On tonight’s evidence, audience participation still has a huge role to play in any live performance. It is Hired Hands’ album launch, in one of the finest venues in Ireland. They should be cracking out the champagne, instead the songs are stifled with chit chat throughout. Disheartening, but you can half-understand it. Musically, Hired Hands are a band worth applauding but they need to beef up their stage presence. When they hit form they show incredible promise. Occasionally, you’ll be put in mind of a stripped-down Arcade Fire. Occasionally, their main man comes over like a Dublin-bred Stephen Malkmus. They conjure up some quaint folk and have a beautiful jazz hand – in summary, they’re better than this evening’s show suggests. No matter what the circumstances, you need to put your heart and soul into live performances. File under: work in progress.