I saw one of the most amusing things that I’ve seen in a long time last night. I went to Murkey Nights 2 in Tailor’s Hall – a beautiful Georgian An Taisce building opposite Mother Redcaps. It was a club/dance/rave night thingy in two rooms featuring various DJ’s and a few bands. But after Messiah J & The Expert’s set, the band room was invaded by firemen. One fireman was checking the fire escape and saw that it was locked and blocked by a sound desk. As he attempted to get the place shut down, four or five firemen started raving to some techno while the crowd chanted, “The Roof, The Roof, The Roof is on fire” along to the music. I don’t think the concerned fire chief was very impressed. It was one of those almost unreal cinematic moments that happen all so rarely. Minutes later, the room was cleared and the partying was confined to the one room downstairs. However, very shortly after that (just as I was leaving) five cop cars arrived, sirens blazing, to shut the place down.
But before Messiah J & The Expert, I saw a set by an intriguing one man band-drummer guy who calls himself Rarely Seen Above Ground. He performs with a video screen behind him featuring a virtual band while he sings and drums away in a vaguely mental fashion. Unfortunately, due to rotten sound last night, it took away from the total effect but he is supporting Jape over the coming weeks so it might be a good chance to catch him in a better situation.
I’ve included some footage above of him so you can get an idea of his percussion madness. I’m always impressed by drummers that can sing at the same time (apart from Phil Collins) and the video footage of the virtual band is a nice touch. There’s not much of the video band in this clip but you should get some idea of his Can-like sounds.
His upcoming gigs are:
22 Nov UCD, Dublin (with Jape)
24 Nov Ping Pong @ The Liquid Lounge, Cork
5 Dec Cypress Avenue, Cork (with Jape)
6 Dec Dolans, Limerick (with Jape)
GraveyardshiftShane 