when they take to the Plaza de Toros stage a little after 9pm. SOS wasn’t a once-off, with the mainly teenage crowd bellowing back the words to new and old songs alike.
Not content to let their music do the talking, Kieran and Ronan take turns to converse with their fans in Spanglais.
“We’ve both been doing Spanish lessons in Dublin,” the latter reveals afterwards in what is normally the matadors’ dressing room. “Again, I think people appreciate you making the effort. We played in San Sebastian with The Horrors who greeted the crowd with, ‘¿Dónde está Espania’, which is, ‘Where is Spain?’ I think they thought they were saying, ‘Hello Spain!’”
“Perhaps they were being profound,” Kieran suggests. “Where is Spain – y’know, as a society?”
No, I just think the lanky mushroom-heads are really shite at foreign languages. Lest Irish fans think they’re being neglected, Delorentos are embarking on a nationwide Christmas tour, which includes their biggest headliner here to date in Vicar St.
“It’s brilliant being able to do something like this in Spain; go to Amsterdam with Villagers in a couple of weeks and then come home and play 10-dates around the country,” Ronan concludes. “We’re really grateful as a band to have those options. We’ve also been recording what might turn out to be an acoustic album, and working on ideas for new songs. It’s been a great year, but 2013’s going to be even better!’

Delorentos’ ‘Bullet In A Gun’ single gets a live airing at Dolan’s, Limerick (December 7); Pavillion, Cork (8); Roisin Dubh, Galway (13); Mason’s, Derry (14); Limelight, Belfast (15); Spirit Store, Dundalk (20); Vicar St., Dublin (21); Forum, Waterford (22); INEC, Killarney (27) and Theatre Royal, Castlebar (28). The xx and Justice are the first acts to be confirmed for SOS 2013, see sos48.com for details.

STRUMMING ATTRACTION
Before heading out on Irish tour, Delorentos are playing an intimate Hot Press acoustic show on December 4 in a secret Dublin venue. If you’re 18 or over, we’ve a final batch of tickets that can be applied for at hotpress.com – but hurry, the deadline of deadlines is midnight on Saturday December 1.