The Frames, Mundy, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, The Dirty Three

Following the eleventh hour cancellation by Cornershop, Offaly man Mundy answered the ‘mayday’ call and joined the bill with Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, The Dirty Three and The Frames. The Gorky’s opened up the day’s events and sounded at the start like Bob Dylan’s Welsh love children. ‘In Glorious Harmony’ they claimed as they tried to emulate their heroes The Beach Boys – however, not quite hitting the mark. The Welsh bloke next to me was spat on when he declared them to be a bit like Coldplay gone wrong.

Salvation came in the shape of Mundy. With cowboy hat on head, he looked every bit the fastest gun in the West. Opening with ‘Anchor The Sun’ as the sun set over Galway Bay, he had the crowd eating out of his hand throughout. It’s a tough call but the honours ultimately went to the Bowie-like ‘Mayday’, a superb song which seriously rocks at the end. He was in a suitable blue mood – with the lighting effect – for ‘Lynchpin’. At the end he lamented “You were leaving/I couldn’t fathom why” – we couldn’t fathom why either. This performer gets better with every show.

The Dirty Three arrived on the scene looking remarkably clean and well-groomed, despite the moniker. They opened up with the rather poignant ‘If This Is A Love Song (Blow It Out Your Fuckin’ Arse)’, a number about stealing your father’s car and going on the delinquency trail.

There was an air of anticipation for The Frames and they didn’t disappoint. While the first hour and a half saw Glen Hansard and the boys going through such favourites as ‘What Happens When The Heart Just Stops’, ‘Lay Me Down’, ‘God Bless Mom’ and ‘I Want My Life To Make More Sense’, the final quarter started with a medley that included ‘Born In The USA’ (The Boss is a Frames fan, you know) and songs by Bob Marley. Then Bronagh Gallagher joined her former Commitments buddy for a rendition of ‘Mustang Sally’ from the hit film, which brought the house down as Hansard and Gallagher danced around the stage.

Not one but two encores were called for, with ‘Star Star’ and ‘Revelate’ coming off the subs bench. Then Glen went crowd surfing and another medley including ‘99 Red Balloons’ and ‘Private Dancer’ sent the crowd to another level of euphoria. To cap it all the band finished with ‘Heyday’ by the late Mic Christopher. The vibe was amazing as Glen Hansard invited the entire front row on to the stage to sing the chorus. Hansard was John Lennon for those few moments – a working class hero is indeed something to be!