The following gig review was posted by threadhead
here on the
KilkennyMusic.com Forums, following the Lions Mane gig in Cleere's Theatre, Kilkenny on August 16th;
Over 15 years ago Kilkenny was labelled 'The Irish Seattle' because of
the wealth of quality bands that were getting signed left, right and
centre by eager A&R hounds. Bands like Kerbdog, Engine Alley and My
Little Funhouse exploded onto the national scene with their own spin on
the grunge phenomenon that was so popular at the time.
It's in
the past year that the fruits of the Kilkenny music scene have once
again grabbed attention on the national stage. Bands as diverse as
Rarely Seen Above Ground, Saving J, Chemical Addiction, Good Tiger,
Captain Moonlight, The River Valley Band and Supernova Scotia have all
made local and national breakthroughs with radio airplay, high profile
support gigs, festival appearances, magazine coverage and general hard
ball breaking graft. It's a fine mix of musical styles, demonstrating
all Kilkenny has to offer. But grunge? Not so much.
So, how nice
to see The Lion's Mane redress the balance. And so they join the
catalogue of diverse bands who've really been pushing the boundaries of
music in Kilkenny.
The gig was a cracker, no doubt about it. And
I have to admit, I went into it expecting to appreciate it more than
enjoy it. The groups internet output was undoubtedly solid and well
structured but my initial reaction had been that it sounded a little
too, well, polished. But the gig was full of the most polished rough
edges I've seen in a Kilkenny gig in a long time. It translated
amazingly to live performance. And fuck, I enjoyed it.
Alan
Dawson is the man behind the mane and before the gig had even started,
his hard work and meticulous preparation had obviously paid dividends
in the jam packed house in Cleere's and the strange sight of gig goers
running around in Lions Mane t shirts. The approach to this gig was
masterful. Indeed, the approach to the band was even better. Building a
strong internet presence around a bit of mystery, slowly leaking
material and developing a strong aesthetic over the past year, The
Lions Mane was allowed to take their time and build an audience whilst
working on a strong collection of material. No rush jobs here, just
care and attention and the music put to the forefront.
It's only
in recent weeks that the band gained a face as the build up to the
first full band airing of material began. The refreshing approach to
music first, image and posturing see ya later, paid dividends. It was
all about the music. As the gig kicked off, a grinning Dawson traded
some verbal barbs with a mouth in the audience before launching into a
ferociously confident rendition of 'Pull It Out', the crowd was
immediately won over. The set was very tight, extremely well executed
and in Evan Prendergast, Danny Pearson and James O'Brien, Dawson has
found an extremely proficient band to blast the songs to life.
I've
already mentioned about how refreshing the 'music first' ethos is but
this band really have to be also commended for the sense of fun they
brought to the stage. Prog rock gets a hard time for being a little too
poker faced and its entirely with validation but even to term The
Lion's Mane as solely prog rock is to do them an injustice. The flair
for musical styles and the segues between genres was seamless and added
to the sense of playfulness on the stage. And fun it was. Alan Dawson
has too long been in the background in a plethora of bands, most
recently Itchy Trigger Finger, but as a front man he really shone at
this gig. And why wouldn't he? He took his time to make sure that when
he stepped forward, he did it right. Smiling all the way throughout and
never taking himself seriously, he cut a distinctly bullshit free, non
posing figure who didn't need to be front and centre of the
proceedings. Bantering with the crowd and taking the entire thing
happily in his stride, he at times resembled a party host who just
wanted people to have a good time in his gaff. Kudos to the rest of the
band for following his lead and really giving off a sense of fun up
there. And then they rocked it like a motherfucker.
This gig
was refreshing, well executed and beautifully played by some skilled
musicians. It entirely justified the strong build up and the sense of
anticipation. The music scene in Kilkenny is alive and well and this
gig underlined how good we have it locally at the moment. Maybe we
won't be the Irish Seattle again but fuck it, right now just being
Kilkenny is good enough. Long may the lion roar.