Prenup and The Mighty Stef live at Crawdaddy, Dublin

The Mighty Stef, now comprising Stefan Murphy and able henchmen Last Tycoons Dan Fitzpatrick and Stephen Fanning, opened this sublime evening with a stellar performance.

The set, a sumptuous blend of old and new; ‘Prayer For The Broken-Hearted’ and ‘The Days Of Wine And Roses’ from excellent debut long-player The Sins Of Saint Catherine, and from lauded recent EP title track ‘Death Threats’. ‘100 Midnights’ from the forthcoming second longplayer is a real gem which bodes very well for the next release. A rousing cover of Johnny Thunders’ ‘You Cant Put Your Arms Around A Memory’ closed a first-rate support slot.

Irish supergroup Prenup, former Pogue Cait O’Riordan and former Hot House Flowers Fiachna O’Braoinain and Dave Clarke then took to the stage with their glittering selection of killer tunes from revered longplayer Hell To Pay.

The slick confection comprised flawless performances delivered with much gusto; Fiachna’s impassioned vocal stylings and exquisite soloing and Cait’s playful basslines a perfect accompaniment to Dave’s frenetic drumming.

O’Braoinain’s cheerful banter buoyed on the performance, we were encouraged to come up closer to the stage so he could ‘see the whites of our eyes’ and were told that our our singing along ‘had made his Christmas!’

The band also roadtested infectious new track ‘Kissed You Like I Didn’t Care’ and closed the night with a tantilising double-whammy – bewitching slow number ‘Come Down’ and a final explosive ‘Headwrecker’. Top notch stuff.