Backstage at the Theatre Royal Waterford returned over the weekend with a doubleheader of Waterford band 'Vague' on Friday night and Saturday night saw alt-rock 4-piece 'First Class & Coach'. Both gigs underlined the huge amount of talent on offer within the Waterford/Cork region.

Friday

‘Vague’ opened proceedings on Friday night with a fantastic set.

Fronted by local performer Cilian Jacob (Divorce Party) lined up on stage with Waterford’s finest including Ken Lally (Divorce Party, Rain Dogs, Hurricanes), Killian Browne (Toucan, Backroad Smokers Club, Cal Pacino), Shane Murphy (Nick Names), and Eddie Blake (Anna Liese, Oran Byrne, Dave O’Sullivan). With special guests on the night Peter Vogelaar, Daragh McDonald, and Darragh Browne.

VAGUE is an original music project combining the group's favorite music genres and taking inspiration from Soul, Funk, Folk, and Jazz and then adding a special Deise twist.

Saturday

There was a total shift in genres as Ballydehob-based indie-rock band First Class & Coach roared into town. Their sound has a diverse variety of colors... reverb-drenched piano, distorted, squalling guitars, driving bass, and hypnotic drums all surrounded by the commanding lead vocals of Geraldine Thomas. The 4-piece has been busy this year with the release of their second album ‘Neon Hip’ back in April and summer gigs that included support for ‘The Frames’ at Live at the Marquee. Saturday night's gig had extra significance as usual drummer Andrew McNeilage is taking some time off and replacement French drummer Jean Michel Cavallo was joining the band for his first live show. After rehearsing to Youtube videos that guitarist Reuben Maher had sent him along with a little practice time Jean Michel gave an awe-inspiring performance. This set the base for an extraordinary night with Thomas setting the tone with her melodic and emotional vocals and audience surfing excursions by Maher.