The Riptide Movement: Live at Vicar Street

It’s a suited, booted and 75% impeccably groomed Riptide Movement – guitarist Jay Dalton continues to spurn the barbers’ chair – who stride out to a heroes’ welcome from the near enough sold-out Vicar St. crowd.

It’s not just their image that’s been sharpened up of late. The Lucan four-piece have always been capable of penning a rousing anthem, but it’s only with new chart-topper, Getting Through, that they’ve demonstrated there’s more to them than enjoyably boozy, bluesy bluster.

No longer having to rely on Grafton Street busking money to pay the wages – they’ve acquired a heavyweight UK live agent and the support here of Universal Music – the band have added a brass section and four perma-dancing female backing singers who contribute to the soul revue feel of tonight’s gig.

Following a breakneck run through of Keep On Keepin’ On faves ‘Hot Tramp’ and ‘Cocaine Cowboys’, we get to hear the night’s first newbie, ‘Animal’, which sounds like an Irish cousin of Creedence’s ‘Proud Mary’.

‘Keep On Keepin’ On’ itself ends with the boys retiring to the wings, and their sax man parping out the refrain, which 1,500 eager voices shout back. It’s a neat set-piece that’ll no doubt be repeated this summer as The Riptide Movement work their way round the festival circuit.

Other brassy standouts include ‘How Can I Let You Know?’, ‘You and I’ which further underpins those John Fogarty comparisons’ and Amy Huberman-endorsed big beast of a single, ‘All Works Out’.

Gar Byrne deserts his drum-kit to tea-chest out the rhythm to ‘Skin And Bones’, a stripped-down acoustic affair which unashamedly tugs at the heartstrings. It’s absent tonight, but Getting Through closer ‘Sycamore Tree’ is another example of their growing maturity as songwriters.

They’re never going to be hipster darlings or spokespersons for their generation, but for sheer raucous rock ’n’ roll fun The Riptide Movement are hard to beat.