You can see the logic behind this mini-festival in The Ambassador, featuring three up-and-coming Irish bands. The small acts pool their respective fanbases to create a bigger audience for all three – thus the gig is given an aura of an event to draw in music-lovers who may not be familiar with any of the performers.
In practice, it fell short of the mark. The Ambassador is too big for acts this half-formed, and the gig was so sparsely attended that the night must have been somewhat demoralising for all three. This concert should have taken place in Whelan’s or The Village – there’s sometimes a lot to be said for letting bands grow at their own pace.
Regardless, Hipple Street were the least impressive of the acts on show. On a mission to bring the funk to the Ambassador, they hit closer to Jamiroquai or Toploader than James Brown. They dole out spirited, bass-heavy grooves, but with no strong hooks to captivate the audience, and the more echo-y effect that comes with playing in a bigger venue did not suit their sound.
Riff-heavy goth-poppers Black Daisy made more of an impression; there were some strong songs here, and good vocal interplay between the group’s two female singers. Still, the stage looked cavernously over-sized throughout their set, and they didn’t have enough presence or movement to fill it. They look very much like a work in progress. For now, perhaps their potential would be better tapped on the smaller stage.
The final act, Ham Sandwich, attempt a little pre-set mood-setting, with stylish stage lighting and the strains of ‘Sugar Plum Fairy’ emerging from the tannoy. In keeping with this, they were probably the least inhibited of the three bands, although still some distance from being the confident, finished article.
Their show was a little more lavish and theatrical than that of their peers, and their sound – epic post-grunge with nods towards a more streamlined Garbage tendency – is intermittently enjoyable.
Still, it would be difficult to say that any of the acts looked entirely comfortable in their surroundings tonight, and perhaps they should wait a little longer before they return.