Rocktoberfest

Posted on 31st Oct 06 by Contributor | 0

Artist: The Hitchcock Blondes" Computers That Breed and The Ultra Montanes
Author: David Phillips

DROP"D Dublin Showcase

After an afternoon of dirty skies and incessant rain" Wednesday was coming to an end as I waited on the Guinness at the bar of Radio City. The people were still trickling into the venue as I sat down" crossed my ankles" and watched The Hitchcock Blondes walk out on stage.

Four well dressed blokes playing dirty rock from the first half of the 90s. To be honest" it"s not really what I would generally listen to. And my initial impression was that they would be nice background music as I finished my beer" but I was pleasantly surprised" wasn"t I"their set was like a steam train" quickly picking up speed and then pounding away relentlessly with one gut"trembling tune after another. The heavy hard hitting voice of Wall"McManus carved smoothly through tracks like "Love Song"" and picked up pace on the punchier "Self Destruction". Heads were bobbed" feet stamped" and knees drummed upon. Their sound was infectious" and by the time they closed with the riveting "The Preacher"s Daughter" I wanted more rock" and I wanted more Guinness.

I got both when I came back from the bar to find Computers That Breed on stage" and a bit more of a crowd who seemed to have slipped in through the doors. The Northside trio spent a moment tuning up" looking incredibly comfortable before their audience" before launching into a blistering" cow"bell fuelled frenzy of spiralling guitar riffs and jaw"clenching beats. Guitarist Steve Flynn shrieks and screams his way through a fast paced set of songs" the lyrics were delivered with such force that they were often indecipherable" but remained strangely catchy. The end result left random punters shouting along nonsense sounds" like a kind of retarded choir. Tannam swaggered around the stage while pumping out basslines and gazing wide"eyed at the roof" while the drums were pounded by a quite weird looking chap that kept smiling at people. The Computers finish up their set on the winding rollercoaster of a song "Fuck You Clown" and graciously vacated the stage and paid a visit to the bar" while The Ultra Montanes began to set"up.

I was kind of excited watching these guys set up" they had dragged out a huge keyboard. They also had five guys out on stage. I"m always interested in seeing bands that vary a little from the norm. The Ultra Montanes also seemed to have a kind of air of pretension that wafted about them" something that all great rock bands tend to have. A hint of superiority. They set about playing a kind of jagged frenzied rock" which all came together really well.

Maybe the crowd was a bit too damp from the rain" but these guys sadly didn"t seem to really set me or the rest of the audience alight the way I expected them too.
Lead vocalist Rory O" Keeffe really treated us to a bono"esque rock show which included such classics as singing while on one knee" and singing while holding the mic stand aloft.

I began to think that the air of pretension which I had admired" could turn out to be more of a curse than a boon" because although I think their sound was pretty decent " they really didn"t seem to enjoy themselves as much as the other bands. And I think that it"s hard for an audience to be able to have fun without the band having fun.

Nonetheless" they did play a grand set" and they did get a good old round of applause and a couple of whistles and even a few woos. I"m looking forward to having another look at these guys next time they play" maybe it won"t be raining.