The Murphy’s Live circus rolls into Killarney on a frosty February evening, but that hasn’t kept the crowds away from The Granary. First up there’s the annual unsigned band competition, but my assessment of Dirty Face Kids and Philtre cannot be divulged until the results of this round are revealed. After all, I'm one of the three judges!
The headliners, however, are Delorentos, who are no strangers to competitions themselves: two years ago the highly touted Dublin foursome won the Bank of Ireland National Student Music Awards.
And by anyone’s standards, they’ve raced ahead like Olympic sprinters since. They have an album in the can ready for release in March, and if it matches the quality of their live shows, it’ll be something special. Tonight they put on a commanding performance that works exactly to their strengths. Their distinctive riffs, as heard particularly on ‘Leave It On’ and ‘The Basis Of Everything’, are brought out to play. But there is also an impressive energy and conviction to match the band's gift for melody – and that’s what keeps the bodies on the dancefloor. Fair play.
Dae Kim’s headliner at Geoff’s Bar – Murphy's Live entrants The Distractions and ilya K having done their competitive stuff – is a different story. The positioning of the stage may not be the most helpful to the bands but everyone is prepared to make the best of the situation – and that’s exactly what we're doing when Dae Kim take to the stage.
Their boy/girl/boy vocal interplay begins to wear thin pretty quickly, however, and while there is dark, atmospheric quality to the songs, there is something lacklustre about their live performance.
When, at the end, frontman Terry Cullen, formerly of Ten Speed Racer, calls out “you can’t judge music”, it’s clear their cooler-than-thou image is a veneer. Of course you can judge music. The conclusion may not be infallible, but every punter at every gig ever, judges what they’re hearing. And a lot of them know a bum note when they hear one. Besides, without being smart about it, Dae Kim weren’t so keen to shout that when they entered the Murphy’s Live competition two years back. Nor, indeed, when they accepted tonight’s gig and its corresponding remuneration.
If the cap fits, by all means wear it – but if it doesn’t you can look kinda silly.