Sato

Specialising in a howling brand of blues-rock not a million miles from Led Zeppelin, Dublin quintet Sato provide a very enjoyable hour of entertainment in the tiny South William Street venue. With a garrulous, marraca-shaking lead singer – whose resemblance to Strokes drummer, Fab Morreti, is almost frightening – the group aren’t lacking in the stagecraft department either, making them something of an anomaly in these dour, post-rock times.

Opening with a series of thundering blues work-outs, the group actually eschew bass on a couple of tracks. Sato have taken a leaf out of the White Stripes’ book, getting the dynamics just right and staying well clear of bar-band self-indulgence.

After the initial onslaught, the group opt to slow the pace with a cover of – Christ! – ‘Hotel California’. Mortified, your correspondent is tempted to reach for the ear-plugs, but, miraculously, in Sato’s hands, the track is reworked into a dreamy psychedelic number with a nicely melancholy edge.

After a solo acoustic slot from the frontman - which he manages to finish in between bouts of walking through the bar and heckling the audience – the band regroup for a triumphant finale. The resultant applause says it all – we’ve been sated.