Live at Whelan's, Dublin

The speakers in Whelan’s may need replacement. So loud were the 22-20’s, their rock and blues infused numbers were still ringing in my ears two days after they’d left the stage. At times the Wexford street venue must have shook with the noise.
Loud however, doesn’t always mean good. For large parts of the show it was difficult to maintain an interest in the Lincolnshire based four piece. They may be riding the wave of the current Brit Rock revival but the majority of their material is lacking in punch. There were huge lulls of bland rock n’ roll and songs which carried on long after they should have ended. Much of the material mid-way through was reminiscent of the Stereophonics, and the band’s bluesier moments were lost amid Martin Trimble’s often bored vocal delivery.
It wasn’t all bad though. The opening and closing 15 minutes of the group’s set were as inspiring and entertaining as rock music gets. ‘Shoot Your Gun’, ‘Such a Fool and ’22 Days’ were obvious highlights, and ‘Devil In Me’ was stomping. The former saw the crowd reawaken and cheer as if they were saying ‘Thank you God’. Unfortunately though these were the standout moments in what was an otherwise dull affair.
Incidentally, much more encouraging support act Nine Black Alps. The up and coming Manchester band have yet to release any material though when they do, it will be worth checking out. They specialise in fast and furious rock augmented by supremely catchy melodic flourishes.
Though shy and unassuming – they barely looked at the audience for most of their set – Nine Black Alps had no reason to indulge in idle blather. To win the crowd over, all they had to do was play.
The 22-20’s though have things a bit harder. Turning up the amps to eleven doesn’t disguise the fact they lack a substantial amount of decent material. Another album or two may sort that out, though it’s debatable whether or not the group merit that amount of patience.