Other Voices update

Other Voices rumbled on again Tuesday night at St. James' Church in Dingle. As ever, daring correspondent Roe McDermott was on hand to document the results. Here's what she had to say...

Last night at Other Voices, presenter Phillip King thanked the audience, crew and artists who “make Ireland considerable to ourselves and make Ireland considerable to the world.” He then introduced the top-notch Marina & The Diamonds, kicking off the night with a wonderful set that included ‘Shampain’ and ‘I Am Not A Robot.’ Marina admitted that playing in a church, while lovely, was a bit weird, before launching into her operatic new single ‘Obsessions’ and finishing off with top hit ‘Hollywood.’

O Emperor then took to the stage playing hits like ‘Don Quixote’ and ‘Fat Lady Sings,’ which appropriately ended their set. After the band walked off, the audience were warned to prepare themselves for a nuclear assault to the senses as The Minutes took to the stage. Their set included ‘Black And Blue,’ the incredibly loud ‘Gold,’ and finishing up appropriately enough for a gig in a church was the rocking ‘Jesus Gonna Wake You’ during which lead singer Mark Austin brought the mic down into the pews in an act that I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a church.

Bringing the noise back to a respectable level was singer/songwriter Ryan Sheridan who took the stage all the way from Monaghan singing his hit ‘Jigsaw’ and ‘The Way You Look Forever.’ Busking until about six months ago, he was thankfully snapped up and then started to get the recognition he deserves based on his fantastic voice and great guitar playing; he’s bound to go very far.

The final act which was kept a delightful secret until the very end was special guest Scottish singer/songwriter Steve Mason, who brought his guitar playing skills to St. James’ Church with songs like ‘Boys Outside’ and ‘Borderline,’ a Madonna cover. Thankfully he didn’t try to emulate her style with cone-shaped bras or leotards – or did he? You’ll have to watch the show and see…