The Wonder Villains are in a rocking club in Austin, Texas, filling the space with their signature amazement. Yes, its a cool American gig, part of a showcase of Northern Ireland's talent. And indeed, they are performing 'Calgary 1988' on the same continental land mass that inspired the song. And just to make the delight all that more perceptible, Eimear and the gang are delivering those effervescent tunes to a packed venue, to faces that are reflecting the joy right back at them. How could you not be affected by this loop of soaring humanity?
They play well, they seem untouched by music industry ceremony and as the splendor of '33' spins out, there are hulking Americans in the audience with their hands in the air. And at that moment, you realize that Wonder Villains are exportable cheer, potentially big in Boston, major in Milwaukee, tops in Tokyo.
The event that brings us to the Latitude 30 club is a night called ni@sxsw. It's an annual chance to show the creative goods, to feel a bit proud of our artists. This year, the event also sits on the convergent schedules of the film, interactive and music sections of South By South West, so it's perfectly fine to show everyone a teaser from the upcoming movie, Good Vibrations.
We see around four minutes of the film, but it's enough to suggest that the finished item will be very important. There are scenes inside Belfast most famous record store, historic thrills with The Undertones, paramilitary thuggery and powder-snorting fever. Every emotion is invoked. Terri takes a vicious kicking on the floor of his shop, soundtracked by The Teddy Bears and 'To Know Him Is To Love Him'. My word.
Foy Vance makes a case for the voice, the invention and a career that's freshly focused. It's hardly a bad thing that he's on the soundtrack to Terry George's 'The Shore' and Oscar success. Foy takes a run at 'A Change Is Gonna Come' and hits a few technical difficulties with his audio loops on a song intro. But ten minutes later and he exits a room that is singing and supporting him.
Cashier No 9 alert the new listeners with a combination of 'Goldstar' and 'Lost At Sea'. While the expanse of that debut album is familiar to some of us, it's plainly a wake-up to the Latitude crowd, and none of us is disappointed to hear 'When Jackie Shone' and its vintage flicker.
There's a similar development at work with General Fiasco. New tunes like 'Waves' indicate the expanse of the new ambitions, but equally, 'Ever So Shy' is a baby picture that's no embarrassment.
Normally at this stage of the night, the fickle punters would have moved on, leaving the final act with just a core attendance. But tonight holds good, possibly because of the media convergence, or simply because the stage has been well served. Whatever, And So I Watch You From Afar ramp up the noise and the frequencies, jack-knifing and roaring, alternately delicate and fierce. The spring air of Austin receives all this with empathetic grace. Result.
