Quiet Nights No.3, Seomra Spraoi

Posted on 23rd Jun 10 by Connor Moloney | 0

Eschewing pubs for more alternative venues, this time North Dublin social centre Seomra Spraoi, and combining folk acts with poetry and spoken word interludes, the new monthly event Quiet Nights aims to do something a bit different, and for the most part doesn’t dissapoint.

Seomra Spraoi

Teenage Dublin collective Traz kick things off with a suitably ambient set which draws heavily from the sort of nu-folk currently earning plaudits for the likes of Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear. While boasting two violinists, guitar, bass, piano and sax, the intrumental arrangements are pared down to a bare minimum to give free reign to the group’s soaring choirlike harmonies, which are particularly impressive during a set-closing cover of Bon Iver’s Blindsided.

Later on, Swiss chanteuse Sonia Maria Raven delivers an evocative set of  haunting folk, her strong voice and minor-key melodies demonstrable of a talent of infinite promise. Meanwhile You Kiss By The Book, the more familiar name on tonight’s bill, delivers a pared down set of rustic country-folk, which sends the crowd home happy.

In between sets, spoken word interludes from Cannis Lawlor and Niamh Bagnell lend the event some bohemian flavour, with the latter’s witty poems on technology and mobile phones ensuring it retains a modern taste.

Overall, the pared down simplicity of the night is refreshing, while the alternative setting provides something different from your average dingy upstairs pub night. The use of a venue like Seomra Spraoi also means it’s BYOB, thus ensuring the added bonus of a cheap night out, and it augurs well that the organisers plan to continue using venues like this to host the event in future. Well worth a look.

Drop-d Rating: 7\10

Seomra Spraoi

Tags: Cannis Lawlor, Quiet Nights, Seomra Spraoi, Sonia Maria Raven, Traz, You Kiss By The Book