JD SET live at Whelan's, Dublin

This showcase concert was sponsored by Jack Daniels, so punters began the night on what was a happy note for those who like their drink with a bit of fire in it, with a complementary bourbon. Kicking off proceedings Band on an Island were highly entertaining, their lead singer joking with the crowd and throwing some extravagant shapes. They have at least one hard-rock gem up their sleeves in the shape of ‘All The Rage’. They’ve also got an eye for the charts: new track, and potential single, ‘So Cold’ positively cries out for drive-time airplay. Fans of FM-friendly mainstream rock bands such as Goo Goo Dolls will find much in Band In An Island’s songbook worth applauding.
Lost, next on the bill, arrived dressed head-to-toe in black. Less down-in-the mouth was their music: they came on a bit like Kaiser Chiefs by way of Sum 41. The lead singer hinted at greatness – the spirit of Thom Yorke flitted around their finer moments – but overall their sound as yet is too generic, with a hint of bargain basement Killers about it. They need to fins a voice that’s fully their own.
Headliners Crescendo have even more to do. Tonight, they were clearly down on their luck. Their singer had gone missing in action: he was off in Belgium, apparently, not a clever move when a gig with a bit of prestige is in the offing. Distortion flooded their performance; add inaudible lyrics from stand-in vocalists, instruments that sounded out of tune and occasionally ear-splitting waves of feedback and you have the picture of a band that would have preferred to be elsewhere. Time, methinks, to take fresh stock.