Mayday at Andrews Lane Theatre

Revolution for Dogs, Hoarsebox, Ham Sandwich

Andrews Lane Theatre

01/05/09

Angela Macari O’Looney

I was invited to this gig by the fabulous and exciting quartet Hoarsebox, whom I’ve only seen once live. With one of the liveliest collection of songs and a joie de vivre that is contagious, they are a band I could never tire of. Hosted by Phantom 105, this gig was guaranteed to be a lot of fun, so my friend and I headed down.

My last visit to this venue was a good few years back and on arrival I noticed a lot of changes had been made to the layout. My guest Dara and I were also looking forward to the other two bands featuring; Revolution for Dogs and Ham Sandwich. With such a brilliant line up it was the gig to be at for May Day!

The place gradually filled up and by the time the first band arrived onstage, there was quite a crowd!

Revolution for Dogs

This band has been compared to The Coral and perform a really enjoyable set, with a classic Rock style. Consisting of three guitars and a rhythm section, they have a full sound with a bashing Rock’n’Roll beat.
Band members include Keith Vocals/Bass, Revel Vocals/ Guitars, Ian Lead guitar and John Drums.
Having a passion for exploring new Sonics, experimental soundscapes and vintage guitars, this bunch of guys add a bit of this and a touch of that as they go along. For example harmonium, Baritone and slide guitars plus drum loops are only some of the added spice that goes into the mix, to create the sum total of explosive, energetic music to tantalise your taste buds!

Starting with a bashing beat, Lady Luck was the first of their set. This is a cool song which changes to a slinky tempo later on.

Next they performed a fast, fire packed number called Let Yourself Go. This has a powerful guitar intro and some sweet backing vocals. There’s a catchy riff and screaming lead throughout. This also changes pace in the chorus, which adds drama but then it picks up speed again. It has a sweet middle eight which is sung, followed by a brilliant solo.

Shadow on the City

AC/DC style, this begins with a line ‘When the sun goes down’ sung loudly!
A seductive sliding riff and a fab memorable chorus follow. I particularly like the key change midway through. Ian does a fantastic lead solo and Revel’s baseline throughout is superb!


Vampyre – This begins with a scary howl, followed by bashing rock chords. Then it goes into the choppy verse with bass adding depth. Harmony is sung closely and bending riffs, along with lots of exciting in synch guitars and ‘oohs’ sung behind the chorus lend atmosphere. As in all numbers Ian does a sweet solo before the last chorus. The riff is sooo creepy and backing vocals create a haunting sound!

Mission to The Sun

This was one of my favourites in the set!
Beginning with weird space age effects, this has a really catchy chorus and dramatic stops and starts throughout. With cheeky riffs and super harmony it has just the right balance for a great song.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E

This is a song with a clap along beat, delicious riffs and hooks and lots of good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll chord combinations. I loved this one!

Home

This is one song where Keith’s vocals shine. Its distortion packed, has a classic rock intro and a seductive riff, with lots of sweet bass involved. The middle eight has a nice change of key and the refrain Get home, get home is really catchy!
Like the description on their My Space page under ‘Sounds Like’, there seems to be a lot of those universal all time favourite bands coming through in this and all the work they do. There’s a dash of Lennon and McCartney, a twist of Quo and a splash of Rolling Stones along with a plethora of others.

Revolution for Dogs have a knack for catchy melody lines and well written songs. I for one would really like a copy of ‘Dirty Hands’ for my C.D. collection and definitely hope to catch them again soon!


Hoarsebox

Dara and I moved closer to the stage along with what was by now the most enormous crowd I’ve seen at a gig.
To even get a drink involved camping out at the bar for half an hour, proving how popular the three bands are. After lots of bits and pieces were removed and replaced onstage, Johnny Holden, Philip Broadbery, Kieran Walkin and Max Carpio arrived to tumultuous applause. They began with the distinctive chorus of Rosey; A perfect opener!
A big explosive harmony laden Shout it out takes you into this fantastic song. Splashes of guitar and delightful piano fall on your ears in a rainbow of chords, bass and sweet melody and from the get go, Hoarsebox wave their magic wand to intrigue all within their web!
I love the part in this song where they do a cascading type of refrain with ‘ahs’ and this is followed by a sweet lead guitar break a la Phil.

No More tears was second with lots of bebop’s and do dos at the beginning, sung in close harmony. Such a full sound!
Kieran and Max do backing vocals here and there’s a sweet bass break, followed by a play of sound with mikes and Vox. Very experimental but works.
Crazy distortion packed guitar takes this lovely song to its conclusion.

With a magical lead intro, keyboards joining in Seahorse began. This has a stroppy beat, harmonic oohs and here, Phil’s superb vocals are loaded with charisma. They are by far the most unusual band I know, with a kind of ethereal quality to their style. Much of their songs, like this one, have a Sting meets Jamiroquai thing going on, which I adore!

