Thursday, February 19, 2015
Monday, February 16, 2015
We Were Giants
We Were Giants Live recording
The Mercantile
06/02/15
In the ever changing world of Irish rock music, it’s heartening to discover that talented artists will find a way to reinvent and renew. Familiar with the success of Blue Syndrome, I saw this gig advertised and thought I’d like to see the reformed band, now called We Were Giants and hear some of their songs. On arriving there, I heard the strains of a beautiful guitar instrumental played by Alex Smyth, the first act performing. Described as Alternative/Acoustic/Instrumental, his music is very passionate and elaborately performed. His set included Up- A dramatic melody with complex yet amazing chords and rhythm. It’s fast and full of movement, with chops and changes throughout.
Follow-An exciting number that begins with trickling notation and builds up to a dynamic and memorable piece Blacklight- This for me is a thoroughly brilliant instrumental, with a lot of emphasis on the bass line, which is constantly framing the entire sound. It goes from a really laid back trickling piece, to become a very explosive one. I know I was blown away by it! Down- This was Alex’s final number and was pretty amazing just like the others in that it captivated the audience from start to finish and portrays great originality. He has a hint of classical in his style of playing, which entices anyone with a love for good guitar expertise. Every musical phrase is charged with energy and wonderful creativeness.
I enjoyed his use of the side of the guitar to add percussion, tapping with his hand, giving fabulous intensity to each number. Each had a personality of its own, with tempos alternating to provide a combination of light and dark. After Alex, there was a short break before Fallen Lights took to the stage for the second set of the evening.
Fallen Lights Formed in 2013, this band consist of lead singer Graham Dowling, Lead guitarist Jay Wiley, Andrew Cody on bass and Ross Maloney on drums. Influences include Thin Lizzy and U2. They have a pop/indie/rock sound that is big and really catchy. Front man Graham has performed with artists such as The Coronas, Bipolar Empire, The Minutes and Bressie of RTE ‘The Voice’ fame. I like the musicality of this band and the close harmonies throughout the set. Each song had memorable melody lines and exciting guitar involved and I enjoyed the way the lads blend songs and layer harmonies, each getting to feature and compliment the overall sound. The first song When you’re gone had a very appealing chorus and is a love song with delectable harmony and choppy bass rhythm pulsing through it. Great choice for an opener!
They continued with New World a fast moving song with a cool riff throughout. It’s a well written song. Love the chorus. Then there was If I only knew followed by Parachutes. This is an interesting number which begins slowly and picks up. It’s loaded with close harmonies, sweet lead breaks and that alternating tempo lends depth. Jay’s guitar prowess features in this song, where he does sweet bits of lead and also you can hear a fair input from the bass. Tic tac toe was the song the lads finished on and just the perfect finishing touch. I’m looking forward to the launch of the new song coming up in the near future.
We Were Giants The headliners came onstage to huge applause and an intro was played before Colm, the lead singer arrived and picked up his guitar in true star fashion. They kicked off with a number called Some Beauty. Lead guitar played by Ste who also sings backing vocals was exceptional. Other songs included River - fast and loud but really enjoyable, then Vampires - a heady number with imaginative riffs and chord combinations and lots of distortion to rev it up. Hey You is a ballad with excellent harmony and a chance for Colm’s vocals to shine. It’s a powerful and dramatic song with a haunting and beautiful melody line. Other songs on the list were Space and Miracle. There were shouts from the punters for the lads to play a Blue Syndrome song Kiss the Girl and the band stuck to their plans till later in the set.
They did an older number from their former days as Blue Syndrome, called This is it. They also did the Piano Song, a concerto styled number, ironically played on guitars.
All I want- This is a very moving number with some poignant lyrics and a sweet melody. I felt a very personal connection with the story and how Colm pours it from his heart. Their last song was Warwren an excellent song full of distortion laden guitar and in sync lead.
After much shouting for an encore, the lads did Stevie Wonder’s Superstitious and it was a brilliant cover version. A little dab of Aretha Franklyn’s Respect was thrown into the mix and it went down well with the audience.
Members of We Were Giants are Colm (lead vocals/guitar), Ste (Guitar/backing vocals), Danny (bass) and Jay (Drums). Their first EP ’Part one’ was recorded and mixed in their kitchen and included She said and Vampires. Influences include Biffy Clyro, Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire, Stevie Wonder and anything loud. They completed a tour in Germany in 2013, performing on the white stage at the Dithmarschen Rock fest and also performed at the 2014 Wales Focus Fest. I am truly impressed and enthusiastic for We Were Giants and the upcoming debut album that will result from this recorded gig. I love Colm’s total openness and vocal strength. It’s inspiring and very pure. And to hear such musical and lush arrangements is so refreshing. There is hope for our slumping music industry while this kind of inventive talent exists. Well done to the band and also the other two amazing acts that made the night so special.
