Voodoo, Belfast
Wednesday 18th June 2014
Paper Man opened the show on this hot summer’s evening in Belfast’s city centre. Although only making a short appearance as the punters made their way into the dimly-lit venue, the young alt-rock trio managed to set the tone for a great night to come. With a set-list mostly consisting of short, no-nonsense, hard-rocking numbers, they demonstrated their potential as a future big hitter in the Northern Irish indie scene.
Lead singer Alastair Greyson displayed some strong, yet vulnerable vocal styling which sat perfectly within the sound of the accompanying instruments. Kate Cannon added bass sound which was as bold and remarkable as the ruby-red finish that adorned the instrument she expertly produced them on. Of particular note was their cover of Nirvana classic ‘School’ which, although evoking the spirit of the original, was perfectly moulded to their own unique dynamic.
Lisburn’s Deadlights were next to grace the stage. Without too much ado, the four-piece took to their respective instruments and proceeded to produce some hard-hitting, yet melodic, alternative rock tunes. Front man Mark Bodies worked the mic and his guitar with undeniable swagger, evoking images of legends like Joe Strummer or even the Boss himself.
One word which would describe their performance perfectly would be ‘powerful’. Not just in terms of heaviness or loudness, but the melodies contained within the twin guitars were powerfully affecting on an emotional level. The epically intricate 6-minute instrumental called ‘Dust Is All That’s Left of Us’ closed their set, and no doubt left an indelible impression on the crowd.
Fellow Lisburn natives Drop Your Guns were next on the bill. From the get-go, these young punk rockers provided a measure of raucous guitar-bashing riffs, but along with the catchiness of any great pop classic. As the quartet bounced and stomped about the stage, they demonstrated a presence and poise beyond their years.
It was at this time that the admittedly small crowd began to gather closer to the stage, no doubt encouraged to move and dance by the perfectly-played punk rhythms that Drop Your Guns brought to the table. Matt Harvey on lead guitar also included a dimension of complexity which sometimes goes amiss in bands of this genre, and it was greatly appreciated.
Finally, it came time for headliners Making Monsters to make their way on-stage. It didn’t take long for the already riled-up crowd to get into what the Maiden City metallers were dishing out. As the crowd began to erupt into a frenzy of moshing, headbanging and ‘windmilling’, the onslaught of titanic-sized, eardrum-busting riffs began to resonate around the venue.
Playing such instantly recognisable tracks as ‘Instinct’, ‘Attention’ and my personal favourite ‘Nosebleed’, Making Monsters didn’t waste much time in making the crowd seemingly fall in love with them. As demonstration of the intimate nature of the gig, the vocalist Emma Gallagher and bassist Joe Coyle even ventured out from the stage in order to get down and dirty with the crowd that was now in full swing. By the end of it, all in the room were tired and sweaty, but with smiles plastered on their faces.
In summation, Wednesday night’s gig was a great mixture of heaviness, melody and excellent stage performance. A show like this makes you feel good to be part of Northern Irish music.
Liam Donaghy
