blo.tooth/skyjack

Eamon Doran’s, Dublin

It’s a game of two halves; or a night of two bands – as the case may be. The concept of acoustic rock is hardly a new one, but, acoustic rock with balls is quite a rare commodity, proved by Blo.Tooth, the first band of the evening. A smooth, eclectic merger of Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains minus the electric guitar element, plus some soaring Jeff Buckley meets Chris Cornell vocals, courtesy of Myles O’Reilly.

Up second – and about a hundred decibels louder – are Skyjack. A glorious amalgamation of Faith No More, Deftones and A Perfect Circle, they soon have everyone doing nodding dog impressions. Particularly impressive is the material from their new EP, Blister, which marks them down as genuine contenders.

In a world prevailed by squeaky voiced, shaggy haired indie consuming wannabees, a musical blast of fresh air in a stagnant scene is just what the doctor ordered. About as far removed from bland as Steps are from talent, I think you might say

they rocked.