They continued with Do it to the letter, a number I consider my absolute favourite Hoarsebox song.
A sustained keyboard chord intro is followed by a little guitar riff, then explosive do dos take you into a fast verse. In the chorus here there’s an echoed refrain of ‘I’m gonna do it to the letter’. You have this fantastic solo done by Phil and then it quietens down for the last verse, to explode into a big bashing final chorus!

They did a long enough set, including;

The Club has a smart little riff that is appealing, plus the burst of harmony for the chorus which is divine.

Travelled Solo – This involved a strut style beat, a riff played on the frets of the guitar by Phil which is exotic and that beat goes right down to your boots!
A fancy vibe effect comes into this number and everyone seemed to be moving to the beat en masse!

The Witch Hunt – Different and has delicious discords splashed here and there throughout. The guys do sweet ‘Ahs’ behind Phil’s lead vocals.

Fingermouse – They interact with the crowd before the funky intro to this number. This has a catchy chorus with the guys singing it in close harmonic discords. A contradiction in terms but the only description I can think of, for such a fabulous array of melody.

All I need now – This has a do do intro with big splashes of guitar in it. Then the lads sing a big harmonic All I need now.
Distortion packed lead comes in and they do a hand clapping thing later which is choppy, with this beautiful baseline framing it.

H.B.G.B’s – This was the encore which was a great choice!
Complex jazzy guitar riffs and chords, close harmony throughout which is dreamy, a bass solo with splashes of Phil’s keyboard here and there and a chorus that would remind me of a Moe town song; all of these went into the cauldron for this finale from Hoarsebox. They are a band not to be missed if you like a touch of Sting, Jamiroquai, E.L.O. and any class harmony act down through the history of music. I know they put me in the mood for more great music, which of course I was guaranteed from Ham Sandwich, who were coming on next for the main course of the evening!


Ham Sandwich

Headed by the most amazing front woman in Niamh Farrell and the crazy fancy dressed Podge McNamee on lead guitar, this high octane Indie band were the headliners of the Mayday fest at Andrews Lane Theatre.

A hint of The Pixies, Blondie and lots of 80s/90s influences echo through the music of this band, who are promoting their album ‘Carry the Meek’, produced by Karl Odlum. Hailing from Kells in Co. Meath their star is already soaring in the same direction as The Cranberries, The Corrs and all those home-grown bands that have gone global.
With Ollie on drums, Darcy on guitar/piano and Johnny Moore on bass, the sound of this band is one I’m pretty familiar with, having seen them perform on the R.D.S. music show last year. I absolutely adore them!
They started with the familiar intro to White Fox as they took to the stage, with bona fida space cadet McNamee dressed in a cloak and a King’s crown. If there’s ham in the sandwich it has to be him!
Anyway, they started off with this lovely number which is fast moving with a nice blend throughout, including a sweet chord combination, a catchy riff and an appealing refrain of I’m here in your hands. I liked this song. But I was even more intrigued when a big explosion of confetti came thundering down. I love theatrics and this won me over totally!
The next song was Click click boom. This has a bass dominated intro. Then the refrain of Break the chain, break the mould comes in. Niamh’s crystal clear vocals perform this number like a sultry Debbie Harry!
She sings the chorus with McNamee doing backing vocals and it’s almost like a mantra. People sing along with it and they held the entire Theatre in the palm of their hands.

St. Christopher – This song was laid back, with a divine baseline throughout. I thought about the name of this one and realised that the winner of the ‘Choice’ awards Jape has a song about Christopher in his set list too. This saint is getting some exposure through music!
I found Ham Sandwich hard to define or find a comparison with. Perhaps that is the thing that makes them special. They are very much their own genre/sound and whatever they do, this crowd in Andrews Lane couldn’t get enough of them.

For the next song Niamh took out a mini keyboard/ blow instrument. She also cracked a joke about McNamee’s costume having a hole in it at the arse. They went on with Out of the Darkness which is a new song. They sing two separate refrains which is very effective. Niamh does a solo on her melodica thing and with beautiful hooks. With such a lovely song; they were bound to get a positive response from the crowd, which they did.

They did Keep sake with a thumping beat, plucky guitar by McNamee and lovely lyrics; I turned my face to the rain, I still can’t ask you to stay. The chorus is memorable here, melody line to die for!

Broken Glass – Distortion packed intro, choppy beat, punk style with a slinkiness about it. McNamee’s voice is a bit like Radiohead’s lead vocalist. The blend of the male and female voices are the key factor in Ham Sandwich’s sound. They went on to do Never Talk with a bashing chord riff and a sweet chorus of my heart, my hands, my head, my feet. In this song I particularly loved the way the two voices seemed to sing two separate refrains.
Then they did Words which involved a really uplifting melody line!
This was a song I heard at the Music Exhibition last year.

Finally they did a fabulous rendition of the Kate Bush number; Running up the Hill!
The drummer smacked his sticks together, and then played on one single drum for this song. I felt this to be an awe inspiring cover of a classic number. Dara and I were unanimous about the fact that this was a perfect finishing touch. I was reeling with the excitement from a night that must be the best 1st of May party of my life!
All three bands proved the reason why the venue was packed to capacity. Well done to them and Phantom 105!