Gone All Year and R51
Mandela Hall, Belfast
Friday 22nd May, 2015
It’s a sunny May evening in Belfast and I make my way down into the Mandela Hall where Belfast’s Gone All Year are playing with support from five-piece R51.
R51, a young band from Belfast who took part in the Scratch My Progress Scheme last year, take to the stage with modest confidence and begin with ‘Jupiter’ as the crowd begins to grow. The stage in Mandela has been host to a string of notable artists over the years, yet playing on it doesn’t seem to faze the band as Melyssa Shannon blasts out assuredly impressive vocals. As young and new as this band is, they definitely have passion on their side, as they progress through songs from their latest EP ‘Pillowtalk’ with admirable focus and drive. This is a band who wants it.
An impressive cover of ‘The Hounds Of Love’ is included alongside favourites off their latest release including ‘Seaweed’ and the EP title track ‘Pillowtalk’. This is glimmering pop music with an alternative rock edge. The choruses are big, catchy, loud and the verses are filled with beautiful harmonies and unassumingly impressive guitar riffs - all creating a distinct sound from a band we hope to hear a lot more from.
Gone All Year, an all-male five piece from Belfast, released their self-titled debut EP back in December 2014, and have been working hard on their newest material, which they are putting out online. Seeing a band for the first time live in a venue as big as Mandela, leaves us intrigued as to how the evening will develop…
All dressed in red and black, front man Conor McCaffrey nods in appreciation to the crowd and their set is kicked off with ‘On Fire’ (a brand new track they put online last week). With a catchy chorus and compelling enthusiasm from the band, the crowd edges forward, closing in the gaps of this large venue. The band’s excitement and energy are infectious and the crowd begins to sing along. It’s an impressive start to their set, and there’s a sense that Gone All Year are one of those bands who thrive on live performance, feeding off the adrenaline it creates in them.
After a few upbeat, punchy tunes, the band show a different side to them and play ‘Easier’ which is reminiscent of Incubus or Blink 182, with moody lyrics, echoed by the drum and bass. The song builds into an epic chorus showcasing McCaffrey’s impressive vocals. The familiar chords of The Killers’ ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ rings through the hall – an impressive move by the band to regain any lost attention from the audience to whom they are playing a lot of new tunes to.
There is a black out and, after a few seconds, Conor McCaffrey and Steven O’Hagan appear on an unnoticed, until now, raised platform to the left of the hall and begin to play their song ‘Audrey Hepburn.’ This stripped back, acoustic style in in stark contrast to what we’ve seen so far from the band, and the genuine emotion created from this song results in a few minutes of calm and contentment descending upon Mandela Hall.
As if the former had not even happened, the guys are suddenly back on stage, blasting out compelling sounds once more. As they close their set with ‘Grey’, Gone All Year seem proud of themselves and appreciative of the crowd standing before them. An impressive gig from a band who continue to grow and develop their music – something we look forward to with anticipation.
Bethan Leonard
