Rock n Roll Tuesday

Posted on 18th Apr 06 by Contributor | 0

Artist: Echogram" My Corduroy and Neon Flea Circus
Author: Gary

Echogram" My Corduroy and Neon Flea Circus
Drop"D showcase Cyprus Avenue" April 4th.

I have a problem" I"m on George"s Quay and I"ve just received a text from Shane asking where the f"ck I am coz Dan"s band have just come onstage. I"m in absolutely no form for this gig. I had to work late today" it"s a Tuesday of all nights" I"m still recovering from a crucifying Sunday night yet I have to endure a few hours of rock n roll to further hammer the nails that are already encrusted in my skull. And I"m getting grief off people. But it"s justifiable grief at that. Because the Dan in question is the lead singer off Neon Flea Circus and also happens to be a friend" and I"ve got a job to do so I decide to that walk/jog thing that women power walkers do as I make my down the Oliver Plunkett street. I"ll just go in" sit in the corner by myself" attempt not to inflict my miserable persona on anyone and maybe drink a Lucozade. I presume your getting the picture" the night hasn"t exactly started well. And I honestly don"t think it"s going to get better.

As much as I like Dan" and his band" I"m not expecting much of a crowd for the reason that three of the members from Neon Flea Circus aren"t actually from Cork and people mightn"t have heard of them yet. There may be a crowd later for Echogram and My Corduroy" but as I"m about the walk up to Cyprus Avenue I"m hoping to see maybe a couple of table"s full of punters.
I walk in. Holy shit. The place is packed. And the whole venue is either tapping their feet" nodding their heads or generally grinning ridiculously at each other. Eh" this wasn"t in the itinerary"" I go straight up to Shane and ask what I"ve missed while declaring my astonishment yet pleasure that so many people have turned up.

He says they"re in the middle of the 2nd song. Well" I can"t say what the first song was like" but the rest of the short and sweet 8 song set is pretty much faultless. They sing 5 songs off their self"titled ep" a new track titled New Adventures in Pork Pie Pants """ and a cover in the form of Gil Scott Heron"s soulful Lady Day " John Coltrane. When you listen to NFC on record they make you want to smoke some weed and watch some classic 70"s arthouse films at four in the morning. That"s the kind of vibe they give out. Live" their a lot more energetic" colourful and charismatic than what you may expect. A funked up Studio Blues sounds like Rory Gallagher fronting The Zutons. And it works perfectly. Even if you"re not a big blues/rock fan or don"t own a Jimi Hendrix album" you could"t help but be impressed. They also have a few sides to them as Fergal on keyboards takes over the vocals on the delicate groove of Sit Tite" Stay Quy"t. By the time I hear Dan sing "So many different people feel the same way too" after the stomping intro of In Time and by now I"m totally converted. My jacket is off" the sleeves are up and there"s a pint and a smile after joining me. And as I look around" it looks like I"m not the only one. I don"t know what The "Fleas are on" but we all want some of it.

If the opening band of the night made us leave all of our real life problems at the door" then it"s up to the remaining two bands to remind us how difficult" complicated and dark that life is. Not that the crowd are going to complain. My Corduroy are the most anticipated band that has played at any of the Drop"D gigs. Even before they play the opening strains of Smoke Emission" the band possess a presence onstage which can be quite hard in such intimate settings. "Come breath my smoke emission" sings lead singer Tommy Morgan on the opening song which is a captivating statement of paranoia laden rock. By the time they get to second song" Taking Over" people are out on the floor sharing the bands despair and anger. Tommy Morgan sounds like a 21st century Eddie Vedder while the band cover any missing ground between The Smashing Pumpkins and Metallica. Tonight they play 3 songs from their "We Create Monsters" ep. Robin v"s Batman sends the already partisan crowd into a near frenzy whereas the anthemic We Create Monsters closes the set to a rapturous applause.

If I were in a band that had to follow up the last two bands" I would not be in a very confident mood. But no one seems to have told Echogram to be nervous because they swagger onstage in such a bullish manner you"d think they were playing gigs for the last ten years. And they sound like they"ve been playing together for the last ten years as well. The quartet kicks off with Occasionally followed by Ophelia. The latter sounds like something we want to hear on the forthcoming Muse album whereas the former starts with a stomping drumbeat pursued by futuristic electronica. It"s the song Depeche Mode should have recorded for The Matrix soundtrack. Immediately we can see that lead singer" Kilian Pettit displays all the front rock star qualities that we see lacking in so many bands. It only takes him three songs in before he"s walking through the crowd singing Because Of You like a Brian Molko on acid. "Baby I Don"t Want To Know" sings our man on the infectious Another Has Come which is probably the best received song on the night before he picks up the guitar for the reverberating Direct Hit. As if to say that the job is done" the band then tone it down and treat us to the gentle dreamscaping of Everytime I Fall from the Faithful/Unstable e.p. And their job is done. The band finish their set with the bittersweet Walk In The Sun and we all walk into the night after just seeing one damn fine night of rock n roll.

Picture Courtesy of Photographer Pat Hogan
email: patrickhogan"mymeteor.ie