In the ever changing world of Irish rock music, it’s heartening to discover that talented artists will find a way to reinvent and renew. Familiar with the success of Blue Syndrome, I saw this gig advertised and thought I’d like to see the reformed band, now called We Were Giants and hear some of their songs. On arriving there, I heard the strains of a beautiful guitar instrumental played by Alex Smyth, the first act performing. Described as Alternative/Acoustic/Instrumental, his music is very passionate and elaborately performed. His set included Up- A dramatic melody with complex yet amazing chords and rhythm. It’s fast and full of movement, with chops and changes throughout.
Follow-An exciting number that begins with trickling notation and builds up to a dynamic and memorable piece Blacklight- This for me is a thoroughly brilliant instrumental, with a lot of emphasis on the bass line, which is constantly framing the entire sound. It goes from a really laid back trickling piece, to become a very explosive one. I know I was blown away by it! Down- This was Alex’s final number and was pretty amazing just like the others in that it captivated the audience from start to finish and portrays great originality. He has a hint of classical in his style of playing, which entices anyone with a love for good guitar expertise. Every musical phrase is charged with energy and wonderful creativeness.
I enjoyed his use of the side of the guitar to add percussion, tapping with his hand, giving fabulous intensity to each number. Each had a personality of its own, with tempos alternating to provide a combination of light and dark. After Alex, there was a short break before Fallen Lights took to the stage for the second set of the evening.
Fallen Lights Formed in 2013, this band consist of lead singer Graham Dowling, Lead guitarist Jay Wiley, Andrew Cody on bass and Ross Maloney on drums. Influences include Thin Lizzy and U2. They have a pop/indie/rock sound that is big and really catchy. Front man Graham has performed with artists such as The Coronas, Bipolar Empire, The Minutes and Bressie of RTE ‘The Voice’ fame. I like the musicality of this band and the close harmonies throughout the set. Each song had memorable melody lines and exciting guitar involved and I enjoyed the way the lads blend songs and layer harmonies, each getting to feature and compliment the overall sound. The first song When you’re gone had a very appealing chorus and is a love song with delectable harmony and choppy bass rhythm pulsing through it. Great choice for an opener!
They continued with New World a fast moving song with a cool riff throughout. It’s a well written song. Love the chorus. Then there was If I only knew followed by Parachutes. This is an interesting number which begins slowly and picks up. It’s loaded with close harmonies, sweet lead breaks and that alternating tempo lends depth. Jay’s guitar prowess features in this song, where he does sweet bits of lead and also you can hear a fair input from the bass. Tic tac toe was the song the lads finished on and just the perfect finishing touch. I’m looking forward to the launch of the new song coming up in the near future.
We Were Giants The headliners came onstage to huge applause and an intro was played before Colm, the lead singer arrived and picked up his guitar in true star fashion. They kicked off with a number called Some Beauty. Lead guitar played by Ste who also sings backing vocals was exceptional. Other songs included River - fast and loud but really enjoyable, then Vampires - a heady number with imaginative riffs and chord combinations and lots of distortion to rev it up. Hey You is a ballad with excellent harmony and a chance for Colm’s vocals to shine. It’s a powerful and dramatic song with a haunting and beautiful melody line. Other songs on the list were Space and Miracle. There were shouts from the punters for the lads to play a Blue Syndrome song Kiss the Girl and the band stuck to their plans till later in the set.
They did an older number from their former days as Blue Syndrome, called This is it. They also did the Piano Song, a concerto styled number, ironically played on guitars.
All I want- This is a very moving number with some poignant lyrics and a sweet melody. I felt a very personal connection with the story and how Colm pours it from his heart. Their last song was Warwren an excellent song full of distortion laden guitar and in sync lead.
After much shouting for an encore, the lads did Stevie Wonder’s Superstitious and it was a brilliant cover version. A little dab of Aretha Franklyn’s Respect was thrown into the mix and it went down well with the audience.
Members of We Were Giants are Colm (lead vocals/guitar), Ste (Guitar/backing vocals), Danny (bass) and Jay (Drums). Their first EP ’Part one’ was recorded and mixed in their kitchen and included She said and Vampires. Influences include Biffy Clyro, Foo Fighters, Arcade Fire, Stevie Wonder and anything loud. They completed a tour in Germany in 2013, performing on the white stage at the Dithmarschen Rock fest and also performed at the 2014 Wales Focus Fest. I am truly impressed and enthusiastic for We Were Giants and the upcoming debut album that will result from this recorded gig. I love Colm’s total openness and vocal strength. It’s inspiring and very pure. And to hear such musical and lush arrangements is so refreshing. There is hope for our slumping music industry while this kind of inventive talent exists. Well done to the band and also the other two amazing acts that made the night so special.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
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