Over 15 years ago Kilkenny was labelled 'The Irish Seattle' because of the wealth of quality bands that were getting signed left, right and centre by eager A&R hounds. Bands like Kerbdog, Engine Alley and My Little Funhouse exploded onto the national scene with their own spin on the grunge phenomenon that was so popular at the time.
It's in the past year that the fruits of the Kilkenny music scene have once again grabbed attention on the national stage. Bands as diverse as Rarely Seen Above Ground, Saving J, Chemical Addiction, Good Tiger, Captain Moonlight, The River Valley Band and Supernova Scotia have all made local and national breakthroughs with radio airplay, high profile support gigs, festival appearances, magazine coverage and general hard ball breaking graft. It's a fine mix of musical styles, demonstrating all Kilkenny has to offer. But grunge? Not so much.
So, how nice to see The Lion's Mane redress the balance. And so they join the catalogue of diverse bands who've really been pushing the boundaries of music in Kilkenny.
The gig was a cracker, no doubt about it. And I have to admit, I went into it expecting to appreciate it more than enjoy it. The groups internet output was undoubtedly solid and well structured but my initial reaction had been that it sounded a little too, well, polished. But the gig was full of the most polished rough edges I've seen in a Kilkenny gig in a long time. It translated amazingly to live performance. And fuck, I enjoyed it.
Alan Dawson is the man behind the mane and before the gig had even started, his hard work and meticulous preparation had obviously paid dividends in the jam packed house in Cleere's and the strange sight of gig goers running around in Lions Mane t shirts. The approach to this gig was masterful. Indeed, the approach to the band was even better. Building a strong internet presence around a bit of mystery, slowly leaking material and developing a strong aesthetic over the past year, The Lions Mane was allowed to take their time and build an audience whilst working on a strong collection of material. No rush jobs here, just care and attention and the music put to the forefront.
It's only in recent weeks that the band gained a face as the build up to the first full band airing of material began. The refreshing approach to music first, image and posturing see ya later, paid dividends. It was all about the music. As the gig kicked off, a grinning Dawson traded some verbal barbs with a mouth in the audience before launching into a ferociously confident rendition of 'Pull It Out', the crowd was immediately won over. The set was very tight, extremely well executed and in Evan Prendergast, Danny Pearson and James O'Brien, Dawson has found an extremely proficient band to blast the songs to life.
I've already mentioned about how refreshing the 'music first' ethos is but this band really have to be also commended for the sense of fun they brought to the stage. Prog rock gets a hard time for being a little too poker faced and its entirely with validation but even to term The Lion's Mane as solely prog rock is to do them an injustice. The flair for musical styles and the segues between genres was seamless and added to the sense of playfulness on the stage. And fun it was. Alan Dawson has too long been in the background in a plethora of bands, most recently Itchy Trigger Finger, but as a front man he really shone at this gig. And why wouldn't he? He took his time to make sure that when he stepped forward, he did it right. Smiling all the way throughout and never taking himself seriously, he cut a distinctly bullshit free, non posing figure who didn't need to be front and centre of the proceedings. Bantering with the crowd and taking the entire thing happily in his stride, he at times resembled a party host who just wanted people to have a good time in his gaff. Kudos to the rest of the band for following his lead and really giving off a sense of fun up there. And then they rocked it like a motherfucker.
This gig was refreshing, well executed and beautifully played by some skilled musicians. It entirely justified the strong build up and the sense of anticipation. The music scene in Kilkenny is alive and well and this gig underlined how good we have it locally at the moment. Maybe we won't be the Irish Seattle again but fuck it, right now just being Kilkenny is good enough. Long may the lion roar.
