Strange Brew Presents Fred, Lotus Lullaby, Delorentos and The Ghostwood Project

Posted on 21st Feb 06 by Contributor | 0

Artist: Various
Author: Mark

Cyprus Avenue

They called it "The Fucking Brilliant Tour" and they weren"t far wrong"

Strange Brew" Galway's much beloved club night" went on a tour of the country this month and rocked the house down. Featuring some of the best acts to play at Strange Brew in the last few years it brought Fred" Lotus Lullaby" Delorentos and The Ghostwood Project to Cyprus Avenue for the well worth it price of "10 with plenty of rock to keep any fan entertained. This leg of the tour in manty ways lived up to its incredulous title with an abundance of talent on show.

Straight from the heart of Strange Brew land The Ghostwood Project" featured in an interview with Drop"d previously" are a three piece who introduced us to the night with what can only be hailed as blistering yet calculated riffage maintaining a solid drum performance throughout their opener "Storm and Stress". Moving along nicely and reminding us of stated tour name they perform "Nothing left to do but smile smile smile"" a song that weaves simplistic and enlightened lead guitar while the drums tend to head almost in the direction of a metal sound building up to an atmospheric merge of bass" guitar and drums before finishing slower" calmer" and less erratic giving off a positive feeling.

"Tom Selleck is an innocent Man" the first track from their second demo kicks the show on further full of energy and enthusiasm with some well constructed elements and is easily their most accessible track. The video to this can be viewed on www.theghostwoodproject.com. Next up CW
commences with a guitar strum that almost reminds me of the sound a clock ticking for want of a more descriptive analogy and eases itself in next with the drums then the bass and veers off into it"s own little angles in various parts during the track. It is the guitar here that keeps the attention of the listener and it seems to be telling a different story all on its own. The band serve as a reminder of the type of music that tenpastseven create except with a different take with not as many time signatures as the Kerry band. The last track "Whore for straight four" is one that seems almost endless and a bit of ambivalence creeps in" but they pull it off with a mad drum build up halted in the middle with some melody mania and back to the building anticipation before completing a fine set.

Cork heroes Lotus Lullaby take to the stage to a fine welcome and proceed to encourage a party environment in the way they know best. "Miracle of sound" a song written for the fans ensures they grab the audiences attention from the start. With a crowd pleaser under their belts new song "Shine" show a slightly different side to the band with no complaints to be heard. As with their last headline appearance in An Br"g Lotus Lullaby have decided to change their sound a little and personally I"m not sure why. With less emphasis on sampled electronic beats perhaps they are trying for a fuller band sound with the music being played in more traditional from. Still it does not take from their show as "Can you hear me call"" "Breakaway" and "When it feels so good" all from their latest Push Ep are good songs performed with the usual gusto and smiles as before. The Song "Push" itself is where Lotus Lullaby seem to focus their strength" here the electronic samples come back into play filling the venue with various sounds" this song gets better each time its done.

Dublin foursome Delorentos have attracted some major attention over the last few months. Winners of The National Student Music Awards last year and being hotly tipped as the next big thing by many I am eager to hear them live. As always with bands that are hyped so much I am unsure what to expect. Perhaps reading into the hype too much their set was tainted for me" but that does not mean they aren"t good" in fact they are really good. The problem to me seems that they sound so much like so many other bands around at the moment" with a sound not too far removed from parts of The Futureheads or even Bloc Party at stages their music is much more accessible than some of the other bands on show. Their brand of rock is quite enjoyable and at times blissful but perhaps not enough. "Leave it on" with its anthemic love song appeal is one of their strongest with lyrics to remind you of any girl you cared about enough "it would be perfect if we kissed but I"ll be satisfied with this" and "beautiful time right now" stuck on repeat as the song ends. Well composed and all the elements are there for a good rock formula. Also "Solitute" begins with an upbeat guitar while contrasted with lyrics such as "I waited but you never came" and "I"m sorry I wasted your time" followed by some good coordination with drums" guitar and bass all doing their job well while the song later drifts into a soulful solo with undertones of stomping bass. Overall Delorentos do their melodies really well" while 3 members of the band can sing at a very good level I would have loved this band a few months ago but having experienced more contrasting and original styles coupled with the hype I feel as though I only let myself in for a slight letdown. Still I do feel there is a lot more to come from these fine musicians.

And finally Fred take to the stage"Fred are just about the most fun band I"ve ever witnessed. To put it that simply would be to do them a disservice though as nothing much has changed here. Fred have gained a bit more street cred now that Des Bishop is using their music in "Joy in the hood"" and why not use a fun band on a programme about comedy" Makes sense I suppose" Fred brings to the crowd what they"ve been waiting for" as the majority of the audience surges to the front to be closer to these dazzling musicians. One of the most amazing things about them is that way they can change the lyrics to "Four chords and the truth" at will at each gig" one way to guarantee attention. While other songs like "The wondering geologist"" "Colour of numbers" and "Summers Coming" are played with the great energy and enthusiasm that Fred have. Such enthusiasm can be contagious especially when the crowd begin to mimic their movements as Fred brings the crowd to the ground"literally. With the band planning to try their luck abroad fairly soon we will miss them while we also wish them the very best. But with colour" charisma and an infectious attitude then they can"t go too far wrong.